The Man Without Qualities

novel by Musil

Also known as: “Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften”

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Man Without Qualities, unfinished novel by Austrian writer Robert Musil, published as Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften in three installments in 1930, 1933, and 1943.

Musil’s sprawling masterpiece was his life’s work. On the surface a witty, urbane portrait of life in the last days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the novel is also a tragic farce that gives an account of the slow collapse of a society into anarchy and chaos and an indictment of a society that embraced fascism.

The book, considered one of the masterpieces of the age, ironically dissects modern uncertainty, sham values, and political folly.

Portrait of young thinking bearded man student with stack of books on the table before bookshelves in the library

Britannica Quiz

Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.