eva im paradies an approach to wagner's meistersinger

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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.



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.



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).



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



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.



326

GERMAN

STUDIES

REVIEW

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.



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.



328

GERMAN

STUDIES REVIEW

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.



Mary

A. Cicora

329

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.



330

GERMAN STUDIES

REVIEW

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.



Mary

A. Cicora

331

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.



332

GERMAN STUDIES

REVIEW

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.



Mary

A. Cicora

333

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.

eva im paradies an approach to wagner's meistersinger

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