Nietzsche, the Romantics, and Becoming Yourself
- Dec 11, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 19
There's a quote from Novalis that I'd like to use as a jumping off point here.
"Life must not be a novel that is given to us, but one that is made by us."
It's a great line because it sounds obvious until you really think about it. A lot of us spend most of our lives living stories that were given to us by others. First it’s the parents, then teachers, friends. Then there's culture, expectations. Most of the time we don't even realize it.
Nietszche was also interested in this problem. And as usual, he has a creative way of approaching it. He talks about three stages of personal transformation: the camel, the lion, and the child.
The camel accepts the burden.
“The camel says: ‘I will bear the load you place upon me.’”
He carries all those expectations. And it's not bad actually. It's important. And necessary, because this is where duty and discipline and responsibility live.
But eventually, the question invariably pops up.
“Is this the life I really want?”
And then in steps the lion.
“The lion must still do some fighting... he must still become strong to be able to say no.”
The lion is courageous and he learns to say no. No to all the expectations, the beliefs foisted on him by others. He says no to the stories that don't fit him anymore.
A lot of people look at this as freedom. But not Nietzsche.
Because while the lion is great at saying no, there's one thing the lion can't do. He can't create.
That's the domain of the child.
In the words of Nietzsche:
“Finally, the spirit becomes a child: a child is innocence, forgetfulness, a new beginning, a game, a self-propelled wheel, a sacred ‘Yes.’”
The child says yes.
And it's not a passive yes, like obedience. It's a creative yes. This is the yes that starts over again, the yes that Novalis is referencing in the quote.
And this is where Nietszche and the Romantics come together. Because neither of them believe that becoming yourself requires a full rejection of the world. It requires creating something new.
And that's why Novalis’s line has resonance. Life must not be a novel that's given to us. It must be made by us. We don't control everything obviously, but we need to participate in the writing.
And this is not rebellion or self-expression for its own sake. This is having the courage to imagine a different life and then actually begin living it.
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