Abstract: This comparative study takes Mallarmé’s ambivalent reception of Wagner and his music as a starting point. If previous studies have detailed Mallarmé’s qualms about Wagnerian drama, they have left out an important issue: Wagner’s systematic use of eroticism as a tool with which to secure the listener’s undivided attention. This article argues that Mallarmé did not oppose Wagner’s use of sensuality for puritanical reasons, but rather because he believed eroticism is better served by the imagination.
