Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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Franz Kafka- The Complete Short Stories
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The Complete Short Stories of Franz Kafka
The Burrow (German: "Der Bau"):Finally found it. In Danish it is called Bygningen (=The Building). It starts at p 364 in unpublished works.
J_BlueFlower wrote: "Klowey wrote: "Could we add "The Burrow" to the end of the list?"The Burrow (German: "Der Bau")
Done. (I though, I already did, but apparently not).
Should we speed up the time p..."
Oh no. I am multitasking with several books, so I am completely flexible and I like reading Kafka's stories more than once.
I had switched to The Sons from Schocken publishing to better follow our timeline. The below is an explanation of why these stories should be grouped together. The Sons is a collection of stories by Franz Kafka.
In 1913 Kafka wrote to his publisher Kurt Wolff requesting that three of his stories be placed in a single volume:
"The Stoker, The Metamorphosis, and The Judgment belong together, both inwardly and outwardly. There is an obvious connection among the three, and, even more important, a secret one, for which reason I would be reluctant to forgo the chance of having them published together in a book, which might be called The Sons."[1]
The volume, published by Schocken Books, also includes Kafka's Letter to His Father, which could be seen as another "son story", in this case located somewhere between fiction and autobiography.
I will be reading "Letter to His Father," after The Metamorphosis since it completes the volume.
We have visited the biographical influence of the father on these stories but spent little time on other critical analysis, which as we see from Kafka's words, was also important. We can understand the continued elevation of Kafka's reputation in the canon as we note and interpret what he is doing in these stories that makes them enjoyable. His use of paradox, contradiction, thought provocation, uncertainty, the tendency to leave his reader unresolved are all qualities in his fiction and despite that, the reader is satisfied and craves more when finished with his fiction. It benefits us to pay attention to what Kafka technically is doing that makes the stories work. I will elaborate on this in my next post.
The Metamorphosis is Kafka's most popular story. I suggest we try and finish it before April 1st to allow for the two full weeks of discussion. This is a book that can be endlessly reread it seems and I will reread it for this discussion.
Thanks for the video link Klowey.
Klowey wrote: "April wrote: "Finished In the Penal Colony. While I was disgusted by it for the most part, I ended up liking it by the end! I mean, not really liking it, but it was a good story. Ha! Hard to explai..."Good points here! And what I meant to say from my overall experience with this is not that these writings are bad, just that perhaps they aren't for me... or for me anymore. I have a pretty good imagination of awful things, so I don't necessarily need it all spelled out for me to get the point. ha! Perhaps it depends on my mood too. I certainly did not need to read all of these at once, but I am also glad for the education received from these discussions.
Update! I DID actually have First Sorrow, the 4th of A Hunger Artist collection. I probably had some comment about the similarities between this one and the title story, except that had already been mentioned by others. Or maybe the similarity between FS and Josephine... can't think of it now.
I do remember thinking how I didn't think people stopped liking Josephine. They weren't the ones to change, she was! She wanted more and more, and they just couldn't give it to her. She had a hissy fit and stopped singing. Her loss! lol
April wrote: "Klowey wrote: "April wrote: "Finished In the Penal Colony. While I was disgusted by it for the most part, I ended up liking it by the end! I mean, not really liking it, but it was a good story. Ha!..."I haven't actually read Josephine yet.
I can understand your feelings. Not all of his work is as disturbing as ITPC and THA. I do think the short enactment of "The Burrow" is amusing and I could really relate. It's about a little creature who is obsessed with his security, and it is one of his more humorous works.
The Stoker is an absurdist story about sixteen-year-old Karl Rossmann who is banished to America after he is seduced by an older kitchen maid who becomes pregnant. Karl is young and naive, and foolishly leaves his trunk when he searches for a lost umbrella when the ship docks in New York. Karl meets a stoker on the ship who tells him that he is going to be unfairly dismissed since his chief engineer wants an all-Romanian crew.Both Karl and the stoker have little power in deciding their fate. Karl has been sent away by his parents even though he was not the seducer, and the stoker is being dismissed although he says he's a hard worker. Kafka often writes about people who are powerless or caught up in an unjust system. Even the Statue of Liberty in the harbor is carrying a sword (instead of a welcoming torch) in judgment or perhaps destruction.
