Chapter 1 Summary

Josef Breuer, renowned physician, is on vacation in Venice when he receives an impertinent note from a Lou Salome. In the note, the woman requests that he meet her at a café they following morning at nine o'clock. His first inclination is to ignore the demanding note, but he is intrigued and goes to the café in the morning to meet her. Lou Salome is a striking young woman. Not only is she very beautiful, but she carries herself with great confidence.

Lou Salome tells Dr. Breuer about her friend Friedrich Nietzshe. She feels that he is full of promise and that his works will have a lasting influence on the world. She is worried about him because he is suicidal, which is why she has come to Dr. Breuer. Nietzshe has consulted many well-known doctors in Europe, but none of them have...