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"Eva im Paradies": An Approach to Wagner's "Meistersinger"Author(s): Mary A. CicoraSource: German Studies Review, Vol. 10, No. 2 (May, 1987), pp. 321-333Published by: German Studies AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1431105
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"Eva
im Paradies":
An
Approach
to
Wagner's
Meistersinger
Mary
A. Cicora
Stanford
University
Nobody
would
dispute
Hans
Sachs'
pivotal role
as
the
central
figure of
Richard
Wagner's
Die
Meistersinger von
Niurnberg.The
structure of the traditional comedy in which two lovers are finally
united
is,
in
this
work,
deepened,
for
Sachs,
the
mentor figure,
completes
a romantic
triangle.1
He not
only
renounces
Eva, but also
helps
his
young
rival succeed in
winning her.
Interest in
Sachs,
though,
has deflected
critical
attention
away
from
Eva.
In contrast
to
Sachs,
Eva
seems
passive
and
uninteresting.
She
functions
primarily
as
the
prize
of
the
song
contest.
A
look at some
recent
Wagner
literature
reveals
more
reasons
why
Eva is
rarely
the
subject
of
lengthy discussion.
Meistersinger
deals
explicitly
with
art
and the artist.
William E. McDonald, for
instance,
discusses the
theme of
words
and
music.2
Gunter
Reiss
argues
that a
unity
of
art
and
life is
restored in
the
drama.3
Stefan
1.
For
a
literary
analysis
of
the
Meistersinger
text,
see
Emil
Platen,
"Richard
Wagner
- Dichter oder Texter? Zur
Dramaturgie
der
Meistersinger,"
in
Zu
Richard
Wagner:
Acht Bonner
Beitrdge
im
Jubildumsjahr
1983,
Helmut
Loos
and
Gunther
Massenkeil,
eds.,
Studium
Universale,
vol. 5
(Bonn:
Bouvier/Herbert
Grundmann, 1984),
pp.
75-100.
2.
William E.
McDonald,
"Words,Music, and
Dramatic
Development
in
Die
Meistersinger," Nineteenth Century
Music,
vol.
I,
no.
3
(March 1978),
pp.
246-260.
3.
Gunter
Reiss,
"Schuhmacher und
Poet dazu:
Anmerkungen zur
Kunst
der
Meister in
Richard
Wagners
Meistersingerkomodie," in Das
Drama
Richard
Wagners als
musikalisches
Kunstwerk, ed. Carl
Dahlhaus,
Studien
zur
Musikgeschichte des 19.
Jahrhunderts, vol.
23
(Regensburg:
Gustav Bosse,
1970),pp.
277-298.
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322
GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW
Kunze
writes that the
theme
of
Meistersinger
is
the
reconciliation
of art and society.4 Furthermore,
both Sachs and
Walther can be
seen
as
self-portraits
of
Wagner
himself.5
McDonald
discusses
David
as well
as Walther and Sachs.6
Even
Beckmesser
draws
attention
by
exemplifying
the Masters'
overdependence
on rules
and
serving
as a foil for Walther.7But
Eva,
of
necessity, figures only
peripherally
in these studies. When
the work is
analyzed
as
an
allegory
about
art and the
artist,
she assumes
a minor
role. With
regard to
both
the plot
and the theme
of
art,
she
is an
object, rather
than a
subject.
In this article, I will discuss Eva's relationship with Sachs. In a
recent study that touches
upon
some of the
same
ideas that
I
will
elaborate,
Paul Robinson
suggests
that Eva and
Sachs are
"former
lovers."
The
relationship is,
he
explains,
chaste and
familial. With
this
as one of the
major differences,
he
parallels Meistersinger with
Der Rosenkavalier.
The
text
of
Meistersinger makes explicit, he
argues, that the
relationship
between Sachs
and
Eva
began when
Eva was
a
child,
and that both
believed,
until
Walther's
appearance,
that it would
end
in
marriage. According
to
Robinson,
Eva comes
to
appreciate Sachs' full merit. Her character, he mentions, is
enriched
by ambiguities
because
she has
loved,
and
has
been loved
by,
Sachs.8
By expanding
the same
basic idea
in a
different
direction,
I
will
offer some
solutions
to the
interpretative dilemmas
presented by the Eva-Sachs
scenes. Instead of
merely discussing
Sachs'
and Walther's
feelings
for Eva or
images
of
Eva,
as
most
Meistersinger
literature
does,
I will focus
attention on
Eva, and
4. Stefan
Kunze,
Der
Kunstbegriff
Richard
Wagners:
Voraussetzungen und
Folgerungen
(Regensburg:
Gustav
Bosse, 1983), p.
