Rethinking Widowhood: Women, Loss, and Liberation in Nineteenth-Century Musical Culture

Whereas past histories of European music have been presented largely in terms of an all-male endeavour, this interdisciplinary project will take the lived experiences of widows as an impetus for developing a new kind of historiography, framed in terms of the history of emotions, that restores women’s individual agency and artistic integrity to the music-historical record.

The research will introduce a paradigm shift to gender studies in musicology in two particular respects: first, by rethinking the ways in which widowhood proved to be a catalyst for creative endeavour that was a product both of loss and of a sense of liberation; and secondly, by engaging with widowhood as a lens through which to reconsider the contributions of women who have been overlooked in the dominant narratives of music history.

In doing so, the project will address major European policy objectives, particularly those recommended by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10, to promote gender equality and to reduce social inequalities in all aspects of society.