CALIFORNIA STATE
UNIVERSITY~
NORTHHIDGE
MYSTERIES OF JUS'l1 ICE
I(
OF FRANZ KJ\FKA
T'tlE PARABLES
.A thesis submitted in partial satis.f.'act:Lt•.n
of the
requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts
in
English
by
Douglas
.Tl"'"'P
<\.-l.I..<J-t
-
Wintz
~.
197n
•
'io..J'
'rhe Thesis of Douglas NI. Wintz is approved:
Arthur Lane, Ph. D. , Advisor
---·-·--:!"\~-~-~."-·-·------------
.
·-·~·~·--··---·
··- ·-----
Benjamin Saltman, Ph. D., Advisor
California State University, Northridge
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
1
P.AH'I1 II
13
REF'EEENCE NOTES
45
BIBLIOGRAPHY
50
iii
PART I
Franz Kai'ka remains one of the most enigmatic authors
o.f the twentieth century.
The significance and meaning of
his works have been debated from various viewpoints, ranging from psychological to historical criticism.
writers and artists of th(;
twenti~~th
Like most
century, Kafka was
fact:d with tremendous changes of attitude, beliefs and
social structure.
The acceleration of mechanization and
the horrors of V'vorld War I were reflected in Kafka's litera-
ture as well as in the poetry of T. S. Eliot and the art of
surrealif3ts and dadaists such as Magritte and Duchamp"
The
incorporation of symbolism and surrealism into modern art
makes understanding and interpretation difficult, but
rewarding.
Kafka's art is no exception.
The intf.mtion of'
this pa:per is to study Franz Kafka's art as twentieth century literature which allies itself with the form of the
parable,,
If the works of Kafka are difficult to come to
terms with, it is perhaps because the literary form with
which they are as so cia ted is itself complicat,;;d.
gin.s of the parable are numerous.
In
~rlq_,
r:Phe oriAristotle
descrJ.bes a Socratic style of teaching which made use of
the parabol.e," a forerunner of the parable.
1
In the Old
2
-v-
Testament the Hebrew word "masal" was used to define a story
similar to the parable.
The most widely recognized forms
of the parable are found in the New Testament.
11
Of these,
The Prodigal Son" is perhaps the prime example o.f the
Biblical parable.
While there are countleGs examples of the parable
throughout history, scholars h_ave long debated the exact
dei'inition and form of this type of literatureo
Alternate-
ly described as a similitude, a parable, an allegory, a
ma.~F.i1 1 or a parabole, this form has undergone m.unerous
One of the most comprehensive studies has been
studie::;.
Madeline Boucher's.
Outlining various investigations of
the parable, Boucher comes to her own conclusions concerning literary guidelines for the
parable~
It is a structure consisting of a tropical narrative, or a narrative having two
levels of meaning; this Btructure func-tions ar religious or ethical rhetorical
speech.
Although there are variations on the parable, it is
essentially a trope, or a story endowed with two levels of
meaning.
Like allegories, the parable is often an
metaphor.
But unlike the metaphor9 the parable does not
clearly parallel reality.
There is a quality of mystery
and of the surreal in the parable.
tament's
extend~'.?.d
11
In fact, the Old Tes-
ma¥al" is often associated with the phrase
"mysterious speech."
It is this quality which often
characterizes the parable as a unique literary form.
'Jthe parable, by the aforementioned definition, has
traditionally been intended as
rical speech."
a paradox.
11
religious or ethical rheto-
But the concept of mysterious speech poses
How can the parable as an enigmatic story pro-
pose to tell the reader anything?
Unlike the fable or the
allegory the parable is not easily reducible to a simple
moral.
How can it be of use as a didactic device in
religious or ethical matters i.f it cannot be understood?
Consider the follcw.ing evaluation by Robert VJ, Ftmk:
'l'he parable cannot be accommodated in
the logic of everydaynessD but neither
can it dispense with language attuned
to the everyday world; the metaphorical
language brings the familiar into the
unfamiliar context and distorts it--in
order to call attention to it anew;
i.e., to bring it into a new frame of 2
reference, a new referential totality.
The parable is not directly related to this world, nor is
it apart from "everydayness.
11
As a world o:f its own the
parable illuminates the world. in which we live.
In a
sense it is a surreal vision which subverts the subconscious.
That vision cannot be reduced to specific terms,
but it does evoke feeling or understanding.
Biblical expo-
nents of the parable were probably well aware of its f·unction.
It has a diff'icul t mean.ing which, once grasped, is
rewarding and illuminating.
The principle exponent of' the parable in the
twentieth century is Franz Kafka, who put themes of alienation, manipulation, and lack o:f spiritual :fulfillment to
4
work in several of his novels and short stories.
The para-
bles which preceded Kafka's were moralistic and didactic to
a point.
Erich Heller is accurate in stating that "it is
in the nature of Biblical parables to show meaning through
concrete images to those who might be .unable to comprehend
meaning presented in the abstract •••• "J
As with those
parables, Kafka's stories are an odd combination of everyday life and language and strange turns o£ eve:!'lts which are
at odds with what we exp-sct in our world.
Heller points
out that "Kafka's parable seem to insinuate meaninglessness
through nonetheless irrefutably real and therefore suggest:'i.vely meaningful configurations. ,A
Franz Kafka offers his
mvn thoughts on the parable:
All these parables really set out to
say merely that the incomprelJ.ensible
is incomprehensible, and we know that
already. But the cares we have to
struggle with eve~yday: that is a
dif£erent matter.~
In adapting the i'orm of the parable, Kafka attempts to deal
with various issues of the twentieth century.
r:Phroughout history it has been assumed by hurnani ty
that life r·equired some sort of logic and order.
Religion
and governments have always supplied those needs.
We have
been forgiven £or sins, and we are kept in check by the
.firm belief that our malevolent deeds will be punished by
some stern diety.
Government and man-made laws have helped
to supply logic and reason.
All this has been supported and
illuminated in Biblical-style parables, but Franz Kafka used
5
the parable in a different way.
He takes that assumed
logic of' everyday life and transmits it to the parable, but
he also illuminates the fact that the "incomprehensible is
incomprehensible."
The boundaries between the surreal
parable and "real" life are stretched to the limits in his
twentieth century parables.
In "The Judgment
1 "
a father
sentences his son to death and the son voluntarily carries
out that very sentenee by committing suicide.
characte:r.· of
~...:tr.i§.l
The main
suffers through interrogations and
ls committed to death for an offense which is never reveal,~d
to him.
~3tarva tion
A
mouse is a consummate singer in "Josephine."
is considered an art form in "The Hunger Artist."
Pa.x'ables of ethics and religious doctrine belong to preceding generations, whereas Kafka's parables deal with
.twentieth century themes of alienation, manipulation,
justice, and art.
Whatever the themes, the stories
~
parables which play in and out of reality, illuminating
the irreducible at the same time.
Before he pursues the content of Kafka's parables
in detail, it is to the reader's advantage to take notice
of some of the technical devices used in the stories.
Most
form.
these devices are an integral part of the parable
o:f
They serve to heighten the mysteriousness and dual
nature of the story.
The introduction of the fantastic,
the semblance of normality, and the juxtaposition of both
those elements are usE!d by Kafka to his ovvn particular advantage.
6
Most parables, particularly those in the New Testament,_ are set in a recognizable time and place.
For instance,
the parable of the sower (Mark IV: 1-20) begins with the
actions of a farmer in his fieldg a scene common to most
men of most eras.
Kafkaws stories are similarly endowed
with events which occur within an
recognizable timeo
everyda~'
setting and a
But the events themselves are incredible.
These fantastic events are narrated in a matter-of-·f'act
manner.
P~}rhaps
the most strilcing use of this style is
ing statament which opens the story:
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning :from
uneasy dreams he found himself transformed into a gigantic insect. 6
Here, wi. th.ou.t explanation or warning, is a fantastic si tuation so incredible as to be unbelievable within the realm
of the "real" world.
storyline persists.
