Siegfried (opera) - Sources

Sources

Siegfried begins fearless, and expresses his wish to learn fear to his foster father Mime, who says the wise learn fear quickly, but the stupid find it more difficult. In a letter to his friend Theodor Uhlig, Wagner recounts The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was, about a boy so stupid he could not discover what fear was—and points out that the youth and Siegfried are the same character. Although Wagner did not include the connection, the boy is taught fear by his wife, as Siegfried learns it when he discovers the sleeping Brünnhilde.

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