ABSTRACT
In the period of music history labeled “Romantic,” families who could most afford to educate their daughters often desired that they restrict their musical activity to the home. Women remained musically active, particularly in salon settings, and continued to favor vocal and keyboard works. Despite their extensive activity, it was sometimes a struggle to get works published, and the restrictions were set in place not only by publishers but also by women’s families. The restricted domain of the upper-middle-class home is the focus of Chapter 7, and is told through the stories of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Clara Wieck Schumann. Modern feminist research reveals that both women were highly regarded during their lifetimes, only to become lost on the pages of recorded history due to cultural beliefs about proper roles for women.