There is no explanation, yet the
Gregor continues to exist as an
insect, a fantastic intrusion in the "rea1 11 world.
Des-
pite the transformation, Gregor's concerns are with that
normal world, with his job and reputation.
"ltJhat. a fate,
to be condenmed to work for a firm where the smallest
omission at once gave rise to the gravest suspicion."?
If Kafka's Th,9
Iv1etamorph_o!3i~
were all fantasy the
transformation might be accepted as part of a. fairy tale.
Kafka, however, uses a mundane setting for such fantastic
occurrences.
The fantastic events and the semblance of
i
7
normal life are juxtaposed constantly in all of his storiE!S.
Gregor Samsa's acceptance of and adaptation to his transformat;ion are complete.
If Gregor's transformation were
his own personal dilemma, it could be chalked up to his
own personal delusion.
But his entire family takes on the
responsibility of caring for him as an insect until he dies--.
With his death, the family turns to thoughts of marrying
their daughter; "a confirmation of their nevv dreams and
exeellent intentiona that at the end o.f the journey their
ch1.ughter sprang to her feet first and st:cetcrwd her young
8 T1e
}~'(''"-y
1
.
.
.
·~ •
''b ad dream" 1s
forgot t en as easlly
as 1t
had
(!
been accepted.
There appears to be no crime, no judgment or moral.
Yet, as we shall see, the story fulfills the function of
the parable by illuminating some facet of human existence,
:s-.,ren though the conten.t is fantastic by Biblical standards
there is an understandable message which is brought out
by the teclmical aspect of shifting between the fantastic
and the "normal."
KafJca!s stories "bring the familiar
into the unfamiliar context."9
In .TIJ.e.
T~.::J:~'ll_,
Kafka repeats his pattern of begin·-
ning a story with a fantastic statement:
"Someone must
have traduced Joseph K., for without having done anything
wrong he ·was arrested one fine morning . .,lO
Although this
may be less startling than the opening line in The
Metamorphosis, the reader is suddenly and inexplicably led
··'
8
to utter the statement, "Surely there must be something
more to thist
There is something more, but there is no-
11
thing to contradict or clarify what has initially been
stated.
A man is transformed into an insect.
been arrested for no reason and no crime.
iJ:'he
Metamg_rl2_~
A man has
Throughout both
and The Trial the opening statement is
never contradicted, no matter how fantastic it seems; it is
simply made an integral .part of the tale.
In The Trial,
Joseph K. states that he "lived in a country with a legal
constitution.
f~orce.
-, 'l
n-·......
There was universal peace, all laws were in
Still, Joseph must deal with being accused and
put on trial without knowing his offense.
Gregor Samsa,
around it.
~Toseph
Much like
K. accepts his fate, hoping to work
But his accuser has a logic and authority
which malres him an elusive and invisible antagonist.
Joseph spends the better part of his time shifting from
the semblance of reality as embodied in his job as a bank
executive to the surreal events associated with his trial.
Joseph feels that once he can put things in order,
everything will be resolved.
"Once order
WCLS
restored,
c~very
trace of these events would -be obliterated and
12
things would resume their old course."
But is an order
to be found in K.'s predicament?
resembles a carnival.
o.rderly speech,
His first interrogation
In the midst of his logical and
"K. was interrupted by a shriek from the
other end of the hall; he peered from beneath his hand to
9
see what was happening, for the reek of the room and the
dim light together made a whitish dazzle of fog."l3
The
disturbance, which takes place in a surreal meeting place,
is that of a man attacking a woman.
The reaction of the
members of the IJaw Court is to watch and cheer on the intrusion.
Later, Joseph is to pursue this same woman in a
chase reminiscent of Alice pursuing the hare iri Lewis
Carroll's classic.
Is there any hope for the imposition of
order on such an illogical system?
The question is ans-
wered in the negative when a confrontation occurs in
Joseph's bank building.
This, his bastion of reality, is
invaded by the surreal world of the IJaw Court.
Upon open-
ing a door to one of the rooms in the bank building Joseph ·
f'inds two of the men who served his original summons submitting to a flogging.
ordered punishment.
This is the result of a court
The significance of the incident is
that it breaks the boundaries between Joseph's orderly
world and the fantastic world of the Law Court.
Again,
Kafka W3es the technical devices of the parable to his own
advantage.
The mystery and the dual nature of that liter-
ary form
preserved by juxtaposing elements of the sur-
lS
real and. the "normal."
In "The Hunger Artist," the reader is again held
by a fantastic story until the unfamiliar is accepted as
part of familiar surroundings.
The
reader~s
suspension pf
disbelief is tested with the opening statement:
10
During these last decades the
interest in professional fasting
has markedly diminished. It
used to pay very well to stage
such great performances under
one's own management, but ;today
that is quite impossible.l4
The reader is presented with the familiar setting of a
carnival.
The unfamiliar is embodied in the artist who
performs great feats of starvation.
Again, this is a
situation that is not the delusion of one individual.
Like
Gregor Samsa and Joseph K. the hunger artist is an integral
part of his society.
This adds to the dreamlike quality
of the work by emphasizing the contrast between the fantastic and the backdrop of the familiar.
Works such as The Trial, The lVIetamorp})._osis, and
"The Hunger Artist" are initiated with a fantastic incident·
which is then sustained throughout the story.
Some of
Kafka's shorter pieces give him a chance to reverse that
particular style of the parable.
The abbreviated length
allows him a chance to build from a semblance of normality
to a f'antastic disclosure at the end of the piece.
ple of this style is found in "The Judgment."
An exam-
Although
this is a short piece, it has inspired hundreds of critiques and studies.
The main character, Georg.Bend.emann,
goes through a series of rather mundane incidents.
He
begins by writing a friend in Russia, he sees his fiancee,
he finally decides to tell his friend of the engagement.
Georg then has a confrontation with his father over the
11
aforementioned incidents.
The upshot of the story is an
argument between father and son which climaxes in the following statement by the father:
An innocent child, yes, that you
were, truly, but still more truly
have you been a devilish human being.
--And therefore take note: I 9entence
you now to death by drowning. 1 )
The story ends with the apparent suicide of Georg.
In the case of this short parable, the reader's shock is
reserved for the end of the story.
1rvhile there is much
more substance to the stor;)' (which will be discussed
later), the point here is that it juxtaposes the real and
the unreal.
As a parable it is barely reducible to strict
interpretation, yet it is still illuminating.
In "The Penal Colony,
11
the reader's disbelief and
horror grow with each succeeding paragraph.
An explorer
is the guest at a penal colony and is about to witness an
execution.
As the story proceeds, he learns that the
method of execution is by a device knovm as the "Harrow.''
So far, the story's credibility is hardly strained.
But
the description of the device itself initiates the breakdown of a relatively believable setting.
The Harrow
inscribes the punishment directly onto the body of the
convicted man.
This is described in ghastly detail until
the story climaxes with the death of the officer:
"through
. t or- th e grea t · 1ron
.
the forehead wen t t he po1n
sp1. k e. ,,l6
As we shall see, "The Penal Colony" has much more to say
12
in terms of its content.
It is significant stylistically
and technically because it comes so close to absorbing the
fantastic into the real world.
As a variation on the
parable, it illuminates an aspect of our lives and reinforces Kafka's contention that the "incomprehensible is incomprehensible ...
,
PART II
To this point, it has been shown that Kafka uses
technical variations of the parable in his works.
Using
these variations he stays within the traditional form
while adding his ovm personal touches.
easy to describe.
to handle.
This much has been
Content, however, is a difficult subject
Consider the following quote from Austin
l!varren:
The novels of Kafka are not in
any exact sense allegorical.
From his diaries and aphorisms
and his friend Brod 's cor:n..mentaries
we know that he intended the novels
to give creative expression to the
mysteries of Justice and Grace; that
they are "metaphysical" novels we
should surely have discerned without
aid. But Kafka provided them with
no conceptual chart, they require
none; and it is their special richness that they have much particylarly
untranslatable into generality.
So, Kafka's stories have "no conceptual chart" and "have
much particularly untranslatable into generality."
make matters more difficult
s.
