Christian Faith

Critics agree that the character of Sigismund in von Hofmannsthal's play represents the figure of a Christian martyr. Various characters, particularly the physician, directly refer to him in such terms. Upon his initial examination of Sigismund, the physician declares that he is the essence of "the highest earthly virtues." When he is asked to look upon an image of Christ on the cross, Sigismund "looks at it for a long time, mimics the posture, with spread-out arms." When Julian is attempting to convince Sigismund to take the elixir that will make him sleep so that he may awaken to a new life, Julian tells him, "the chosen one is born twice," thus comparing Sigismund to "the chosen one," Jesus Christ. Once Sigismund has taken the elixir, Anton cries out, "he has a halo above his face!" and he refers to him as "my saintly blessed martyrized &mdash...