Ruth, Christopher Thomas
(2013)
Composing Consciousness: Psychological Design in the Late Dramatic Works of Robert Schumann.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
This is the latest version of this item.
Abstract
Until fairly recently, scholarship dealing with German literary and cultural traditions in the early-nineteenth century has largely avoided the idea of psychological impact, in part due to the assessment that psychology as a fully empirical discipline had its birth in the Freudian fin de siècle. Recent studies, however, have suggested that early psychological theory in Germany was far more developed than in other European countries, and its impact on literature and culture is only now being measured in any significant way. The intersection of philosophy, psychology, and literature was very prominent in Early Romantic Germany, insofar as many writers such as Goethe, Schiller, and Büchner contributed to psychological theory in their works. This connection must naturally be extended to musical works, which in nineteenth-century Germany were often considered just as literary as poetry or novels. Robert Schumann in particular saw his dramatic works as such—and as I demonstrate in this dissertation—they were influenced by and contributed to psychological theory in a significant way. When Robert Schumann moved to Dresden following a colossal mental breakdown in 1844, he began a relationship as both medical patient and close friend with one of the early-nineteenth century’s preeminent writers on psychology, Carl Gustav Carus. Despite the recent increase in scholarly attention being paid to Robert Schumann’s late output, no scholar has probed this connection between Schumann’s access to the latest psychological theories and his own late music, which reveals many connections that shed light on misunderstood aspects of some of Schumann’s most carefully constructed pieces. A close examination of three of Schumann’s major dramatic works forms the basis of this dissertation: Genoveva (1850), Der Rose Pilgerfahrt (1851), and Szenen aus Goethes ‘Faust’ (1853).
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Ruth, Christopher Thomas | ctr2@pitt.edu | CTR2 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
30 January 2013 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
27 November 2012 |
| Approval Date: |
30 January 2013 |
| Submission Date: |
5 December 2012 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
245 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Schumann, Robert; Carus, Carl Gustav; Genoveva, Der Rose Pilgerfahrt; Faust, Psychology |
| Date Deposited: |
30 Jan 2013 15:41 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:08 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16904 |
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Composing Consciousness: Psychological Design in the Late Dramatic Works of Robert Schumann. (deposited 30 Jan 2013 15:41)
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