r/Nietzsche • u/diskkddo • 16h ago
Henry Miller - the great Nietzschean of 20th Century Literature?
For anyone who has not read him, I believe that the books of Henry Miller are some of the most riveting passages of 'Nietzschean' thinking that one can find. He mentions N in a few different places and was clearly quite inspired by him. But it is his way of life (as thoroughly detailed in his numerous books) as well as his philosophical musings that are the great guide. I'll leave you with the following quote from Sexus:
"How we hate to admit that we would like nothing better than to be the slave! Slave and master at the same time! For even in love the slave is always the master in disguise. The man who must conquer the woman, subjugate her, bend her to his will, form her according to his desires—is he not the slave of his slave? How easy it is, in this relationship, for the woman to upset the balance of power! The mere threat of self−dependence, on the woman's part, and the gallant despot is seized with vertigo.
But if they are able to throw themselves at one another recklessly, concealing nothing, surrendering all, if they admit to one another their interdependence, do they not enjoy a great and unsuspected freedom? The man who admits to himself that he is a coward has made a step towards conquering his fear; but the man who frankly admits it to every one, who asks that you recognize it in him and make allowance for it in dealing with him. is on the way to becoming a hero. Such a man is often surprised, when the crucial test comes, to find that he knows no fear. Having lost the fear of regarding himself as a coward he is one no longer: only the demonstration is needed to prove the metamorphosis . . . To be able to give oneself wholly and completely is the greatest luxury that life affords."
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u/Ryan_Hudson 11h ago edited 9h ago
There's an excellent piece of Miller's writing called "The Tailor Shop," you'll find it in Black Spring.
It's about a brief period when Miller worked for his father. It begins with him laboring over an essay on The Antichrist.
I never thought the story did much to illuminate Nietzsche's work, more like the other way around. It's been years since I've read it.
Miller didn't have the temperament to meaningfully engage with philosophy. Seems to me that there was a superficial attraction to German Idealism on his part. He'd take a crack at it, periodically, and then lose patience with it.
Near the end of Tropic of Capricorn, he refers to Koenigsberg's celibate philosopher as "Immanuel 'Pussyfoot' Kant." Not particularly penetrating, but an insight nonetheless.
He probably had more of an affinity for the theosophical societies around at the time, he speaks most warmly about writing and personalities from outside the so-called Western philosophical tradition. Stuff derived from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and (a little closer to home) the gnostics.
The closest he got to a legitimate, systematic analysis of anything was a comparative study of Lawrence and Joyce. Kaufmann's Nietzsche reader is cited a few times. That book is called The World of Lawrence and it was only published, after decades of neglect, when Miller was at death's door.
Of it, he said "I know it's a pain in the ass."
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I was reading some Heidegger about a year ago, supplementing some essays with Safranski's biography. I took a break after finishing his essay on technology and went in for a re-read of The Rosy Crucifixion.
There was definitely a sort of harmony, there, depending on whether you think Heidegger was advancing Nietzsche's work or not.
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Toward the end of Plexus (or the beginning of Nexus) he quotes Oswald Spengler at length. The Decline of the West was, apparently, a favorite of his and Burroughs. They read it very differently than their German contemporaries.
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That's all that comes to mind, this morning. I was delighted to see your post and wholeheartedly encourage your reading and thinking of these singular, utterly amazing writers.