To
TeSalle has stated that
"Kafka•s parable is a genuine one--it is not translatable
or reducible. "2 Here is a paradox worthy of Kafka's own
writing; the scholar who attempts to paraphrase works
which reveal that the "incomprehensible is incomprehensible."
13
.·
14
Still, various interpretations can be made if one keeps in
mind that the parables illumin_9-te concepts.
They are not
rigidly interpreted or solved with a single critical formula.
They are parables which concern themselves with the
"mysteries of Justice and Grace," themes which have often
been observed in the twentieth century.
In the following
pages I am mainly concerned with the parables of justice.
Many interpretations of Kafka's stories have been
undertaken.
For example, psychoanalytical interpreta-
tions of "'11he Judgment" and The Ca.:stle have been made
which assert that the stories are filled with sexual symbolism and Freudian concepts such as the Oedipus complex.
In "The Judgment," this reasoning supplies the logic
behind Georg Bendemann's death sentence which is proclaimed.
by his father.
Statements from Kafl>;:a's ovvn diaries have
been used to substantiate interpretations which claim that
"The Judgment," as well as other stories, are only vaguely
disguised episodes from the author's ovm life.
Finally,
critics have attempted to assign logical and consistent
roles to the characters in Kafka's stories.
This leads to
an interpretation based on consistent values, which moves
towards an orderly conclusion.
But that logic is a rare
occurrence in Kafka's works.
There are problems with the aforementioned methods
of exploring Kafka's works.
In resorting to a psycho-
analytical viewpoint the critic runs the risk of dismissing
15
the characters as characters and seeing them as
projec~
tions of the author's autobiographical sub-consciousness.
If, along with this view, the critic uses biographical
approaches (as does Max Brod), the stories cease to be
works of art and are downgraded to the case history of a
confused German clerk.
Even Erich Heller has been moved
to comment that, "This kind of psychology can contribute
as much to the explanation of a work as ornithological
anatomy to the comprehension of what the nightingales'
song meant to Keats."J
Stanley Corngold has pointed out that most of the
critical methods employed in interpreting Kafka 1 s worlcs
are based on a system of "progressive accumulation." 4
Each character is assigned a value which leads the critic
to summarize and conclude the story on a logical note.
But Corngold has to ask the question, "Can a single value
be attributed in good conscience to any of these characters?"5
The answer is that, "in no reading I know has it
been possible to assign to these characters values drawn
from lived experience, to hold these values fast throughout their interaction ••• "16 In fact, Corngold would most
likely agree with Ronald Gray, who wrote:
Kafka was not a systematic philosopher
or man of religion; he was an artist,
a writer, and there is no one body
of doctrine to which all his work can
be referred.?
16
How then, can the content of these parables which concern
the "mysteries of Justice" be approached?
'1 hroughout the entire history of literature the
1
issue of justice has been of primary importance.
From the
texts of the Bible to nineteenth century works, such as
Les Miserable, authors have been led to observe.that
"Heaven's mills are grinding slowly, but the;y grind exceed.
J.ng
sma11 • .. s
In other words, the laws of God and Man come
to a positive conclusion no matter how long it takes.
must be reason and logic in such conclusions.
There
Often,we do
think of justice in terms other than the statutes of Man.
We hope for logic and order in life.
In a sense, justice
becomes a function of that logic and order.
As the twen-
tieth century progressed, however, it ";)ecame evident that
reason, logic, and justice were not to be taken for granted.
When World War I was over, there seemed little logic in the
incredible massacre that had taken place.
Again, in World
lrJar II, the extermination programs of Hitler seem insane.
It hardly seems possible that the "Heaven's mills" could
ever grind f'ine enough to justify the Holocaust.
There
may be those who argue that these events were directly, or
indirectly outside Kafka's experience.
But Kafka seems to
catch the essence of this era when reason, logic and justice
change their relationships.
17
In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa awakes to find
he is no longer human.
He is an insect.
The startling
nature of the story has already been discussed as a variation of the parable form.
As a parable, it illuminates
some facet of human existence, ,juxtaposing elements of the
real and the unreal.
The transformation of Gregor tempts
the reader to search for justice as an extension of reason.
1·Jhy has Gregor been struck with this change?
Surely it
must be punishment for some horrendous deed.
Gregor, how-
ever, is not a malevolent human being; he is merely an
average citizen.
and his family.
He has a good relationship with his firm
Gregor's working life may be a "self-im-
posed labyrinth,"9 but no more so than the average working
man's life.
When he confronts the chief clerk as an insect·.
Gregor is all business:
You see sir, I'm not obstinate,
and I'm willing to work; traveling is
a hard life, but I couldn't live without it •••. I'm loyally bound to serve
the chief, you know that very well.
Besides, I have to provide for my
parents and my sister.lU
Gregor, in fact, is the one who has been manipulated by
his family.
As it turns out, they do have some funds left
from his father's old business and they will get along
without Gregor's income.
In The
IV!etamorphpp~~~
Gregor's transformation.
tance of Grogor's fate.
there is no reason given for
There is, instead, a bland accepAlthough the family is initially
·'
18
revolted at his change, they soon accept his condition and
confine him to his room.
The family finances are considered
during the first day of the transformation.
sister, takes care of Gregor with compassion.
Grete, his
But this
compassion soon turns to caretaking as Grete begins to
view her brother as more of a pet.
The human form of Gregor is simply metamorphosed to
an insect form.
condition.
There is not much change outside of that
Gregor's state of mind as a human does not
change at the time his body does.
Although his vision
changes as do some of his appetites (eating garbage and
walldng walls), Gregor's concerns are still human.
Even in
the last moments before his death, he thinks of his family
with "tenderness and love." 11 With Gregor's death comes
the family's relief that their inconvenience is over.
In
fact, there are good tidings in the air for, "Although it
was so early in the morning a certain softness was perceptible in the fresh air. After all, it was already the end
of March." 12 The :family gets new jobs and the future
appears bright.
The story ends on this positive note:
And it was like a confirmation
of their new dreams and excellent
intentions that at the end of their
journey their daughter sprang to her
feet first and stretched her young
body.l3
There appears to be a resolution in The lVietamor.£ho~Js.,
but of what?
of Gregor?
The family's trial is over, but what
There seems to be no moral, no judgment, no
logic.
There is simply a bizarre, inconvenient situation
that begins and concludes.
.M.~tamornhos~.§.
Unlike Biblical parable, The
is characterized by a lack of justice.
As a
twentieth century parable, it does comment on man's acceptance of the most bizarre circumstances and his ability to
accommodate them in his world.
But the story is more
striking in its exclusion of justice, whether 1t be in terms
of man-made laws, logic or order.
Erich Heller makes an
excellent observation concerning this exclusion:
The laws without a lawgiver,
original sin without a god to sin
against--this is the essence of the
negative theology that pervaaes
Kafka's stories and novels.l'
The illumination of the statement that the "incomprehensible is incomprehensible" is an important part of
1h&_M§t~I~~·
As Heller observes, the twentieth cen-
tury parables of Kafka often deal with· justice in terms· of
its absence.
The Metamo.rphQsis serves as a good introduction to
the content of those parables which illuminate a frustrated
justice and logic.
is expanded upon.
In the novel The Trial. that frustration
The Trial deals with Joseph K, who sud-
denly and inexplicably finds himself accused by a strange
Law Court.
The crime he is supposed to have committed is
never revealed and, in fact, may have never occurred.
Like
Gregor in Jhe 1\lletamorphp(E>.i§, Joseph is suddenly forced to
deal with illogical and consequently unjust sets of
20
circumstances.
century- man:
Gregor shows adaptive qualities of twentieth
in the face of the most bizarre circumstances
·he adapts and accepts his transformation as a moral course
of events.
His main concern is how to dissolve back into
the mainstream of life.
Like Gregor, J·oseph K., (as a member
of the business community) tries to adapt.
His
transforma~
t.ion is from a faceless member of the cornmuni ty to a crimi~
nal,
'rhi.s is a change which has as little logic and justice
to it as Gregor's.
