Franz Kafka. Study of one death

The biography of Franz Kafka is not full of events that attract the attention of writers of the current generation. The great writer lived a rather monotonous and short life. At the same time, Franz was a strange and mysterious figure, and many of the secrets inherent in this master of the pen excite the minds of readers to this day. Although Kafka's books are a great literary heritage, during his lifetime the writer did not receive recognition and fame and did not know what real triumph is.

Shortly before his death, Franz bequeathed to his best friend, journalist Max Brod, to burn the manuscripts, but Brod, knowing that in the future every word of Kafka would be worth its weight in gold, disobeyed his friend’s last will. Thanks to Max, Franz's creations saw the light of day and had a tremendous impact on the literature of the 20th century. Kafka's works, such as "Labyrinth", "America", "Angels Don't Fly", "The Castle", etc., are required reading in higher education institutions.

Childhood and youth

The future writer was born as the first-born on July 3, 1883 in the major economic and cultural center of the multinational Austro-Hungarian Empire - the city of Prague (now the Czech Republic). At that time, the empire was inhabited by Jews, Czechs and Germans, who, living side by side, could not coexist peacefully with each other, so a depressed mood reigned in the cities and sometimes anti-Semitic phenomena could be traced. Kafka was not worried about political issues and ethnic strife, but the future writer felt thrown to the margins of life: social phenomena and emerging xenophobia left an imprint on his character and consciousness.

Franz’s personality was also influenced by his parents’ upbringing: as a child, he did not receive his father’s love and felt like a burden in the house. Franz grew up and was brought up in the small quarter of Josefov in a German-speaking family of Jewish origin. The writer's father, Herman Kafka, was a middle-class businessman who sold clothing and other haberdashery goods at retail. The writer's mother, Julia Kafka, came from a noble family of the prosperous brewer Jacob Levy and was a highly educated young lady.

Franz also had three sisters (two younger brothers died in early childhood, before reaching the age of two). While the head of the family disappeared in the cloth shop, and Julia watched the girls, young Kafka was left to his own devices. Then, in order to dilute the gray canvas of life with bright colors, Franz began to come up with short stories, which, however, were of no interest to anyone. The head of the family influenced the formation of literary lines and the character of the future writer. Compared to the two-meter man, who also had a deep voice, Franz felt like a plebeian. This feeling of physical inferiority haunted Kafka throughout his life.

Kafka Sr. saw his son as the heir to the business, but the reserved, shy boy did not meet his father’s requirements. Herman used harsh parenting methods. In a letter written to his parent, which did not reach the recipient, Franz recalled how at night he was forced onto a cold and dark balcony because he asked for water. This childhood resentment gave rise to a feeling of injustice in the writer:

“Years later, I still suffered from the painful image of how a huge man, my father, a higher authority, for almost no reason at night could come up to me, pull me out of bed and carry me out onto the balcony - that means what a nonentity I was to him,” Kafka shared his memories.

From 1889 to 1893, the future writer studied in elementary school, then entered the gymnasium. As a student, the young man took part in university amateur performances and organized theatrical performances. After receiving his matriculation certificate, Franz was accepted into the Faculty of Law at Charles University. In 1906, Kafka received his doctorate in law. The leader of the writer’s scientific work was Alfred Weber himself, a German sociologist and economist.

Literature

Franz Kafka considered literary activity the main goal in life, although he was considered a high-ranking official in the insurance department. Due to illness, Kafka retired early. The author of The Trial was a hard worker and highly regarded by his superiors, but Franz hated this position and spoke unflatteringly about managers and subordinates. Kafka wrote for himself and believed that literature justified his existence and helped him escape from the harsh realities of life. Franz was in no hurry to publish his works because he felt himself mediocre.

All his manuscripts were carefully collected by Max Brod, whom the writer met at a meeting of a student club dedicated to. Brod insisted that Kafka publish his stories, and in the end the creator gave in: in 1913 the collection “Contemplation” was published. Critics spoke of Kafka as an innovator, but the self-critical master of the pen was dissatisfied with his own creativity, which he considered a necessary element of existence. Also, during Franz's lifetime, readers became acquainted with only a small part of his works: many of Kafka's significant novels and stories were published only after his death.