194.
5. Hans
Mayer,
Richard
Wagner
in
Selbstzeugnissen
und
Bilddokumenten
(Hamburg: Rowohlt,
1959),pp.
126-127.
6.
McDonald, pp.
247-248.
7.
Reiss, pp. 279-283,
et
passim;
Ernst
Bloch,
"tYber
Beckmessers Preislied-
Text,"
in
Literarische
Aufsatze, Gesamtausgabe,
vol.
9
(Frankfurt/M.:
Suhrkamp,
1965),pp.
208-214;
Walter
Jens,
"Ehrenrettung
eines
Kritikers:
Sixtus
Beckmesser,"
in
Republikanische Reden
(Munchen:
Kindler, 1976), pp.
93-100;Dietmar Holland,
"Wer den Schaden
hat,
braucht
fur
den
Spott
nicht zu
Sorgen
--
Aspekte der
Meistersinger,"
in
Programmheft
der
Bayerischen
Staatsoper,
Munchen, 1979.The
essays by
Bloch, Jens,
and Holland are
reprinted
in
"Die
Meistersinger von
Niirnberg": Texte, Materialien, Kommentare, ed. Attila Csampai and Dietmar
Holland
(Reinbek:
Rowohlt,
1981), pp. 257-262,
249-257,
262-269.
Holland (p. 263)
explicitly
states that his article deals with
a
topic
that
the
critics
have
neglected in
discussing
the theme of art.
8. Paul
Robinson,
Opera
and
Ideasfrom
Mozart to
Strauss
(New
York: Harper
&
Row, 1985), pp.
211-213.
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Mary
A.
Cicora
323
show that
she
undergoes
a
complex psychological development.
I
would like to propose a new approach to Meistersinger by arguing
that Eva renounces
Sachs. By comparing
Eva's and Sachs'
renunciations,
I will
analyze
Eva's role in the
drama.
I
At her
first
meeting
with
Walther,
Eva
behaves like
a typical
Wagnerian
heroine.
Walther.
Die Braut
dann
wahlt?
Eva.
(sich vergessend).
Euch, oder Keinen
(Walther
wendet
sich,
in
grosser
Aufregung
auf- und
abgehend,
zur
Seite.)
Magdalene
(sehr
erschrocken).
Was?
Evchen
Evchen Bist du
von
Sinnen?
Eva.
Gut'
Lene
Hilf
mir den Ritter
gewinnen
Magdalene.
Sah'st
ihn doch
gestern
zum
ersten
Mal?
Eva.
Das
eben schuf
mir so schnelle
Qual,
dass ich schon
langst
ihn
im Bilde sah:--
sag',
trat
er
nicht
ganz
wie
David
nah'?9
As she explains to Magdalene that Walther is the living counterpart
of
Duirer's David,
the
youth
who slew
Goliath,
Eva
resembles Senta
in
Wagner's
Der
Fliegende Holldnder,
who is
obsessed with
the
Dutchman's
portrait.
Eva's
comment,
"Mir
ist,
als war'
ich
gar
wie
im
Traum " (VII,
153),
recalls the
importance
of
dreams to both
Senta
and
Elsa
in
Wagner's Lohengrin.
Upon meeting
the
Dutchman, the
former asks
if she is
dreaming. Lohengrin appears
shortly
after
Elsa
recounts
her
dream
of
him.
Walther
similarly
represents
art and
dreams
come
to life.
As soon
as she
sees
Walther,
Eva recognizes him as her fantasy love. It seems ironic, though, that
9.
Richard Wagner,
Gesammelte
Schriften
und
Dichtungen (Leipzig:
E.W.
Fritzsch,
1887-1888),VII,
155
(references
to
this
edition
will
be
given in the
text by
volume number
and
page number).
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324
GERMAN
STUDIES
REVIEW
Eva speaks of winning
Walther.
Her
father has
promised
her
hand
to the winner of the imminent song contest.
