to his mind, was the redeemer of man: that was her _metier_. Senta
redeems Vanderdecken; in his last work Kundry redeems Parsifal by
thoughtfully dying so as to leave that unamiable idiot to lead the
higher life of the monastery, as I have described it. And somehow
Elisabeth is to redeem Tannhaeuser--also, it appears, by dying at an
appropriate moment. In the fit of depression and degradation following
his mad outburst the hero goes to Rome, interviews the pope, and
confesses all to him. "If you have dwelt with Venus," says the Lord's
vicar, "you are for ever cursed; God will not forgive you until my
staff of dry wood blossoms." At this sentence of eternal doom
Tannhaeuser, in the legend as Wagner found it, returned to the
Hoerselberg: in the story, as Wagner shaped it, he gets as near as the
Wartburg on his road back to Venus. By the roadside, as in the second
scene of the first act, Elisabeth is praying before the shrine where
Tannhaeuser had knelt to thank heaven for his deliverance; Wolfram
watches near. Both await the pilgrims from Rome. These arrive--and
Tannhaeuser is not amongst them. "He will return no more," says
Elisabeth despairingly; and she prays to the Virgin to free her from
all earth's griefs. Then she wends her way up to the castle while
Wolfram remains to sing his song of renunciation. Ominous sounds are
heard; Tannhaeuser, tattered and woe-begone, enters, tells his tale to
Wolfram, and, working himself into a condition of madness as he did at
the Tournament of Song--only now the madness is the madness of
despair, not excessive exaltation--he calls on Venus. From the heart
of the mountain she answers; the scene grows wilder and wilder; he
sees Venus awaiting him; the air is filled with strange odours and
stranger music. Wolfram struggles to prevent Tannhaeuser going to
Venus; Venus calls him clearly and more clearly; suddenly Wolfram
says, "A maiden is even now making intercession for you at God's
throne--Elisabeth!" "Elisabeth!" echoes Tannhaeuser--stunned and
astonished. The mists clear away; from behind the scenes a requiem for
Elisabeth's soul is heard; Venus gives a final wail, "Woe! lost to
me!" and sinks into the earth; slowly morning dawns, and a funeral
train bearing Elisabeth on a bier slowly comes in. "Holy Elisabeth,
pray for me," Tannhaeuser cries, and, sinking down, he dies. More
pilgrims enter, bearing the pope's staff, which has miraculously
blossomed in token that God's mercy is great