Gender transitivity in three dramatic works by Robert Schumann: the «Szenen aus Goethes» Faust (WoO 3), «Genoveva» op. 81, «Das Paradies und die Peri» op. 50

This dissertation is a study of gender transitivity as I see it at work in three of Robert Schumann's dramatic works: the Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3, the opera Genoveva op. 81, and the oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri op. 50. In this study, I use the term gender transitivity to refer to the fluid movement along feminine and masculine subject positions. While on the surface Schumann created seemingly passive, Gretchen-like female characters in his dramatic works, he also worked with pluralistic ideas about gender drawn from his extensive knowledge of early nineteenth-century literature and philosophy. He explored alternative femininities and masculinities for fictional characters in his works, acknowledging the transitive or fluid nature of gender concepts as theorized by Romantic writers. I argue that Clara Schumann, at once a strong woman active in the public sphere and yet reiterating stereotypes of proper feminine behaviour, blurred categories of gender and thus, provided for her husband a fitting model for the three female characters discussed below. For my analysis, I use a wide range of critical theories on gender such as psychoanalysis and the semiotic chora (Julia Kristeva), literary constructions of gender (Barbara Becker-Cantarino), androgyny (Sara Friedrichsmeyer), bi-gendrism (Mary R. Strand), bisexuality (Alice Kuzniar), specular reciprocity and gender hybridity (Tacey A. Rosolowski), feminine writing (Luce Irigaray, Martha Helfer), gender synergy (Lawrence Kramer, Elizabeth Morrison), the cry (Michel Poizat) and the narrative voice (Carolyn Abbate, Paul Robinson). What I call gender transitivity is enabled by these concepts, which have been developed by scholars of feminist and gender studies to analyze the blurring, flexibility and mobility of gender boundaries in sources from the first half of the nineteenth century. The first part of this dissertation consists of two chapters. Chapter One provides a literature review and my methodological apparatus, drawn from contemporary feminist critiques of German romantic philosophy and literature. Next, I focus on Schumann's views on gender in his writings and other sources from the mid-1820s to his death in 1856. The remainder of this chapter finally critically examines three common literary archetypes: women as redemptive figures, women as suffering images of the Virgin Mary, and women as angelic figures. Ultimately, these archetypes are male fabrications, presenting women as passive and idealized. However, they have strength and power in their own ways. Chapter Two studies the figure of Clara Schumann, her multiple roles as pianist, composer, mother, wife and muse. I argue that Clara, who on one level embodied for her husband a deeply romanticized, idealized Goethean archetype of the "Eternal feminine," was also a strong, assertive woman active in the public sphere, who assumed unconventional gender roles. Schumann modified the stereotype by toning down (but without omitting altogether) some of its more stereotypical elements. The three chapters in the second part of my dissertation are intended as case studies that demonstrate how Schumann's dramatic works reflect his multifaceted views on gender as expressed in his letters, diaries and criticism. I present close literary and musical analyses of three dramatic works, focusing on important scenes in each. I read three female characters (Gretchen, Genoveva, and the Peri) through the lenses of gender transitivity in order to convey their complexity in these works, as well as to provide insights into little-investigated aspects of their psychological development.

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