Matthew Head’s central argument in “If the Pretty Little Hand Won’t Stretch:” Music for the Fair Sex in Eighteenth-Century Germany is that women’s musicianship at the time varied greatly from that of their male counterparts given that its purpose was entertainment and display of social position. While male musicianship revolved around the aesthetic and academic, women, deemed “the fair sex,” were societally cast from the world of production and fine art as icons of luxury and beauty. Ergo, the social contexts in which pieces for the fair sex were played exemplified conformity to limited ability (Head 205). The societal task of women was “aristocratic emulation,” essentially to be homemakers and show the success of their husbands through their escapades in leisure (Head 206).…show more content… The compositions were diminished and simplified to accommodate female physical limitations, primarily the daintiness of their hands. This is another example of aristocratic emulation, where women are entirely disconnected from labor and enjoy unburdened luxury. Head even says that “[the hands’ tininess] testifies to the economic success of the husband or father while their exaggerated tininess magnifies the gentleman an inch or two beyond his natural size” (Head 221). Music was deemed an appropriate hobby because of its emotional and creative elements, which appropriately kept women in the home and away from the laborious lives of men, for which they were not deemed suited. Music also found its way as a means of courtship, as it was a manner to display great emotion without making the woman’s desire outwardly known, which would have been considered inappropriate and unsightly. The musical motives were primarily dainty and light, painting the woman as innocent, playful, and to be
