Diary Entry of October 4, 1870
Cosima begins learning to knit for the children, turning domestic labor into an act of care despite its difficulty. Fidi's rapid recovery keeps her close to him and lightens the household mood. A walk with Wagner and the evening reading of Aeschylus lead to a sharp contrast between ancient tragic grandeur and what they see as France's present degradation.
Tuesday, October 4:
I am learning to knit! I find it difficult, but I want to make some leggings for the children. Constantly with Fidi, whose recovery is progressing fast. Walk with R., in the evening [Aeschylus’s] Persae. Sublime impact, and observation that all the present misery of France could never provide the basis for a tragedy, indeed hardly for a lament!