Furthermore,
in
the first
act,
Sachs' wishes seem
as
clear as
Eva's do. Sachs
has
no intention
of
entering
the
song contest, as he
states explicitly. To Beckmesser's suggestion
that a
widower might
enter the contest, Sachs replies,
Nicht
doch,
Herr Merker
Aus
jting'
rem
Wachs
als ich
und
ihr
muss
der Freier
sein,
soll
Evchen ihm den Preis verleih'n.
(VII, 176)
One might argue
that Sachs
is
saying
this
merely to deter
Beckmesser and thus keep Eva for
himself.
But, as Sachs includes
himself among
the
inappropriate suitors, and,
in
addition, makes
the statement
in
the
assembly
of
Masters,
where it
could easily be
overheard,
it
seems unlikely
that he intends
to
sing for Eva. As yet,
one
has no indication
that
he
would like to
enter the
contest.
II
In
the second
act
scene
with
her
father,
Eva's
preferences seem
to have remained
consistent.
When
Pogner
asks
her
opinion
of
the
song contest, at
first she
dutifully answers,
"Ein
folgsam Kind,
gefragt
nur
spricht's." (VII, 194)
Her second
comment
proves more
revealing.
Rather
than
uttering
another
empty statement, Eva
asks, "Lieb' Vater, muss es ein Meister sein?" (VII, 195)If her love
were
a
Master,
the
need
for
her
question
would
be
obviated.
When
Pogner adds
that
it shall
be "ein
Meister
deiner
Wahl,"she repeats,
"zerstreut," "Ja,
-
meiner
Wahl."
(VII, 195)
The
stipulation
that
her future
husband
must
be a Master
makes her
feel
she
has no
free
choice.
She
can
reject
the winner
of the
contest,
but she
cannot
choose
Walther
unless
he
has first won the
song
contest.
The
ensuing
scene between Sachs
and
Eva
establishes
Walther
and
Sachs
as the
two
men in
Eva's
life.
The
dialogue
in
this
scene
is
puzzling,
and thus warrants
a close
analysis.
Eva visits
Sachs to
obtain information about Walther's song trial, but, ironically, she
supplies
Sachs
with
crucial information.
Sachs,
she
figures, will be
helpful, for,
as
she
tells
Lene, "Ach,
der
hat mich
lieb " (VII, 196)
She
fails to
specify just
what
she thinks Sachs'
feelings for
her
are.
Ernest
Newman
aptly
terms the
dialogue
between
Eva and Sachs a
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Mary
A.
Cicora
325
"verbal
duel."10
It
opens
with a series of
questions circling
around
the issue of who Eva's husband will be. Lines such as "Weiss ich
das?",
"Was sollt' ich
wissen?",
"Das
sag'
ich
nicht,"
"Das weiss ich
nicht" abound.
(VII,
198-199)
Eva
coyly
pumps
Sachs
for
information
rather
than
asking
directly.
Sachs
teases
Eva
by telling
her that Beckmesser
intends to
sing
for
her
hand, adding
that
bachelors
are,
after
all,
rare
nowadays.
Clearly,
he is
joking.
He
previously told Beckmesser
that
Eva's
husband
must be of
a
suitable age.
Because Eva
has,
in
this
scene,
ulterior
motives
(she wants to
know the outcome of Walther's song trial), one tends to dismiss all
her
statements
as mere
ploys
for information
that
have
no
relation
to what
she
really
feels. The
argument, though,
that
her
lines
are
verbal
dissimulation
proves
untenable
when
she
encourages Sachs
to enter
the
contest.
Asking
Sachs
whether
a
widower
might win
the contest
can,
of
course,
be
interpreted
as
a
way
of
getting the
conversation onto
the
topic
of the
song contest, though Eva
may
sincerely
wonder whether
he
intends to
enter
the
contest.
But
when Sachs
gently
tells her that a widower
would
be
too
old for her,
Eva responds, "Ei was, zu alt Hier gilt's der Kunst, / wer sie
versteht,
der werb' um
mich "
(VII, 200)
Persuading
Sachs
to enter
the contest
is
certainly
unnecessary
for
obtaining information
about
Walther.
Egon Voss theorizes
that Eva
merely
wants
to
avoid
having to
marry Beckmesser.11
The
conversation,
it is
true,
turns
to the
possibility
of
Sachs
entering
the contest
only
after
Beckmesser
is
mentioned.
The idea of
Beckmesser,
"stolz
auf
Freiers
Fuss,"
thinking
he can walk
away
with the
prize,
clearly
makes
Eva
indignant. (VII, 200)
And he
is,
after
all,
a
member
of the
Master
guild.