We wonder what the fate of the stoker will be as the story ends. Karl seems to have an opportunity when he is met by a rich, influential relative in a utopian turn to the story. But Karl is so innocent and young, and he's facing a new language and a new world.
The Stoker is the first chapter of Kafka's unfinished novel, Amerika which is also called The Man who Disappeared:. The Stoker can also be read as a stand-alone short story.
Technically the sword is the only absurdist element, but the story is completely soaked in unrealness. Karl is very strange. Maybe the second most passive character I have seen in literature in a long while (number one is “my hands were put into my pockets”-Benjy in The Sound and the Fury). Karl spend about three week on the ship and still cannot find his way around. He leaves his suitcase with almost all he his physical belongings, worries about it, and yet takes no action to pick up again. We do not even know if he found it in the end. He seems to have left it completely behind mentally. Maybe the suitcase was a symbol of his old life?
There are some undertones of marriage-like connections I cannot figure out:
“Karl took a closer look at his uncle, with whose knees his knees were almost touching, and he began to doubt whether this man would ever be able to replace the stoker for him.”
“replace the stoker for him” What? Someone he had known for maybe an hour?
“Karl drew his fingers back and forth between the fingers of the stoker, who looked around with shining eyes as if he were experiencing a delight, but which was happening to him no one should blame.”
Excellent writing like this line:
“How happy Karl was at the abandoned desk of the chief cashier, where he kept pushing a letter wagon down for sheer pleasure.“
Compactly expressing Karl happiness, excitement and child-like nature.
Thanks for posting the illustration of the Statue of Liberty with the sword, J_BlueFlower.The situation with Karl and the stoker also seemed strange when they were talking with the repeating dialogue. Karl does not know the man, but he trusts everything he says is true. The stoker is discouraging Karl from leaving to look for his belongings so the stoker can talk about his own employment problems. Karl seems to identify with the stoker because they are both experiencing banishment.
The suitcase could represent his old life. It also shows Karl to be naive and without "street smarts," which does not bode well for his future in America where some people will take advantage of desperate immigrants.
Sam wrote: "I had switched to The Sons from Schocken publishing to better follow our timeline. The below is an explanation of why these stories should be grouped together. The Sons is a collecti..."
This story sort of fell flat for me. I can see some similarities with other stories wrt the helplessness of the main character, Karl, and his emotional attachment to the stoker. And it had the Kafka humor and absurdity. I have Amerika on my to-read list and I think reading the whole (though unfinished) book might provide some perspective, because I found this comment from the wikipedia summary on Amerika helpful:
The novel is more explicitly humorous but slightly more realistic (except in the last chapter) than most of Kafka's works, but it shares the same motifs of an oppressive and intangible system putting the protagonist repeatedly in bizarre situations.
Did I miss the discussion of The Description of Struggle? (I think there was a post on page 1) I was confused by it though. Apparently there are 3 parts, but did i only have the first part in my book? Weird!Over halfway through The Burrow. It IS cute, but it kinda goes on and on.
Connie wrote: "I've read "Description of a Struggle," and it's a surreal story with an unfinished quality. It's a famous early effort so I agree with Sam that it should be included sometime. Prague has a statue o..."Yeah, see, i definitely did not read anything about a man riding on another mans shoulders. 🤔
April wrote: "Connie wrote: "I've read "Description of a Struggle," and it's a surreal story with an unfinished quality. It's a famous early effort so I agree with Sam that it should be included sometime. Prague..."You probably just read the first part, April. It then goes on to another section that is sometimes called "The Fat Man."
