Classics Corner: The Collected Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka; Into the Weird, Creepy, and Terrifying Mind of The Kafkaesque
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: There are few authors who are so ubiquitous with a chosen genre, that their names are synonymous with a certain type of writing. Those terms become almost shorthand. Dickensian calls to mind Victorian cities, intense poverty, and characters with bizarre names. Austen-esque makes one think of romance, particularly Regency-era, social commentary, and witty lovers. Orwellian is comparable to police states, dictatorships, and thought crimes.
Another author who lent his name to a style of writing was Franz Kafka (1883-1924). The term Kafkaesque describes the situations which Kafka wrote. The situations are surreal distortions and reveal a senseless, menacing, complex sense of danger.
Last year, I reviewed The Trial, which featured Josef K., Who was on trial for a crime that he didn't even know he committed. He suffers through a bureaucratic nightmare of a trial in which he can barely defend himself. It's an existential surreal situation in which Josef finds himself, the kind that puts the entire legal system on trial.
These situations were the type that Kafka was knowledgeable about in his whole life. He was born into a middle class German-Jewish family in Prague and was the eldest of six children. His father Hermann, a ritual slaughterer and later a fashion retailer, was severe and cold leaving many scars that appeared in Kafka's writing. His mother was shy, but also never home much, spending 12 hours a day managing the family business. Because of this, Kafka's childhood was a lonely one.
During WWI, two of his sisters moved with their children back to the family home after their husbands went missing. Kafka moved out of the family home at age 31 getting some long sought for quiet.
Though his family were Ashkenazi Jews, Kafka often disagreed with Jewish law and eventually only visited synagogues on the high holy days. He later became more interested in the Yiddish Language and Literature and studied Zionism. He was also an ardent Socialist.
Kafka studied Law at the Deutschland Karl-Ferdinands Universitat in Prague. It was at University where he met fellow law student, Max Brod who became his best friend. Brod described his friend as an avid reader and someone who rarely spoke, but when he did it was important and profound. After Kafka received his Doctor of Law in 1906, he worked as an unpaid law clerk. In 1907, he worked for an insurance company. The long hours and tedious work left him little time for writing. He resigned in 1908 and worked at a company that was more agreeable to his schedule. He eventually became partners with his brother in law at an asbestos company. He enjoyed it at first but felt this partnership also encroached in his writing. In WWI, he attempted to enlist but was discovered to have health difficulties, associated with tuberculosis, which would cause him problems for the rest of his life.
Besides physical health, Kafka had mental health problems as well. He had depression and often said he feared the world inside his head. Modern psychologists believe that he may have had schizoid personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. He certainly saw a lot of bleakness and darkness in the world and that influenced his writing.
Kafka never married, but had a few girlfriends some of which were the inspiration for characters in his works. He had a strong correspondence with one of his girlfriends, Felice Bauer which resulted in the book, Letters to Felice. He also dedicated his story, "The Judgement" to her.
He was also fond of children. An apocryphal tale reflects this in which Kafka comforted a little girl who had lost her doll. Kafka calling himself "the doll postal worker" wrote her a series of letters pretending to be the doll and explaining that she had gone on a trip and wanted to see the world. He returned with a new doll that looked nothing like the old one but was attached to a note that says, "My travels have changed me." There are some doubts to the veracity of this lovely tale, but it reveals a contrast to the Kafka people usually are familiar with.Even though there was a dark side to his personality, Kafka was also very imaginative and childlike at times.
Kafka died of tuberculosis in 1924 at the age of 40. Some of his works such as The Trial and The Metamorphosis were published during his lifetime. On his deathbed, he made Brod, his executor, burn his unpublished works including his stories, letters, sketches, and diaries. Brod ignored him and from 1925-1935 had his novels and collected works published. His final lover, Dora Diamant kept some of his letters and notebooks but they were confiscated by the Gestapo in 1933. Scholars continue to search for them.
Kafka's works demonstrate the surreal darkness and are filled with themes of existential crisis and dehumanization. There is an overwhelming sense of complex danger and fear in his short works as well as long. The Collected Stories are a collection of his short stories and novels. Some are extremely complex and hard to define, but most carry those dark themes in which Kafka was known.
