Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
The novel begins with Zarathustra descending from his cave in the mountains after ten years of solitude. He is full of wisdom and love and wants to teach humanity about the superman. He arrives in the town of Motley Cow and announces that the superman must be the meaning of the earth. Humanity is only a bridge between the animal and the superman, and as such, it must be overcome. The superman is someone who is free from all prejudices and morals of human society, and who creates his own values and purposes.
People, in general, seem not to understand Zarathustra and not to be interested in the superman. The only exception is a tightrope walker who has fallen and dies shortly after. At the end of his first day among the people, Zarathustra is saddened by his inability to move this "herd" of people into the market. Resolve not to try to convert the crowds, but to talk to those individuals who are interested in separating from the flock.
Most of the first three parts are made up of individual lessons and sermons delivered by Zarathustra. They cover most of the general themes of Nietzsche's mature philosophy, though often in a highly symbolic and obscure way. Value struggle and hardships, as the path to superman, is difficult and requires a lot of sacrifices. Fighting the superman is often depicted symbolically as climbing a mountain, and the superman's free and joyous spirit is often depicted through laughter and dance.
Zarathustra is harshly critical of all kinds of mass movements and the "mob" in general. Christianity is based on hatred of the body and this earth, and any attempt to deny them both by believing in the spirit and in the afterlife. Nationalism and mass politics are also means by which tired, weak, or sick bodies try to escape from themselves. Those who are strong enough, Zarathustra suggests, fight. Those who are not strong give up and turn to religion, nationalism, democracy, or some other means of escape.
The culmination of Zarathustra's preaching is the doctrine of the eternal return, which states that all events will repeat themselves over and over again forever. Only the superman can embrace this doctrine, as only the superman has the willpower to take responsibility for every moment of his life and wish for nothing more than that each moment is repeated. Zarathustra has trouble coping with the eternal return, as he cannot bear the idea that the mediocrity of the mob is repeated for all eternity without improvement.
In Part IV, Zarathustra gathers in his cave several men who are approaching, but who do not reach the position of the superman. There, they enjoy a party and a series of songs. The book ends with Zarathustra joyfully embracing the eternal return, and the thought that "all joy wants deep, wants deep eternity."
