Lou Andreas-Salomé

German-Russian Psychoanalyst and author · Writers · Lived 1861 to 1937 · aged 75

Lou Andreas-Salomé is read about 934 times a day, in 55 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 21 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 396 days, one point a day.

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She moved through the intellectual peaks of late 19th-century Europe as an equal, not a muse - Nietzsche proposed, Rilke orbited, Freud made her a peer in the new science of the mind.

Writers Writer / Author Literature Stand Up Philosophy 19th Century

A life in dates

1937Died5 February 19371894“A genuine Nietzsche study would require the psychology of religion that would spotlight the meaning of his being, his suffering, and his self-induced bliss.”In their wordsNietzsche (Friedrich Nietzsche in seinen Werken), 1894Read the whole statement

1882“I can neither live according to models, nor shall I ever be able to provide a model for anyone else.”In their words26 March 1882Letter to her former teacher, Hendrik Gillot, March 26, 1882; translation by Frank Beck, 2022Read the whole statement

“You also write: you had always thought that such complete devotion to purely intellectual goals was only meant to be a "transition" for me. What do you mean by "transition"?”In their words26 March 1882Letter to her former teacher, Hendrik Gillot, March 26, 1882; translation by Frank Beck, 2022Read the whole statement

“The optimistic nature finds joy in the very feeling for life; the pessimistic nature finds a feeling for life only in joy.”In their wordsNotebook entry, Summer 1882; cited in Rudolph Binion's Frau Lou (Princeton University Press, 1968) p. 91, translation by Rudolph BinionRead the whole statement

“What does not engage our feelings does not long engage our thoughts either.”In their wordsNotebook entry, Summer 1882; cited in Rudolph Binion's Frau Lou (Princeton University Press, 1968) p. 91, translation by Rudolph BinionRead the whole statement

1880“As truly as I'd love a friend, I always have loved you, riddling life,whether I've laughed with you or wept,whether you have brought me pleasure or strife.”In their words"A Prayer to Life" (Lebensgebet), 1880; translation by Frank Beck, 2015Read the whole statement

1861Born12 February 1861

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Lou Andreas-Salomé - Foto Atelier Elvira

Altanka Rilke i Salomé 1

Altanka Rilke i Salomé 2

Altanka Rilke i Salomé 3

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Das Haus cover 1927+ - 1

Eichheimweg 10 - WOR - 2008-03-23 - 253d

Eichheimweg 10 - WOR - 2008-03-23 - 254a

In their own words 10

Lou Andreas-Salomé

10 statements, newest first

A genuine Nietzsche study would require the psychology of religion that would spotlight the meaning of his being, his suffering, and his self-induced bliss.
1894, Nietzsche (Friedrich Nietzsche in seinen Werken), 1894, Own words
Once upon a time, everything was based on trust, free from worry or care; now everything stands in doubt.
1892, On Nora in A Doll's House, p. 54, Own words
Conversing with Nietzsche is uncommonly lovely . . .
Aug 14, 1882, Diary entry, August 14, 1882; cited in Rudolph Binion's Frau Lou (Princeton University Press, 1968) p. 79, translation by Rudolph Binion, Own words

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In their orbit

Spouse: Friedrich Carl Andreas

About this person

Born in Russia on 12 February 1861 to a French Huguenot-German family, she carried a cosmopolitan restlessness from the start. Her mind pulled her into philosophy first: Friedrich Nietzsche proposed marriage, Paul Rée completed a famous intellectual triangle, and the friction of those years made her a writer. She turned to essays and narrative, then eventually to Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis, becoming a practitioner in her own right. Rainer Maria Rilke was another chapter - poet, lover, correspondent. She died on 5 February 1937, having crossed more borders and disciplines than most people meet in a lifetime.

Writers born in the 1860s 6

Ethel Lilian Voynich55.1

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