Queen of night, mother-right, and secret male cults

Abstract

My anthropological interest in The Magic Flute was aroused when I read in some record notes a while ago that the conflict between the Queen of Night and Sarastro represents an evolutionary struggle in ancient society between two principles of royal succession, one matrilineal and the other patrilineal (Mann 1964). Although unconvinced, I was nevertheless alerted to some problematic aspects of their relationship; and after seeing a performance in the Sydney Opera House early in 1974, I started to think that a piece of work I was doing then on myth and ritual among the Australian Aborigines might contribute to an understanding of the libretto. In pursuing the possibility in the present essay, I am not proposing a direct historical link between Aboriginal Australia and Ancient Egypt or anything of that sort. Rather, I am suggesting that certain general features and functions of male secret cults, clearly discernible in the Australian case, play a role in shaping Mozart's Masonic representation of the cult of Isis and Osiris.

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