Robert Schumann was one of the most influential composers of the Romantic era. His compositions, especially for solo piano, have become staples of the classical repertoire. However, despite his incredible talents and prolific output as a composer, Schumann suffered from severe mental health issues for much of his life. His struggles with mental illness, along with other tragic events, made his life quite difficult at times.
Early Signs of Mental Illness
Schumann showed signs of mental instability from a young age. As a child, he experienced extreme shifts in mood and suffered from depression. In his youth, he had suicidal thoughts and made at least one suicide attempt. Schumann tended to be extremely nervous and anxious as well. He also experienced auditory and visual hallucinations at times.
In 1830, when Schumann was 20 years old, he injured his right hand in an attempt to strengthen it and improve his piano technique. This hand injury caused lasting damage to his hands and ended his aspirations as a virtuoso pianist. The loss of his dream to become a famous concert pianist only exacerbated his depressive tendencies.
Marriage to Clara Wieck
In 1828, Schumann met and fell in love with pianist Clara Wieck, who was only 9 years old at the time. He began taking lessons from Clara’s father Friedrich Wieck. Schumann wished to marry Clara once she came of age, but Friedrich Wieck strongly opposed the marriage. This led to a long and bitter legal battle, as they fought against Clara’s father in court for permission to marry.
Robert and Clara did finally marry in 1840 after a lengthy courtship. However, Friedrich’s disapproval took a toll on Schumann’s mental state. The stress of having to go through a legal struggle to marry Clara may have contributed to a worsening of his depression and anxiety.
Attempted Suicide and Hospitalization
In February 1854, Schumann attempted suicide by throwing himself off a bridge into the Rhine River. He was rescued by boatmen and taken to a hospital. Doctors diagnosed him with “psychotic melancholia,” which refers to depression accompanied by psychosis and hallucinations. This was not the first indication of his mental instability, but it led to his first extended hospitalization at a psychiatric institution.
Schumann spent over two years institutionalized while doctors tried various treatments on him. Unfortunately, the medical knowledge surrounding mental illness was extremely limited at the time. Treatments like bloodletting likely did more harm than good for his condition. The hospitals and doctors were unable to cure his illness or alleviate his suffering during this prolonged hospital stay.
Death in 1856
In 1856, Clara finally moved Schumann out of the psychiatric hospital to the home of a private doctor. Schumann’s physical health had deteriorated dramatically from malnutrition and illness. He died only two days after leaving the hospital, on July 29, 1856, at the age of 46. While the exact cause of death is unknown, doctors believed he succumbed to starvation along with the late effects of syphilis. His mental state may have made him unwilling or unable to eat towards the end of his life.
Schumann was survived by his wife Clara and their eight children together. Clara continued performing and composing after his death, helping to popularize her husband’s compositions while also having a successful career in her own right.
Mental Illness and Creativity
The tragic narrative of Schumann’s psychiatric problems and premature death has led to much speculation about the link between mental illness and creativity among artists and musicians. Schumann’s brilliant compositions were created despite and perhaps even because of his fragile mental state and depressive tendencies.
However, it is impossible to determine whether his creative genius was helped or hindered by his illness. His compositions seem to have been largely created during periods when his illness was less severe. Would he have composed even more great works if not for his debilitating bouts of depression and psychosis? It is difficult to say whether mental illness stimulated his creativity or robbed him of even more opportunities in his short lifetime.
Loss of Productivity in Later Years
While Schumann was incredibly productive in the first half of his life, composing most of his well-known works as a young man, his mental illness clearly took a toll on his creative output later in life. He composed very little in the final few years leading up to his suicide attempt and hospitalization.
Some of Schumann’s most beloved works were written in 1840, the year of his marriage to Clara. These include his Spring Symphony, Piano Concerto, and songs from Myrthen. Over the next several years, he composed at a feverish pace, writing Symphonic Studies for piano in 1834 followed by his First Symphony in 1841 and the Piano Quintet in 1842.
However, as early as 1844 his hallucinations and nervousness were worsening, and his rate of composition slowed. Between 1853 and 1854 when his suicidal depression forced him into the hospital, he wrote very little aside from a few short pieces and song revisions.
It seems schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety hampered Schumann creatively in his 30s just when he should have been reaching his prime. The world was likely robbed of many more great compositions due to the stifling effects of his mental illness in later years.
Financial Difficulties
Throughout his life, Schumann struggled financially and often lived in poverty. He did not earn a steady living wage, relying on income from music publications and sales of his compositions. Sales of his works were disappointing early in his career. In 1840 he began an influential music journal, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, which provided some income but failed to earn profits.
