[NobodysFreak]

Lou Salome, herself had no direct influence on Nietzsche. She was rather indifferent towards him. Everything I've read by her about Nietzsche backs this up.

The crux of my thesis isn't that Lou Salome directly influenced Nietzsche in the way that Newton influenced Einstein. It was Nietzsche's stunted and childish emotions which created an idea of Lou Salome. He fell in love with this idea, it was shattered, and the result was a month long period of reflection followed by a ten day frenzy which produced the first part of Zarathustra. Many of the themes in the Gay Science are revisted again in Zarathustra. Most importantly, the failure of Nietzsche to win Salome kept the integrity of the Gay Science because had Nietzsche consumated his feelings for Salome, it would have destroyed a large portion of his writings on friendship and love.