Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Rethinking Morality
The Superman and the Will to Power
Death of God and Christianity
Eternal Recurrence
Summary
Analysis
Zarathustra hears a voice calling him, but he is becoming grumpy about the loss of solitude on his mountain. He tries to evade the shadow that is following him but at last gives up. Angrily, he questions the unsettling shadow, who explains that he is a homeless, aimless wanderer. He has followed Zarathustra longest, but he still has not found what he seeks.
The shadow haunts Zarathustra. He is a freethinker who has wandered so long that he has lost sight of an ultimate goal—he has, in fact, lost faith in the idea of a goal altogether.
Themes
Zarathustra feels sympathy for his shadow, a “free spirit” to whom even a prison would be bliss. He warns the shadow not to be tempted by something narrow and firm; by losing his goal, the shadow has lost his way. Zarathustra tells the shadow to find a resting place in his cave.
Zarathustra suggests that the boldest freethinkers risk losing their way altogether. In weariness and disillusionment, such spirits are tempted to take refuge in traditional values and beliefs.
Themes
