In 1897 Schoenberg composed an apparently unfinished set of waltzes, which thus far has been dismissed as juvenilia. In this article I explore how the waltzes reflect many aspects of Schoenberg's mature thought about large-scale tonality, focusing on two interrelated concepts, the tonal problem and monotonality. Examination of the waltzes through Schoenberg's own analytical methods reveals a series of closely interrelated pieces that follow a carefully planned progression through key areas making use of frequent intertextual references between waltzes. After demonstrating the connexions and progression of the waltzes, I propose that the set is not in fact incomplete, but that the tenth waltz offers a functional conclusion to the set as a whole.