When Nietzsche Wept (novel)
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2011) |
When Nietzsche Wept is a 1992 novel by Irvin D. Yalom, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, an existentialist, and psychotherapist.
The book takes place mostly in Vienna, Austria in the late 19th century. It starts with Dr. Josef Breuer sitting in a cafe in Venice, Italy waiting for Lou Salome, who was involved with Friedrich Nietzsche. She has written a letter stating that the future of the philosophy of Germany is at stake.
The plot develops into a therapy where Breuer needs to have his soul treated, i.e. to help him get over a patient who he treated for hysteria and with whom he has fallen in love, whereas Nietzsche needs help with his migraines.
Yalom's book is fictional but contains many references to history and historical persons: Josef and Mathilde Breuer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Lou Salome, Sigmund Freud, Bertha Pappenheim, Paul Rée as well as mentioning Franz Overbeck, and the composer Richard Wagner.
See also [edit]
- When Nietzsche Wept, the film adaptation of the book
