Multitudinous Dimensions of Solitude: Irony and Paradox in Thus Spake Zarathustra
Narendra Khanal
Department of English, Tribhuvan University, Kritipur, Nepal.
Email: narendrakhanal3@gmail.com <mailto:narendrakhanal3@gmail.com>
Abstract
This article reflects Zarathustra’s speeches on solitude that give multitudinous meanings with the blend of paradoxical and contradictory ideas. Zarathustra, the main character of Thus Spake Zarathustra, makes bombastic, paradoxical and ironical claims throughout the text. Sometimes solitude is represented as “embrace of self” and at times as “escape from society.” Solitude at times is a psychological space to affirm, recreate and transform the self, but at other times it is also a place to self-destruct and psychological homelessness. His claims are so paradoxical that he defines friends in “Friendship” as both companionship and potential enemy.
Moreover, he regards solitude as a perpetual space of confrontation with an existential void where meaning can be made, affirmed and destroyed. Hence, solitude, for Nietzsche, is a spiritual journey to self-overcoming and overman. Hence, Nietzsche deliberately selects Zarathustra, a saint, as the speaker of Thus Spake Zarathustra.
Keywords: Irony; Paradox; Solitude
Int. J. Grad. Res. Rev. Vol-2, Issue-3: 47-55
