Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of September 11, 1874

Overview

After a miserable night, she moves through the day in tears and fatigue, trying to turn feeling into a dedication to music for Marie Muchanoff. Social calls and a heavy letter-writing load follow, but an evening reading leaves her unsatisfied and impressed by the stark originality of genius.

Content

Friday, September 11:

Very bad night, during which I drafted, amid tears, an invocation to music for Marie Muchanoff. Bath with Lusch, work with the children, and afterward wrote seven or eight letters.

In the evening read The Witch by Greene, without pleasure: a genius has no predecessors. Before that, attended a coffee party at Baroness von Reitzenstein’s.