Sunday, February 3, 2008

man without qualities?

Chandos is upset over his loss of language, and I see this crisis as an ethical one for him. A writer losing their mastery of words is a tragedy. However, since Lord Chandos clearly can still write (as the letter shows) his dilemma is an ethical one in the sense that he can write, but that does not make him a writer. The misuse of language is immoral for Chandos. The crisis of language is a problem of communication of thought, but what happens when the author is unable to think clearly? In my mind this draws a really interesting comparison between Ulrich and Chandos. For Chandos, in losing his ability to write, he is losing an aspect of himself that society has come to expect of him. In this sense, I think he and Ulrich could really relate to each other. In losing his quality of writing, he (just like Ulrich) has become a man without qualities.

4 comments:

Mina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mina said...

I really like your analysis of loss of language as a crisis beyond practicality. I realized how this problem really ties into issues of identity, values, and even meaning of life. It is interesting to observe how, for these characters, artistic form of self-expression is what qualifies themselves (rather than how you present yourself, etc).

dlang38 said...

The point you bring up about a writer losing his mastery of words is a great way to better express what you are trying to convey. The explanation you give about how he has lost his mastery of words is also good and I agree with your points. However, I am not so sure if I would call Chandos a man without qualities, like Ulrich. Although we have a relatively firm grasp on what Musil characterizes as qualaties, I just remember Prof Tilghman saying on our first day of discussion that we would most likely change our mind about what "qualities" were several times. But as far as our definition goes now, Chandos might fit into the catagory of a man with out qualities, although I'm not sure if Ulrich would call him one.

Sterling Mackinnon said...

Erin,
I am curious to inquire whether or not you really think that Ulrich is experiencing a crisis of identity similar to Lord Chandos? I think that assertion demands a little more explanation. I would not say that Ulrich is dissatisfied with himself or that he feels any of the impotence that Lord Chandos conveys. If anything I feel that Ulrich is exceptionally in touch with his ideas about the world and his environment and, if put to the task, I think he would be capable of communicating his ideas without crises.