Walking the Tightrope

Fritz returned to Sils Maria again in the summer of 1884. By this time, the Lou Salomé affair had greatly dissipated. Fritz still harbored intense resentment but it was held in check, not the life engulfing abyss it once had seemed. Instead, he focused on his work, expanded his note taking, and even entertained a handful of admirers. One admirer spent the new year with him in 1883-1884. He was a "young Viennese-Jewish zoologist who visited him in Nice." Dr. Julius Paneth wrote about how it was to physically be with Fritz: "...he wanted to write some musical compositions...to go along with his writings. For he could say some things in music which could not be expressed in words....We spent six hours in excited conversation; N seemed very lively and not at all tired. Everything he said was put simply and gently. His behavior is thoroughly natural and unassuming, serious and dignified; he is most responsive to humor, and a smile suits his features well." ( Midd...