Original artwork, not a still
Notebooks 1935-1942 (1962), March 1940 entry
More and more, when faced with the world of men, the only reaction is one of individualism. Man alone is an end unto himself. Everything one tries to do for the common good ends in failure.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Facing the world of other people, the writer feels increasingly pushed toward individualism. The speaker asserts that each person is an end in himself and that efforts for the common good tend to fail. It reads as a bleak, personal conclusion, not a settled verdict.
Context reviewed
