# Wagnerian Parsifal — The Genealogy of Morals character guide

> Wagnerian Parsifal in The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Parsifal, the Wagnerian Parsifal, the Parsifal

**First appearance:** 0055-third-essay

## Who they are

Operatic character used to critique Wagner's turn to Christian asceticism.

## Relationships

### [Richard Wagner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/richard_wagner)

_psychological_

Wagner's Parsifal represents his turn to Christian asceticism, which Nietzsche saw as a decadent betrayal of his earlier, healthier art.

### [Feuerbach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/feuerbach)

_psychological_

Feuerbach's reduction of religion to human projection finds a parallel in Wagner's Parsifal, which Nietzsche sees as a decadent religious fantasy.

## In the story

### [Parsifal and the Ascetic Ideal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/3)

Discussed as either a serious work or a parody of the ascetic ideal, representing Wagner's potential self-negation.

### [Separating the Artist from the Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/4)

Referenced as the work that Wagner produced in his old age, which Nietzsche considers misleading, ambiguous, and Nihilistic.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/wagnerian_parsifal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters