Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and the Sacred in Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde"
Derrick Everett
difficult but important work. As such it should be welcomed. Both
newcomers to Wagner's "Handlung i drei Aufzügen" and those who know it
well -- or at least those of us who think we know it -- might benefit from
reading about Scruton's wide-ranging and original reflections on "Tristan
und Isolde". Necessarily wide-ranging both because "Tristan" is a work in
which both words and music are important, and because it is a
multi-dimensional one. The dimensions in which the work begs to be
explored include the literary, musical, psychological, philosophical and
(not least) religious. Therefore the qualified commentator on "Tristan"
should be conversant, to some extent, with all of these fields, in order
to form a balanced appreciation of this drama. The same could be said, in
my view, of each of Wagner's later dramas. The wasteland known as "Wagner
scholarship" is strewn with the corpses of well-intentioned studies that
have failed because the analysis was too narrow and the analyst too
specialized. Musicologists analyzed the music; literature professors
deconstructed the text; philosophers found the influence of philosophers.
Scruton takes a broad view of "Tristan" and demonstrates that it is a
better approach than any of those narrow views.
Like many recent books about Wagner, one might have expected from its
title that this book dealt only, or mainly, with the libretto and its
philosophical undertones. It is refreshing to find that Scruton has
understood the importance of considering words and music together, even
though most of his musical discussion is concentrated in one chapter. Not
least, I wrote, religious. Scruton's point of departure is Michael
Tanner's evaluation of "Tristan": "It is widely known that Wagner wrote a
religious drama but not so widely realized which of his works that is.
'Tristan und Isolde', often described as a paean to sensuality, a hymn to
romantic love, even an exposé of its impossibility, is the work in
question... Along with Bach's 'St Matthew Passion', it is one of the two
greatest religious works of our culture." (Tanner's "Wagner", chapter 11).
Tanner was not the first to regard the subject of "Tristan" as religious;
Joseph Kerman said something similar many years earlier. Tanner also took
the view, incidentally, that "Tristan" is not a tragedy. Wagner once said
that it was, although perhaps we should not take his remark at face value
since, like many of his reflections on his works after they had been
completed (and even some made on works that were not yet completed), it
tells us only how he was thinking about the work in question on a given
day. It is a tragedy, I suppose, although not in accordance with the
prescription given by Aristotle.
Recognizing the importance of the religious dimension, Scruton begins by
considering Wagner's attitude to religion, which is not a subject to be
taken lightly: his relationship with religion was too ambivalent, complex
and original to be explained, or even reviewed, within the limits of one
chapter. Although Scruton's treatment of Wagner and religion is far from
complete, he manages to make most of the points about this subject that
might be considered relevant to the work under consideration, in only
twelve pages. Scruton is not finished with religion at that point,
however, since in chapter 5 he explores the religious ideas (or ideas
about the sacred) that he finds in "Tristan". Perhaps the most important
point he makes in that first chapter -- a point that is relevant not only
to "Tristan" -- is that Wagner's art shows man/woman as his/her own
redeemer. We can, Wagner is telling us, redeem ourselves; or *free*
ourselves, since the German word "Erlösung" carries both meanings. As
Scruton understands him, Wagner asks us to live "as if we could make that
final sacrifice, as if we could free ourselves .. from the original
mistake". That mistake, according to Wagner and to his mentor
Schopenhauer, is "the error of all existence" (letter to MW from Venice, 1
October 1858): the real meaning of original sin, according to
Schopenhauer, is that we should not have been born at all. Therefore
Tristan yearns for the sacred realm of night from which his mother sent
him forth, a realm that he never should have left. At the end of act two
he offers to share that realm with Isolde and asks her to join him there.
If these are religious ideas, then it is clear that they were not drawn
from Christianity or from any of the related, monotheistic religions. In
fact the only deity mentioned in Wagner's libretto is Frau Minne, the
goddess of love. "Minne" was the word used for erotic love in "German-
speaking" countries until the sixteenth century. When it fell into
disuse, the use of "Liebe" for both erotic love and loving-kindness (agape
in Greek, caritas in Latin) blurred the distinction between them.
