Nietzsche's views on women

[aneeshm]

Till now, I've read "On The Genealogy of Morals", "Ecce Homo", "The Antichrist", "Thus Spake Zarathusthra", and am now working my way through "Beyond Good and Evil".

In BG&E, I have come across passages which seem, at a first reading, to be misogynistic in nature. Not exactly misogynistic - there isn't actually any hatred of or even bitterness towards women there - but his opinions of women seem to be contrary to current dogma.

I have, however, learned to distrust a first reading of anything Nietzsche wrote. It usually takes three readings, if not more, to get just the meaning of what he is saying.

So it's a request to people who know what is being said to tell me what he meant. I know that I probably lack a lot of essential context, as my reading of his works has been haphazard at best.

[snoopy369]

Context: Nietzche wrote in the mid-19th century. EVERYONE was misogynistic compared to modern day values back then, and especially Germans.

[Felch]

It usually takes three readings, if not more, to get just the meaning of what he is saying.

Sounds like a lousy writer.

[Lorizael]

Sounds like a lousy writer.

What do you mean?

[Darius871]

What do you mean?

It took me three readings, if not more, to get the joke.

[Zkribbler]

"Man is made for war, and woman for the recreation of the warrior. All else is foolishness." ... Nietzsche

[BeBMan]

Context: Nietzche wrote in the mid-19th century. EVERYONE was misogynistic compared to modern day values back then, and especially Germans.

Don't think us Krauts were particularly bad in that regard though (meaning - on par with others, as you wrote first).

Edit: wasn't it Nietzsche who wrote one must have read *all* his works to understand him fully? So either he's been really a lousy writer or it was his attempt to do a unique marketing strategy

[snoopy369]

IIRC pre-merge Germany was relatively more medieval overall in that sort of thought, relative to Britain/France or even Austria... but it's been a while since I studied pre-merge Germany.

[SlowwHand]

He was a dickhead. That about sums it up.

[OzzyKP]

He was a dickhead. That about sums it up.

[Maniac]

Sounds like a lousy writer.

I guess it depends. If you read Nietzsche because you want to read something literate/philological, I guess he's a good writer. If you just want him to tell you clearly what he thinks about something instead of staying vague, he's a lousy writer.

Myself I'm not interested per se in "high literature", so I also think he's a lousy writer.

[BeBMan]

Lotsa Herman intellectuals from late 19th to early 20th century thought his style was absolutely brilliant, but personally I don't like it either.

[Maniac]

Though I should mention my "lousy writer" opinion is mostly based on Also Sprach Zarathustra. Other stuff is more readable.

[Lorizael]

It took me three readings, if not more, to get the joke.

Musta been a lousy joke.

[Fake Boris]

Nietzsche's views on women rank amongst his most ambiguous. And that's saying a lot, considering the guy.

In this case, maybe real life can help. He was apparently an elegant-mannered, courteous gentleman with them. Well, the respectable ones. Like most men of his times, he would get occasional relief from maids or prostitutes (pr0n and one nights didn't exist).

He doesn't seem to display any contempt for them that would be unusual for his times. He definitely sees men and women as complementary and certainly not 'equal'. But bear in mind that 'not equal' in Nietzsche's mouth never means 'should be beaten up/oppressed/enslaved'.