The Goodreads description tells about the various sections:
Description of a Struggle and Other Stories
Ok thanks Connie!Ok, tonight I finished The Burrow. Did someone say this story was unfinished? Or was it simply unresolved? Anyway, was cute enough, and then a bit terrifying by the end. Terrifying isnt the best word, but its all ive got for 1am. Lol
Shoot! I also didnt realize A Country Doctor was a collection! I just read the title story...and maybe a couple random picks. Oops! Maybe another time though. I ought to return this book, its overdue. 😅😭
April wrote: "Did I miss the discussion of The Description of Struggle? (I think there was a post on page 1) I was confused by it though. Apparently there are 3 parts, but did i only have the first part in my bo..."It's one of the stories he didn't finish and I think it shows in the "going on and on" aspect. Though wikipedia says this:
Kafka is alleged to have written an ending to the story detailing a struggle with an invading beast, but this completed version was among the works destroyed by lover Dora Diamant following Kafka's death.I do think the shorter, 30 minute condensed version really captures the essence and is well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL6d0...
I related to the story personally because I have a bit of OCD due to anxiety, and I love my alone time. The story seems to have a bit of a cult following, as it's been the source for a lot of short films, mostly animated.
J_BlueFlower wrote: "I suggest a time plan:As far as I know these are the complet publiched works in cronological order:
(1914 / 1919) = written in 1914, printed in 1919
Contemplation (-1913): Feb
The Judgement (19..."
Are we going by this schedule?
Contemplation (-1913): Feb
The Judgement (1912 / 1913): March 1-15
The Stoker (1912 / 1913): March 16-31
Metamorphosis (1914): April 1-15
In The Penal Colony (1914 / 1919): April 16-30
A Country Doctor (1916-1917): May
A Hunger Artist (1922) and
News paper items (incl "The Aeroplanes at Brescia" ) and
"Description of a Struggle" and
The Burrow : June
I am going to read "Letter to His Father" suggested by Sam, as I think it could shed light on "The Metamorphosis."
Klowey wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "I suggest a time plan:As far as I know these are the complet publiched works in cronological order:
(1914 / 1919) = written in 1914, printed in 1919
Contemplation (-1913): F..."
I was following the schedule and have just completed my reread of Metamorphosis. I don't think there is any strict adherence so I shall move on to "Letter to His Father," as well since it completes the volume, The Sons I am reading. Then I will finish April
with In the Penal Colony and move to the stories in The Country Doctor in May, probably reading The Bucket Rider after since it was originally intended as part of the collection. Are you following that schedule Klowey? Apr8l, I am glad you joined us and enjoyed your posts so far. Looking forward to more thoughts from you if you continue.
Sam wrote: "Klowey wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "I suggest a time plan:As far as I know these are the complet publiched works in cronological order:
(1914 / 1919) = written in 1914, printed in 1919
Contempla..."
I was following J_BlueFlower's schedule. "Letter to His Father" sounds intense so took a wee break. ;-)
Back to it. I have really enjoyed your comments.
It was just a suggestion. The idea was to keep it chronologically. I am following it, except I skipped Metamorphosis. I read it as a group read a few years ago. I will start In The Penal Colony in a few days.I will read:
A Country Doctor (1916-1917): May
News paper items (incl "The Aeroplanes at Brescia" ) and
"Description of a Struggle" and
The Burrow : June
Notice that A Country Doctor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Count...
and A Hunger Artist are both collections.
Klowey wrote: "April wrote: "Did I miss the discussion of The Description of Struggle? (I think there was a post on page 1) I was confused by it though. Apparently there are 3 parts, but did i only have the first..."yeah, I related to it as well, not just with the ocd tendancies, but also specifically freaking out over unknown noises and creatures invading my homes lol
I just stumbled upon this page:https://trips-tickets.com/unveiling-t...
And it listed (I know it's subjective) these as Franz Kafka’s most famous works:
The Metamorphosis (1915)
The Trial (1925)
The Castle (1926)
In the Penal Colony (1919)
A Hunger Artist (1922)
The Burrow (1923)
A Country Doctor (1919)
I had no idea "The Burrow" was fairly well known. I thought "A Country Doctor" was excellent, and ItPC and aHA are really intense and I thought, excellent too.
In the Penal Colony:I think the common interpretation is that the machine is Catholicism (or any suffering/salvation based religion). There is a judgment said in a language, the prisoner do not understand (like mass in Latin). The machine turns punishment into a ritual, there is revelation or salvation through suffering and faith without understanding: The prisoner do not know his judgment even when it is carried out.