Schumann’s marriage to Clara helped provide some financial stability, as she brought in a strong income from her concerts and teaching. However, after Schumann’s breakdown and hospitalization in 1854, the cost of his care became a heavy financial burden. At one point Clara resorted to selling some of her jewelry to help pay the expenses.
Poverty surely added to the strains of Schumann’s already troubled mind. If he had earned more wealth and notoriety from his compositions while still healthy, his final years may have been more comfortable. Instead, he languished in financial difficulty and obscurity during his last decade of mental decline.
Separation from Clara and Children
After Schumann’s suicide attempt in 1854, Clara was forbidden from visiting her husband in the psychiatric hospital for over a year. When she finally began visiting again, she was allowed to see him only every two weeks. Schumann was cut off from his beloved family during his stay in the hospital.
The loss of contact with his wife and their eight children must have only added to Schumann’s isolation, loneliness, and suffering. If he had been treated at home or allowed regular visits, perhaps his mental state would not have deteriorated so dramatically. The separation from his loved ones was likely detrimental to his health.
Limited Medical Knowledge
When Schumann was hospitalized in the 1850s, very little was understood about treating mental illness. No effective medications for psychiatric disorders existed yet. The only drugs with any benefit were opiates, which were overprescribed, leading to addiction.
Doctors relied on now discredited and inhumane methods like bloodletting, ice baths, and starvation diets. Electroconvulsive therapy would not be developed until the 1930s. Patients were usually confined in overcrowded wards with little privacy or dignity.
If Schumann had access to modern treatments, his outcome may have been better. With medication and therapy, many people with conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can manage their symptoms quite well today. Of course, it is impossible to say if pills and counseling could have helped Schumann, but modern medicine certainly provides more hope for mental illness than 19th-century asylums did.
Loss of Social Support
Before Schumann’s hospitalization, he belonged to vibrant social circles of artists, writers, and musicians. This creative community stimulated him intellectually and emotionally. However, once institutionalized, he was largely cut off from these supportive friendships. Mental illness was highly stigmatized at the time, so many friends and acquaintances may have distanced themselves.
Without positive social interactions to provide mental stimulation, Schumann’s condition declined. Maintaining social connections can be so important for managing mental health conditions. If Schumann had help to stay engaged with his peers, perhaps he would not have wasted away creatively and physically.
Possible Brain Disease
Some modern day doctors and musicologists have theorized that Schumann may have suffered from a degenerative brain or nervous system illness, on top of his mental health issues. Diseases like neurosyphilis or temporal lobe epilepsy affecting his brain could have caused his hallucinations, mood instability, and eventual mental deterioration.
Syphilis was rampant in the 1800s before antibiotics. Schumann demonstrated some physical symptoms consistent with neurosyphilis. He also showed signs of neurological problems including hand tremors and weakness. If a degenerative brain disease accompanied his psychiatric symptoms, it may have been impossible to slow Schumann’s tragic mental decline and premature death.
Conclusion
Robert Schumann’s life story reflects many of the tragic realities surrounding mental illness in the 19th century. He lived in poverty despite his brilliance as a composer, likely struggled with an undiagnosed brain illness, and was confined to a hospital where barbaric medical practices only worsened his condition.
Cut off from his loving family and dynamic social circle, Schumann’s misery and isolation only grew, robbing the world of more of his creative genius. If he had access to modern treatments and support, perhaps his fate would have been happier. Unfortunately, Schumann’s tragic story reflects how mental illness can destroy lives when left stigmatized and untreated.
Summary of Tragic Aspects
Tragic Aspect | Description |
---|---|
Early mental illness | Showed signs of depression, anxiety, mood swings, hallucinations, and suicidal thoughts from a young age |
Injury ended piano career | Injury to hand at age 20 prevented him from becoming a virtuoso pianist, worsening depression |
Battle to marry Clara Wieck | Faced strong opposition from Clara’s father before finally marrying her in 1840 after long legal fight |
Suicide attempt and hospitalization | Tried to kill himself in 1854 by jumping into the Rhine River, then institutionalized for over 2 years |
Premature death in 1856 | Died at age 46, likely from starvation and effects of untreated syphilis |
Loss of productivity | Composed very little in later years as illness progressed |
Poverty | Struggled financially throughout life due to mediocre sales and income |
Separation from family | Hospitalization cut him off from wife Clara and their 8 children |
Inhumane psychiatric treatments | Treatments like bloodletting likely worsened his condition |
Loss of social support | Isolation in hospital cut him off from vibrant social circles |
Possible brain disease | May have had untreated neurosyphilis or neurological disorder |