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Using analytical models developed from recent work in the theory of musical contour, this dissertation presents reading of five compositions by the twentieth-century American composers Ruth Crawford and Marion Bauer. It relates biographical information about these composers to their musical works, emphasizing the contexts of gender and politics. My analyses of the third and fourth movements from Crawford's String Quartet (1931) and Bauer's Toccata from her Four Pieces for Piano, op. 21 (1930) explore how gender-specific experiences of these composers might relate to the structure of their music; my analyses of Crawford's 1932 song "Chinaman, Laundryman" from her Two Ricercari and Bauer's Chromaticon, also from Four Pieces for Piano, address the possible impact of the composers' social views on their music. Chapter 1 discusses the nature of the project of analyzing post-tonal compositions by women. Chapter 2 presents a reading of the third movement of Crawford's String Quartet. By using an original analytical tool that measures the "degree of twist" of the four instruments, I propose that the quartet movement speaks in a "double-voiced discourse" by simultaneously presenting a dominant narrative and a muted narrative within musical spaces that reflect Crawford's professional situation. Chapter 3 analyzes the fourth movement of Crawford's quartet, arguing that her personal experience of bias informs the structure of the piece, which can be heard as a dialogue between a female persona and an unyielding mass of authority. Chapter 4 presents a reading of Crawford's "Chinaman, Laundryman." It introduces an original tool of "contour deviance" which measures the degree to which a melodic contour departs from a norm; I argue that Crawford's setting underscores a leftist reading of the song's text. Chapter 5 analyzes Bauer's Chromaticon, suggesting that her belief in social equity is reflected in the piece's contour narrative. Finally, Chapter 6 presents an analysis of Bauer's Toccata based on the relationship of the pianist's hands; my reading suggests a possible relationship between this perforative aspect of the composition and sexuality.
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