The officer plays the role of a priest, performing sacred duties and preserving a tradition. The construction drawing are so holly that the visitor cannot touch them.
The officer himself is a strong believer: ready to sacrifices himself to the machine. Which makes no sense at all seen in Kafka machine-perspective. Which is, I guess, exactly the point.
Is there any other way to read the story?
Apparently there is:
”Kafka, Warren thinks, is sympathetic to religion, and regrets that it is losing its place in the modern world – which is what he sees as the meaning of the old Commandant's loss of adherents and the collapse of the machine.”
source: https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/p...
I think you have to be a die hard Catholic to see all that brutal suffering as “sympathetic”.
Is there any other way to read the story at not about religion?
The "plan"I am trying to keep track with:
--May:--
* A Country Doctor (1916-1917):
Notice it is a collection:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Count...
* A Hunger Artist (1922) Also a collection. (I am skipping this. Read it recently)
* News paper items (incl "The Aeroplanes at Brescia" )
* "Description of a Struggle"
--June:--
* The Burrow (unpublished ) German: "Der Bau", also known as "The Building", "Bygningen"
Any other of the unpublished stories anyone want to add?
J_BlueFlower wrote: "In the Penal Colony:I think the common interpretation is that the machine is Catholicism (or any suffering/salvation based religion). There is a judgment said in a language, the pri..."
I need time to digest, perhaps research this idea. I've read the story twice and it never occurred to me that it focused mostly on religion.
I think of it more as a criticism of unquestioned moral authority and our justice system. The old officer is so devoted to upholding blind tradition that he's completely lost touch with human suffering (I am tempted to make a political comment . . . )
The new Commandant is both shocked at seeing this moral horror, and yet fairly passive, not really intervening. This makes me think that Kafka is presenting these elements of the human condition in our modern civilization and leaving us to ponder.
I thought of this story when I wrote my scathing review of Blindness (which I am aware is dearly loved and among the top 100 greatest novels of all time on a list I greatly admire). It was hard to go against the grain on that one. But I felt it brimming with a pedantic lack of subtlety. As one reviewer put it, "hammering home your metaphors with all the subtly of a rusty crowbar to the face." Or, the analogy I like: Telling a joke and then feeling you need to explain it.
I added "for a successfully disturbing work of fiction, with touches of the surreal and profound questions left to the reader to ponder, I recommend: In the Penal Colony."
I think part of the strength of ItPC (and much of Kafka's work) is that it makes the reader an active participant in forming conclusions.
J_BlueFlower wrote: "The "plan"I am trying to keep track with:
--May:--
* A Country Doctor (1916-1917):
Notice it is a collection:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Count...
* A Hunger ..."
I'm happy to discuss the stories as you have listed them.
I was trying to get myself up, emotionally, to read his letter to his father. I started and had to put it down. But I'm there now, so will be starting it, again.
> also known as 'The Building', 'Bygningen'
I had no idea. That is so cute. It's Norwegian, but it sounds kind of German, the way German words often sound like the thing they are. LOL
J_BlueFlower wrote: "It was just a suggestion. The idea was to keep it chronologically. I am following it, except I skipped Metamorphosis. I read it as a group read a few years ago. I will start In The Penal Colony in ..."I appear to have confused the schedule thinking The Country Doctor was June. I will get started though I may run into June before I finsh the stories
J_BlueFlower wrote: "In the Penal Colony:I think the common interpretation is that the machine is Catholicism (or any suffering/salvation based religion). There is a judgment said in a language, the pri..."
I read this story in December so I did not reread it. I plan to read the article you highlighted later tonight about the story being an allegory for religion, especially Catholicism.
I felt that it was more of a judicial story, although religions certainly are involved in condemning people. From a religious angle, we might consider the different branches of Judaism since Kafka was Jewish, and there was a large divide between the different factions. Many people also do not understand Hebrew or Yiddish.
