Does Schumann's song cycle still have a reason for existence in our contemporary music culture? In a time when our perception of women has almost completely reversed from that of the Biedermeier era, are we not compelled to familiarize ourselves historically with the views of the 19th century? It is not the "what," the factual events in the arc of women's love and life, but the "how," the quality of personal devotion, that constitutes the psychosensitive material granting the poem cycle—and particularly Schumann's music—a unique position. New research findings shed a different light on the internal logic of the song cycle. The book also reveals a fascinating interweaving of motifs, sub-motifs, elements of leitmotif, and a play with multiple symmetries that ensure this unity. Is it the unmatched conciseness of a nine-part song sequence compared to other song cycles, or is it its unmistakable emotional aura that captivates the listener—despite intellectual reservations? The musical analysis provides answers to psychological interactions as well as to musical effects and interpretative approaches.