The Law Court which accuses .Joseph is
an underground system of justice which shouldn't even exist
in the "legal constitv.tional government" of ,Joseph's world.
11he J_aw Court seems to have no legal or popular sanction
and yet it leads Joseph K. to a death as slow and bizarre
as Gregor Samsa's.
11he adaptive qualities of' man are shown i.n both
.Tll§..JVie.}_§:!Il.Oti2lWSip_ and The Trial.
Gregor and .Joseph K.
feel as if adapting will give them some degree of control.
Gregor will re-enter the mainstream of his world and
tinue to support his family.
con~
Joseph K. hopes to face his
accusers and have a sense of order restored to his life.
But, in adapting, both characters become more and more
manipulated by external forces.
Gregor begins to succumb
to the instinct of the insect he has become.
Joseph K.
cannot re;.::::tore order to his life and in attempting to
adapt to his situation he only becomes more manipulated by
the law Courts.
l
21
Joseph K. is caught up in the cycle which Kafka
sets in motion.
Bizarre circumstances lead the character
to try to adapt, and thereby surmount the difficulty.
At
the outset Joseph K. has a choice--he can :r·ebel against an
absence of' reason, or he can adapt.
~Joseph
ehooses:
Accordingly~
instead of a quick solution he chose that ct':lrtainty v:hich the
natural course of things woun be bound
to bring and went back to this room without another word having been said by him
or by the warders.l.5
But there is no "natural course of things" in
~rhe
Trial.
At this point, Joseph K. has opted for adapting and he consequently becomes a manipulated victim.
This sense of
helplessness is exemplified when J·oseph K. goes to the Law
Court Offices seeking to clarify his case.
There he meets
other de.fendants who actually foreshadow his :future state
oi' desperation:
"They did not stand quite erect, their
backs remained bowed, their knees bent. Thl?Y stood like
16 1
street beggars. "
l'he full effect of Joseph! s acceptance
of an incredibly illogical turn of events is symbolized in
his physieal reaction.
Two employees gaze at Jos8ph "as if
they expected some great transformation to happen to him at
the next moment •.•• n 1 7 Joseph feels faint and has to be
cared for by the two e.mployees.
"He was delivered into
their hands; if they let him go he must fall like a block
of wood." 18
The transformation is attributed to the atmos-
phere of the offices, but is just as plausible to view
as symbolic of the manipulatf2d phase which .Joseph enters.
22
Jost':~ph
K. has a choice:
system.
he can defy an illogical and unjust
But he chooses to adapt and becomes smothered and
manipulated.
His thoughts are expressed in the following
quotation:
The only sensible thing was to
adapt oneself to existing conditions. Even if it were possible
to alter a detail for the better
here or there--but it was simple
madness to think of it--any bene:fit
arising from that would profit
clients in the f'uture only, while
one's own interests> would be
immeasurably injured by attracting
the attention of the ever-vengeful
o.fficials. Anything, rather than
that!l9
Although Joseph K. lives in a "legal constitutional
democracyuthe is arrested without being informed of the
charges against him.
In
harsn ¥ t viola ted any law.
fact~
it becomes clear that he
The facade of a "legal consti tu-
tional democracy" is not without precede:nt i.n the histo:cy
of governments.
Kafka injects an air of surrealism into this story
by drawing out the suffering of Joseph to inte:cminable
lengths.
.Joseph K. has not comrni tted a crime unless it is
the crime of simply living or existing in the twentieth
century.
He is pursued by officials who are "only following
orders."
His firot interrogation by the Court of Inquiry
becomes a fantastic circus.
While J·oseph attempts to
defend himself with reason. the meeting is interrupted by
a
SC!f·me
of seduction.
This trans1Jires in an atmosphere
2J
that is as unreal as the meeting, a place where "the reek
of the room and the dim light together made a whitish
"
a',?zzle
~
- of i'oJI..
~
20
Th e of·f·
· 1 s are more 1n
· t eres t e d b y th e
. 1c1a
seduction of a washerwoman in the Court than in Joseph's
case.
Such pre1'erences, however hypocritical, also have
m.unerous precedents i.n the politics of the "real" world.
As ludicrous as Joseph K.'s initial confrontations
seem, the seriousness of his situation becomes increasingly
appa:nmt.
11
The thought of the casB rleve-c· left him now. " 21
He goss to the la·wyer Huld, who explains that the proceed·i:ngs are not madG public by the Law Cour-t;.
"Ns..turally,
therefore, the legal records of the case and, above all 9
the actual charge sheets, were inaccessible to the accused
'rhe ch8.rges can only be guessed at by
the accused and his defense.
"For the Defense was not
actually countenanced by the Law, but only tolerated ••. ~~ 2 3
Under the comfortable, legally constitutional society that
the bank clerk Joseph has grown up in, is an entire
sub~-
system of illogical and unjust actions.
Like Joseph, we all live in a world where the "incomprehensible is incomprehensible."
ltilhat seems totally
unjust and void of reason is often an integral part of what
we would like to view as a rational world.
following proceedings of the Law:
Consider the
The most important thing was
the cow1sel's personal connection
with office officials of the Court;
in that lay the chief value of the
Dei'ense •.• Nothing was of any real
value, but respectable personal con- ?
nections with the higher officials ••. ""'' 4
The workings o.f the bureaucratic system of the Law
Court are not unfamiliar to any observer of goveTnment.
The pa:::·able has been described as an extended metaphor
which, being dual in na tu:r.e, can display both a
and literal nature.
ble
eoncE~rning
T!Le
~Cr;i~t
is n.o e::xception.
~figurative
As a para·-
justice, the stor;y comrnents on and illumi-·
nates the very r2al implice.tions o:f politics, law and
bureaucracy.
Joseph K. must face these workings to a sur-
real extreme.
The convoluted logic of that system culmi-
nat0s when
,J:>~ieph
meets a prj_ est in "the cathedral. "
r:ehis
ed:LU.ce is huge, "bordering on the limit of wh2t human
21:'
beings could bear.":;
Joseph, too, has reached a limit.
He has been endlessly assaulted by the incomprehensible
pursuits o.f the Law Court.
Now, in thi.s overwhelmingly vast
cathedral, Joseph confronts the enormity of th1:: :Law as tht?
priest narrates the parable that has come to be called,
"Before the Law ...
Briefly, the parable tells of a "man from the country" who wishes to be admitted to the Law, but "before the
26 1J.1he man from the country is
l..aw stands a doorkeeper. "
informed that he may attain entrance, "but not at this
moment." 2''1
For years, the man from the country attempts to
25
be admitted to the Law.
Finally, on the edge of death, the
man asks the doorkeeper, "Everyone strives to attain the
Law; how does 1t come about then, that i.n all these years
no one has come seeking admittance but me? " 28 ~rhe answer
from the doorkeeper is,
11
No one but you could gain admit·-
tance through this door, since this door was intended for
you. I EJ.D1 now going to shut it . ., 29
mlat follows is a thorough examination of the short
parable by both Joseph and the priest.
Joseph believes the
door·1-rec<per has d.eceived the man from the country.
The
priest rec.1. tes interprets..tions which hold that the doorkeeper was basically doing his ordained job.
pretations assert that the
doorl~eeper
Other inter-
himself is the victim.
Each i.rd:;erpretation is substantiated with logic.
Even
Jose1ili is prompted to say,
It is well argued, and I am inclined
to agree that the doorkeeper is deceived. But that has not made me
abandon my former opinion, since
both conclusions are to some extent
compatible.JO
Joseph feels that if the doorkeeper is indeGd deceived he.
must be incompetent and therefore released from his job.
If he is deceived, how can he understand the Law?
But the
priest's final words are, " •••• it is not necessary to
accept everything as true; one must only accept it as
?1
necessary."_.~
Joseph!s response is that the priest's view
•tturns lying into a universal principle." J?·-
26
This "parable within a parable" supports Kafka's
contention that in the twentieth centur-y "the incomprehensible is incomprehensible."