There are many different ways of looking at the story which is typical Kafka! I cut and pasted some thoughts I had about the story in December:
"In the Penal Colony" is a terrifying story about viewing an execution. The deceased Old Commandant had set up a judicial system where an accused person is considered guilty without knowing his supposed crime or being able to offer a defense. The punishment, even for a small offense, is a slow painful death on a Harrow machine which seemed to have been designed by a sadistic mad scientist. I was wondering if the Old Commandant was based in part on Kafka's abusive father.
The New Commandant is more liberal, and is passively making change by letting the horrific Harrow machine fall into such disrepair that it can no longer function. There is a contrast between the old regime and the new regime.
Kafka's story seems to be an allegory, or maybe a nightmare. We can look back to 1914 when Kafka was writing the story, and 1919 when it was published to look for his inspiration. Does the story have a political inspiration from World War I and its aftermath when thousands of innocent people were killed? Another thought is the emergence of various hate groups, including anti-Semitic ones. Since Kafka was Jewish, he could also have been inspired by the contrast between the old rigid Orthodox Judaism and the new Reform Judaism (which started during the Enlightenment in the early 19th Century).
The officer told the traveler that viewing the executions was a community event during the time of the Old Commandant. This is nothing new since witnessing hangings has been done for years, but it's sad that human lives are so expendable in their neighbor's eyes. There also seems to be a distinction between the colonial occupiers of the penal island, and the natives who don't speak their language. It's a disturbing story about man's inhumanity to others.
Connie wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "In the Penal Colony:I think the common interpretation is that the machine is Catholicism (or any suffering/salvation based religion). There is a judgment said i..."
wrt the religious angle, I had also considered that Kafka was Jewish; and I had wondered if this story was in some ways a comment on the recent world war.
But your comment about his father set off a lightbulb for me! I had not thought of that; and looking back I can see the relationship with The Judgement. The cold, emotionless cruelty of the old commander in ItPC, and the cold, heartless personality of the father in tJ. Your comments make me even more motivated to read his letter to his father. It looks like an intensely emotional piece of writing. Here I go . . .
Klowey, I skimmed the letter to his father last year and it was heartbreaking. Kafka went through his whole life feeling like he didn't measure up to his father's expectations.
J_BlueFlower wrote: "In the Penal Colony:I think the common interpretation is that the machine is Catholicism (or any suffering/salvation based religion). There is a judgment said in a language, the pri..."
J_BlueFlower, thanks for sharing that interpretation of the story. While it wasn't the way I looked at it, it was an interesting interpretation. Kafka was a lawyer so I was thinking more of a judicial angle. But there is more than one way of looking at the story.
Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete short stories.
I have two suggestions:I would like a bit more time and I would like to add the unpublished "Investigations of a Dog" (1922) to the list. Original: "Forschungen eines Hundes"
https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.ph...
I suggest:
--May:--
* A Country Doctor (1916-1917):
Notice it is a collection:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Count...
* A Hunger Artist (1922) Also a collection.
--June:--
* News paper items (incl "The Aeroplanes at Brescia" )
* "Description of a Struggle"
* The Burrow (unpublished ) German: "Der Bau", also known as "The Building", "Bygningen"
--July:--
* Investigations of a Dog (unpublished)
J_BlueFlower wrote: "Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete short stories."
I believe so. Sam was the one who inspired me to read it in one of the previous comments.
I don't have the hardcopy. So far, I've found it here:
https://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/Bell...
And to borrow, here:
https://archive.org/details/lettertof...
I'll keep looking. The first link includes an introduction by the translators.
I started a few weeks ago, but I just wasn't up to it. It does seem heartbreaking, and I really love Kafka and his sensitivity and perception. To think that one of the most important people in his life not only did not appreciate him, but was an abusive narcissist. I had to get myself up for it. But given how much his relationship with his father seems to have driven so many of the themes of his stories, it's really time I read it.
This looks interesting and provides some context:
https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/0...
J_BlueFlower wrote: "I have two suggestions:I would like a bit more time and I would like to add the unpublished "Investigations of a Dog" (1922) to the list. Original: "Forschungen eines Hundes"
https://www.prosper..."
One of my Personal Challenges is to read all of Kafka eventually, so I am open to any schedule or a discussion of his work, really at any time.
