Preliminary note

The story is, like the previous ones, a figment of the author’s imagination even if the main characters really existed. Here are some notes to help you understand the text.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) was one of the most influential and controversial thinkers in the history of modern and contemporary philosophy. His thought, marked by a radical critique of metaphysics, traditional morality and religion, had a profound impact on the history of thought and beyond. He studied classical philology at the universities of Bonn and Leipzig. At the age of 24, in 1869, he was appointed professor of philology at the University of Basel, but resigned in 1879 due to health problems. He lived in Turin between 1888 and 1889: Nietzsche found the city of Turin to be quiet and elegant, as well as less hectic than other large cities. He also appreciated the climate and the possibility of living in solitude, ideal condition to devote himself to his meditations. In 1889, the philosopher fell into a state of madness (probably caused by syphilis he had contracted years earlier).

Died on 8 August 1900, assisted by his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche.

He wrote numerous works, including: The birth of tragedy (1872): it analyses the origin of the Greek tragic art, contrasting the apollinean and dionysian impulses. Thus spoke Zarathustra (1883 – 1885): a poetic-philosophical work that introduces fundamental concepts such as the Übermensch and the eternal return.

Beyond good and evil (1886): a critique of traditional morality and the assumptions of western philosophy. Genealogy of Morality (1887): analyses the historical and psychological origins of moral values. Ecce homo (1888): a philosophical autobiography in which Nietzsche reflects on his own work and on his role as a thinker in history, on his own destiny.

In the story will be important the figure of Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861 – 1937), of which Nietzsche fell in love. In the summer of 1882, he even proposed marriage to her. Lou Salomé refused.

Who was this woman so important to Nietzsche?

Lou Salomé was a Russian writer, philosopher and psychoanalyst of German origin. She is known not only for her original thinking, but above all for her personal and intellectual relations with important figures: in addition to the already mentioned relationship with the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, Salomé also had ties with the poet Rainer-Maria Rilke and the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud.

From the missing relationship and other aspects of Nietzsche’s life, this story interweaves the crime with philosophy. The story is also a reflection on life and some essential aspects of it investigated by the German philosopher.

Other characters: Peter Gast, pseudonym of Heinrich Köselitz (1854 – 1918), friend of Nietzsche, German composer. Siccardi did not exist, as did the other people mentioned (political agitators, workers and other figures): they are a figment of fantasy.

Giovanni Covino

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