Fame, Infamy, and Oblivion

This flow tracks the changing meanings of fame as Salieri gains acclaim, fears erasure, and fails to secure a place through scandal.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Fame as Promise

Fame as Promise A desired future Salieri asks God to make him a famous composer, imagining that music can carry his name beyond his lifetime. Fame appears to be the visible confirmation that his service has been accepted. Recognition as survival His wish is not only for wealth or court position. He wants his name and work to persist in a world where ordinary lives vanish from memory. This early desire sets the terms of the play’s later struggle over who will be remembered.

Fame Without Distinction

Fame Without Distinction Public honors accumulate Salieri receives applause, decorations, and professional advancement. He is treated as one of Europe’s leading composers and appears to have fulfilled his ambition. Praise turns corrosive He believes the public cannot distinguish his music from genuine greatness. The honors become evidence not of artistic immortality but of the audience’s failure to judge. Fame is therefore both the reward Salieri sought and the source of his deepest humiliation.

Infamy Fails

Infamy Fails A final attempt at permanence Salieri confesses to a murder he may have committed only in the psychological and theatrical sense the play presents. He hopes hatred will make him inseparable from Mozart’s name. Silence wins The city dismisses his claim, and the historical reputation he fears losing remains beyond his control. Mozart’s music endures while Salieri’s name recedes despite his attempted scandal. The final irony is that fame cannot be secured by either applause or self-created infamy.

At Salieri’s first bargain with God

During Salieri’s years of success

From November 1823 to the later reports