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Man And Idea: Complexity And Duality In The Hero Of Wagner's "Ring", Elizabeth Mary Szott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The character Siegfried, much like the whole of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung, is open to interpretation by scholars and critics from a variety of different perspectives. Although these interpretations often reflect the historical, political, and cultural circumstances of their times, they nevertheless claim some legitimacy by appealing to the musical and dramatic texts of the Ring for evidence. This thesis examines Wagner's conception of Siegfried and different historical perceptions of the character, discusses ambiguity both in the drama and in the music itself, and suggests a reading of Siegfried as having a dual purpose: that of …