Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
117 explained
A single, dense aphorism that challenges the notion of a unified 'I' or will, arguing that what we perceive as overcoming an emotion is merely the expression of a different, competing emotion or set of emotions.
What happens
A single, dense aphorism that challenges the notion of a unified 'I' or will, arguing that what we perceive as overcoming an emotion is merely the expression of a different, competing emotion or set of emotions.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The passage reveals the Wanderer's ultimate psychological exhaustion with seeking truth, climaxing in his desp…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Psychology as the Fundamental Science
Core theme. The excerpt performs a psychological reduction, analyzing a moral act (overcoming an emotion) as a conflict between underlying drives, not a triumph of reason or 'true self'.
- Will to Power
Implied. The dynamic described—one emotion's will overpowering another—is a microcosm of the will to power operating within the psyche, where the self is a battleground of competing forces.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Presents a psychological insight that deconstructs the concept of a singular, sovereign will, acting as a diagnostician of the self.
Key passages
“The will to overcome an emotion, is ultimately only the will of another, or of several other, emotions.”
Self-mastery is an illusion; what we call 'overcoming' a feeling is just one feeling or group of feelings defeating another.
Deconstructs the traditional view of willpower, framing internal conflict as a power struggle between affective forces, not a victory of a higher self.
