Kleist Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 12 (1923) Winner
Robert Musil
ロベルト・ムジル
Robert Musil
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1880-11-06 （Klagenfurt, Austria-Hungary）
- Died
- 1942-04-15 （Geneva, Switzerland） age 61
- Nationality
- Austria
- Languages
- German
- Religion
- Protestantism Baptized in 1911
- Residence History
- Brno (then Austria-Hungary) → Vienna, Austria → Berlin, Germany → Zurich, Switzerland → Geneva, Switzerland
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Short story writer, Playwright, Essayist, Critic
- Active Years
- 1905-1942
- Memberships
- Robert Musil Society, Schutzverband deutscher Schriftsteller in Österreich
- Influenced By
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ernst Mach, Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke
- Influenced
- Milan Kundera, Thomas Bernhard, Late-20th-century modernist writers
- Nominations
- Nobel Prize in Literature nominee
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brno University of Technology | Faculty of Engineering | Mechanical Engineering | — | 1898–1901 | Austria-Hungary |
| University of Berlin | Faculty of Arts/Philosophy | Psychology and Philosophy | 博士号 | 1903–1908 | Germany |
Brno University of Technology
Faculty of Engineering
/ Mechanical Engineering
Period:
1898–1901
Year of Graduation:
1901
Country:
Austria-Hungary
University of Berlin
Faculty of Arts/Philosophy
/ Psychology and Philosophy
Degree:
博士号
Period:
1903–1908
Year of Graduation:
1909
Country:
Germany
Doctoral thesis on Ernst Mach
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Kleist Prize | Die Schwärmer | — | Kleist Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 1924 | Art Prize of the City of Vienna | — | — | City of Vienna | 受賞 |
| 1929 | Gerhart Hauptmann Award | — | — | Gerhart Hauptmann Award committee | 受賞 |
Kleist Prize
1923
Work:
Die Schwärmer
Organization:
Kleist Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Art Prize of the City of Vienna
1924
Organization:
City of Vienna
Result:
受賞
Gerhart Hauptmann Award
1929
Organization:
Gerhart Hauptmann Award committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Confusions of Young Törless
1906 NovelA coming-of-age novel set in a military boarding school. Through the protagonist Törless, it explores moral ambiguity, the awakening of self-awareness, and the pathologies of modern society.
modernityself-awarenessmoral ambiguity
Adaptations
- [Film] Young Törless / Volker Schlöndorff (1966)
Translations
- English translations exist (multiple editions)
The Man Without Qualities (Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften)
1930 Novel (Modernist) 1074 pagesAn unfinished modernist epic set in Vienna on the eve of World War I. Through the protagonist Ulrich, it examines the moral and intellectual decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and offers philosophical meditations on reason, feeling, and individual autonomy.
decline of empireindividual autonomyconflict of reason and feeling
Translations
- English translations by Ernst Kaiser & Eithne Wilkins (1950s) and an updated translation by Sophie Wilkins & Burton Pike (1995)
Die Schwärmer
1921 PlayA play dealing with fanaticism and enthusiasm; its reception and interpretation have varied with different productions and editions.
fanaticismsocial emptinesssearch for self
Drei Frauen (Three Women)
1924 Collection of novellas/short storiesA collection of three novellas—'Grigia', 'The Portuguese Lady', and 'Tonka'—that portray inner lives and interpersonal dynamics through female protagonists.
portrayal of womensubtle emotional depictioncomplex human relationships
Bibliography
- The Confusions of Young Törless
- Vereinigungen (Unions) — two stories
- Die Schwärmer (The Enthusiasts) — play
- Drei Frauen (Three Women) — collection
- The Man Without Qualities
- Posthumous Papers of a Living Author (Nachlaß zu Lebzeiten)
Adaptations
- Film 'Young Törless' (dir. Volker Schlöndorff, 1966)
Translations of Works
- The Man Without Qualities — English translations by Ernst Kaiser & Eithne Wilkins; updated translation by Sophie Wilkins & Burton Pike
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Modernist stylePhilosophical prose and reflectionSharp observation and irony
- Recurring Motifs
- reason vs. feelingindividual isolationcrises of identity
Health
-
Syphilis1902（治療を受けた）Treated in 1902; contemporary records suggest effects on private life and relationships.
-
Strokes1936–1942Suffered a stroke in 1936 and further cerebrovascular problems that impaired his health and literary activity.
Legacy
Through his unfinished masterpiece The Man Without Qualities, Musil became a significant figure in 20th‑century modernist literature. After a period of relative obscurity following his death, his work was reappraised from the 1950s onward and has been highly regarded by later writers and philosophers.
Museums
- Robert Musil Literature Museum (Musilhaus) Klagenfurt, Austria
Academic Societies
- Robert Musil Society (Musil-Gesellschaft)
Archives
- Musil-related archives and papers held in various libraries and research institutions
In Popular Culture
- Influenced later writers such as Milan Kundera and Thomas Bernhard
- A key subject in studies of 20th-century modernism
Quotes
-
After the Enlightenment most of us lost courage. A minor failure was enough to turn us away from reason, and we beat the drums for feeling against intellect. Without intellect, feeling is as dense as a blockhead.
Source: Essay/lecture (on the Enlightenment and reason)
Trivia
- Invented the Musilscher Farbkreisel, a motorised device for studying colour perception
- Converted to Protestantism upon marriage to Martha Marcovaldi
- His works were banned by the Nazis and he lived his final years in exile in Switzerland
- Only eight people reportedly attended his cremation