The Confusions of a Young Torless

Robert Musil's literary debut, The Confusions of Young Törless, was first published in 1906 and is an Austrian philosophical writer and essayist. The Confusions of Young Törless is a detailed examination of an adolescent's psychological development as he battles to come to terms with his conflicted feelings, set in a boarding school in a remote section of the Habsburg Empire at the beginning of the last century. Törless is driven into sadistic and sexual interactions with a third pupil through his relationships with two other lads, which both reject and intrigue him. Törless, who is cut off from normal life, gradually learns to accept and describe his experiences with analytical accuracy. The author's own experiences at an Austrian military academy inspired the work. Törless is a unique school narrative that pushes the boundaries of fiction with its non-judgmental portrayal of rebellious sexuality and violence. It's a deeply distressing examination of a non-moral way of life and dictatorial attitudes that foreshadow the onset of World War I and the emergence of fascism. Der Junge Torless, a film based on the novel, was directed by Volker Schlöndorff in 1966.