Sachs, though,
need not enter
the
contest
to
prevent
Eva
from
having to marry
Beckmesser.
She
has
the
option of
rejecting the
winner,
and the
question
of
whether or
not she
knows that is
10.
Ernest
Newman,
The
Wagner
Operas
(New
York:
Alfred A.
Knopf,
1949), p.
336. On
the
subject
of
language
in
Wagner's
works,
see
Hans
Mayer,
"Tristans
Schweigen,"
in
Anmerkungen
zu Richard
Wagner,
2nd
ed.
(Frankfurt/M.:
Suhrkamp,
1977),
pp.
61-75;
Dorothea
Riuland,
"Liuge
als
Dichtungsprinzip:
Moglichkeiten und Grenzen der
Sprache
beim
jungen
Richard
Wagner,"
Deutsche
Vierteljahrsschrift
fur
Literaturwissenschaft
und
Geistesgeschichte, vol.
60,
no.
1
(March
1986),pp.
24-41.
11.
Egon
Voss,
"Wagners
Meistersinger
als
Oper
des
deutschen
Buirgertums,"
in
"Die
Meistersinger von
Niirnberg":
Texte,
Materialien,
Kommentare, ed.
Attila
Csampai
and
Dietmar
Holland, p.
17.
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326
GERMAN
STUDIES
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irrelevant.
In either
case,
her
lines indicate
that she would
like
Sachs to enter the contest, and that she wouldn't mind marrying
him.
If she
didn't want
him to
win
her,
it wouldn't
be wise to
coax
him into entering
the
contest. Sachs'
entering
the contest
would
only
hurt
Walther's
chances of
winning,
and at
this
point,
Eva's
hopes
for
Walther
have
not
yet
been frustrated.
The
argument
that
Eva already
knows
Sachs won't enter
the contest also
proves
weak,
for the
conversation lingers
too
long
on this
topic.
One
can,
I
feel,
take
Eva's lines seriously
and still find
character
consistency.
Eva
might
have
loved Sachs
long
before she
met
Walther. The romantic triangle of Meistersinger can be paralleled
Mvithhat of Holldnder.
In
each case,
the
soprano
is
caught between
an
everyday
figure,
a
cobbler or
huntsman
(Sachs
or
Erik) and
her
dream
love
(Walther
or
the
Dutchman).12
Senta seems to feel
nothing
for Erik,
and he desperately
tries to
win
her back
from the
Dutchman. In
contrast,
the
rivalry
of Sachs and
Walther
is a
subjective
one,
that
is,
one that takes
place
in
the
mind
and heart
of
Eva. Sachs,
one could say,
is
her real-life
love.
Her choice
of
questions
clearly
demonstrates
that
her love for
Walther does not
prevent her from considering Sachs as a suitor. Dedication to
Walther
does
not
necessarily preclude
affection for Sachs.
Furthermore,
the
match
of Eva
and Sachs is not unthinkable.
Beckmesser's
comment
to Sachs
shows that others
have considered
it.
In
addition,
Pogner's
promising
Eva exclusively to a member
of
the Master guild
indicates that
he
expects
her suitors
to be older
men.
Eva, then,
is
refusing
to
accept
the realization
that Sachs
will
not become
her
husband.
Sachs.
Lieb' Evchen
Mach'st
mir
blauen
Dunst?
Eva.
Nicht
ich
Ihr
seid's;
ihr macht
mir
Flausen (VII,
200)
Her insistence
that
he is
being
insincere
may
reflect what
she
honestly
believes. Perhaps Sachs,
furthermore, jokes
about
12.
The
contrast
between
the two
worlds
in
Hollander
is
particularly
evident
in
the
1978
Bayreuth
production
by Harry Kupfer,
who
stages
the
opera
from
the
perspective
of
a
deranged
Senta.
Dahlhaus
discusses
the
musical
contrast
between
the
"outer"
and
the
"inner"
action
in Holldnder.
See
Carl
Dahlhaus,
Richard
Wagners
Musikdramen
(Velber:
Friedrich,
1971),
pp.
18-19.
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Mary
A. Cicora
327
Beckmesser's winning
the contest
to divert
attention
away from
himself and thus avoid a painful situation. Sachs displays purely
paternal feelings
for
Eva,
whom
he addresses
as "Kind"
or
"Lieb'
Evchen."
