When Zarathustra descends from the mountain, the townspeople are gathered in the square to watch the tight-rope walker’s performance. During the performance, a buffoon chases him, causing him to lose his balance, fall, and suffer fatal injuries. Before the tight-rope walker dies, Zarathustra comforts him. He then carries the tight-rope walker’s corpse with him and buries him, to honor him for pursuing (and dying for) a dangerous calling.
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Tight-rope Walker Character Timeline in Thus Spoke Zarathustra
The timeline below shows where the character Tight-rope Walker appears in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Zarathustra’s Prologue
3. Zarathustra arrives in a town, where people are waiting for a tight-rope walker ’s performance in the market square. Zarathustra addresses the people, saying, “I teach you the...
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...the cleansing lightning that such a person needs. But the people, eager to watch the tight-rope walker , just laugh at Zarathustra.
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6. Just then, as the tight-rope walker reaches the middle of his rope, a brightly dressed buffoon bursts out the door and...
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