Nietzsche on Women and the Eternal-Feminine : A Critique of Truth and Values

By re-examining Nietzsche's notion of the "eternal-feminine" and his views on women and feminism, this volume offers new perspectives on some of his key ideas. It brings together a diverse group of scholars to critically engage with Nietzsche's use of late-19th-century gender stereotypes and the ways in which they served his critique of values, including his use of "woman" as a trope for truth. Among other subjects, the contributors consider the role of psychology in Nietzsche's thought, his concern with style, self-creation, and advocacy of perfectionism, his views on romantic love and marriage, and his aim of revaluing all values to instigate a distant philosophy of the future. They investigate parallels between Nietzsche's thought and Shaktism, his relation to Goethe and Stendahl, and his influence on Beauvoir, Butler, and Dohm. With the inclusion of two seminal essays on Nietzsche and women by Lawrence J. Hatab and Kelly Oliver, the volume also illustrates some of the ways in which scholarship on these subjects has evolved over the last four decades. Providing fresh insights into these inter-related subjects, Nietzsche on Women and the Eternal-Feminine highlights the enduring relevance of his thought and its still-underappreciated potential for re-thinking both the bases for and aims of feminism and other emancipatory movements. Cover Contents Notes on Contributors Acknowledgments Abbreviations and References for Nietzsche’s Texts Introduction Michael J. McNeal Part 1 Influential Early Analyses 1 Nietzsche on Woman (With a New Postscript) Lawrence J. Hatab 2 Woman as Truth in Nietzsche’s Thought Kelly A. Oliver Part 2 The Eternal-Feminine and Future of Philosophy 3 Nietzsche: Psychologist of the “Eternal-Feminine” Allison Merrick 4 The “Eternal-Feminine” in Nietzsche’s Philosophy: On Nietzsche’s Inversion of Goethe’s Verse Ihr “Ewig-Weibliches” zieht uns—hinab! Vinicius Souza de Paulo 5 What If Truth Were a Woman? Metaphors of the Feminine and the Transvaluation of Values in Nietzsche’s Philosophy Isadora Petry Part 3 Myth and Self-Creation 6 Nietzsche’s Misogyny and a Feminine Philosophy of the Future Mat Messerschmidt 7 Nietzsche and Shaktism Shruti Jain 8 Nietzsche on Naxos: Ariadne and an Aesthetics of Justification Nicholas E. Low 9 The Veiled Mother: Life, Nature, and True Culture in Nietzsche’s Early Thought Pedro Nagem de Souza Part 4 Care and the Other 10 Nietzsche’s Perfectionism and the Ethics of Care: A Brief Treatment Justin Remhof 11 Stendhal, Nietzsche, and Beauvoir on Romantic Love Lorenzo Serini 12 Nietzsche on Marriage and the Cultivation of Humanity Marina García-Granero Part 5 Feminist Strategies 13 The Same Instinct Named Twice: The Drive to Possession and the Fettered Spirit in Nietzsche’s Middle Period Marisa E. Maccaro 14 An Affirming Feminism: Queering Nietzsche with Judith Butler Marta Vero 15 Hedwig Dohm’s Feminist Revaluations of Nietzschean Nihilism Katie Brennan Bibliography Name Index Subject Index