Thus Spoke Zarathustra · Chapter
LXVII: The Ugliest Man explained
Zarathustra enters a deathly valley and encounters the Ugliest Man, who reveals himself as the murderer of God.
What happens
Zarathustra enters a deathly valley and encounters the Ugliest Man, who reveals himself as the murderer of God. The Ugliest Man explains that God had to die because His pity knew no modesty and He saw all human ugliness and shame. He seeks refuge with Zarathustra, who recognizes him and offers his cave as a hiding place, warning him against pity.
Themes in this chapter
Death of God and Revaluation of Values
The Ugliest Man declares that God had to die because His pity knew no modesty and He saw all human ugliness, directly embodying the death of God theme.
Pity and Contempt
The Ugliest Man criticizes pity as offensive to modesty and praises Zarathustra for teaching that pity is obtrusive, contrasting it with the virtue of the petty people.
Critique of Herd Morality
The Ugliest Man condemns the petty people who call pity virtue itself and have given power to their own narrow conception of good, aligning with Nietzsche's critique of herd morality.
Characters to notice
- Zarathustra
Zarathustra enters the valley of Serpent-death, meets the Ugliest Man, and offers him refuge in his cave.
- The Ugliest Man
The Ugliest Man reveals himself as the murderer of God, explaining that God's all-seeing pity was unbearable. He seeks Zarathustra as his last refuge.
Key passages
“The God who beheld everything, and also man : that God had to die! Man cannot endure it that such a witness should live.”
The God who saw all human flaws and shame had to be killed, because humans cannot bear to be observed so completely.
The Ugliest Man justifies the murder of God as a response to unbearable divine scrutiny.
“Thy shame, O Zarathustra, honoured me!”
Your embarrassment at seeing me was a mark of respect.
The Ugliest Man values Zarathustra's shame over the pity others would offer.