Preparations for Eva’s birthday; R. occupied with business matters. “I wish all this nonsense were over so I could get started on “Parzival”, he says. Explained Ash Wednesday to the children.
In the evening, a small gathering. The variations on the theme of the “Eroica” do not quite please us, as they have been so powerfully impressed upon us in the Symphony. Conversations about ghostly apparitions, particularly the one of Charles XI of Sweden,[1] were discussed. Interpretation of Schopenhauer, finding even deeper meanings. –
Our friend the Macedonian increasingly pleases R.; when R. offered him a gratuity to travel to Vienna with him, since he is transcribing here without any salary, he awkwardly declined, saying he could manage to come along anyway. –
R. is very reluctant regarding Pest; the lack of cooperation from Father in Vienna offends him deeply, considers giving up Pest. – –
[1] This vision is interpreted as a glimpse into the future: In March 1792, Gustav III of Sweden is murdered at a masked ball in the Royal Opera in Stockholm and his 13-year-old son Gustav IV Adolf ascends the throne.
[1] Charles XI (1655-1697), despot, father of the famous Charles XII (1682-1718). The mentioned ghostly appearance is depicted in Prosper Mérimée’s “A Face of Charles XI”.
[2] “Versuch über das Geistersehen und was damit zusammenhängt”, Arthur Schopenhauer, Essay from Parerga und Paralipomena (1851).
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins.