Chapter 7 Summary

Breuer awakens from a nightmare the following morning. In his dream he has been searching for Bertha and fallen a great distance. He feels ravaged by his obsession with Bertha and can't understand why he is not happy with the lovely Mathilde.

When he arrives at the office, his nurse Frau Becker hands him Nietzsche's personal copies of his books. The books are annotated in the margins, and Breuer spends some time reading them. He feels that the philosophy is strange and arresting. The books cover all kinds of topics from art to nature and politics. That evening Breuer discusses Nietzsche's writing with Freud who has come over for dinner. They also discuss Nietzsche's health and the three questions Nietzsche posed in the last chapter. Freud encourages Breuer to use Nietzsche's own words to convince him to pursue treatment.

Chapter 7 Analysis

By beginning...