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

On 12/2/03 8:59 AM, Mike Scott Rohan, at
[EMAIL PROTECTED], wrote the following:

[snip]

> Semi-favourable
> views of Loge have been common for a while, notably Wieland Wagner's
> much-quoted view of him as "the Ring's only intellectual". Personally, I
> think this throws an interesting and rather chilling light on Wieland's
> standards. Loge is a thinker, yes; but not a man of abstract ideas, only
> a schemer, a plotter, an intriguer. His mockery and provocation derive
> from nothing so detached as cynicism or nihilism. He has a strong,
> selfish purpose, and its evil nature becomes more evident if one
> considers his origins.
> 
Well said.  That is absolutely true.

[snip]

> Hence Loge's disastrous advice over the bargain, and over the recovery
> of the Ring. He deliberately intends to tangle Wotan in a moral maze
> which will damage his authority. You see him apply the same technique --
> destructive service -- to the Nibelungs and especially to the giants.
> His reflections at the end of Rheingold are nothing new, but a
> reflection on the success of his plans, and their possible extension --
> whether he might not reassume his own unfettered shape one day, and
> himself destroy the gods.

[snip]

Altogether a damning indictment.  Thank you for this interesting post!


Dick Partridge