Talk:Robert Musil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.
Biography Portal
Start This article has been rated as start-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]


Contents

[edit] Translations

Is it so widely accepted that the newer translation is an improvement?


[edit] Died with look of ironic amusement

Note: it seems to me that speculation about the significance of the look on Musil's face at his death is not objective enough for an encyclopedia article. Such possible information is best left to full biographies. That's my opinion. However, I didn't do all the work writing the article, so I'll leave it alone and if others agree, perhaps this minor point can be addressed.

The comment about the look on his face at death is almost a standard part of the Musil legend. The significance is that he died suddenly, leaving a massive, major novel unfinished.
Can we find a references to someone who says this? As written it seems to be weasling on it. RJFJR (talk) 16:09, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup

I added this tag because the article in its current form seems to be awkwardly written and some of the details may be suspect. I'm not sufficently familiar with Musil's life or have access to significant sources to do this myself. Philip Cross 20:34, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

One suspect detail: Musil never met Kafka, as the article states. In actuality, while Musil was editor(?) of "Die Neue Rundschau," he wrote Kafka, asking (in vain) for a contribution. Musil was one of the first to recognize Kafka's work, favorably reviewing "Der Heizer." (added by Johannes Wich-Schwarz, July 27, 2006)

[edit] Walser and Musil

I am happy to clean up this article, and to add appropriate references to Musil's relationship to Robert Walser, whom he revered (and reviewed). I am, however, new at this and before I make any more changes I have a basic question about a minor edit I just made:

I added Robert Walser to the list of names under Trivia. This links to Robert Walser (disambiguation) instead of directly to the Swiss modernist writer. Is there a way to fix this?

By "piping" (|) between the linked article name and the text appropriate to the source article. I've fixed the immediate problem. By the way, it is usual on Wikipedia to use four tildes (~) to sign contributions to talk pages. Philip Cross 19:19, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Date?

There is a sentence here that I don't quite understand.

Even before this, in 1905, Musil had met Martha Marcovaldi (January 21, 1874 - November 6, 1880) who was in subsequent years to become his wife.

What is the purpose and meaning of the date (my underlining here)? --Aethralis 21:17, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

The second date has been changed in the current version of the article. It now appears to be her birth and death dates. RJFJR (talk) 16:04, 13 May 2008 (UTC)