Something similar happened in English with the redefinition of "charity",
which derives from the Latin "caritas". One interpretation of Wagner's
libretto -- Scruton flirts with it without giving his full commitment --
is that Wagner took over some monotheistic ideas but changed them, by
substituting erotic love (eros) for the love that Christians are commanded
to show both of God and to their neighbours (caritas). The idea of
redemption through love -- specifically and explicitly the erotic love
between man and woman -- runs through all of the operas that preceded
"Tristan", from "Dutchman" to the "Ring". Wagner had such difficulty in
abandoning this idea, which could not be reconciled with Schopenhauer's
negative view of the erotic -- in which sex is a trick played on the
individual by the terrible Will, which cares only for the continuation of
the species -- that he wrote to Mathilde about his attempts to "correct"
the philosopher with the idea that erotic love could lead to the
pacification of the Will. This reveals not, as some commentators believe,
that Wagner had failed to understand Schopenhauer but his state of
cognitive dissonance.
Scruton's coverage of Wagner and religion is broad enough to include the
Sufi poet Hafiz, whose poems ("ghazals", from the Arabic "ghazala",
Scruton notes, meaning "to flirt"), Wagner had discovered not long before
he conceived his "Tristan". Although Scruton does not suggest it, one
might say that Wagner was inverting the artistic approach of Hafiz, whose
poetry often appears to be addressed to a lover, where it is actually
addressed to God. He mentions the importance of Vedic ideas, incorporated
in Schopenhauer's philosophy through the philosopher's devotion to a
version of the Upanishads called the "Oupnekhat", and suggests, plausibly,
that Isolde's "in des Welt-Atems wehendem All" was inspired by the
Upanishads; on the rather weak grounds that "Atem" is etymologically
connected with the Sanskrit word "ãtman", usually translated as "self".
Carl Suneson, whose study of Wagner and Indian thought is not referenced
by Scruton, wrote that there was "incontestably an Indian tone to the
work, even if it is not very loud and hard to distinuish; most clearly it
can be heard in the work's culmination ... what is depicted here is both
the individual's dissolving in and uniting with the 'world-spirit',
reminiscent of the relation between ãtman and brahman in vedãnta [a
school of Vedic philosophy among the Brahmins], and sexual union"
(Suneson, pages 49-50). Even Wagner's day and night imagery, although it
involves definite references to Schopenhauer's writings, can be related to
the Upanishads, as well as to Novalis' "Hymns to the Night".
Despite those references to Vedic influences, Scruton's investigation of
the philosophical aspects of "Tristan und Isolde" concentrates on the
western tradition, especially on the treatment of sexual love by Plato (in
"The Symposium") and Schopenhauer (in the second part of WWR in
particular, chapter 49, "On the Metaphysics of Sexual Love") respectively,
together with Kant's philosophy of personal existence. Like Michael
Tanner and Bryan Magee, Scruton is on home territory here, as a sometime
lecturer in philosophy. On pages 126-130 he gives a clear and compact
summary of Schopenhauer's metaphysics (although, for a summary of the
Schopenhauerian ideas referenced in Wagner's libretto, the reader should
consult chapter 17 in Magee's "The Philosophy of Schopenhauer"). Scruton
then makes this key observation: "... the philosophy of Schopenhauer can
be taken as a theological [sic] commentary on 'Tristan und Isolde'. But
it is no more than that, and maybe rather less than that. For it is
surely obvious that there is something missing from Schopenhauer's story
and that this missing element is what Wagner's music drama is about --
namely, erotic love." Erotic love challenges Schopenhauer, says Scruton,
because it is inherently individualizing. The lover relates to the
beloved as another individual, not as a manifestation of the impersonal
will that also manifests itself in the lover's knowledge of himself as
subject. One way of thinking about the love of Tristan and Isolde might
be, that they would rather not exist than continue as separate
individuals; thus Isolde's transformation, whilst it might not lead to
union with Tristan, is a fulfillment of that "highest desire" in that
their separate existences have ended as they each return to the
"Welt-Atem", as the Upanishads describe it, like drops of water returning
to the ocean.
