비의 왕 헨더슨에 나타난 니체의 세 가지 변용

Nietzsche's Three Metamorphoses of the Spirit in Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King

By Bellow's own deliberation or by astonishing coincidence, Henderson's career in Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King followed with great closeness, with only one initial deviation, that of the spirit in the 'three metamorphoses of the spirit' of Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. According to it, this paper tried to clarify three stages of metamorphoses for Henderson, who is especially the protagonist. Zarathustra says, 'the spirit becometh a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion at last a child.' Henderson experienced these stages of metamorphoses in his spirit through a journey to Africa. Henderson was not a camel, but he was a strenuous spirit who would bear much. He engaged the Zarathustrian burdens of humility and folly, and suffered hunger in his soul because he was alienated from his family and society. The second metamorphosis occured in the loneliest desert, Africa. He destroyed himself, body and soul, in order to become a lion here. The last of Henderson's totems was the child he adopted on his plane back to America from Africa. Through Africa's experiences, Henderson learned reality and love, and returned to his home. Finally he realized that his suicidal violence had been transformed to love, and his inner voice, 'I want', which had made him suffer had changed into 'he wants, she wants, and they want' after these stages of metamorphoses.