Man’s Will, Woman’s Treasure

Man’s will is woman’s treasure.

The source of relationship between man and woman begins with man’s “I want.” If man gives his will to the woman, that is the woman’s treasure. For Nietzsche, “man’s happiness is called ‘I want”;. woman’s happiness, ‘he wants.’” When man gives his will to the woman, that means he expresses his will to her, as something that both of them can do together. He might say, for example, “I want to have dinner with you.” “ I want to go out with you.” “I want to go on a vacation with you.” “I want to move in with you.” “I want to marry you.” And so on.

Man’s will is woman’s treasure because we give our will only to a person that we trust. If a man expresses no will, that means there is no trust, no love, no relationship. Thus, Nietzsche says, “the woman’s happiness is called ‘he wants.’”

What is, then, a strong man? What is the kind of man that the woman loves to love? Such a man needs three characteristics: first, he needs to have a clear will—the kind of will that rings clearly like a bell. Moreover, man’s will needs to be benevolent—that is, he wants something that a woman can feel like love. He might say, for example, “I want to spend the rest of my live with you.” Finally, a woman loves a man that does not change his will easily. He cannot be like a weathervane that moves here and there and never quite knows what he wants. So, a woman wants a man with a clear will, a benevolent will, and an abiding will.

Molding Man’s Will

Everything starts to happen once a man expresses his will to the woman. That will is the woman’s treasure and her happiness, according to Nietzsche. But man’s will usually comes in the form of a rough diamond. From that point until the creation of a splendid piece of jewelry takes a lot of work, as every woman can attest.

But if man’s will is clear, benevolent, and not easily changeable—in other words, if his will  is hard like a diamond—that is something the woman can work with. If the woman has patient and makes the effort, that rough diamond can become something marvelous. Thus, a woman has the power to mold man’s will and create something splendid, but it is up to man to give her that will—clear, benevolent, and not easily changeable.

Educating Young Boys

The best way to educate young boys, then, is to give them a chance to express their will—like a gentle plant that needs to be cared for and guided. Both moms and dads have an important role to play here, in different ways. Let the young will come out with politeness and benevolence. Such boys grow up to become great husbands, wonderful fathers, and respected members of their communities.

I conclude with a quote:

I had grown up like a vine without a pole, and the wild tendrils spread aimlessly over the ground. You know how so much noble strength perishes among us because it is not used. I wandered about like a will-o’-the-wisp, assailed everything, was seized by everything, but only for a moment, and the inept powers drained themselves to no purpose.
—Excerpt From: Friedrich Hölderlin & Ross Benjamin. “Hyperion.” iBooks.

Paulo-Juarez Pereira
Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
May 12, 2015

Photo Credit. Author: Stefano Corso; Source: http://bit.ly/1IwR2T7; Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).