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Korngold's Leading Ladies: A Comparative Study Of Female Characters In The Operas Of Erich Wolfgang Korngold From 1915 To 1927, Brandon Larry Dow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Portrayals of women in art have always been a sensitive subject due to the unequal distribution of power between the sexes within the Western patriarchal society and, more recently, due to newly acquired criticism of artistic misogyny. The operas of Erich Wolfgang Korngold showcase varying interpretations of female characters that waver between misogynist objectification and disparagement and ardent endorsement of feminine prominence. This thesis discusses three of Korngold’s operas (Violanta, Die tote Stadt, and Das Wunder der Heliane) and examines them through the lens of the tumultuous and ever-changing political and Social landscape of women’s issues in Vienna in the …