ABSTRACT
The Man Without Qualities is the title of the great, unfinished book by the Austrian writer, Thomas Musil, set during the twilight years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The main protagonist, 'the man without qualities' is the thirty-two year old mathematician, Ulrich, a man who is happy to be defined by the decisions, perceptions, and pressures of the environment around him, stumbling between the rational and mystical in his quest for a deeper meaning in life. One problem is that he adopts too many positions, and places in store in too much, an indecisiveness that reflects and feeds his spiritual impoverishment. His confusion mirrors the socio-political chaos around him. To use the language of this book, Ulrich simply did not go far enough in adopting the trappings of the outside world. Paradoxically, one can best navigate one's own subjectivity if one navigates it through the persona of another.
