Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
Chapter 233 explained
The narrator critiques the invocation of certain women as proof of female capability, arguing that figures like Madame Roland, Madame de Staël, and George Sand are comical and serve as counterarguments against female emancipation.
What happens
The narrator critiques the invocation of certain women as proof of female capability, arguing that figures like Madame Roland, Madame de Staël, and George Sand are comical and serve as counterarguments against female emancipation.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- 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
- Critique of Modernity
Targets modern ideas of emancipation and autonomy as corruptions of instinct and taste.
Characters to notice
- Madame de Staël
Cited as one of the 'three comical women' whose invocation is seen as a corrupt argument for women's autonomy.
- George Sand
Referred to as 'Monsieur George Sand' and listed among the comical women used as flawed examples in arguments for female emancipation.
Key passages
“It betrays corruption of the instincts... when a woman refers to Madame Roland, or Madame de Stael, or Monsieur George Sand, as though something were proved thereby in favour of 'woman as she is.'”
Using these women as examples to argue for the nature or emancipation of women shows corrupted instincts and poor taste.
Condemns the rhetorical strategy and the figures chosen.
“Among men, these are the three comical women as they are—nothing more!—and just the best involuntary counterarguments against feminine emancipation and autonomy.”
To men, these women are merely laughable figures and unintentionally provide the strongest arguments against women's liberation and self-rule.
Posits that these examples undermine the very cause they are meant to support.
