Prong - Territorial Rites

So, the three women in Wagner's life - Minna Glider, Matilda Vesendonk and Cosima von Bülow - personify the three stages of evolution of his personality. For Minna, the most important thing was the desire for material well-being, which was also characteristic of Wagner in the first third of his life, when he, firsthand familiar with poverty, was just a human Wagner. Matilda is the embodiment of sublime unearthly Love, Perfect Love, Love of Senta, Elizabeth, Isolde, Love of Wagner-poet, Wagner-artist; finally, Cosima gave him a real family hearth, reconciled the needs of Wagner the man and the Wagner artist, and created the Wagner philosopher.