Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
Chapter 236 explained
The narrator challenges the idealized, uplifting view of womanhood presented by Dante and Goethe, asserting that a noble woman would reject the notion that the 'eternally feminine' draws men upward, as she believes the same of the 'eternall
What happens
The narrator challenges the idealized, uplifting view of womanhood presented by Dante and Goethe, asserting that a noble woman would reject the notion that the 'eternally feminine' draws men upward, as she believes the same of the 'eternally masculine'.
Themes in this chapter
Nobility and Order of Rank
The perspective is explicitly attributed to a 'noble woman,' suggesting a distinct, higher-order viewpoint that challenges sentimental or metaphysical ideals.
Critique of Modernity
Implied critique of romantic, idealistic cultural sentiments (the 'eternally feminine') as a modern weakness or falsehood to be overcome by a noble perspective.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Directly challenges the poetic ideals of Dante and Goethe regarding women, asserting a counter-perspective from a 'noble woman's' viewpoint.
- Dante Alighieri
Cited for his line 'ella guardava suso, ed io in lei' ('she looked upward, and I at her'), which is presented as a foundational example of the idealized, uplifting view of womanhood.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Cited for his interpretation of Dante's line as 'the eternally feminine draws us aloft,' which the narrator presents as the target of a noble woman's opposition.
Key passages
“I have no doubt that every noble woman will oppose what Dante and Goethe believed about woman... 'the eternally feminine draws us aloft'; for this is just what she believes of the eternally masculine.”
A noble woman rejects the idea that femininity elevates men, as she holds the same view about masculinity.
Directly inverts a classic romantic ideal, asserting gender symmetry in the capacity for elevation from a noble perspective.