(VII, 198)
At the
thought
of
having
Eva as his "Weib und
Kind,"
he
chuckles,
"'S war'
gar
ein
lieber
Zeitvertreib /
Ja, ja
Das
hast du dir
schon
erdacht."
(VII, 201)
Eva
retorts,
Ich
glaub',
der Meister mich
gar
verlacht?
Am
End'
gar
liess
er
sich
auch
gefallen,
dass unter
der
Nas'
ihm
weg
von
Allen
der Beckmesser morgen mich ersang'? (VII, 201)
Perhaps Eva's anger
is directed
not
so much at
the
possibility that
Beckmesser
may
win
her, but, rather,
at the
thought
that
Sachs
could
bear
to lose her.
Similarly,
at the conclusion of the
scene,
she
is frustrated not only by Sachs' coldheartedness toward Walther,
but also by
his
apparent
indifference
toward her.
Though
Eva
seems
thoughtless,
I would
hesitate
to
dismiss
her
as
merely inept
at
conniving.
Her irresolution can be
interpreted
as
a sign of inner conflict. She came to Sachs for information about
Walther,
but
the conversation
took another
route.
Eva
got
sidetracked.
In
addition,
she
becomes
so
flustered
that she
unintentionally
reveals
the
main
purpose
of her
visit
to
Sachs.
When
Sachs suggests
that
Eva's father
can
help,
she
cries, "Wo so
ein
Meister
den
Kopf
nur hat
/
Kam'
ich
zu
euch
wohl, fand' ich's
zu Haus?"
(VII, 201) Furthermore,
when
Sachs
mentions
Walther's
trial, Eva,
unable to
mask her
delight, exclaims, "Ja, Sachs Das
hattet
ihr
gleich
soll'
n
sagen;
/
plagt'
euch dann
nicht
mit
unnuitzen
Fragen." (VII, 201)
It's no wonder
he
didn't tell
her
this earlier, for
she
didn't
really
ask
him.
She
apologizes
for
wasting Sachs' time,
but
the
questions prove anything
but
"unntitz" to
Sachs.
Perhaps
she is
rationalizing
her failure
with
Sachs
to
save
face.
At this
point, Sachs, too,
has
ambivalent
feelings. By revealing
her
mixed
emotions,
Eva causes Sachs
to
dissimulate.'3
Robinson
writes,
"Like
the
Marschallin,
Sachs
knows
all
along
that
the
relationship
has
no
future,
but
also
like the
Marschallin, he would
be
less
than
human did
he
not
occasionally indulge
the
prospect
of
its
fulfillment."'14
Sachs'
emotional involvement
with
Eva
explains
his unwillingness to admit that he, cast as he is by Eva into the role
13.
Cf.
Voss, p.
17.
14.
Robinson,
p.
213.
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GERMAN
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of suitor,
defended
Walther
in the first act. Eva's
encouraging
him
to enter the contest after he has decided not to,and his knowing that
he has a
rival
(even though
he wasn't going
to enter the
contest),
irritate him, and
he
therefore
exaggerates
the
severity
of
Walther's
plight. Ironically,
he
compliments
Walther at the
same time,
although Eva,
also
ironically,
refuses
to listen.
Walther,
Sachs
declares,
will never
be a
Master,
"denn wer als
Meister
ward
geboren,/der
hat unter Meistern
den schlimmsten
Stand."
(VII,
202)
When Eva
rushes out
enraged,
Sachs
mutters
after
her,
"Das
dacht'
ich wohl.
Nun heisst's: schaff'
Rath "
(VII, 203)
He now
knows that Eva loves Walther.
III
The third
act
workshop
scene
clarifies the
earlier
Eva-Sachs
scene
and resolves
the romantic
triangle.
Newman
suggests
that
Eva's confusion
about where
her
shoe
hurts her
indicates her
uncertainty
about the
outcome
of the imminent
song
contest.'5
I
would
add that
it
also
reflects
her
own
inner
vacillation.
Her
indecisiveness echoes her earlier evasiveness with Sachs, and her
outburst, "Ach,
Meister
Wuisstet
ihr
besser als
ich,/wo
der
Schuh
mich drtickt?" (VII, 251), expresses
her
agitated
emotional
state.
Eva
is torn
between two
men.
