ABSTRACT
The first record of Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre is made in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's diary on 16 February 1777. Some of the reasons for Mignon's apprehension emerge in this chapter when Wilhelm discovers the circus master striking her. Goethe's portrayal of Mignon as hermaphrodite is influenced by the myths of Greek antiquity, whose protagonists are sexually ambiguous or have dual gender manifestations. As in many of Goethe's novels, Mignon's songs explore the theme of musical communication. Mignon's Lieder, like those of the Harper, deal with the inner emotional life of the performers. 'An Mignon' is sprinkled with expression marks, as if the composer assumed either that he had expressed himself too obscurely; that he had not fully realized his aim. While Schubert's first setting of 'Heib mich nicht reden' captures the poetic intent, his second rendition surpasses this setting in its realization of the form and import of Mignon's song.
