How did Robert and Clara Schumann gain permission to marry?

Robert and Clara Schumann did not gain permission from Clara’s father, Friedrich Wieck, to marry. Instead, they overcame his strong opposition through legal action.

After Schumann formally requested permission to marry Clara in 1837, Wieck evaded the request and actively worked to keep the couple apart, even ordering Clara to break off their relationship. Because Wieck refused to consent to the union, Schumann eventually took the matter to court to have Wieck’s legal objections set aside. The couple was finally able to marry in 1840 following the court's intervention.123