When
Sachs
gently
chides her
for not
having
tried
the shoe
on
the
day before,
Eva
answers,
"Merkt' wohl,
ich
hatt' zu
viel Vertrau'n:/
im
Meister
hab'
ich mich
geirrt." (VII,
250) Perhaps
she is
implying
that Sachs
has
betrayed
her in
his
roles
both
as
helper figure
and as lover.
And, considering
that
in
the first
act
she was
contriving opportunities
to
speak
with
Walther
alone
after Mass,
the
shoe
that
supposedly
hurts
her
may very
well be
invented
by
Eva
as an excuse to
see Sachs
again.
Walther
enters, and,
as he
sings
the third Bar of
the
developing
Prize
Song,
"Weilten
die Sterne
im lieblichen
Tanz?"
(VII, 251-252),
the shoe
fits. Sachs'
comment, "Lausch',
Kind
Das
ist ein
Meisterlied,"
hints to Eva
that Walther can
now win
the
contest. In
addition,
when Sachs
casually
remarks,
"Derlei
hor'st
du
jetzt
bei
mir
singen,"
Eva
can
probably
deduce
that
Sachs
helped
Walther
compose
the
song (VII, 252).Furthermore,
the
imagery
in
this
Bar
foreshadows
Walther's success
in
the
song contest,
the
dominant
images being the stars that form the woman's eyes, and the wreath
with which
she
crowns
the victorious
poet.
15.
Newman, p.
379.
See
also
Robinson, p. 215.
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Whereas Eva's music had previously
been
of a singsong nature
that seemed to help undercut the veracity of her shoe problem, she
now addresses
Sachs
to
a vocal line and
orchestration that would
not be out of place
in the
world of Tristan und
Isolde.16
O
Sachs
Mein
Freund Du
theurer Mann
Wie
ich
dir Edlem
lohnen
kann
Was ohne deine
Liebe,
was
war'
ich ohne
dich,
ob
je
auch
Kind ich
bliebe,
erwecktest du nicht mich?
Durch dich gewann ich
was
man preist,
durch
dich
ersann
ich
was
ein Geist
Durch dich erwacht,
durch dich
nur
dacht'
ich edel, frei und ktihn:
du liessest mich
erbluh'n
-
(VII, 253-254)
Unexpectedly,
she
thanks
Sachs
for
helping
her
growth, not
Walther's.
The
gratitude
must
be, moreover, genuine.
Eva
has no
need to
flirt
with,
or
cunningly flatter, Sachs,
for
she
has
just been
assured
of Walther's success. The
mention of an
awakening
provides
a
striking
contrast
to
the
dream
imagery
of
the
first and
second
acts.
The shoe
is a
metaphor
for the
song.'7
A
change, echoed
by
the
music,
occurs
within
Eva
when
the
song
is
sung
and
the
shoe
fits. Eva's
progress
resolves the
triangle.
Eva continues by justifying both her previous designs on Sachs
and
her
future
marriage
to Walther.
O
ieber
Meister,
schilt mich nur
Ich war
doch auf
der
rechten
Spur:
denn,
hatte
ich
die
Wahl,
nur
dich erwahlt' ich mir:
du warest
mein
Gemahl,
den
Preis
nur reicht' ich
dir
Doch nun hat's mich gewahlt
zu nie gekannter Qual:
16.
See
Newman,
p.
381;
Robinson,
pp.
216-217.
17.
Reiss,
pp.
292-294.
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GERMAN STUDIES
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und werd'
ich
heut'
vermahlt,
so war's ohn' alle Wahl
Das war ein
Muissen, war ein
Zwang
Dir selbst,
mein
Meister, wurde bang.
(VII, 254)
One
is
tempted
to
say
that Eva is
soothing
the wounds she
previously
inflicted upon Sachs.
But the
argument
that Eva is
pretending
to be married
against
her will
proves,
upon
closer
analysis,
inadequate.
Commentators usually
center this moment
around Sachs.
The
standard interpretation,
represented by
Robinson's work, states that in this scene, Eva grasps Sachs'
renunciation.'8
I feel it
can be reversed.
This startling
solo, which
seems
to express Eva's
preference for
Sachs, designates,
on the
contrary,
her
renunciation
of him.
Eva
has
no choice
in
any
sense.
Firstly,
on the
level
of
mundane
reality,
the outcome
of
the
song
contest will
determine her
husband.