In the autumn of 1910, Kafka went to Paris with Brod. But after 9 days, due to acute abdominal pain, the writer left the country of Cezanne and Parmesan. At that time, Franz began his first novel, “The Missing,” which was later renamed “America.” Kafka wrote most of his works in German. If we turn to the originals, the bureaucratic language is present almost everywhere without pretentious turns of phrase or other literary delights. But this dullness and triviality are combined with absurdity and mysterious unusualness. Most of the master’s works are saturated from cover to cover with fear of the outside world and the highest court.

This feeling of anxiety and despair is transmitted to the reader. But Franz was also a subtle psychologist, or rather, this talented man scrupulously described the reality of this world without sentimental embellishment, but with impeccable metaphorical turns. It is worth remembering the story “Metamorphosis”, based on which a Russian film was made in 2002 with the leading role.

The plot of the story revolves around Gregor Samsa, a typical young man who works as a traveling salesman and financially helps his sister and parents. But the irreparable happened: one fine morning Gregor turned into a huge insect. Thus, the protagonist became an outcast, from whom his family and friends turned their backs: they did not pay attention to the wonderful inner world of the hero, they were worried about the terrible appearance of the terrible creature and the unbearable torment to which he unknowingly doomed them (for example, he could not earn money, clean up on his own in the room and scared the guests).

But during preparation for publication (which never materialized due to disagreements with the editor), Kafka issued an ultimatum. The writer insisted that there should be no illustrations of insects on the cover of the book. Hence, there are many interpretations of this story - from physical illness to mental disorders. Moreover, Kafka, following his own style, does not reveal the events before the metamorphosis, but confronts the reader with a fact.

The novel “The Trial” is another significant work of the writer, published posthumously. It is noteworthy that this creation was created at a time when the writer broke off his engagement to Felicia Bauer and felt like an accused person who owed everyone. And Franz compared the last conversation with his beloved and her sister to a tribunal. This work with a non-linear narrative can be considered unfinished.

In fact, initially Kafka worked on the manuscript continuously and wrote short fragments of “The Trial” in a notebook, where he wrote down other stories. Franz often tore out pages from this notebook, so it was almost impossible to restore the plot of the novel. In addition, in 1914, Kafka admitted that he was visited by a creative crisis, so work on the book was suspended. The main character of The Trial, Joseph K. (it is noteworthy that instead of a full name, the author gives his characters initials) wakes up in the morning and finds out that he has been arrested. However, the true reason for the detention is unknown, this fact dooms the hero to suffering and torment.

Personal life

Franz Kafka was picky about his own appearance. For example, before leaving for university, a young writer could stand in front of the mirror for hours, scrupulously examining his face and combing his hair. In order not to be “humiliated and insulted,” Franz, who always considered himself a black sheep, dressed according to the latest fashion trends. Kafka impressed his contemporaries as a decent, intelligent and calm person. It is also known that the thin writer, fragile in health, kept himself in shape and, as a student, was fond of sports.

But his relationships with women did not go well, although Kafka was not deprived of the attention of lovely ladies. The fact is that the writer remained in the dark about intimacy with girls for a long time, until his friends forcibly brought him to the local “lupanarium” - the red light district. Having experienced carnal pleasures, Franz, instead of the proper delight, experienced only disgust.

The writer adhered to the line of behavior of an ascetic and, like , ran away from the aisle, as if afraid of serious relationships and family obligations. For example, with Fraulein Felicia Bauer, the master of the pen broke off the engagement twice. Kafka often described this girl in his letters and diaries, but the image that appears in the minds of readers does not correspond to reality. Among other things, the eminent writer had an amorous relationship with journalist and translator Milena Jesenskaya.

Death

Kafka was constantly tormented by chronic illnesses, but it is unknown whether they were of a psychosomatic nature. Franz suffered from intestinal obstruction, frequent headaches and lack of sleep. But the writer did not give up, but tried to cope with his illnesses with a healthy lifestyle: Kafka followed a balanced diet, tried not to eat meat, played sports and drank fresh milk. However, all attempts to bring his physical condition into proper shape were in vain.

In August 1917, doctors diagnosed Franz Kafka with a terrible disease - tuberculosis. In 1923, the master of the pen left his homeland (went to Berlin) together with a certain Dora Diamant and wanted to concentrate on writing. But at that time, Kafka’s health only worsened: the pain in his throat became unbearable, and the writer could not eat. In the summer of 1924, the great author of works died in hospital.