It is un."1ecessary to "accept
everything as true,'' just as it is unnecessary to explain
everything in terms of
reason~
logic, or justice.
Joseph~s
response that, "It turns lying into a universal principle"
is an accurate observation.
Kafka's stories themselves
are wider than judicial truth and assert the illogical
"l:i.es
11
.
of the incomprehensible.
At first glance,
T!}_~-- Castle
scums to be an excep-
·tion to Kafka's use of the parable.
Gone ic; the star.tling
introduction \Vhich characterizas Jhe MetamQ..D.?.[.tosjs and The
Trial.
Perhaps the plot is banal and this is not a parable.
of .mysterious speech, a surreal story to be illuminated but
never explained.
Consider, however, the following quote
from Henri Daniel-Raps concerning
·rhLQ_~stle:
It is natural and at the same time
charged with terrible significance. It
could be said that the deepest myst:ery
is obtained by pushing realism to extremes. All the details are simple and
c0mmonplace yet the writer subjects them
to a transmutation which makes them seem
to compete with each other in snveloping
us with some weighty secrets. 3
IJ'Jha t are these "weighty secrets 11 ?
They are mys-teries which
are never solvedt desires with no resolution, and lives
without a sense of reason or justice.
parable which focuses on the absence of
~_gas...ll£
justice~
is a
a quality
which often functions as an extension of reason and logic.
27
From the outset there is a hint of mystery.
The
initial paragraph carries a sense of foreboding, a sense
of truths concealed and never spoken:
It was late in the evening when
T.he village was deep in
snow. The Castle hill was hidden,
veiled in mist and darkness~ nor was
there evE.m a g1irnmer of light to show
that a castle -vvas there. On the
wooden bridge leading from the main
road to the village, K. stood for a
long time gazing Int~ 1-l- the illusory
emptiness above him.·K. arrived.
The "illusory emptiness" is the theme of K. 's entire
gle.
He sees what appears to be
nothin~
strug-~
and yet he believes
that there is something, some truth, waiting for him.
The
view that there is nothing ahead mus.:t_ be a simple illusion.
Surely there is a substance, a logic and a reason to his
But as surely as the "inccmprehensible is inc om~
journe:f.
prehensible," K. finds not "illusory emptiness," but simply
emptiness.
Like Joseph K. in .'rhe
~~rial,
K. in I:he .Castle
pursues the ghost of reason and justice.
K. is £aced with a problem that has no resolution.
In this case
p
he reports to an unnamed tovvn as a Land-
Surveyor; a position which implies a reasoning, logical
mind with a capacity for drawing and defining boundaries.
But K. is stymied by the vague, tmapproachable bureaucracy
of the Castle.
From the outset, the description of this
edi:fi.ce of government is foreboding.
28
It was as if a melancholy-mad
tenant who ought to h.r~.ve been Jtent
locked in the-topmost chamber of .. his
house had burst through the roof and
lifted~bimself up to the gaze of the
world.J5
·
K. is dealing with a mad, incomprehensible type of'
govern~
mental structure. Hv.reau.cracy stops K. from resuming a life
that was formerly steered by his w5.11 alone.
A:t first he
receives no recognition that his services are even desired.
~-~ihe:n
a letter arrives to clarify the situation§ K. is faced
with the first tangle of bu rea1.x:racy.
As Land- Surveyor he
is engaged "for the Count's service."3
6
The Chief of
DCJYJ:rtrrwnt X signs the letter and K. 's only liaison with
this chain of command is a messenger named Barnal1us.
rrhis
is just a hint of the bureaucratic mess that IL must muddle
t;hrough.
In a conversation vrith the
Kayor~
K. begins to
lea:cn. that the orders for his employment may have been
given mistalcenly.
Department B.
Department A gets a letter intended for
From department to department, from official
to official, the orders for his Gmployment have been bungled.
Every attempt to meet and deal directly with a Castle officia:.:.. is thwa:cted.
K. even stakes out an official's coach
to arrange a meeting but the official delays his departure
rathern than deal with the intruder.
K.rs observation of a
storm;/ night is symbolically indicative of his futile relationship with the Castle and its officials:
.•• the longer he looked, the less he
could make out and the deeper eJerything was lost in thE) twilight. 7
29
F'inally, K. becomes desperate enough to sacrifice
his integrity by entering into a relationship with an official' s mistress.
While the initial confrontation vii th
'
Frieda is sexually oriented, it becomes apparent even to
K.'s landlady that he intends to use his relationship to
get at the official Klamn1.
the
Frieda repeats the remarks of
landlady to K. :
••• before you (K.) knew me you were
without hope, but you imagine that in
me you have a reliable means of reaching Klamm certainly and quickly ~~d
even with advantage to yourself.J
~Vhile }g~G0.1lt1._~
ls a parable which depicts govern-
ment bu.reaucracy, it also shows how twentieth century man
rE.~acts
to this incredibly unjust and illogical world.
K.
trie;::J to adapt to his circumstances just as his counterpart·
in
Jl'~<:L_I.Li§-1
does.
instead of freedom.
the town?
That adaptation leads to manipulation
lrvThat are the reasons that hold K. in
According to K. the answer is the time and money
involved in the journey and his prestige as a Land-Surveyor.
But his desire to complete his job in spite of the Castle
bureaucracy becomes an obsession.
v·Jhen that happens K.
becomes a subordinate of the Castle rather than an adversary.
His first step into submergence is to have his
affair with Frieda.
marriage
bf~tween
'l1his
leads to an announcement of
K. and Frieda.
Sine e he cannot take up
employment as a Land-Surveyor until the Castle confirms his
job, he is forced to take a job as a school janitor.
At
JO
this point, K. has a choice.
He can continue what seems
to be a futile struggle in his attempt to breach the
bureaucracy of the Castle, or he can
leav~.
is in adapting to the incomprehensible.
of the .fact that K. realizes that
11
K.'s mistake
This is in spite
there was nothing more
senseless, nothing more hopeless than this freedom, this
\v·aiting, this inviolability. ,J9
1iihile the main character
of _The__ _T.._r.iaJ. suffers an abru:rt death, K. has no such fate.
Whether it is because oi' Kafka's i.ncomple"te manuscript or
by
design, K. seems doomed to a lifetime of futile attempts
to reach and make sense out of a vast bll.:ceaucracy.
The
incomprehensible in this parable remains just as illogical
in reality.
.
'
b e1.ngs
:tn
Could the extermination of six million human
death camps ever become reaJity?
twentieth century Germany.
mous with "peace"?
It occurred in
Could "war" ev·er become synony--
While helping to negotiate peace be-
tween Israel and Arab countries, the United States sold
tactical weapons to both parties.
livE~
Like K.
j
·we accept and
with such senseless aspects of twentieth century life,
rarely Gtopping to consider how completely we are manipulated by. and accepting of, such occurrences.
twentieth century parables which illwninate concepts of
justice and reason.
The cessation or diminution of' such
concepts often leads to the manipulation of the people
31
involved.
11
The Judgment", a story on which. Kafka himspl:f
commented, also illustrates this theme.
Kafka asked,
11
Gan you discover a:ny meaning in "The
Judgment" ~~,some straightforward, coherent meaning that one
could :follow'? I can't find any, nor can I explain anything
in it." 40 Although he asked this of his fiance, F'elice,
Kafka 1 s question mHy just as ·well be open to both
and
critic.
readel~
The search for meaning in this story has been
long and thorough.
The studies by lVIax Brod, Erich Heller,
Heinz Po1.3.tzer, and Stanley Corngold have all covered some
of the traditional interpretations of' "The Judgment."
Even
Kafka leads readers to pursue various courses of under'.
s t anaJ.ng.
In his diaries, he comments on the similarity
of namer:> Ln. the story to names with which the author him-
self
wa.B
.familiar.
The nurnb8r of letters in "Georg" are
identical to those in "Franz."
The name Frieda is similar
to that of Felice, Kafka's real life fiancee.
games are endless.
