Subjectivity Under Inquiring

Robert Musil(1880-1942)was a renowned Austrian writer,known for his intellectual novels.The Confusions of Young Torless was his first work as he entered the literary world in his youth,depicting the process of aesthetician Torless experiencing a crisis in personal subjectivity construction during his student days as he observed the "dual nature" of things.The Man Without Qualities is Musil’s magnum opus,representing a culmination of his life’s work,and stands alongside Ulysses and In Search of Lost Time as one of the three most important masterpieces of 20th-century modernist literature.The novel continues to address the unresolved issues of the author’s debut work,exploring the possible paths for modern individuals who cannot find their place within the symbolic order to resolve their subjectivity crisis and achieve self-governance.By deepening the topic of the subjectivity crisis,the novel extends the ubiquitous confusion of adolescence into a significant,era-defining,and global issue.This paper employs Lacanian psychoanalytic theory and a close reading of the text to analyze the various methods and profound reflections of the fragmented subject in resolving their existential crisis.The paper is divided into three main sections.Chapter One analyzes the specific existential predicament and crisis faced by the subject within the symbolic order.The chapter first examines the causes of individual subjectivity fragmentation and the difficulty in reconciling the fragmented subject within the symbolic realm due to the constraints imposed by the paternal order,rational law,and language.It then elaborates on the macro-level reasons for the failure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s national subjectivity split and the reconstruction of the national community,as well as the subject’s attempt to construct a new illusion to replace the fractured imaginary national community,which requires the subject to bear the public’s delusions about the big Other.Finally,this chapter discusses that if the subject blindly obeys the law of the symbolic world,the subjectivity of the individual will disappear and he will suffer from the mental illness that Musil called "stupidity".Chapter Two examines how characters experiencing existential predicaments within the symbolic order attempt to transcend it and achieve self-governance.Musil develops three approaches to resolving the subjectivity crisis by approaching the Real and escaping the symbolic realm:first,by entering an abnormal mental state to surpass the symbolic order and approach the Real;second,by achieving perfect union with the Other in ideal love and entering the Real;and finally,by engaging in mystical experiences,dissolving the divide between the self and the Other to access the Real.Chapter Three analyzes Musil’s reflection on the subjectivity crisis and his depiction of the fragmented subject from the perspective of literary strategies.Musil uses an essay writing style to present the overall portrait of modern individuals after subjectivity fragmentation and employs the ring and space metaphors to indicate how the subject perceives the real in the symbolic world.Overall,this research employs Lacan’s subjectivity theory to interpret and analyze Musil’s The Confusions of Young Torless and The Man Without Qualities,exploring the crisis of modern subjectivity as depicted by Musil and its possible solutions.This analysis offers insights and inspiration for contemporary individuals on how to break free from the constraints of the symbolic order and enter the Real.