But Eva
speaks
of
herself,
and
not
Walther, being,
furthermore,
already
chosen
("Doch
nun hat's
mich
gewahlt").
Secondly, then,
some
indefinite
power,
one that transcends the
song contest, is choosing the characters for each other. Eva states,
"Doch
nun
hat's mich
gewahlt."
The neuter
pronoun
buried
in the
contraction
lacks
a referent.
Similarly,
Walther
says,
in
the
second
act,
"Keine
Wahl
ist offen."
(VII, 207)
Eva and Walther
are
drawn
irresistibly
to each other,
much as
Tristan
and Isolde
are. Voss has
advanced
this
interpretation.'9
The references
in
the
stage
directions
to
a
madness
which
approaches
a
possession,
such as
"sich
vergessend"
and
"ausser
sich,"
indicate
that Eva is
driven
by
powers
she
cannot control.
(VII,
155,205)
Sachs "wurde
bang"
in the
second act, at the attempted elopement. Furthermore, as Voss
notes,
Eva
used
the word
"Qual"
to
denote
her
feelings
at
Walther's
first appearance.
The
word can
mean
"Liebesqual."20
In
addition,
this
"Zwang"
is
accommodated
by
the
outcome
of the
song
contest.
Eva
passively
wins
Walther
by being
his Muse.
Paradoxically,
in
denying
herself
a
choice and
accepting
her
fate,
Eva
affirms
her
desire
for Walther.
Eva
speaks
of
an
awakening
at a crucial
moment
of
cognition.
She realizes that
she
must have
Walther.
And
winning
Walther
entails
losing Sachs.
18. Robinson,
p. 215.
19.
Voss,
p. 11;
Dieter Borchmeyer,
Das
Theater Richard Wagners:
Idee,
Dichtung,
Wirkung
(Stuttgart:
Reclam,
1982),p.
216.
20. Voss,
pp.
10-11;Borchmeyer,
p.
216.
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When
Sachs,
in the
third
strophe
of his
Cobbling
Song,
asked
Eva
to
hear his lament, she responded with, "Michschmerzt das Lied, ich
weiss nicht wie "
(VII, 214)
Now she
understands
and
appreciates
his
concern
for her.
Moreover,
now she
accepts
that
the
feelings
Sachs
shows for her
are
of a
paternal
kind. In
the
second
act,
at his
refusal to enter the
contest,
Eva
reproached
him
for
being fickle.
Now
she
thanks
him for his
fatherly
concern
through
which she
has
grown. Her
image
of Sachs
changes,
then,
as
she
reconciles her
love
for
Walther
with her affection for Sachs.
Sachs' almost
taunting mention,
as
he
compliantly pretends
to
fix the shoe, that he just might sing for Eva after all contributes to
her
emotional tumult. She
is
made
painfully
aware
of
the
futility of
her earlier
hopes. Only
such
a
radical
change
of
mind,
engendered
by deep-seated
feelings
for
Sachs,
can
explain Eva's
extreme
distress as indicated
by
the
stage
directions
describing
her
reaction
to
hearing the third Bar of Walther's Prize
Song.
(Eva,
die
wie
bezaubert,
bewegungslos
gestanden,
gesehen
und
gehort
hat,
bricht
jetzt
in
heftiges
Weinen
aus, sinkt Sachs
an die Brust und driickt ihn schluchzend an sich. -Walt her ist
zu ihnen
getreten,
und
druckt
Sachs
begeistert die
Hand.
-Sachs thut
sich
endlich Gewalt
an,
reisst sich
wie
unmtithig
los,
und lasst dadurch Eva
unwillktirlich an
Walt
her's
Schulter
sich
anlehnen.) (VII,
252)
When Eva enters Sachs'
workshop,
she is
wearing
a
white
dress.
Eva
the "schlimmes Weib" of Sachs'
Cobbling Song
has
become
"Eva im
Paradies,"
as Walther
depicts
her
in
the
Prize
Song. (VII,
212,
267)21
In
narrating
her
awakening,
she
awakens
--
to a real-
life
dream.
Walther
is
hers.
