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Before Sunrise
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Rethinking Morality
The Superman and the Will to Power
Death of God and Christianity
Eternal Recurrence
Summary
Analysis
1. On land again, Zarathustra undertakes many wanderings. He wants to find out whether humanity has grown bigger or smaller in his absence; he finds that everything seems to have grown smaller.
This chapter comments satirically on the people of Nietzsche’s day, whose virtues belittle them. By “smaller,” Zarathustra means that humanity has taken a collective step backward rather than mentally and spiritually evolving toward the Superman.
Themes
2. As Zarathustra goes among the people, they won’t forgive him for the fact that he isn’t envious of their virtues. Zarathustra determines that the cause of the people’s smallness is the way they conceive of happiness and virtue—the people are modest in their virtues because they want an easy life. Zarathustra is especially offended by the fact that even those who command act like the ones who obey. Mostly, they simply don’t want anyone to harm them, so they don’t harm others. But Zarathustra calls this cowardice, not virtue, and mediocrity, not moderation.
The people expect Zarathustra to be impressed with their advanced outlook, but he sees that they live a dull, deadening life characterized by empty platitudes and bland contentment. Zarathustra calls modern virtues “cowardice” and moderation “mediocrity.” Most people consider a good life to be one that’s free of pain—such people do not exercise the will to power.
Themes
3. Zarathustra is received by these people as “godless,” a label he accepts. He is disgusted by “teachers of submission.” In contrast, anyone abides by their own will and renounces submission is Zarathustra’s equal. Zarathustra makes chance submit to him, but everyone here is going to become smaller until they crumble into nothingness. He implores the people to “be such as can will!” Someday, the “great noontide” will arrive.
Zarathustra again expresses a positive attitude about atheism as something hopeful and creative, though ordinary people—“teachers of submission”—see it as destructive. He finds few who have the will to power, but despite this discouraging outlook, he still proclaims the coming of the Superman. Nietzsche himself believed that he lived during humanity’s “noontide,” a time of knowledge and potential progress that most people failed to recognize and embrace.
Themes