J_BlueFlower wrote: "Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete short stories."
Here's another online version of "Letter to His Father" in English and German:
https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.ph...
Franz Kafka had a brother who died before he was born. The brother had a personality and physical build that was similar to their father. Franz always felt, in his father's eyes, he was the replacement son that didn't measure up to the son who died.
Connie wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete short stories."
Here's anothe..."
Thank you for the link.
I fear Kafka's life story is going to be the death of me. I just want to bring him back for a day and tell him how much he has meant to the world. And then ask him how "The Burrow", "The Castle," and "The Trial" were supposed to end.
Here's some humor in preparation for reading the letter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyFH...
Great fun, Klowey! Thanks for sharing these.
Connie wrote: "Great fun, Klowey! Thanks for sharing these."Glad you liked them.
Thanks for the cartoons, Klowey.I read "Letter to his Father." I found it useful when considering how the relationship affected some of Kafka's writing, but I also found the letter not too complimentary to Kafka. One has to remember he is young or I think some of us might find Kafka a little too preoccupied with blaming others rather than assuming responsibility for his own feelings or behavior.
The father connection is interesting but of itself does not help explain my appreciation of Kafka, and I think when pursuing that or any specific meaning and interpretation, it can draw us away from appreciating the work without trying to apply meaning.
I reread the first five of Country Doctor and taking the title story, one can try to apply what we know of the father/son conflict to this story, but I think it would be speculative and if focused on that aspect, it blurs the appreciation of the story as an example of surrealism with perhaps no provable meaning. Is anyone else revisiting the Country Doctor stories?
Country Doctor stories: I am reading them for the first time.
I'm hoping to read the Country Doctor stories in early June for the first time. I didn't realize it was a collection, so thank you for that information, J_BlueFlower.
I just finished "Letter to My Father" and have come across other of his letters. For me these add a whole new dimension to my reading of his fiction. He's one of my favorite authors and I feel as if I maybe had been putting him on a pedestal. His letters reveal a vulnerable human being, and with some serious health problems I did not know about. They also provide more meaning to the stories, especially his relationship with his father and also his feelings about women, love, sex, and commitment.There is so much I want to say and I don't want to write one long comment. It's also challenging for me to put everything into words, so I'm going to write up maybe three summaries to follow.
I also wonder if anyone who has read his letters to both his father and women friends feels that there might be something of the unreliable narrator in them, especially after reading this article.
https://daleestey.com/2016/08/15/kafk...
I'll say more about that in my summary on Kafka and women, but it does seem that his views on these subjects (including his father) were often very conflicted; and I think many of his stories make more sense to me with that perspective. Now I think his writing was much more autobiographical than I had ever thought before.
Summary comments to follow:
1. Letter to Father: humor, truth, Kafka perspective on family, authority, parents, religion, his passion for writing.
2. Letter to Father wrt feeling worthless and the plots of his stories.
3. Letter to Father and women, wrt uncovering and analyzing the truth. Impact of his poor health.
Connie wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete short stories."
Here's anothe..."
That was interesting, however, when looking into it further it seems the deceased brothers were both born after him.
Franz Kafka did not have a brother who died before he was born. Kafka was the eldest of six children. He had two younger brothers, Georg and Heinrich, who were born after him and both died in infancy—Georg at fifteen months and Heinrich at six months—while Kafka was still a young child, before he turned seven. Thus, both brothers died during Kafka's lifetime, not before his birth.
Sam wrote: "Thanks for the cartoons, Klowey.I read "Letter to his Father." I found it useful when considering how the relationship affected some of Kafka's writing, but I also found the letter not too compli..."
I agree that the letter is not too complimentary wrt Kafka, and I was wondering about 'the unreliable narrator' idea. The letter makes me question how much of what Kafka is saying is true. Especially the parts about his father's part in Kafka's breaking off his engagements in light of this article:
https://daleestey.com/2016/08/15/kafk...
"Kafka resisted putting their epistolary relationship to the real-life test. After finally agreeing to meet Bauer, he sent a telegram in the morning saying he would not be coming, but went anyway – and remained sullen and withdrawn, later complaining that he had been hugely disappointed with the real Felice."
