Reading Nietzsche’s wept it is like having an intimate afternoon talk over a coffee with your smartest friend, that will make you feel completely naked. Naked in front of your own self. I found it emotionally heavy since it is rich in philosophy and drama but short in dramatic action and romance, a bit too philosophical for my taste. However the richness of the dialog between Nietzsche and the Viennese doctor Brewer captivated me. I liked to follow the logic of their arguments, and the Nietzschean philosophy regarding aspects of life, love, fear of aging and death and aloneness.
The basic story goes like this: a therapeutic encounter where each of the characters becomes both patient and doctor. Brewer tries to help Nietzsche to deal with the fierce migraine attacks and also to cure his despair (which the patient cannot admit) that comes from his unfulfilled love for Lou Salome (love, which again he cannot admit). Brewer intentionally creates a path to lead Nietzsche into reveling his own obsession with Lou Salome. So Brewer chose to be the patient of a fictional therapy where he needs help to get over his love for a woman he treated of hysteria. It turns out; however, the doctor of hysteria is suffering from despair as well. As the therapy deepens, they are confronted with the issue of moral choice and the recognition of the poor choices, perhaps never chosen at all.
This is actually the learning that impacted me the most at this particular moment: our own need to accept the responsibility and also the consequences of our own (lack of) choices. Also, it has left a question mark in my mind regarding the “betrayal” that comes out of love. Is it still betrayal or is the equivalent of protection against something bad that happened or might happen to someone we care about?
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