Re: Burning questions about the Ring's symbolism and leitmotifs

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Ben) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> .... 
> 2. What does Loge represent? Aside from the God of Fire, is he the God
> of Lies, the God of Truth, the God of Thought, a combination of the
> above, or none of the above? What is the connection between any of
> these, if any? I find explanations by Cooke and Donington to be
> implausible.
> ....

To me, Loge is one of the most fascinating characters.  Remember that
one of the key questions of the Ring -- whether Wotan or Loge is
ultimately responsible for hiring the giants and thus starting the
chain of events leading to the gods' downfall -- remains unanswered. 
Whether Loge gave an assurance of finding an alternative to Freia or
simply promised to TRY to find a way out is a matter of whose words or
memory you believe.

Thus I believe it when Cooke says that Loge represents the mysterious
and random forces of life (I'm paraphrasing here.)  When something
goes wrong, it's often due to a combination of lack of forethought
(represented by Wotan's actions) and random events (represented by
Loge's words and actions), and it can be hard to separate them out and
say which is responsible for what, especially since, AFTER things go
wrong, every side will blame the other to cover their own behinds. 
(Loge even sings, "when things go wrong, every fool blames me!")

IMO it's a genius of Wagner to represent important but abstract facets
of life like this in the way he has.

Karl