Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None

Zarathustra begins the novel by going down from the mountains. He has spent the past ten years living in isolation as a hermit. Nietzsche writes, “Here he enjoyed his spirit and his solitude and for ten years he did not tire of it. But at last his heart transformed” (3). The mountains are first and foremost a place of isolation and deep meditation. Associated with the hermit, they too become something Zarathustra cannot reside in forever. The old hermit, whom Zarathustra encounters on his journey down to the village, observes a type of transformation in Zarathustra, showing that he is no longer a hermit.

Zarathustra is said to have carried his own ashes to the mountain, a paradoxical statement symbolizing rebirth. He now wishes to “carry (his) fire into the valley” (4). Zarathustra speaks of his transformation, saying, “What happened, my brothers? I overcame myself, my suffering self, I carried my own ashes to the mountain, I invented a brighter flame for myself and behold!” (20). The mountains, as a place of solitude, become strongly associated with transformation. Despite Zarathustra loving mankind and desiring to teach them, he routinely returns to the mountains to overcome himself. Nietzsche writes, “At this time Zarathustra returned again to the mountains and the solitude of his cave and withdrew from mankind, waiting like a sower who has cast his seeds” (63). Zarathustra does not desire to live with mankind but only to share his wisdom with them. Thus, he can only survive among mankind for so long and eventually requires the transformative nature of the mountains to maintain his enlightenment. Zarathustra states, “With blissful nostrils I once again breathe mountain freedom! My nose is finally redeemed of the odor of all human nature!” (149). The mountains, then, appear necessary for the overcoming of man, as they act as the place of transformation.

The mountains are also associated with heights, as Zarathustra likens the height of mountains to the height attained by pursuing the overman. It is in this comparison that the loneliness of solitude is addressed. As one soars higher in their wisdom, they create more distance between themselves and their peers. Zarathustra says, “My wild wisdom wound up pregnant on lonely mountains; on naked stones she bore her young, her youngest” (64). The peaks of mountains may be lonely, but they are where parables are understood and knowledge learned. Later he says, “And the seeker of knowledge shall learn to build with mountains! It means little that the spirit moves mountains—did you know that?” (80). At the end of the novel, Zarathustra speaks of building his own mountains, saying, “I build a range of mountains out of ever more sacred mountains” (167). Mountains become more than sites for transformation but receivers of transformation as well. This conclusion refers to Zarathustra’s primary teaching that the creator of new values is the annihilator of traditional customs. Zarathustra states that his kingdom is no longer of this world and that he needs new mountains (220). The kingdom of the overman lies in the mountains created by the annihilator of values.