Wagner as Apostle of Chastity
1. Nietzsche warned, in poetic verse, that Wagner’s art is not Germanic. Instead, it is similar to Italy’s Roman Catholic religion.2. Why did Wagner write Parsifal and present the contrast between sensuality and chastity?
3. Did Wagner, in old age, parody tragedy by freely showing a simple country boy as the ideal embodiment of ascetic chastity? If Parsifal was, however, meant seriously, then it is an expression of Wagner’s late hatred of sensuality, egotism, and life. It would then be considered to be bad art.