The best of these works are:
Meditations or Contemplations (1912)
" Unmasking a Confidence Trickster"
Plot: While approaching a house, a recent emigre spots another man who he recognizes as a con artist and tries to avoid him.
Review: The majority of the works in Contemplations are very short two or three paragraphs or barely fill a whole page. They take a short time to reflect a mood, but when they do, the mood is impactful partly because of their brief length.
This particular scenario shows conflict between immigrants and citizens. The Narrator believes that the Confidence Trickster finds him an easy target because he's new to the country. He is hyper aware of the xenophobia that surrounds him, perhaps has already experienced, so he suspects it around him.
The text never says whether the other man is a confidence trickster or not. Except for a couple of minor lines, he doesn't say anything at all. It's enough that the newcomer suspects that he is, leading to an intense fear and uncertainty bordering on paranoia in his new surroundings.
"Resolutions"
Plot: The narrator is depressed and resolves to pull himself out, but the more he tries the unhappier he feels.
Review: This brief story reveals what it is like to have Depression and is among the most accurate depictions of the illness that I have ever read. The Narrator, possibly Kafka himself since the story first appeared in his journal in 1911, wants to pull himself out. He wants to put on a show, a smile,and be friendly towards his acquaintances that he dubs A,B, and C. He even wonders if it's worth it to even rise from his chair. There are days when it is a great achievement for someone with depression to rise from their bed.
The Narrator then realizes that it's easier to "throttle down whatever ghostly life remains in you" and refrain from human interaction. Sometimes all someone with depression wants to do is avoid everyone else and be alone with their thoughts. For me this story is 100% accurate as though I, or the more than 3 million people who have this disorder, could have written it. In some ways, I, or rather we, have.
"The Tradesman"
Plot: A businessman goes about his daily business in a job that depresses him. He feels disconnected from his clients even though he tries to help them. On his way home, he feels depressed and has an out of body experience in which he observes a man getting robbed.
Review: As I mentioned in Kafka's biography, Kafka worked as an insurance clerk but felt that the job stifled his creativity and disrupted his writing time. He felt disconnected and alienated. This story reflects that alienation.
The Narrator is in a job in which he helps people but doesn't feel like he makes any difference in their lives. He even imagines that they are in better circumstances than he is.
When he imagines the robbery, it is a reflection of his own soul. The job is "robbing" him of his joy and purpose in life. But he can't quit, because he depends on the creature comforts that it provides. He allows himself to be robbed again and again.
"Passersby"
Plot: The Narrator walks out at night and imagines that two people walking past him are either playing a game or one is robbing the other with the other chasing him.
Review: This is another one of Kafka's short stories that takes a brief time to reveal a mood. This one reflects The Narrator's paranoia. He goes from believing that the passersby are up to innocent pranksterish fun to believing something dark and disturbing about them.
There is also the fear connected with getting involved. As The Narrator fears one of the passersby is getting robbed, he wonders if it's his duty to help and what would happen if he doesn't. Instead of getting involved, he chooses to resist making that connection, even to potentially save someone's life. He would rather be alone and stew in his what if scenarios than reach out to a fellow human being.
"Unhappiness"
Plot: A man enters his apartment and gets involved in a strange conversation with a child leaving the possibility that one or both of them are ghosts
Review: It is easy to see why the Kafkaesque world later appeared in other works including TV shows like The Prisoner and Twilight Zone. This story could have fit very easily into any incarnation of The Twilight Zone. (In fact variations of a ghostly child confronting an adult have appeared in Zone episodes like "Nightmare As A Child" and "What Are Friends For?".)
The conversations between The Narrator and The Ghost Child disturb the Narrator but there is something long lost and forgotten in them. The Ghost Child represents his lost innocence which disappeared as the Narrator matured and carried on the burdens of adulthood.
While The Ghost Child is physically dead, the Narrator is figuratively dead. He just floats along his life like a ghost unable to reach anyone or anything. The Ghost Child is the first real emotional connection that he has made.
