Fig. 1 Trio of Symbols. In various works of art, artists portray the human struggle or gamble in the quest for what often remains elusive: finding meaning and beauty, but always in the shadow of fate. That “in-between” defines the human condition. Zarathustra’s prologue declares that “Man is a rope
stretched between the animal
and the übermensch
–a rope over an abyss.” And Alexis Ivanovitch triumphantly says, “I had dared so to risk
, and behold, again I was a member of mankind!”