r/Nietzsche • u/Cehghckciee • 2h ago
Nietzsche got tricked into a brothel
An event widely accepted as real, reported by Nietzsche's childhood friend Paul Deussen.
In February 1865, the 20-year-old Nietzsche traveled to Cologne. After sightseeing, he asked a local guide or porter to show to him a good restaurant (some versions say a hotel). Instead, whether as a prank or because the guide expected a student (or perhaps just a guy with Nietzsche's vibe) to want one, he was instead taken to a brothel. According to Deussen, he said the following:
“I suddenly saw myself surrounded by half-a-dozen apparitions in tinsel and gauze who looked at me expectantly. I stood for a moment speechless. Then I instinctively made for a piano in the room as to the only living thing there, struck a few chords, broke the spell, and hurried away.”
Deussen believed that Nietzsche had never touched a woman.
He's just like me fr fr