Wagner androgyne

Wagner's self-conception as both man and woman is crucial for understanding his life and art, as argued by Jean-Jacques Nattiez in this insightful work. Drawing from semiology, music criticism, and psychoanalysis, Nattiez examines Wagner's theories of music drama, his anti-Semitism, and his psyche. Wagner, who wrote the libretti for his operas, believed that art merges the feminine principle of music with the masculine principle of poetry. This androgynous model leads Nattiez to reinterpret the Wagnerian canon, particularly the Ring of the Nibelung, revealing a metaphorical transposition of Wagner's view on music history. In this context, Siegfried symbolizes the poet, while Brunnhilde represents music, and their union reflects an androgynous state where individual identities dissolve into a preconflictual condition. Nattiez traces the androgynous symbol in Wagner's writings throughout his career, exploring how this idea, intertwined with sexuality, developed in Wagner's mind. He considers Freudian and Jungian interpretations, especially regarding Wagner's relationships with his distant mother and loving stepfather, whom he suspected was Jewish. Nattiez employs structuralist and feminist theories to illustrate how twentieth-century hermeneutics is inherently androgynous. Originally published in 1997, this work is part of the Princeton Legacy Library, which aims to enhance access to the scholarly heritage of Princeton Universit