These word
The fact that Kafka leads the critic
·to biographical interpretations should not be misunderstood.
11
!J'he
~Judgment"
is a work of' art..
It is not unusual for the
artist to be at a loss :for an exact and reasonable exp1anation of h:is ovv:n work.
interpretations.
C:ci tics, ho·wever, will find numerous
Erich Heller points out some of the
Freudian symbolism in the story.
his ovm bed.
Georg offers his father
He then "covers up" his fa t.her.
"Never
before," says Heller, " .•• has Freud ruled so supremely
32
over a piece of literature. " 41
He in~~ Poli tzer points out
that.as the son enters into manhood, the father is exiting.
The son is leaving bachelorhood while the father is into
the second bachelorhood, that of a widower.
Finally,
Poli tzer claims that "Georg s offense consisted in his
self-centeredness," 42 There are, however, problems with
!
these methods.
"The J\ldgment" is a parable which should
illuminate concepts, not an equation to be solved vvith
mathematical precision.
Georg Bend emann,
11
a young businessman, " is vvri ting
to an old friend who resides in Russia.
'Ihere is, however,
an inability to comm1..mica te between the correspondents.
Georg canet bring himself to tell his friend of his business
successes or his impending engagement for fear of diRturbi:n.g his acquaintance's feelings.
The friend is not doing
well at his ventures and Georg feels that sending good news
to him would be offensive.
For these reasons it was impossible, assuming one wanted to keep
up correspondence with him at all,
to send lli..rr.. any real news such as
.could be given unhesitatingly to
even the most distant acquaintance. 43
But this is not, supposedly, a "most distant acquaintance."
The reader is given the initial impression that Georg and
his friend are close, having };:nown each other since childhood.
'l'he friend, however, has his own difficulty in com-
munication.
From the response he gives concerning the death
of Georg's mother, "one could only conclude that the grief
JJ
caused by such an event was impossible to imagine at a
dist<:'.nce. '
1
~'\Jhat
kind of friendship is this?
It is one which
plagues Georg and in a sense manipulates him.
Although he
may be self'ishly concerned with the impression he gives his
friend~
he is just as much the subject of that acquaintance's
feelings.
Georg spends a considerable amount of time decid-
ing what to omit from his letter.
Although one would expect
a friend ~:;hip which has gro1-vr1 since childhood to be frank,
much of Georg's time and energy is manipulated by his fear
of wh<3.t he should or should not say.
T!l.e next relationship that Georg must deal with is
his impending engagement to Frieda.
Again, this is sup-
posedly ar1 important relationship.
Georg has decided not
to annou:r}ce this aspect of hiB lif'e to his friend in Russia.
Despite Georg's insistence to vvi thhold this information,
his fiancee ( brea thing faster under his kisses" )'+5 con11
vinces him to announce the engagement.
Georg says, "That's
how I 1 rn made and he must just take me as I am •••• I can't
fashion myself into a different kind of person vvho might
perhaps make him a more suitable friend." 46 But George
has been misinforming his friend in order to be "more
suitable.
11
Now he is in turn manipulated by his fiancee,
who convinces him to inform his friend oi' the engagement.
1rJhen Georg writes his letter, he takes pains to present the
engagement as something which won't interfere with their
friendship.
As Georg says,
1
' ••••
as far as our relationship
is concerned, the only difference is that you will find in
1
.
.
f r1end,
.
.
-"7
me, 1n
p 1 ace o f · a qu1.. t e or d J.nary
a h appy f r1end."
Georg now goes to his father's room, sees him, and
is moved to utter, "V'Jhat a giant my father still is. u 48
From this comment it is evident that Georg is still firmly
entrenched in a child-parent relationship.
This is in
spite of the fact the father's condition appears to be
poor·. · 11 I~ rn no longer as strong as I was; my memory's
-f..'"'r
.. •,
·,.
.J.aL.d.,.1g;
he:·
u..,..;!
says the senior Bendemann.
Georg notes that
his fa·ther needs to be cared for more carefully and can't
help but notice his father's attire is that of dirty underclothes and a loose old bathrobe.
As Georg carries his
father to bed there is even a suggestion of senility,
During his few steps towards it he
noticed with a terrible sensation
that his father, as he lay against
his breast, was playing with his
watchchain. He could not put him
dov-.>r1 on the bed straight away, so
firf!11Y _s8id he cling to this vvatchcha~n.
As he lays his father down on the bed, Georg tucks him :i.n
like a child, making sure he's "well covered-up.a
But the
picture of Georgfs father as a weakening old man is illusory.
bed:
He explodes with rage the moment Georg puts him in
"You wanted to cover me up, I know that, my young
scoundrel, but I'm not covered up yet. ,,_5l
Georg's father
praises the Russian friend as a "son after my ovvn heart".5 2
35
while ridiculing both his true son and the fiancee.
In
fact, the father insinuates that Georg is betraying both
family and friends.
l'he conversation crystalizes as the
1
father says, "and so as to take your pleasure with her
undisturbed you have besmirched your mother's memory,
betrayed your friend, and stuck your father into bed so
that he can 3 t move."5J
Georg's father seems intent on
instilling feelings of guilt in his son.
:ts young and alive, the
1 ather
7
Although Georg
asserts that, "I'm sti11
::>t:r·onger by far" and derides his son when he states, "How
' com1ng
.
-'~o
- matur1ty.
.
,.54 rrhe final acculong you've delayea
aation is devastating:
So now you know what else there's
been in the world besides you; until
now you've known of' nothing but. yourself. You were an innoce:t1 t ch:U.cl,
it's true 9 but it's even more tr~e
that you've been a devilish hwnan
being~--And so hearken to mel
I
1;3ent_g~ce you now tc death by drownJ.ng.
As th<;; rest of humanity passes in a "positively unending
.
S6 Ueorg
streams"fulfills his father's sentence by jumping
over a bridge.
The search for meaning in "The J\).dgment" has been
cxtensi ve.
'I'he attempts of critics Corngold, Heller, and
Politzer have been touched upon.
All of these studies seem
intent on reducing the story to a matter of cause and
effect, with an emphasis on justifying the sentence that
Georg's .father proclaims.
But we are dealing with a
36
parable and Kafka's request for the reader to find a
"straightforward, coherent meaning" mtu3t go unanswered.
live
are still dealing with the fact that the "incomprehen-
sible is incomprehensible."
Georg's father has no consis-
tent value as he alternates between passive senility and
aggressive accusations.
of sense and. nonsense.
Much o.f what he says is a mixture
He is the judges prosecutor, and
jury, but we are at a loss to rationally describe or expose
any crime worthy of the death sentence.
one of'
"sel:f--centeredne~Js"?
Is Georg's crime
Is it betrayal of parents?
Did Georg love his mother and hate his .father?
All these
questions have been examined by critics in an attempt to
rnah:e sense out of nrrhe Judgment."
But this is a parable
which is meant to illuminate and not a story to be reduced
to cause and effect, crime and punishment, or moral platitudes.
v~ha t
happens to Georg?
his relationships.
He
is manipulated in all o.f
His friend in Russia occupies much of
his timet Georg's fiancee persuades him to reverse his
stand on sending news of their engagement, his father
sentences him to death. and Georg complies.
He is like a
puppet on a stri.ng; manipulated by each encounter with
another person.
Just as humanity in the twentieth century
can be manipulated by incomprehensible transformations, illogical systems of law and incredible bureaucracies, so
does Georg fall prey to manipulation by other people.
attempt to find justice or reason is, according to such
parables, quite impossible.
Any
37
Incredible things happen in the parables of Kafka.
As strange as the events may seem, the issues at
recognizable.
stak~
are
Throughout the stories the themes of cessa-
tion of justice and logic, and man's manipulation under
those circumstances are apparent.
While we can academically
transfer these themes to reality, Kafka provides an example
\vhic11 is horr·ifying :in its pr'oxirni ty to d.irec-t experj_ence@
"The Penal Colony" represents the culmination of a literary
progression.
