The Autobiographical Textuality of Nietzsche's Ecce Homo

Abstract

An autobiography is one's own life as written. Autobiographizing is writing one's own life. An autobiographical text is a particular written version, fragment, or account of one's own life. Autobiographical textuality is the feature of a text (autobiographical or otherwise) which characterizes the writing of a version, fragment, or account of one's own life. Although I am concerned with the autobiographical textuality of Nietzsche's Ecce Homo, I defer determination as to whether the text is, in fact, an autobiography since it has been argued that Ecce Homo is unsuccessful as autobiography. This latter exclusion is occasioned by the introductory remarks of R. J. Hollingdale, the English translator for the Penguin edition: It matters how you approach this book. If, under the guidance of the literature on the subject, you approach it as 'Nietzsche's autobiography' you will get very little out of it and probably won't even finish it, short though it is. As autobiography it is a plain failure. You cannot reconstruct Nietzsche's life even in its broad outlines from his 'autobiography'; it is in no way a narrative; it is not in the least 'objective.' 1 Hollingdale is perhaps right: Ecce Homo is hardly Nietzsche's own life as written in any comprehensive sense. Of course, an autobiography need not provide a full account of