“[O]uter circumstances call for us to act in a way everyone can understand; and if, in the toils of passion, we do something incomprehensible, that too is, in its own way, understandable. Yet however understandable and self-contained everything seems, this is accompanied by an obscure feeling that it is only half the story. Something is not quite in balance, and a person presses forward, like a tightrope walker, in order not to sway and fall. And as he presses on through life and leaves lived life behind, the life ahead and the life already lived form a wall, and his path in the end resembles the path of a woodworm: no matter how it corkscrews forward or even backward, it always leaves an empty space behind it. And this horrible feeling of a blind, cutoff space behind the fullness of everything, this half that is always missing even when everything is a whole, this is what eventually makes one perceive what one calls the soul.”
Quote by Robert Musil
Work
the Man Without Qualities
This novel delves into the intricacies of contemporary society, using a character without discernible qualities to reflect on the nature of human existence and the challenges of navigating a complex world. more
Author
Robert Musil
Robert Musil, born on November 6, 1880, and died on April 15, 1942, was one of the greatest German novelists of the 20th century. He is renowned for his profound psychological portrayals and philosophical reflections in his works. more
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