ABSTRACT

In 1886, in La Vogue, he published Lohengrin, fils de Parsifal ("Lohengrin, Son of Parsifal"), using the Wagnerian form of Perceval's name. The text was later included in his Moralites legendaires ("Legendary Moralities," 1887). In this curious scenario, the lunar vestal Elsa is to be sacrificed in a ceremony before the "white council" of priests at the cathedral of Notre-Dame (the "temple of silence"). Eventually, the hero Lohengrin arrives from Saint-Graal (apparently considered a place) to save and marry the sacred heroine. On their wedding night, during which their love remains unconsummated, Lohengrin embraces his pillow, which is then transformed into a swan. The white bird transports him through the air, over the seas and stars, toward Saint-Graal and to his father, Parsifal.