Can you be one of the most important writers ever, when you have burnt the 90% of all your work? If you are Franz Kafka, then yes, you can. Franz Kafka is a unique case study in the History of Literature. Most of his works are short stories. All of his novels are unfinished. Yet, he influenced many writers and artists all over the world. The word “Kafkaesque” was added to the English vocabulary, to express absurd and surreal situations, like in his stories. Let’s unfold his life and work.
Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian Jewish from Prague. He lived only 40 years before he died from laryngeal tuberculosis on June 3rd, 1924. He was not able to live only from writing. That’s why, he worked most of his adult life as a clerk. During the nights, he would write short stories, novellas, novels and thousands of letters, most of them to his father, with whom he had a strict and formal relationship. Kafka adored women, but never married. His closest friend, Max Brod, was the one who realized Kafka’s talent. Brod was the executor of Kafka’s will. He wanted Brod to burn all the remaining manuscripts. However, Brod did not follow his friend’s wish and that’s how we have all the writings that exist till now.
Franz Kafka published his first stories in 1908. Until 1912, he was writing only short stories and letters. In the end of1912, he published 18 of these stories under the title “Contemplation”. In the same year, he started writing his first novel. The first chapter, “The Stoker”, is part of “Amerika”, an unfinished novel that Brod published after Kafka’s death. Compared to his other notable works, “Amerika” has a (kinda) light tone, with stories about people emigrating to America. According to Brod, it was the only novel that Kafka was considering to have an optimistic ending.
In 1914 Kafka started writing “The Trial” one of his most famous books. To begin with, we follow the story of a man who does not know why they arrested him. Moreover, he cannot access the authority that requested his arrest and has to deal with an absurd bureaucratic system that only creates extra problems. The themes of alienation and psychological brutality are present throughout the novel. We witness the efforts of a man unable to fight “an invisible army” and as time passes by, he becomes weaker and weaker. “The Trial” is a novel that we can all relate with, as long as we live in societies where the citizens can become victims of bureaucracy and austerity.
Kafka’s best-known novella, “The Metamorphosis”, was printed in 1915. Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning, only to realize that he inexplicably was transformed into an insect. Before that, he was a travelling salesman who was providing money for his parents and his sister. Now, he is an insect and his family is ashamed of him. In addition to this, they lost their financial stability and only their daughter, Grete can offer to the house. Meanwhile, she is the only one who tries to help Gregor as his condition worsens and he is sick all the time.
Many critics tried to understand Kafka’s thoughts behind this novella. Some of them pointed out the formal and estranged behaviour between father and son, a fact that was happening in Kafka’s real life. Some feminist critics indicated that in this story, it is not Gregor the only one who transforms, but also his sister, Grete, which transformed from a weak girl to a responsible woman. No matter what interpretation you may agree with, “The Metamorphosis” is probably one of the most famous novellas ever written. Gabriel Garcia Márquez once stated that it was this book that made him think that it was possible to write in a different way.
In 1919, Kafka published the second collection of short stories under the title “A Country’s Doctor”. In 1922, he started writing about an idea he had from 1914. It is the story of “The Castle”, his 3rd novel, which also remained unfinished. K. is the main protagonist. He arrives in a village in order to work as a land surveyor, who was called by the castle authorities. However, there is a confusion and he cannot work or even enter in the castle. He decides to stay in the village and work there, until he gets his chance to get to the castle. Unfortunately, there is always some bureaucratic cause that stops him.
There are several similarities between “The Trial” and “The Castle”. First of all, the bureaucracy. It is cruel, absurd, surreal and does not let the protagonists breathe. Secondly, the alienation of the protagonists from their surroundings. They cannot communicate with other people, because the latter seem to have accepted the bureaucratic paralogism they live in. And finally, they both tend to become weaker and weaker as their lives tend to become obsolete and meaningless.
As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, Kafka burnt the 90% of his work. We strongly believe that we have lost some of the best stories ever written. Fortunately for us, Max Brod saved whatever he could. And that’s why we can enjoy the talent of this great writer.