When Minna finally read Richard’s 1851 autobiography “A Communication to My Friends,” it aggrieved her for months that he had described their marriage as a failure. She wrote to Emma Herwegh that this new upset, of which Richard was again the cause, was taking its toll on her heart. “Ought I not to lose all trust if I am promised that I should now experience only good things, i.e., no more insults, only for that promise to be broken time and again after having just been made? No, my good Emma, it takes a very special character to be able to forget all this—and to get healthy again.” Under these conditions, cohabiting with Richard was going to remain difficult.

Richard remained convinced, however, that Paris was the most suitable place for Minna to live. He had meanwhile taken a liking to a small, pavilion-like house at 16 rue Newton, not far from the Arc de Triomphe. It would shield him from all unwelcome noise, though it was really far beyond what he could afford. He generously paid the rent for three years in advance, undertook to pay the costs of any necessary repairs, and also paid for luxurious interior furnishings. If his decorator’s testimony is to be trusted, Richard’s bedroom was furnished especially lavishly. The ceiling was covered in puffed silk and was divided up by garlands of roses, all held together in the middle by a bouquet of roses. The alcove for the bed was bordered by arches emblazoned with more rose garlands. There was a curtain on the back wall, and the other walls of the alcove were covered with more puffed silk, a mirror embedded in its folds in each case. A mirror also hung from the ceiling. Wagner could thus see himself reflected on all sides when he lay in bed. He had also treated himself to an armchair upholstered in the most precious silk brocade and eiderdown. As with every new apartment that he decorated, his aim was to compensate for all the world’s impositions upon him, while at the same time providing himself with the inspiration he needed for his creative work.