When Nietzsche Wept: A Novel Of Obsession

When Breuer arrives at the clinic, Nietzsche is ready to begin the sessions in which he will counsel Breuer in the hope of overcoming despair. Nietzsche begins by listing off four contributing factors for Breuer’s despair; Breuer adds that he has trouble relating to his wife. Breuer is not feeling comfortable with Nietzsche’s methodical approach. When Breuer informs Nietzsche of his discomfort, Nietzsche mentions that his approach is very similar to how Breuer would conduct a patient screening. When Breuer again objects, he says that the categorization of his life’s problem feels artificial; he wants there to be a more free-flowing discussion. Nietzsche backs down, and the two begin discussing better alternatives. After some discussion of Breuer’s practice, they begin talking about his list, beginning with Breuer providing his history with Bertha. Nietzsche warns him not to say too much so that he would come to feel humiliated, but Breuer begins his narrative. He discusses the way he treated her hysteria, a disease that he insists only women experience. He discusses how he hypnotized her and how he helped her through talk therapy to overcome some of the symptoms of her nervous disorder. Breuer then describes the “alien thoughts” that he mentioned to Nietzsche, beginning with his lust for Bertha. He then recounts her story, which leads him to also mention Eva and her offer to have an affair with him, which he now regrets declining. All the while, Nietzsche takes notes and makes a few comments, some of which reveal a hatred for women in general. Finally, the interview wraps up. Nietzsche asks Breuer, “If you were not thinking these alien thoughts, what would you be thinking about?” (167). The chapter concludes with a presentation of Breuer’s notes on Nietzsche and what he is trying to do in getting his patient to open up. These are followed by Nietzsche’s notes on the session. He likes Breuer, but his notes reveal him to be on complete guard against any self-revelation. He also demonstrates an even greater degree of misogyny. Following these excerpts, the narrative presents a letter written by Nietzsche to Lou Salome in which he discusses their past together.

That night, Breuer does not sleep well. He has a series of dreams that culminate in his recurring nightmare. As he lies awake, his mind wanders once again to fantasies about Bertha. The next session with Nietzsche begins with a discussion of Breuer’s dreams. Nietzsche interprets the dreams, and Breuer tells him that he was somewhat embarrassed at revealing so much about himself the day before. Nietzsche reminds him of the warning he gave, and then the pair discuss self-acceptance. Breuer insists that for him to get the most out of his interviews with Nietzsche, he must be able to get things out into the open without having his guard up. That means he must feel free to say what needs to be said, whether embarrassing or not. As an example, Breuer tells Nietzsche of a time when he unburdened himself to Max about the state of his marriage. Eventually, their conversation turns toward sex and lust. Nietzsche sees sex as another case of one person exerting power over another. Breuer sees it as biologically hard-wired. While Nietzsche does compromise his position somewhat, he holds fast to his primary claim. The conversation then becomes more direct as Breuer states that he is a practical man and that their conversations have become too abstract for him to feel like he is getting something out of the sessions. Nietzsche says that, though initially he claimed that he was no expert in the psychology of despair, he nonetheless is an expert on despair itself, and he decides to begin giving Breuer some more definitive advice and direction, beginning by admonishing him to seek truth rather than comfort. Nietzsche returns to the thought experiment he suggested for Breuer the previous session. He asks Breuer to close his eyes and imagine what he could be thinking instead of lustful thoughts about Bertha. He claims that Breuer does not want to probe too far into the “horror of existence,” so he distracts himself by focusing on lustful thoughts, which have overcrowded his mind because lustful thoughts feed on each other. As with the previous chapter, this one also concludes with excerpts from both Nietzsche’s and Breuer’s notes on the session. Breuer appears frustrated that Nietzsche would rather lecture from a lofty position than show empathy and offer to help him. Nietzsche reflects that Breuer does not see that there is no single way to overcome despair and that Nietzsche’s aim here is to help Breuer find his own way. 

Their next interview begins the following day. When Breuer arrives at the clinic, Nietzsche is in good spirits and energized. Nietzsche wants to do away with small talk, and he gets right to the questions he has prepared for Breuer. Their discussion leads to a revelation that Breuer finds himself caught in a kind of midlife crisis. His increasing awareness of the nearness of death has led him to believe that his life is without purpose. Significantly, Breuer insists that they use each other’s first names during their meetings, a request that Nietzsche grudgingly accepts. Nietzsche also encourages Breuer to use his own method of confession, what he calls chimney sweeping, except in this case, Breuer is the patient doing the chimney sweeping. Breuer opens up about the first crisis in his life, which happened when he was 29 and his mentor died. Breuer was not granted professorship at the academy, a fact he attributes to antisemitism. Breuer then discusses the idea of will and choice, and he asserts that one does not consciously will their life the way they would like it. Instead, fate and forces of time impose conditions on our lives. Nietzsche objects, and when Breuer tells him that his second crisis, which he is experiencing now, came about because of the realization that time is irreversible and that death awaits him, Nietzsche calls this clarity of vision a success. Most people, according to Nietzsche, do not accept this truth and live their lives in pursuit of anything that will distract them from it. In Nietzsche’s view, this is why Breuer obsesses about Bertha—it is a distraction from truth. This chapter follows the same pattern as the previous two in that it closes with excerpts from both men in response to their interview. Breuer sees progress in his attempt to soften Nietzsche’s resistance, especially in that he agreed to talk on a first name basis. Nietzsche comments that Breuer is at a pivotal moment because he wants to break through his despair, but he is also building artificial distractions in his life that keep him from doing so. Finally, the chapter concludes with another letter from Nietzsche to Lou Salome in which he points to the many contradictions in her personality in a dismissive and angry tone.

The first part of this chapter provides an overview of how Nietzsche and Breuer have been getting on when not involved in their sessions. Nietzsche’s typical day involves writing, and while he is courteous to the nurses, he is quiet and protective of his privacy. Breuer, on the other hand, is feeling overwhelmed with the state of his life. In addition to his professional obligations, his struggles with despair continue and have in fact become more acute. He has developed a new, morbid fantasy in which he imagines his house catching fire with his family inside it. They all perish from the fire except him, which liberates him to pursue Bertha. This is a recurring daydream, and it makes him feel guilty when he sees Mathilde, thereby creating even further distance from her. Breuer receives a letter from Lou Salome informing him that she will be visiting him that afternoon. When she arrives, Breuer makes her wait until he sees a patient, and when he finally meets with her, she inquires as to how things are going with Nietzsche. She shows him letters she has received from Nietzsche and alludes to specific comments in which he reveals suicidal ideation again. Breuer begins reading and then stops. When Lou persists in finding out more about Nietzsche, Breuer refuses to tell her, citing the privacy of his patient. Lou is upset, but Breuer does not budge. Breuer hands over the letters, and Lou, upset and angry, storms out of the office.