Die Rezeption der Gestaltpsychologie in Robert Musils Frühwerk Von Karen Brüning (review)

Karen Brüning's book explores how Robert Musil appropriated and transposed the insights of the emerging school of Gestalt psychology into his early work. After an introduction focusing on the existing Musil scholarship and her methodology (Chapter One), Brüning provides an overview of the scientific context that led to the genesis of Gestalt psychology: the development of psychology as an experimental discipline that sought to do away with introspection; its emancipation from philosophy; and the role of key precursors such as Carl Stumpf, Ernst Mach, and Christian von Ehrenfels (Chapter Two). The following chapters trace these early influences in The Confusions of Young Törless (Chapter Three), Musil's dissertation on Ernst Mach (Chapter Four), and the two novellas grouped together as Unions (Chapter Five). In The Confusions of Young Törless (1906), for instance, Friedrich Schumann's experiments on optical illusions, Stephan Witaseck's studies on attention, as well as Ernst Mach's language skepticism and his reliance on thought experiments pervade the ways in which Törless expresses his dissatisfaction with rational knowledge, and attempts to capture his subjective and emotional experiences. Mach's psychophysical monism, his view of the Ego as a dynamic entity, and his functionalist approach also impact Musil's Unions (1911) in addition to other influences by österreich, Freud, Breuer, and Ehrenfels.

Chapter Six turns to the emergence of the Berlin school of Gestalt psychology with a review of the key contributions of its main proponents: Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt Koffka, Kurt Lewin, and Erich M. von Hornbostel. Not only does Gestalt psychology play a key role in Musil's understanding of the "soul" (Chapter Seven), its influence is also particularly salient in the structure, formal features, and themes of the short-story collection Three Women (1924). In "Grigia," "Tonka," and "The Portuguese Lady," Musil relies on Gestalt principles such as the dynamic interaction and transposability of motives. In particular, the ambiguous figures (Kippfiguren) based on figure/ground reversals are defining characteristics of these short stories which all feature dynamic switches in perception, cognition, and experience. In "Tonka," for instance, the main protagonist may be viewed as a Kippfigur herself since she is portrayed and perceived by the narrator in ways that keep switching from one extreme to the other. The concluding chapter summarizes the main contributions of the book while hinting at the ongoing influence of Gestalt psychology in The Man Without Qualities.

Karen Brüning's book received the Wolfgang Metzger Award from the International Society for Gestalt Theory and Its Applications in 2017. The book is wellresearched and demonstrates a sound knowledge of the genesis of Gestalt psychology and a good mastery of the existing Musil scholarship written in German. Brüning rightly observes that insufficient attention has been given to the impact of science on Musil's early work. She also successfully examines these early texts in their own right and not as a prelude to the later work. Her book entails many insightful analyses and judicious observations. Brüning's investigation of Musil's appropriation of Gestalt psychology develops within the framework of a broader reflection on the relationships between literature and science. Drawing on the Foucauldian notion of "discourse," Brüning defines literature as a form of "counter-discourse" (31) that is both indebted to and emancipated from scientific knowledge. As a writer with sound expertise in experimental psychology, Musil is a particularly relevant case study. As Brüning aptly demonstrates, Musil transposes the insights of Gestalt psychology, notably in the field of visual perception, into areas that are beyond the purview of experimental psychology: his goal is to explore the "soul," an exploration that can only be carried out by literary means. The transfer of scientific knowledge into uncharted territories involves "structural modifications" (37) of this scientific material.

In spite of its informed analyses, the book may elicit a feeling of déja` vu among readers...