As mentioned above, Scruton does not hesitate to discuss the music too,
although sometimes one might suspect that he is repeating received
opinions rather than providing new insights. In fairness it should be
noted that he has also written a book about musical aesthetics. To this
non-musicologist -- and my musicologist friends are welcome to differ --
Scruton writes sensibly and knowledgeably about the music of "Tristan und
Isolde". I particularly liked his observation, "a Wagnerian motif
(Leitmotif) is a fragment of music with a memory". He resists the
temptation to wax lyrical about the Tristan Chord ("the point of the
Tristan chord is that it is truly rootless", he writes, "and can be
understood only in terms of the chromatic voice leading that leads toward
and away from it"), says sensible things about tonal centres, gives a
brief summary of Kurth's seminal analysis of Wagnerian harmony in
"Tristan", makes politically correct observations about Lorenz, realizes
that Wagner's motives grow as "developing variations", and reveals that
"the secret of Wagner's 'chromatic' harmony ... involves no renunciation
of tonality and its logic but instead a refined exploration of its
unpoliced regions". No problem there. He considers not only harmony and
melody, but also orchestration and rhythm, with generous musical examples.
He concedes that "musicologists influenced by set-theoretic analysis will
no doubt find [his] account of [Wagner's musical] syntax to be informal
and naïve". If so, then that is their problem.
Although wide-ranging, Scruton's treatment of "Tristan und Isolde" is not
comprehensive. He devotes pages to discussions of sacrifice, a topic
which some might consider at best subtext, but says relatively little
about Tristan's honour, for example, or Wagner's presentation of the
suffering that desire leaves in its wake. He mentions Nirvana only
briefly, in his introduction, ignoring the evidence that ideas about
Nirvana (and a piano piece with that title by von Bülow), probably
confused with Vedic ideas, were already present at the conception of the
work. I find myself in agreement with almost everything he says about
"Tristan und Isolde" and with much of what he says about Richard Wagner.
I do not agree, however, with his statement, in the context of discussing
Wagner's world-view as shown in "Tristan", that Wagner "rejects
Schopenhauer's theory of the Will as the only ultimate reality".
There are copious notes and a useful "table of motives" listing the usual
suspects. There is an eclectic bibliography, in which I was surprised
to find that only the most obvious of Schopenhauer's books is mentioned --
what about the other books by the philosopher that Wagner, according to
his own letters and diary, read in 1854-55? The book is written in plain
and beautiful English, although I expect that my American readers will
have to take my word for it. One could only wish that other academic
writers -- here I am thinking of Lydia Goehr in particular -- could write
so clearly, rather than cloaking their thoughts in impenetrable and often
risible academic gobbledegook. In this respect Scruton's book is
exemplary. Although the first chapter might be difficult -- on a first
reading I had some difficulty in following the author's drift -- the
reader should persevere, since the remaining chapters are, if not downhill
all the way, only the gentlest of slopes.
--
Derrick Everett (deverett at c2i.net)
==== Writing from 59°54'N 10°36'E ====
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/index.htm
Barney
Bravo, Derrick. I really enjoyed your review until I got to the last paragraph
- where you reveal that Scruton's book isn't available in the U.S. :(
Why exactly do Scruton (and Tanner) take the view that "Tristan" isn't a
tragedy?
Your pal,
Barney
The major horrors of our day have been perpetrated by regimes which banned 'The
120 Days of Sodom'.
--- Anthony Burgess
A.C. Douglas
> [snipped - original post is below]
---------------------------------------------------------
Huh? Scruton's book is very much available in the U.S. Order from Amazon if
you wish.
--
ACD
http://acdouglas.com
------------------- original post -------------------
"Barney" <schlitz...@aol.comekingdom> wrote in message
news:20040327215519...@mb-m11.aol.com...
