Effi Character Analysis

Effi’s character definitely changed over the course of the novel. When Effi was first introduced in the novel, we saw her as a young loving girl who was full of adventure and imagination. Matter of fact, her mother often described her character as more of a tomboy than a girly girl. When Effi married Baron von Innstetten, she had this crazy illusion of how she imagined everything to be. Within a matter of time, her husband went off to do his work, leaving her cold, stranded, and lonely in their house. It was evident that Effi’s demeanor and personality begin to change. She longed to have her husband there, but in the midst of all his absences she has an affair with Major von Crampas. This portrays a different Effi than the 17 year old Effi!
Effi knew what kind of man she was marrying from the very beginning. She knew he was a civil servant, “a man of principles”, and a man with wise intentions. So, it is not like she was unaware. When Innstetten finds the letters, they were not just thrown in an old box in the garage somewhere, but instead they were in a drawer affiliated with the sewing table. Not only that, but they were wrapped in red ribbon. This to me signifies a purpose. The old Effi would never lie, but the new Effi covered up her lies. I think it is accurate to say that Effi character changed from friendly and adventurous to depressed, lonely, sad, and guilty in just a matter of time. It goes to show that you can have all the material things in the world, but if you are missing one element, those material items do not matter as much. When Effi returned home after the misshapen, she was very ill. The stress of not being happy played an important role in this, but what is so critical to note here is that she died believing her husband had made the right choice of divorcing
Some aspects that support my decision are the nobility displayed throughout the novel, the code of honor and behavior, and the religion. Effi is a character to be admired because she lived with the guilt. Not just that, but she believed what her husband wanted (divorce & Annie) was the appropriate cause of action. Effi showed nobility because she knew she was not fit to bring up Annie. Even though she lied in the marriage, she owned up to her mistakes in the end, and that shows discipline. Innstetten shows social values by marrying younger to make his status look the part. With him being so formal, he attended his meetings and was always out of town versus in today’s society having a flexible work-life balance. When he found the three letters from Crampas, he did not call him on the phone to fix the solution, but instead they had a quick formal meeting, and he killed Crampas. That shows that if you committed wrong, or broke the rules, you certainly paid your debt to society. Nonetheless, he divorced Effi and got complete control over their daughter, Annie. Roswitha is a person I like to mention because she never switched her role against Effi despite the fact that she knew Effi had committed a mistake. She was absolutely loyal! A loyal servant! As for Effi’s parents, they wanted to blame themselves for the misshapen. Questioning whether she was too young or not and so