Nietzsche is generally considered one of the two most influential modern philosophers outside academia. The other is Karl Marx. One would hope that such an influential philosopher would have realistic and egalitarian ideas about women. Unfortunately, Nietzsche’s views of women are derogatory. The disturbing thing about his offensive views is that they occur in the authorized text of a mainstream philosopher:[1] “Thou goest to women? Do not forget thy whip!”[2] I cannot do better than to repeat Russell’s comment: Any woman worth her salt would take the whip away from Nietzsche in a matter of seconds and make short work of him.[3] A weak, immature mind dealing with rejection tries to find compensation for its deficiencies through a paranoid fantasy:
‘Careful, have I found all buyers, all of them have astute eyes. But even the astutest of them buyeth his wife in a sack.’[4]
All I can say is that ignorance is bliss! Most mature, self-respecting men do not ‘buy’ their wives, either in a sack or standing up. In Nietzsche’s world, all men are warriors, all women are dolls:
‘Men shall be trained for war, and women for the recreation of the warrior: all else is folly. Too sweet fruits – these warrior liketh not. Therefore liketh he woman; - bitter is even the sweetest woman’…A plaything let woman be, pure and fine like the precious stone, illumined with the virtues of a world not yet come…The happiness of man is, “I will.” The happiness of woman is, “He will.”[5]
If I might be forgiven for being unscholarly for a minute, after reading Nietzsche I have this great urge to fall on my knees in rapt adoration: ‘My Liege, my Lord, my master, shall I play the harp, sing or beget one more superman for the utopian world yet to come?
A woman is shallow. A man deep. She is made for obedience, he for command. Women serve just one purpose for Nietzsche: Giving birth to the superman:
‘Everything in woman is a riddle, and everything in woman hath one solution – it is called pregnancy. Man is for woman, a means: The purpose is always the child…Let your hope say: “May I bear the Superman.”’ (Nietzsche, p.82)
Little doth Nietzsche know about women and most of it is well, fantasy. We are all moo cows. Seriously Nietzsche makes even motherhood seem petty.
It is only after reading someone like Nietzsche that one gets a glimmer of what Swami Vivekananda means when he says; ‘My religion now is manliness.’[6] His views are radically different. He was, however, always the monk first:
‘If the most beautiful woman in the world were to look at me in an immodest or unwomanly way, she would immediately turn into a hideous green frog and one does not, of course, admire frogs.’[7]
Women deserve the same respect as men and must be given opportunities for education:
“In what scriptures do you find statements that women are not competent for knowledge and devotion? ... (The priests) deprived the women...of all their rights. Otherwise you will find that in the Vedic or Upanishdic age Maitreyi, Gargi, and other ladies of revered memory have taken the places of Rishis through their skill in discussing about Brahman. In an assembly of a thousand Brahmanas who were all erudite in the Vedas, Gargi boldly challenged Yajnavalkya in a discussion about Brahman. Since such ideal women were entitled to spiritual knowledge, why shall not the women have the same privilege now...All nations have attained greatness by paying proper respect to women. That country and that nation which do not respect women have never become great, nor will ever be in future...Manu says, “Where women are respected, there the gods delight; and where they are not, there all works and efforts come to naught.” (7.214-215)
One of Swami Vivekananda’s great missions was setting up a monastery for women with Sri Sarada Devi as the nucleus. He brought Sister Nivedita to India for the education of women because illiteracy chained them to ignorance and misery.
[1] Nietzsche, Friedrich, (2009), Thus Spake Zarathushtra, (Mumbai: Wilco press)
[2] ibid, p.84
[3] Russell, Bertrand (1991),History of Western Philosophy, (London: Routledge), p. 733-34
[4] ibid, p. 88
[5] Nietzsche, op cit , p. 83.
[6] Ibid., p. 160
[7] Swami Nikhilananda (2010), Vivekananda: A Biography,(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama), p. 91
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