Robert Musil was a novelist, essayist and playwright who had studied engineering, mathematics, philosophy, physics, and psychology and worked productively in all these areas. All these interests converge and reach their fullest expression in his fiction, and especially in his novel Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften [The Man Without Qualities, vols. 1 & 2: 1930-1933; vol. 3, edited by Martha Musil: 1943]. Musil’s scientific training inculcated in him an abiding respect for mathematical standards of accuracy in representation. His most powerful commitment as a scientist, psychologist and artist was to the closest fit possible between the world itself and the representation of the world that we make to ourselves. Musil was attracted

This article in full comprises 2040 words but only the first 150 or so words are available to non-members.

All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors. To read about membership, please click here.

First published 08 March 2005

Citation: Dowden, Stephen D.. "Robert Musil". The Literary Encyclopedia. 8 March 2005.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3273, accessed 9 February 2010.]