~Phis
is not to imply that Ka:fka meant it to
be so, since we know that "The Penal Colony
11
(written in
1914) predates most of the major works which have been discussed.
But this frightening story demonstrates the appli-
cation of some of Kafka's themes to society.
Ar1 explorer is about to wi tnsss an execution at a
~penal
C;)lony.
Step by logical step the explorer is in-
formed of the colony's method of' punishment and system of
justice.
An officer informs him that the prisoner is to be
put into a "Harrow," a device which will gouge the inscription, "Hon.or
Thy Superiors" upon the body of the prisoner
over a period of twelve hours.
.Fortunately, the prisoner
is given a felt gag "meant to keep him from screaming and
biting his tongue.u57
But what does this grisly incident
have to do with reality?
Unfortunately, the story itself
is an accurate prediction of some of the atrocious realities
of the twentieth century.
J8
Consider the system of justice which is described
in "The Penal Colony."
A soldier is "condemned to death
for disobedience and insulting behaviour to a superior."5B
rrhis is a harsh sentence, considering the offense, but it
is not the worst injustice in the story.
With "a remote,
glassy look u59 (of a fanatic?), the commanding of:ficer
confirms that the former Commandant of the camp was the
soldier, judge, chemist, and draughtsman of this system
of
~ounishment:
"!!Jhatever comrnandment the prisoner has disobeyed is written upon his body by the Harrow.'* 60 As in
11?:..~- ~~ric:tl,
the accused has no knovvledge of his sentence.
But, as the officer insists, it doesn't matter. "He'll
learn. it on his body. " 61 Consider his exp1a.nation:
My guiding principle is this: Guilt
is never to be doubted. Other courts
cannot follow that })rinciple, for they
consist of several opinions and have
higher courts to scrutinize them.
That is not the case here .•. " 0 2
The case here is that the prisoner is subjected to the gruesome .l-:k'lrrow.
machine
He is literally stripped of his flesh as the
wr~1.. tes
his punishment on his revolving body.
CJnly
Kafka's words can adequately describe the horror of this
execution:
The Harrow is beginning to write;
when it finishes the first draft
of the inscription on the man's
back, the layer of cotton wool
begins to roll and slowly turns
the body over, to give the Harrow
fresh space for writing ..•. The
first six hours the condemned man
stays alive almost as before, he
.
39
.
suffers only pain •.. But how quiet
he grows at just about the sixth
hour. Enlightenment comes to the
most dull witted •.. ~le man begins
to understand the inscrintion, he
purses his ~outh as if h~ were
listening ••.. our man deciphers it
with his wotmds ..• By that time the
Harrow has pierced him quite through
where he pitches down upon the blood
and the water and the cotton wool.bj
What are some of the claims this system of "justice"
ma.kes'?
fJ'he officer believes that this is not simply pvnish-
m~::.nt--there
th~cough
body.
is justice involved.
The prisoner will learn
tr:.e tortu.re of having the judgment inscribed on his
In reality, however, the script of the judgment is as
confused and convoluted as the logic that it accompanies.
"The E1xplorer would have liked to say something appreciative, but all he could see was a labyrinth of lines crossing
and re-crossing each other ••• " 64
Furthermore, there is no
need for any legal procedure to accompany the punishment.
This is an advantage to the adherents of camp policy since
it saves time and avoids bureaucratic entanglements.
'I'he explorer plays an important role in this drama,
He is the objective observer who, at first, appears quite
naive.
As the officer explains the use of the Harrow, the
explorer ironically asks, "Is that cotton wool?" 65
He
attempts to be diplomatic, reminding himself that "this was
in any case a penal colony where extraordinary measures
were needed and that military discipline must be enforced
to the last." 66
The explorer realizes that he is not a
(
40
citizen of the state to v.,rhich the penal colony belongs.
He
is only an observer, despite the fact that the "injustice
of the procedure and the inhumanity of the execution were
undeniable.u 6 7 E-ven when the intent of the execution is
clear, the explorer remains non-comrnital.
The officer asks
him to support the method of execution "for the sake of
prese:cvin.g this tradition ...• " 68 But the explorer remains
passive and states, "I can neither help nor hinder you." 69
As in the parables which have already been discussed,
1
'The Penal Colony" deals with an incident void of reason,
logic or justice.
The colony has adopted a horrendous
system of justice which is prosecuted by its proponents
with vigor.
Like Gregor Samsa, Joseph K., and K.
of~
Q_§:..:?.!J:.§:t the explorer remains passive despite a bizarre set
o:f circumstances.
1rvnile this is in keeping with the thema-
tic material of Kafka's other stories, "The Penal Colony"
as a parable has an all too real counterpart.
"The Penal Colony" was written in 1914, yet it is a
close portrayal of the Nazi death camps of World l!Jar II.
Not even Kafka could have guessed that his grim work of
fiction would come so close to reality.
The convoluted
logic of the officer can be compared to the "rationally"
justified extermination of Jews in Germany.
The belief of
the officer in "The Penal Colony" that the cruel punishment
would somehow be
"enlightening~~
is rivaled by the gruesome
experimentation done by the Nazis for .,medical research."
The explorer remains as passive as religious and government
lead~rs
did throughout the Holocaust.
This, too, is a grim
prediction which Kafka might have been surprised to see so
vividly translated into reality.
Once the officer realizes that the method of execution is going out of style, he plays the role of a martyr
to his syutem of justice by committing himself to the
Harrow.
But the machine goes awry:
"The Harrow was not
writing, it was only jabbing, and the bed was not turning
the body over but only bringing it up quivering against the
nee d].. es. 70
I!
'The body is mutilated until the officer dies
with a spike through his head.
Is this justice?
officer received the punishment he has deserved?
Jfus the
Ironi-
cally, "no sign was visible of the promised redemption."?l
As a martyr, why should the officer need redemption? He
dies with a look that was Calm and convinced." 72 He is
11
convinced in death as well as in life that his system of
justice was right.
Our sense of logic and justice tell us
. that his death should mean defeat and punisl>.ment for the
oi'ficer.
But the "incc.nnprehensibJ.ei• triumphs and the laws
of man or God do not apply.
As the explorer prepares to leave the colony he
visits the grave of the old Commandant who was the architeet of this system of logic.
his grave=
Here is the inscription on
42
Here rests the old Commandant. His
adherents, who now must be nameless,
have dug this grave and set up this
grave and set up this stone. There
is a prophecy that after a certain
number of years the Commandant will
rise again and lead his adherents
from this house to r'5over the colony.
Have faith and wait!
~rhe
bystanders around the grave smile as if to imply that
this "resurrection" can never occur again; "it can't happen
here.H
As one reflects on the extermination of six million
human 1?eings, such apathy is chilling.
Ka.fka deals in parables which illw'llinate several
related themes.
He creates worlds in which logic and jus-
tice do not apply.
Random incidents and bizarre systems of
justice are commonplace.
In fact, the residents of these
t:;trange worlds seem to adapt, accept and let themselves be
manipulated by the most fantastic circumstances.
This is
in keeping with the format of the parable which "cannot be
accominoda ted in the logic of every-dayness.
11
But in com-
posing "The Penal Colony," Kafka crossed the line between
the parable which
reality.
illuminates~
and its implications in
The incomprehensible does happen and people do
accept the incomprehensible.
The essence of the treatment which Kafka gives to
the theme of justice (and its absence) is alluded to in
"An Imperial Message," a short parable vihich relates the
journey of a messenger who bears a secret from a dying
emperor.
The message is so vital that it is whispered
only to the courier, despite the fact that he is in the
company of the "great princes of the Empire."7 4
is the message intended?
For whom
It is for "you, the humble sub-
ject, the insignificant shadow cowering in the remotest
distance before the imperial sun. 11 75
But the journey to
deliver this imperial message is hopeless.
The messenger
r>truggles through masses of people, valiantly striving to
deliver the Emperor's word.
"But the multitudes are so
vast; their numbers have no end. "7 6 At th.5.s point, however,
the messenger is simply trying to make his way ''through the
chamber::> o.f the innermost palace."??
