Ulrich

This is an important character in the novel. He is one of the protagonists, but is not a hero. Ulrich is or moves towards becoming a man without qualities during the novel. This makes no sense whatsoever until what this means in principle is explained in the Foreword. The chromatograph is a scientific instrument that is the basis for the metaphor. The man who has no qualities is in truth a man who has every one of the qualities of a man united into a whole. The combination makes a difference in like manner to how while light is the unity of the colors of the spectrum.

Ulrich has a fine house. Ulrich has been in a fight, but the details remains somewhat unclear. Ulrich has some friends. Ulrich has two romances during the course of this novel. One of them is with a single woman, and the...