Sachs'
renunciation,
unlike
Eva's,
does
not
take
place
in
the
workshop
scene. It
occurs,
according
to Peter
Wapnewski, "Nicht
vorn
an der
Rampe,
vielmehr
hintergruindig,
im
Gesang
eher
als im
Wort,
im
Wort
eher
als
in
der Aktion."22 When
David,
naively
oblivious to
Sachs'
heartache,
informs
him,
shortly
before
the
"Wahn"
monologue,
that
rumor has
it he
plans
to
put
Beckmesser
in
his
place
by singing
in
the
contest,
Sachs
comments,
"Wohl
moglich
Hab's
mir
auch schon bedacht"
(VII, 233),
designating
the
21.
For a discussion
of the Paradise imagery,
see
Reiss, pp.
291-298.
22.
Peter Wapnewski,
Der traurige Gott:
Richard
Wagner in seinen
Helden
(Munchen:
Beck,
1978;rpt. Miunchen:
dtv, 1982), p.
96.
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GERMAN STUDIES
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idea
as a possibility,
but not an intention.
In
doing so,
he expresses
the same sentiments that Eva does when she insists that if the
choice were hers,
she would
marry
Sachs. The
indication,
this late
in the drama,
that Sachs
has
thought
about this
possibility
is
especially touching,
for he befriended
Walther as early
as the
first
act.
He
has,
I
feel, always
known
that the
possibility
should remain
unfulfilled.23 Eva,
in
contrast,
has
just
learned this
acceptance
of
the
inevitable.
While Eva experiences,
in the
workshop
scene,
a sudden
change
of
heart,
Sachs carries out what he
already
decided to do.
Both Sachs and Eva come to terms with their fates in the third act,
but in different ways.
In the
"Wahn"
monologue,
Sachs
resolves to
do
a noble
deed
by
not
only staying
out of the
contest,
but also
assisting
Walther.
In the third
act,
he
helps
Walther
write
his
song.
The significance
of Sachs'
words and
deeds
in
the
workshop scene
lies
in
their impact
on Eva.
Sachs,
to be
sure,
stages the
confrontation
between Walther
and Eva.
Furthermore, though
Sachs'
outlook does
not
change
in this
scene,
his
relationship
with
Eva
does. When
he tells
her that
he does not
wish
to share King
Marke's fate, the verbal duel is over. Sachs and Eva can finally
communicate
with each
other,
unlike in the
earlier
Eva-Sachs
scene.
With the
Tristan
allusion,
Sachs
merely
verbalizes
what Eva
already
knows.
But without
Eva's
renunciation,
which Sachs
brought
her
to,
this statement
would
have been
useless,
for
she
must
be
ready
to
accept
it.
Sachs'
loss
of Eva in this scene is no less dramatic
than Eva's
drastic
change
of heart.
The
audience's
knowledge
that Sachs
secretly
wishes
he could
sing
for Eva
heightens
the
impact
of
the
scene. Furthermore, the audience sees a new aspect of Sachs'
character.
Eva's
desperate display
of
affection for him
disconcerts
the
usually composed
man.
He
continues
joking
about the
scarcity
of
bachelors,
but
now
brusquely
and
nervously.
The
Cobbling Song
is
fragmented
and erratic, yielding
finally
to the
sad Tristan music.
As the playful
cobbler
sorrowfully
professes
his
philosophy, he has
lost even the
possibility
he
never intended
to
exploit.
It was easy for
Sachs
to exclude himself
as a
suitor when
trying
to
frustrate
Beckmesser
in
the first act
Master
assembly.
In
the final scene of
the
drama,
Sachs,
with selfless
dignity,
watches
another man win
Eva.
Furthermore,
when
Walther
accepts
the
Master
medal, Eva,
23.
McDonald
(pp. 251-255)
argues
that Sachs gradually
realizes
his love
for
Eva.
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according
to
the
stage directions,
crowns
Sachs
with
the
laurel and
myrtle wreath that she awarded Walther after he sang the Prize
Song.
The
moment
is,
as Dieter
Borchmeyer observes,
a
painful one
for Sachs.
The
myrtle denotes,
Borchmeyer explains,
the
happiness
that Sachs
has
renounced,
and the
laurel,
a fame that
Walther has
surpassed.24
But the deed can also be
interpreted
with
reference to
the one
who
performs it,
Eva.
The wreath
is
an
image from
Walther's
dream
vision.
As
Walther,
the
living image
of
Dtirer's
David, accepts the Master
medal with
the
likeness of King David
and becomes
Eva's
real-life
love,
Sachs
becomes
the
fantasy love
that she has renounced.
24.
Borchmeyer, p.
229.