Kafka told his father that he (his father) was the reason he twice called of his weddings. And yet I wonder now if that was just a convenient excuse.
At one point while reading the letter I thought of the Wizard of Oz, and Dorothy and gang shocked to find out that he was just the little man behind the curtain. That's not to say that Kafka's writing is not brilliant and exceptional, but it's eye-opening to get more of a glimpse of the writer behind the pen.
Klowey wrote: "Sam wrote: "Thanks for the cartoons, Klowey.I read "Letter to his Father." I found it useful when considering how the relationship affected some of Kafka's writing, but I also found the letter no..."
Two points.
1. The first is that I haven't read enough of the Kafka criticism to make any educated comments so my feeling on the father connection is proceed with care. I think it might be easy to assume things and make connections that may or may not have been intended.
2. I admire Kafka most because he persuades us to see things differently, approach the work from a perspective different than the usual way. This is one reason I think Kafka survives and thrives. He obligates thought and a variety of approaches to appreciate, understand or interpret a work. I am not sure focusing on the father issue helps us understand the knack Kafka had for making us think out of the box.
But finding out information about a favorite artist is always useful and fun. I have not heard anything about unreliable authorship. When I read the letter, I did not think it was intended for publication nor did I think it meant for many eyes. Supposedly it was given to the mother to give to the father, but that does not mean Kafka expected her to do so or if she did so, etc. But from the writing, it felt like a rant to self.
I think reading the diaries would be a next step once we are finished with the stories and novels. I probably can't get to the diaries till autumn but supposedly they are worth the effort and I think they would offer a lot more info fro thought and/or discussion.
I will give my thoughts on the Country Doctor at the end of the month. Rushing around, getting my other projects read now. I think the series of stories is a good one with lots to provoke thought.
Klowey wrote: "Connie wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete short stories."..."
Thanks, Klowey, about the information about the brothers. I was just going by memory, but it was Georg that I had heard about.
Sam wrote: "Klowey wrote: "Sam wrote: "Thanks for the cartoons, Klowey.I read "Letter to his Father." I found it useful when considering how the relationship affected some of Kafka's writing, but I also foun..."
Good observations. You are right that the letter was not meant for publication. I think that's what I find so fascinating about it. It was Kafka, the man, that we got to see, in all of his true vulnerability. By "unreliable narrator" what I meant was, he was fallible, and his perspective on the truth of the situation with his father was subjective. For example, in reading the letters to his women friends, it seems his reason for calling off his engagements, while he tends to blame his father for that (in the letter), may have been more about Kafka's ambivalence toward marriage and his fear of commitment. The author of the article suggested his disconnect from reality wrt relationships.
Your comments on what you admire about Kafka really made me think, because I wouldn't say "he persuades us to see things differently, approach the work from a perspective different than the usual way" is how I would have expressed why I like him. However I think most people would agree with your comment. What has made Kafka so significant for me is not so much because he gets me to see things in a new way, but more because he sees the world the way I have. I felt like I wasn't alone. When I first read "The Burrow" it was like someone had gone inside my head and put words to it.
And reading the letters kind of shook me because, while I connect with the stories, I can see that his motivation for what he wrote, is quite different from what I expected. IOW: he got to 'that way of thinking' from a very different path than the way I did. This is hard for me to explain, I hope it's coming through a little.
Reading his diaries is a great idea. I would like to do that as well.
Connie wrote: "Klowey wrote: "Connie wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "Letter to His Father: Is it this one: Letter to His Father?I do not have anything corresponding to that in my edition of complete ..."
I was wondering which brother it was that his father liked so much. Thanks. Knowing that two brothers died, etc. was very enlightening.
Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)
Books mentioned in this topic
Amerika (other topics)The Trial (other topics)
The Red and the Black (other topics)
The Red and the Black (other topics)
Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Reiner Stach (other topics)Will Rees (other topics)
Franz Kafka (other topics)
The Burrow (German: "Der Bau")
Done. (I though, I already did, but apparently not).
Should we speed up the time plan? It seems most of you are ahead.
Should we add more stories?