Title: The Door to the Adulthood: An Analysis of Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß

Abstract: According to psychology, the children must find their self-identity before they enter the adulthood. Robert Musil, presents in the novel Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß, offers a portrait of an adolescent’s search for a stable identity. The protagonist undergoes religious exploration, animal exploration, rational exploration and also aesthetic exploration. Although he fails to give himself a stable identity, he shows extraordinary aesthetic talent in the process of exploration, which lays the foundation for him to become an aesthetician.

Keywords:: Robert Musil, Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß, identity, youth

Author: Siyue Tian, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, Bejing, China.