Stories Published In Kafka's Lifetime
"The Judgement"
Plot: Georg Bendemann, a young businessman, writes a letter to his long distant friend telling him of his upcoming engagement to Frieda Bandenfeld. While visiting his father, the old man taunts Georg about his mother's death, his friendship, and his engagement. During this intense conversation, Mr. Bendemann gains more power and sentences his son to death "by drowning."
Review: This story is probably the most reminiscent of Kafka's real life. He dedicated this story to his then-lover, Felice Bauer who had the same initials as the fictional, Frieda Bandenfeld. While they were never engaged in real life, Kafka's correspondence with her was numerous and affectionate. Perhaps he thought of her as the one that got away.
There are also parallels between Georg and his father and Kafka and his father. Both their fathers were strict, severe, cold men that were hard to please. While Georg keeps swallowing his father's insults to the point that he feels overwhelmed by them, Kafka did not suffer his father's criticisms so lightly. He wrote a long detailed letter explaining why he was afraid of him. (It was published as "Letter to His Father.")
The final passage in which Georg is sentenced to drown is a metaphor for the control that his father has over his life. He suffocated him with his harsh words and cold behavior. Georg's own life slips away under the harsh cruelty of his father.
Because Kafka spent some time working in a job that he hated to help support his family, particularly his cold father, Kafka also felt like he was drowning. Unlike his fictional counterpart, Kafka managed to carve out a life for himself, albeit a short-lived one, through his writing. He finally in his own way silenced and diminished the role that his father had over him.
"The Metamorphosis"
Plot: A young man, Gregor Samsa wakes up to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect. His greedy soul sucking family are first terrified of him and then shun him leading to his demise.
Review: This and The Trial are probably Kafka's most famous works and it's easy to see why. "The Metamorphosis" covers a majority of Kafka's most common and prevalent themes.
The idea of a man turning into an insect could be something out of a B Horror film. But Kafka turned this concept into something terrifying and mesmerizing.
As Gregor struggles to adjust to his transformation, it becomes apparent that he has already been dehumanized. His cruel father, money hungry mother, and spoiled sister, Grete, required him to work in a dull job to support them. They lived off of him like leeches until they bled him dry. As with most of Kafka's protagonists, he takes their emotional and financial abuse in stride. Even after he transforms, his main concerns are how it will affect his family and not, you know, that he is now an insect.
His father's abuse towards Gregor increases as the family finally gets off their lazy behinds and finds jobs. But Gregor's role has diminished. When he finds that his family no longer thinks of him as Gregor, the son that they lost, and refer to him as an insect or "it," he feels his life slip away and he is thrown out like any other insect. He has completely lost his humanity.
The final passage is a gut punch as the Reader becomes aware that his family has learned nothing from the experience. While on the tram both parents realize how attractive their daughter has become and that it's about time she found a husband. As if in mutual agreement, Grete, stretches herself in a sexy pose luring any approachable man. Now that they have lost Gregor, they want to find a new husband and son in law to live off of.
"In The Penal Colony"
Plot : An explorer visits a prison colony and observes the cruel instruments of torture and brutal sadistic behavior of the officer. He is helpless to stop the torture around him or to stop the Officer from dying by his own machine.
Review: This story is so gruesome because it's based on truth. There were many penal colonies, such as Devil's Island, in which prisoners were tortured by their guards.
There are many graphic moments, particularly that concern the torture machine that the Officer operates. He almost treats it like a lover or a cherished object with how lovingly he speaks about this machine that's sole objective is to hurt people. He even jealously guards the blueprints so only he can know how it works. He almost thinks of the torture as his God given right to inflict as his calling. He thinks of the prisoners as vermin who deserve to have inhumane treatment inflicted upon him.
Besides the torture itself, what stands out is the acceptance that the characters have towards this situation. Of course the Officer is too much in love with his work to bother. The Condemned Man, whose only crime is failing to salute a senior officer, has been so abused that he has lost the will to fight. A Soldier just placidly observes the action around him. Even the Explorer makes no move to stop the torture. His only action is to say that he will have a private conversation with the commandment. Release does not come until after the Officer has died by his own machine.
