258 Nietzsche
The first scenes of Zarathustra betray obvious traces of the pain and
suffering of these weeks. The opening pages depict Zarathustra's depar-
ture from the bliss of solitude and his venture out among people, ini-
tially as an object of derision. The preface states that Zarathustra has left
his home and retreated to the mountains for a period of ten years: "Here
he enjoyed his spirit" (4,11; Ζ First Part, Prologue § 1) to the point of
excess: "This cup wants to become empty again, and Zarathustra wants
to become a man again" by telling poeple about his wealth. "Thus
Zarathustra began to go down!" (4,12; Ζ First Part, Prologue § 1).
Nietzsche soon learned that this pathos could also have an unintended
comic effect When he hurriedly left town in the late summer of 1882,
after an argument with his mother and sister about Salomé, his sister
noted sardonically: "Thus Zarathustra began to go down!" (Β 6,256).
She knew this sentence from his 1882 book The Gay Science, in which
Zarathustra makes his first appearance, at the end of the fourth book.
Going down to the people spells Zarathustra's demise, which is how
Nietzsche himself experienced his own complicated situation in 1882.
After finishing the first part of Zarathustra, he thought back to this sum-
mer in a letter to Overbeck: because of my exclusive contact with ide-
alist images and processes, I have become so sensitive that I suffer
incredibly from contact with actual people and forgo it" (Β 6,337; Feb.
22,1883).
The first message that Nietzsche's Zarathustra announces is the doc-
trine of the Ubermensch, but he chooses the wrong time and the wrong
place to disseminate his message. The people are gathered in the mar-
ketplace to admire the artistry of a tightrope walker. They want to enjoy
themselves and relish the thrill of danger to which the tightrope walker
exposes himself. Zarathustra speaks to this sensation-seeking crowd as
though it were a community of metaphysics enthusiasts in need of being
talked into savoring earthly pleasures. "Remain faithful to the earth," he
calls to the onlookers, "and do not believe those who speak to you of
supernatural hopes!" (4,15; Ζ First Part, Prologue § 3). How could
Zarathustra ever get the idea that these were people who needed dissua-