권력의 반지: 권력담론으로서의ㆍ바그너의 반지 오페라 = The Ring of Power: Wagner's Der Ring des Niebelungen as Discourse of Power

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Richard Wagner's opera tetralogy, Der Ring des Niebelungen, consisting of Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung, was first performed in the Festspielhaus, in Bayreuth, Germany in August 1876. This was a historic event, intended to symbolize the greatness of the Geman Empire, newly constructed with a work of art in an unprecedented scale, written and composed by Wagner for almost 25 years. These operas made a myth of ultimate power.
In these operas Wagner criticized the power of modern state and militarism in the name of love which was a formidable power inherent in man. His criticism was meant to protect individuals from the growing state power which was developed into legal debates on the Constitution and basic rights of man and it was also meant to demand Bismarckian prudence on the part of the Reich. But these meanings were derived from its primary meaning of a new type of power, probably an inspiration of fascism. The power of the ring is interpreted as an amalgamation of modern state power and the power of erotic love. This power represented a dream of mid nineteenth century German intellectuals frustrated by the failure of a revolution in 1848. This unprecedented power transcended the modern state power with erotic love through which man should overcome his or her finitude. However, this power was extremely unstable and dangerous because of the unpredictable nature of erotic love. Wagner in the last scene of these operas, Gotterdammerung abandoned the ring deep in the Rhine, but the ring, its idea and memory, remained intact. The ring even became free from Alberich's curse and has been waiting in the deep water of the Rhine for someone who would find it and give another life. Wagner's ring of Niebelungen was a crucial on Germany's long road to fascism.