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Books

Nietzsche and the Feminists

John Mann reviews Nietzsche, Feminism and Political Theory, edited by Paul Patton.

The horrifying collision between Nietzsche and feminism contained within these pages is the philosophical equivalent of a nuclear reactor. A collision which perhaps the contributors hope will produce a raw, dangerous energy. How can Nietzsche and feminism embrace?

Luce Irigaray’s book Marine Lover, described by Irigaray as “not a book on Nietzsche but with Nietzsche, who is for me a partner in a love relationship”, causes Frances Oppel to ask “what is a subtle feminist, who until this point stressed the pleasures of lesbian love-making, doing in a relationship of amorous sexuality with a moustachioed misogynist like Nietzsche?” This book is intense.

The reason for the difficulty is clear. There are two sides to Nietzsche which appear almost irreconcilable: as a radical he is a romantic adventurer, writing powerful modern myths and aphorisms challenging all authorities with his ‘D eath of God’ doctrine that there is no more centre, no more ground for truth, no more ‘real’; yet as a conservative he appears misogynistic, militaristic, aristocratic and elitist.

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