The numbness to the torture and cruelty has spread to all of the characters. Even the Explorer has that cruel sadistic streak in him. When he leaves by boat, he forces the Soldier and the Condemned Man to refrain from jumping into the boat. Though his cruelty is less obvious than the Officer, he shows his own brutal nature and that he too thinks of the Condemned Man as "The Other," someone who deserves to be isolated from society.
"Before the Law"
Plot: This is told in the style of a folktale. A man tries to gain admittance into a building called The Law but is denied by the doorkeeper. The man comes day after day with pleas, threats, bribes, feigning friendship, until finally the doorkeeper lets him in revealing that the door was only for him at the right time.
Review: This is told in the style of a parable. The Law that the man wants to enter could be a court of law or a synagogue reflecting Jewish Law. The man cannot gain access for unexplained reasons except that it wasn't the right time. It is implied that the right time was during his death.
The man waits for years in front of the door, hoping to be good enough to access the knowledge within. It never occurs to him to leave the door alone or that some things are better left undiscovered. Instead he waits and tries to find ways to get inside, even feigning friendship with the doorman. The fact that he can only access the knowledge after death and the door was meant for him reveals that such knowledge will always be closed in one's lifetime. Some things are better left unlearned.
"Josephine The Singer, or The Mouse Folk"
Plot: Josephine's singing has a large following. Those who hear her are practically hypnotized. They consider her voice a relief from their misery and almost hold her up as an idol or fragile object. They ignore her humanity, personality, and other abilities for the only thing that they value from her: her voice.
Review: As a writer, Kafka was familiar with the struggles of artists and in Josephine's story, he recounts someone whose art is so profound that it has the power to move people for better or worse.
The mouse people are attracted to Josephine's voice because she offers them a sense of culture, entertainment, and a break from their humdrum lives. They are hypnotized by her singing and feel a deep connection to that voice.
Unfortunately, the admiration is not unanimous. Some don't believe that she can sing and that another is singing for her. Others think that she just whistles, like other mice, so isn't anything special. Others resent her because she doesn't do any hard labor. However, no one wants her to do any hard labor or be involved with the community. They only want her to sing.
Josephine's trajectory is like many stars who find fame, become accepted for their talent, are looked as above regular people, and then just as quickly are discarded and made the object of scorn. There is also an attack on commercialization of one's talent. Josephine just wants to share her singing ability, but her audience want to own her voice, control it, and keep it for themselves. They don't care about Josephine as a person and are unaware that she is lonely and her talent singles her out making her lonelier than ever. Just like anything else that is over commercialized and saturated, Josephine is found to be expendable and easily disposable.
Like many entertainers and artists, Josephine disappears young and used up. She is forgotten by the people who praised her singing but failed to know her. Instead they work as before waiting for another distraction to take up their time.
Stories Published Posthumously
"The Village Schoolmaster (The Giant Mole)"
Plot: A schoolteacher writes a pamphlet about a giant mole long believed as folklore in his village. He makes this study of the creature his life's work despite the mockery of others, particularly a young smarmy scholar. The Narrator attempts to fix the teacher's reputation by publishing a pamphlet based on his observations which leads to arguments between the two.
Review: This story remained unfinished and ended in a stalemate between the Schoolmaster and The Narrator but it also makes sense that it would end in such a manner. Two scholars bent on their own interpretations would be unable to find little in common with each other.
The story is about the interest scholars have in their subjects. The Schoolmaster forgoes the derision that others have in his pursuit of the Giant Mole. His research is the most important thing in his life and is at the expense of his others, even the Narrator's friendship.
When the Narrator publishes his own pamphlet, the Schoolmaster looks on it as competition as though the Narrator is forcing himself into his territory. He is possessive towards his pursuit of the Mole, considering the research belonging only to him. The research is an obsession in which he feels responsible and owns.
"The Hunter Gracchus"
Plot: In the Afterlife, the deceased Hunter Gracchus, gets into a conversation with the Burgomaster. He has been hunting on the ground and in the stars long enough and wants to be taken to the Other Side.
Review: It's hard to read this without thinking of Kafka being aware of his own impending demise. This almost reads like a Greek myth in which a dead man tries to cross the River Styx.