Derrick Everett
> Bravo, Derrick. I really enjoyed your review until I got to the last
> paragraph - where you reveal that Scruton's book isn't available in the
> U.S. :(
What I meant was that Scruton writes British, rather than American,
English. As Oscar Wilde once remarked, America and Britain have
everything in common except language :-)
> Why exactly do Scruton (and Tanner) take the view that "Tristan" isn't a
> tragedy?
Only Tanner thinks that the work isn't a tragedy, perhaps because the
protagonists finally achieve the satisfaction of their highest desire. As
Scruton observes, Tristan and Isolde are not destroyed by external forces
or overcome by fate, nor is the action motivated by a tragic fault. It is
set in motion by the glance (Scruton always refers to it as the Look) in
which Tristan's eyes met Isolde as she raised his sword to kill him. In
the end they approach their death in a spirit of renunciation, "wanting
nothing from the world save their final union in nothingness".
Scruton certainly regards "Tristan" as a tragedy, although one that is
unlike Aristotelian tragedy. It is the subject of his chapter 6, "Tragedy
and Sacrifice". Our word tragedy derives from the Greek word "tragõidia",
literally meaning "goat-song" and perhaps originally referring to a song
that accompanied the sacrifice of a goat. Therefore there is an intimate
relationship between tragedy and sacrifice. Scruton begins his
exploration of this subject by paraphrasing and quoting Wagner:
"In the 'Art-Work of the Future' (1849) Wagner identified tragedy as the
high point of Hellenic art, describing it as a religious art form, and the
tragic festival [the great festival of Dionysus] as a celebration of the
common destiny and fellowship of a race or tribe [das Volk]. He saw the
Greek theater very much as he was beginning to see his own experiments in
music drama: as an attempt to perpetuate the inner experience of religion
by transferring it to the aesthetic sphere: 'Tragedy was the religious
rite become a work of art, by side of which the traditional observance of
the genuine religious temple-rite was necessarily docked of so much of its
inwardness and truth that it became indeed a mere conventional and
soulless ceremony, whereas its kernel lived on in the art-work.'"
(Scruton, page 161; quoting Ellis' PW volume I, page 165)
Before considering "Tristan und Isolde" as tragedy, Scruton embarks on a
long review of theories of tragedy, ranging from the anthropological (what
function does tragedy play in society?) to the psychological (what
benefits to we obtain from attending a performance of a tragedy?). He
concludes that tragedy is a puzzle, as is ritual sacrifice. He points out
that tragic victims are often described in sacrificial terms, although the
central character of the tragedy does not always die (Oedipus Tyrannus);
also that the origins of ritual sacrifice might be found in hunting, which
resonates in the background of Wagner's second act in "Tristan und Isolde"
and which returns at the centre of the first act in "Parsifal". His
Siegfried is both the quarry of a hunt and a sacrificial victim. In
general, both the central character of the tragedy and the victim of the
sacrifice in some sense stand for us: Scruton suggests that we benefit
vicariously, without participating, gaining without the pain.
Barney
<deve...@c2i.net> writes:
>On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 02:55:19 +0000, Barney wrote:
>
>
>> Bravo, Derrick. I really enjoyed your review until I got to the last
>> paragraph - where you reveal that Scruton's book isn't available in the
>> U.S. :(
>
>What I meant was that Scruton writes British, rather than American,
>English.
Ah. Sorry, we Yanks are a little slow. All of that academic gobbledegook dulls
our wits. FWIW, I totally agree that on the whole British prose is much more
intelligible than American.
> As Oscar Wilde once remarked, America and Britain have
>everything in common except language :-)
>
I believe it was Bernard Shaw who said, "America and Britain are two nations
divided by a common language". (He also said, "The 100 percent American is a
99 percent idiot.") The Irish English of Shaw and Wilde is probably the best
prose model.
