Walking the Tightrope

Nietzsche's writing desk and washing basin in his small room at Sils-Maria. We briefly carried Fritz’s life forward into 1885 in a previous post .  For the moment I want to back up a bit and begin to reexamine in more detail the years in which he created Zarathustra .  1883 found Nietzsche spending his third summer at Sils-Maria .  He had completed Zarathustra II and was taking extensive notes for the third part.  Five letters to four intimate individuals reveal the full-spectrum of Fritz’s state of mind at this time.  He was obsessed with his writing and enthused about his work.  He was still recovering from the final effects of the Lou Salomé affair , the break-up of his friendship with Paul Rée , and he was quarrelling with his sister, Elizabeth, feeling isolated from the family he loved and, indeed, from the whole world.  They reveal a very human side to Nietzsche as he was conceiving and creating his lofty words and ideas.  As alway...