It contains a few more ideas about this
episode in his life. It is useful to put these things into some sort of
context, so although not all of the material is directly relevant it is connected
to Strindberg in some way. Even Nietzsche gets a mention!
The ‘former American friend’
In this case, it is not obvious who is the main
victim and who the victimiser.
Perhaps this man was a mirror or a messenger.
Perhaps Strindberg appeared and behaved to others as the mystery man did to
him. Perhaps Strindberg had just as bad
an effect on the man - and others - as the man had on him. It is often said that like attracts like and
a man is known by the company he keeps.
It could just be that both men were in a
psychotic state at the time so were strongly drawn to each other.
There is no free will at the lowest levels,
just strong currents that can overwhelm people. Maybe both men were trapped in
a bad psychological neighbourhood, a place where no normal healthy person could
or would venture.
Maybe his use of black magic against his
daughter put Strindberg into the power of something that only lets its hostages
and puppets associate with others in the same position.
A big anomaly
Some people who feel that they are superior
to the majority of mankind often end up associating mainly with people who are
inferior. To hear them talk you would think that only people on the far right
of the standard distribution curve for whatever attributes they value are good
enough for them, yet many if not all of the people in their lives come from
the far left!
I can see this anomaly operating in
Strindberg’s life. He said:
“Whenever I withdraw from society which I
consider injurious, the demons of solitude attack me, and when I look for
better friends, I come on the track of the worst.”
It is to Strindberg’s credit that, unlike many people who feel that they deserve the best, he was aware that he was getting the exact opposite of what he wanted.
It is to Strindberg’s credit that, unlike many people who feel that they deserve the best, he was aware that he was getting the exact opposite of what he wanted.
Pointing out the discrepancy between their
ideas and the reality of their lives to some people tends to trigger the Attack-Dog Syndrome!
Strindberg’s view of mankind
Strindberg’s opinion of the human race as a
whole was not high. He had this to say:
“I try to love mankind in the mass; I shut my
eyes to their faults, and with inexhaustible patience endure their meanesses
and slanders...“
What about the people who had to endure him!
Behind the image
This is not the place to go into it in
detail, but many prominent people who are obsessed with the inferiority of the
majority of mankind - or of certain demographics - do not bear close
inspection.
They lack awareness and integrity; they do
not practice what they preach; their values and priorities are all wrong and they
and their lives are often in a mess. They often prefer to ‘borrow’ money from others rather than earn it. Their lives may be full of big anomalies;
they may keep company with people they despise or people they do not realise or
will not admit are no good to anyone. They may mistake image for reality. They
may sooner or later fall out with everyone they are involved with.
It is uncanny how the often impassioned rants
of such people all sound much the same, as if they all have the same mental
condition, as if they are all tuning into and broadcasting from the same source
- or are possessed by the same evil entity.
Although there are no such rants in Inferno,
Strindberg expressed racist and anti-Semitic views in his letters. It is no
surprise to learn that he corresponded with Nietzsche. If they had lived at the
same time, he would probably have exchanged letters with H. P. Lovecraft too!
Nietzsche: another brief relationship
The short-lived correspondence took place a
few years before the episode with the mystery man. There are some familiar
elements here:
It was Nietzsche who first approached Strindberg.
The exchange of letters lasted for only a few weeks. There was a cooling off on
both sides. Nietzsche suddenly decided to break off the literary relationship.
There was no further contact between the two men.
On the surface, it was a matter of sending
each other books, praising, recommending and publicising each other’s works and
discussing ideas and the possibility of Strindberg’s translating some of
Nietzsche’s work into various languages.
There may have been some unseen influences at
work here.
Nietzsche was in a bad way psychologically at
the time and it soon got much worse. Perhaps his first letter was a cry for
help. Strindberg was also in dire straits at the time: he warned Nietzsche that
his translation services would be expensive because he had debts and a family
to support. Perhaps each eventually felt disappointed in the other.
Perhaps they were a mirror and a messenger
for each other.
So Strindberg’s relationship with the mystery
man appears to be in some ways a repetition of his relationship with Nietzsche.
Together again:
