I will not analyse the
theme, but rather quote a few passages from Wagner: "Lohengrin is
seeking the woman who is ready to believe in him; who will not ask him
who he is and whence he comes, but love him as he is and because he is
so.... Lohengrin's only desire is for love, to be loved, to be
understood through love. In spite of the superior development of his
senses, in spite of his intense consciousness, he desires nothing more
than to live the life of an ordinary citizen of this earth, to love and
be loved--to be a perfect specimen of humanity." Wagner further speaks
of his longing to find "the woman"; the female principle, quite simply,
for ever appearing to him under new forms; the woman for whom the
Flying Dutchman longed in his unfathomable distress; the woman who, like
a radiant star, guided Tannhaeuser from the voluptuous caverns of the
Venusberg to the pure regions of the spirit, and drew Lohengrin from his
dazzling heights to the warm bosom of the earth. We find here the new
form of love, not yet fully comprehended but desired and anticipated in
art.
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