# Goethe — The Genealogy of Morals character guide

> Goethe in The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Goethe a Faust

**First appearance:** 0010-the-genealogy-of-morals

## Who they are

Poet and thinker praised as a model of healthy, life-affirming culture.

## Relationships

### [Homer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/homer)

_friendship_

Goethe admired Homer's heroic, life-affirming worldview, which Nietzsche contrasts with German pessimism.

## In the story

### [The Bad Conscience and the Origin of Altruism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/18)

Quoted for the phrase 'labyrinth of the breast' to describe the inward turn of the active force.

### [Chapter 2: The Ascetic Ideal and Richard Wagner's Transformation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/2)

Mentioned as one of the 'most subtle and brilliant spirits' who saw the balance between animal and angel as a charm of life, not a tragic antithesis.

### [Separating the Artist from the Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/4)

Used as an example: Goethe would not have created Faust if he had been a Faust.

### [The Ascetic Ideal and the Exploitation of Guilt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/20)

Mentioned as someone who claimed there are only thirty-six tragic situations, implying he was no ascetic priest.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/goethe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters