Shadow Of Wagnerian Heroes In Mrs Dalloway

The study of Wagner's influence on the modernist novel has been an established field with clear room for further contribution. The philosophical content of Wagner's dramas, that is, a revolutionary form of romanticism that questions the nature of the world, is yet to be fully cognized. As a key figure in the reformation in musical art, Wagner apparently has exerted tremendous influence on modern novelist as well. In works by Virginia Woolf, the"translation"of Wagnerian ideas into the form of novels demonstrates how they could be applied in"real life". In Mrs. Dalloway, the figure of Septimus can be read as partly modeled on Wagner's heroes Siegfried and Tristan, two outstanding examples of the opposing heroic types found through the composer's total works; the Wagnerian pattern can be seen in Septimus's transcendental"relationship"with a woman he does not know.