Fighting his way down
each staircase, through each room, he would take thousands
of years just to get out of the confines of the palace.
But even at that instant of escape, he would face the mas::-;es
. of
in the capital city, "crammed to bursting with
its ovm refuse. 1178 The outlook is grim:
peopJ.c.~
Nobody could fight his way through
here, least of all one with a message from a dead rnan.--But you sit
at your window when evenin§ falls
and dream it to yourself.?~
On all levels this is a story of hopelessness an.d
frustration.
What is this message that the emperor sends?
It is important to the emperor, the messenger and the
recipient.
wealth.
It could be the secret of life or the key to
In another
c~ra,
written by another author, this
story would conclude with the delivery of the message to
its intended recipient.
The story would climax with a
just an.d proper ending.
and the a.uthor is Franz
But this is the twentieth century
Kafl~a.
Like the would-·be recipient
in the parable, we can only dream of the undelivered messagE:!.
There is unfinished business here which leaves us
groping for an answer or secret.
Permanence, meaning,
truth, justice; whatever label is given to the "message
from the EHi1peror"--i t remains
u..ndeliverE~d
.
.
\
•'
REFERENCE NOTES
PAR'I' I
1
IVlad eline Boucher, The. Mysterious _,Parable
Ovashington1 D.C.: The Catholic Biblical Association of
America, 19'77), p. 2J.
2
Robert liiJ. l<'unk, Language, Hermeneutic and the
Word of God, as cited by Sallie TeSalle in Speaking in
Parables (Philadelnhia: Fortress Press, l975L ·-p. 70.
--~----
:L974)~
~
3Erich Heller, Franz Kafka (New York: Viking Press,
:p. 72.
4 rb·J.a.,
,
p • 7'"'
.<::.
5li'ranz Kafka, Parables and Paradoxes (New York:
Schocken Books, 1976), p. 11.
6Franz Kafka, The MetamorPhosis (New York: Schocken
'8) p. 7•
Books, 196',,
8 Ibid., p. 127.
7 Ibid • , p. 21.
a ·.
"Hobert w. Funk, Language, Hermeneutic and the Word
of God, as cited by Sallie IJ.'eSalle in Snealdn~:J: in J?arables
(Philadelphia: :Fortress Presst 1975), p. 70.
1 °Franz Kafka,
1969), p. 3.
11
The Trial_ (New York: Vintage Books,
l2T"
. ' .• , p. 21+
. .~-bJ.a
Ibid.' p. 7·
l3Ibid., p. 58.
li+
Franz Kafka, The Penal Col.ony (New York:
Books, 1976), p. 24J.
4-5
Schocken
46
J.5Franz Kafka, "The J·udgment 11 in The Problem of
~he~_:_Juggm_e:r.1, ed. Angel Flores (New York :----co·rdian Press,
1977, p. 12.
16
Franz Kaf1:a, jrhe Pen§J.l_Qolony (New York:
Books, 1976), p. 225.
Schocken
PAHE_P II
------·---
Austin Warren, "Franz Kafka" in Kafka~ ed. Ronald
Gray (New ,Tersey: Prentice Hall Inc., l9.b2) ,-p. lJO.
1
sa1lie TeSelle, §P~.!
in Parabl~.!?_ (Philadelphia:
Fortref;s Press, 197 5), p. b6.
·
2
JErich Heller,
1974), p. 104.
\
!SJ:l..:..:fK~ (New York:
Viking P:cess,
4stanley Corngold, "'Ihe Hermeneutic of the
Judgment: in .Ib.e Prob] em of the Judgmen_1, ed. Angel Flores
(New York: Gordian Press, 19T?), p. L~J.
_sibid., p. 44.
,..,
rRonald Gray, ed. Kafka (New Jersey:
Inc., 1962), p. 6.
Prentice..:Hal.l
8 Friedrich Von Logau in p.erman Baroaue Lyric, ed.
George C. Schoolfield (New York: AlVIS Press, Inc., 1966),
P~
22].w
9 ,. ~
.
~-:l
He~nz. Pol1tzer, l:<ranz Kafka, Parable and Paradox
(New York:
Cornell Uni.versi ty Press, l9b2l, p-.-67~----·1
°Franz Kafka, 'rhe Metamorphosis (New York:
Schock en Books, 1968), p. 35-:- ·
ll
Ibid., p. 117.
1~
12 rb·J. d •
,
p. 121.
.
.,.,. Ibid • , p • 12 7 .
l'* Er:tch
.
19'?4), p. 22.
Heller, Kafka
(New
York:
Viking Press,
1<
../Franz
Kafka, The Trial (New York:
-···-------
1969), p. 11.
16
l'?rb··J.. d •
rbid. , P· 79.
18 .Tb.J. d •
,
22 Ib.
. J. d •
,
p.
<J •
u
l9Ibid., p. 151.
p. 89.
20 Ibid. , p.
t
Vintage Books,
21 Ibid.,
58.
p. ll..J-1+.
')4
P· 142.
2 3Ibid.
'-Ibid., p. ll}6.
2 5Ib'd
26 .Ll)l.
.. , . d •
,
P• 267
27rb·r~
l.u,
28 rb·d
'
P• 269.
29Ibid.
p. 275.
3libid I, p. 276
. :L .
t!
·v"
.. • ,
-~''"'b
.;, l.d
J.
• ,
P• 262.
.)"'2 Ibid.
3.3Hsnri Daniel--Hops, "The Castle of Despair," in
rrwentieth Centurv Internreta tio:ns of 'J1he Castle, Peter F.
·r.Te"lzy-me:Te'r~--·ec:r:--u.~ew Jersey: Prent:i.ce-hallfuc., 1969),
p,
19 ~
J4 Franz Kafka,
1974) p. J.
J5.,.b.
1
. .L J.C..
Jr:•
f
Ibid.
~tl~ (New
York:
,
P• 12.
J 6 J.~b·d
1.
I
p. 125.
18n ..
-.)J.d.,
•
t
p.
Vintage Books,
JO.
P• 199·
39 Ibid. , p. 136.
hOFranz Kafka, "Letters," as cited by Erich Heller
in Franz Kafka (New York: Viking Press, 1974), p, 6.
41 r·
.
OJ. d. • '
p • 11 •
42 Heinz Politzer, Franz Kafka, Parable and Paradox,
(New York; Cornell University Press, 19b2T,' p • .59.
-----
4.S
4JFranz Kafka, "The Judrrment" in 'l'he Problem of
b
---------
t.h_~_JudgrQ~pt,
1\ngel Flores, ed. (I'{ew York:
Gordian Press,
1977; p. 2.
LJ.L}
•
Ib1.d • , p.
4 5Ibid., p.
J.
l,J. 6 Ibid.
4.
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid., p.
L~9 Ibid. , p. 7·
5.
51 Ibid.,
p. 9.
5"'t:;r. 01.· d •
5Jrt··.Ld • '
p • 10 •
_5L~Ibid. , p. 12.
55Ibid.
50 Ibid
•
I
p. 8.
56.r1
•"
.L)J..Q,,
p.
55·
57 Franz Kafka, TtL§ Penal_Q_olq;gy_ (New York:
Schocken Books, 1976), p. 195.
5Sibid., p. 191.
59 Ibid • r p. 196.
,..,kQ Tb. 1
61 Ibid.
- .l.C • '
p. 197·
62 Ibid. ,
P• 198.
6
61}
p. 202
6 5rbid. , p.
195·
66 rbid.,
P• 196.
67 Ib.l.l1 •
"f ~ J.. •
OJTb•d
p. 21J.
6')
7
Ibid.
I
fi
70 Ibid., p.
72"'-b.d
J_ 1.
3rbid. ' PP• 20.3-204.
'
206.
Ibid.
7libid., p. 225
221+.
73Ibid., p. 226.
•
1
7 -1-Franz Kafka, Par~bles_~nd ParadQ2£8S (New York:
Schocken Books, 1976), p.
75rbid., p. 13.
lJ.
77Ibid.
'79Ibid.
7BIbid . ,
p•
14
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