Gracchus seems to live a wearying afterlife. While he was a hunter in life, his afterlife achieves little success. He is forced to continue his monotonous existence and hopes that the Burgomaster will lead him to an eternal rest.
Perhaps as Kafka lay dying, he wanted to finally achieve rest from his personal demons and what he felt was a fruitless existence. He wrote about surreal unhappy things that he knew would continue after him. His final plea was that he could find the happiness after death that sometimes eluded him in life.
"The Truth About Sancho Panza"
Plot: A reworking of Don Quixote's famous loyal sidekick. Instead of humbly playing along with his friend's knightly fantasies, this short story suggests that he is encouraging his delusions to the point where he creates the character Don Quixote De La Mancha out of boredom and for his own sadistic entertainment.
Review: Who knew Franz Kafka was a fanfiction writer? Using his usual taste of dark situations, Kafka found a darker interpretation of the loyal friendship between Don Quixote and his faithful squire.
Instead Sancho is fully aware that his friend is delusional. He is the one who enables and encourages his pursuits.
Similar to the Mouse Folk with Josephine, Sancho feels like he owns Quixote and pushes him for entertainment and amusement. Perhaps he considers Quixote's knightly quests as a relief from his otherwise dull life. He might also push his friend as a means of control and dominance.
"The Advocates"
Plot: The Narrator is on trial and is uncertain whether he has any advocates or defendants. He despairs when everyone seems to be judging him and he wishes that he could collect advocates.
Review: We continue with one of Kafka's favorite targets of criticism: the legal system. This story could have fit right in with The Trial. The Narrator is desperate to find advocates, anyone to defend or speak for him.
This story carries on the theme of loneliness as the Narrator can't find anyone who knows him well enough to defend him. The Narrator is so alone that he can't even defend himself. It is almost the opposite of "The Passersby" in which the Narrator feared getting involved with his fellow humans. In this case, The Narrator is the result of that lack of caring. He now stands alone victimized by the system which tries him.
"Investigations of a Dog"
Plot: A dog tells of his life. He gains an aptitude for music and compares himself to other dogs. He contemplates his own wild nature and wonders if humanity has suppressed it. He experiments with receiving food from humans. In embracing his music and ability to hunt, the Dog accepts his wild nature and freedom.
Review: Since Kafka wrote a lot about dehumanization, it makes sense that he would write about animals becoming more human.
In this case, the Dog is a creative logical creature. He uses his power of music to express his deeper feelings. Like an artist, he reveals his personal pain and struggles through song.
He also expresses an analytical mind as he studies how he receives food from humans. It's a clever twist on the scientific experiments that humans have often inflicted upon dogs.
Despite his logical and creative mind, much of which was adapted because of his involvement with humans, The Dog realizes that he cannot suppress his wild urges forever. When he joins a pack of dogs, it is a liberating and freeing experience for him. He is able to accept his bestial nature and leave the human training behind.
"The Burrow"
Plot: An agoraphobic misanthropic animal, possibly a mole or a badger marvels at the underground burrow that he has made to keep others out. As he goes over the various details, he fears the sounds of approaching animals.
Review: This was another unfinished story but what is there is a brilliant look at agoraphobia and misanthropy told from the point of view of an animal. The Narrator spends most of the time proud of his burrow describing every nook and cranny. It provides his food, shelter, defense, and all that is necessary. He uses it to keep the outside world away from him.
As he hears steps from what could be other animals, he is uncertain that what he hears are real or in his head. He fears the creatures outside so much that it has affected his senses.
As much as he fears the outside world, he fears himself just as much. As he investigates his burrow, the Narrator both loves and hates his project. With his rejection of the outside world, he wonders if the burrow keeps him safe or holds him prisoner. Does it protect him from the outside world or keep him from it? Can a place be a sanctuary and a trap at the same time?
Franz Kafka certainly gave us plenty of stories that offered deep looks into the dark side of the human psyche. They aren't easy to read or interpret and cause one to feel a sense of bleakness and sadness about the world. However, they also provide a lot of thought and understanding.
