"Chère, I am sad! There is another reception this evening, but I shall not be going to it! I reread a few pages of my life which I once dictated to Cosima! She sacrifices herself to her father's habits, - alas! Could it have been for the last time that I held you in my arms this morning? No! - I shall see you again - I want to see you! because I love you! - Adieu - Be good to me! R Wagner in a letter to Judith Gautier.
Often described as Wagners "muse" during Parsifal - as Mathilde Wesendonk is supposed to have been his muse during the creation of Tristan - it is certain that Judith Gautier and Wagner were close. So close that Wagner named his chaise-longue after her!
It is clear that she became an "enthusiastic fan", not only attending the first Bayreuth Festival but spending much time with the Wagners. However, Gaultier was much more than a "muse" or "wagnerian" she was also a poet, novelist, feminist and Oriental scholar. Of especial interest to us is that not only did she translate Parsifal to French but she also wrote a first-hand account of her first two visits to the Wagner's Villa Tribschen. This was translated into english in 1911 and published by (in a rather ironic turn, considering what they went onto become)
Mills and Boon.
Now out of copyright and in the public domain it can be read in full below