>
>> Why exactly do Scruton (and Tanner) take the view that "Tristan" isn't a
>> tragedy?
>
>Only Tanner thinks that the work isn't a tragedy, perhaps because the
>protagonists finally achieve the satisfaction of their highest desire. As
>Scruton observes, Tristan and Isolde are not destroyed by external forces
>or overcome by fate, nor is the action motivated by a tragic fault. It is
>set in motion by the glance (Scruton always refers to it as the Look) in
>which Tristan's eyes met Isolde as she raised his sword to kill him. In
>the end they approach their death in a spirit of renunciation, "wanting
>nothing from the world save their final union in nothingness".
>
>Scruton certainly regards "Tristan" as a tragedy, although one that is
>unlike Aristotelian tragedy.
I got the impression from the review that that was your view, rather than
Scruton's.
Which would make the experience quite different from Aristotle's catharsis.
Does Scruton propose a label for this non-Aristotetelian tragedy? Not, I hope,
"Brechtian" tragedy?
Thanks a lot, Derrick - fascinating stuff. I'll have to get a copy of
Scruton's book - and brush up on my British English.
REP
news:pan.2004.03.28....@c2i.net...
[...]> Before considering "Tristan und Isolde" as tragedy, Scruton embarks
on a
> long review of theories of tragedy, ranging from the anthropological (what
> function does tragedy play in society?) to the psychological (what
> --
> Derrick Everett (deverett at c2i.net)
> ==== Writing from 59°54'N 10°36'E ====
> http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/index.htm
As a label, I stick to the Shakespearian, easy, and technical. Where an
opera has lovers, the difference between tragedy and comedy is whether or
not they're dead at the end.
Based on your review it sounds like Scruton spends too much time on
semantics. It makes more sense to me to stick to a technical vocabulary and,
you know, analyze the meaning of the work itself, rather than the buzzword
labels used to describe it.
I'd rather be told of the author's opinion of an opera in a 500-page book
than led upon a wild goose-chase in search of the perfect all-inclusive word
capable of conveying its entire philosophy in a few simple syllables. What
does that hokum teach us?
REP
Derrick Everett
> In article <pan.2004.03.28....@c2i.net>, Derrick Everett
> <deve...@c2i.net> writes:
>
>>On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 02:55:19 +0000, Barney wrote:
>>
<snip>
>>
>>> Why exactly do Scruton (and Tanner) take the view that "Tristan" isn't
>>> a tragedy?
>>
>>Only Tanner thinks that the work isn't a tragedy, perhaps because the
>>protagonists finally achieve the satisfaction of their highest desire.
>>As Scruton observes, Tristan and Isolde are not destroyed by external
>>forces or overcome by fate, nor is the action motivated by a tragic
>>fault. It is set in motion by the glance (Scruton always refers to it
>>as the Look) in which Tristan's eyes met Isolde as she raised his sword
>>to kill him. In the end they approach their death in a spirit of
>>renunciation, "wanting nothing from the world save their final union in
>>nothingness".
>>
>>Scruton certainly regards "Tristan" as a tragedy, although one that is
>>unlike Aristotelian tragedy.
>
> I got the impression from the review that that was your view, rather
> than Scruton's.
I let Scruton persuade me :-)
Scruton reviews the origins of tragedy -- as claimed by Aristotle, Horace,
Nietzsche and others -- and notes that the "mysterious pleasure [oikeia
hedone] we obtain from tragedy" was described by Aristotle as a purging
(katharsis) of pity and fear. How exactly this works is described by
Scruton as a puzzle, which Aristotle has not solved for us.
Derrick Everett
> Based on your review it sounds like Scruton spends too much time on
> semantics. It makes more sense to me to stick to a technical vocabulary
> and, you know, analyze the meaning of the work itself, rather than the
> buzzword labels used to describe it.
>
>
The digressions on "semantics" were my own, although Scruton does not
overlook such information as the etymology of "tragedy". His book is
mainly about concepts and only incidentally concerned with terminology.
My apologies to all concerned.