Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of January 23, 1870

Overview

The day is centered on domestic warmth, with Cosima absorbed in the children’s games and Wagner affectionately casting her as the household’s mother hen. A shared encounter with Beethoven’s Eroica stirs Wagner deeply and leads him to place Beethoven beside Shakespeare in greatness. Evening reading from Schopenhauer turns from philosophical provocation into emotional elevation, ending with Wagner’s stark claim that love is fulfilled through children.

Content

Sunday, January 23:

Children’s games day! R. calls me the good old mother hen; and truly my whole day is spent in entertaining the children. Only during the afternoon do I take up the Eroica with R.; at one point in the first movement he gets to his feet, much moved: “The only mortal who can be compared with Shakespeare!”

In the evening he reads me passages from Schopenhauer on love (“Kant spoke of it without practical knowledge”). R. thought it might perhaps repel me, but, on the contrary, I am very moved and uplifted. R. says, “Love without children is a sham.” The final essay on conducting arrived today in print.