Musil was in the tradition of dissenting authors such as Schiller, Brecht and Böll. He believed, as they did, that writing involved the changing of ingrained attitudes, or what we might call ‘sociopsychic engineering’. However, in his lifetime, Musil did not have the reputation which would have been a prerequisite for revolutionary impact. In his declining years, as he eked out an existence in exile in Switzerland, Musil might have been excused if he had felt that he had failed. He certainly complained of neglect, but he never doubted that his works would be appreciated, if only after his death. In this, he has been proved right. The wide attention which Musil has received, above all in the last two decades, is a belated tribute to the worth of his creative works. This study has been an attempt to assess the most important of these works.

In the twenties, Musil is asked what he wants to achieve in this novel; he replies, with the confidence of an author who does not yet know that he will not be able to complete his literary project, that his aim is ‘geistige […] Bewältigung der Welt’ (GWII, 942) (‘conquest of the world by force of mind and spirit’). Since even the accumulated achievements of civilisation are a prison, Musil wants to contribute to mankind's release from the past, and to offer advice on a more rational and creative use of human potential in the future.