Regarding Walter Meyer's question about a passage from Tristan und Isolde:

I do not know what your original discussion was about, as the list archives
seem to be impenetrable at the moment.  However, I have had a look through
my old, old Tristan-booklet and have found the passage in question, and it
is indeed printed with 'ihn', and it is indeed very strange.

'Ich pflag des Wunden,
dass den Heilgesunden
raechend schluege der Mann,
der Isolden ihn abgewann'.

After wracking my brains and consulting my Duden, I am little the wiser,
but what I do happen to know, by a macabre co-incidence, is that one of the
notorious mass murderers of the Weimar Republic, Fritz Haarmann, said, when
he was about to be guillotined, 'Weihnachten will ich im Himmel sein bei
Muttern!', 'Muttern' being of course dative.  So grammatically the 'ihn'
could be correct.  However, if 'ihn', then the syntax is not as natural as
it could be, and stylistically the consonance 'Isolden ihn' is very ugly,
even for Wagner's standards.

The meaning of the passage is making my head spin.  Now let's see:  Isolde
had been engaged to Morold, who was slain by Tristan in battle; Tristan,
wounded, was then tended back to health by Isolde as Tantris, even though
she discovered his true identity ...  ' If 'ihm', this would mean the man
who won her from Tristan - but there was nothing ever overtly going on
between them.  If 'ihn' it would make even less sense - although I have
read something about Melot being a homosexual.  To be honest, I don't think
the passage makes much sense either way.  The main point is probably that
Isolde herself doesn't know why she did it - the reason of course is, that
she was at the time already in love with him - 'er sah mir in die Augen'.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Felix Delbruck
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