It is possible that the cause of death was exhaustion. Franz's grave is located in the New Jewish Cemetery: Kafka's body was transported from Germany to Prague. In memory of the writer, more than one documentary film was made, monuments were erected (for example, the head of Franz Kafka in Prague), and a museum was erected. Also, Kafka's work had a tangible influence on the writers of subsequent years.

Quotes

• I write differently than I speak, I speak differently than I think, I think differently than I should think, and so on to the darkest depths.
• It is much easier to oppress your neighbor if you know nothing about him. Then your conscience doesn't bother you...
• Since it couldn't get any worse, it got better.
• Leave me my books. That is all I have.
• Form is not an expression of content, but only a bait, a gate and a path to content. Once it has an effect, the hidden background will be revealed.

Bibliography

• 1912 - “The Verdict”
• 1912 - "Metamorphosis"
• 1913 - “Contemplation”
• 1914 - “In the penal colony”
• 1915 - “The Trial”
• 1915 - “Punits”
• 1916 - "America"
• 1919 - “The Country Doctor”
• 1922 - “Castle”
• 1924 - “The Hunger Man”

Franz Kafka- one of the outstanding German-speaking writers of the 20th century, most of whose works were published posthumously. His works, permeated with absurdity and fear of the outside world and higher authority, capable of awakening corresponding anxious feelings in the reader, are a unique phenomenon in world literature.

Kafka was born on July 3, 1883 into a Jewish family living in the ghetto of Prague (Bohemia, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). His father, Hermann Kafka (1852-1931), came from the Czech-speaking Jewish community, and since 1882 he was a haberdashery merchant. The writer's mother, Julia Kafka (Löwy) (1856-1934), preferred the German language. Kafka himself wrote in German, although he also knew Czech perfectly. He also had some command of the French language, and among the four people whom the writer, “without pretending to compare with them in strength and intelligence,” felt as “his blood brothers,” was the French writer Gustave Flaubert. The other three are: Grillparzer, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Heinrich von Kleist.

Kafka had two younger brothers and three younger sisters. Both brothers, before reaching the age of two, died before Kafka turned 6 years old. The sisters' names were Ellie, Valli and Ottla. In the period from 1889 to 1893. Kafka attended primary school (Deutsche Knabenschule) and then gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1901 by passing the matriculation exam. After graduating from Charles University in Prague, he received a doctorate in law (Kafka’s work supervisor on his dissertation was Professor Alfred Weber), and then entered the service as an official in the insurance department, where he worked in modest positions until his premature retirement due to illness in 1922. Work for a writer was a secondary occupation. In the foreground there was always literature, “justifying his entire existence.” In 1917, after a pulmonary hemorrhage, a long period of tuberculosis ensued, from which the writer died on June 3, 1924 in a sanatorium near Vienna.

Asceticism, self-doubt, self-judgment and a painful perception of the world around him - all these qualities of the writer are well documented in his letters and diaries, and especially in “Letter to Father” - a valuable introspection into the relationship between father and son and into childhood experience. Chronic illnesses (whether of a psychosomatic nature is a controversial issue) plagued him; in addition to tuberculosis, he suffered from migraines, insomnia, constipation, abscesses and other diseases. He tried to counteract all this with naturopathic means, such as a vegetarian diet, regular exercise, and drinking large quantities of unpasteurized cow's milk (the latter possibly being the cause of tuberculosis). As a schoolboy, he took an active part in organizing literary and social gatherings, and made efforts to organize and promote Yiddish theatrical performances, despite misgivings even from his closest friends, such as Max Brod, who usually supported him in everything else, and despite his own fear of being perceived as repulsive both physically and mentally. Kafka impressed those around him with his boyish, neat, strict appearance, calm and imperturbable behavior, as well as his intelligence and unusual sense of humor.

Kafka's relationship with his oppressive father is an important component of his work, which also resulted from the writer's failure as a family man. Between 1912 and 1917, he courted a Berlin girl, Felicia Bauer, to whom he was twice engaged and twice dissolved the engagement. Communicating with her mainly through letters, Kafka created an image of her that did not correspond to reality at all. And in fact they were very different people, as is clear from their correspondence. (Kafka’s second bride was Julia Vokhrytsek, but the engagement was again soon called off). In the early 1920s, he had a love relationship with a married Czech journalist, writer and translator of his works, Milena Jesenskaya. In 1923, Kafka, along with nineteen-year-old Dora Dimant, moved to Berlin for several months, hoping to distance himself from family influence and concentrate on writing; then he returned to Prague. Tuberculosis was getting worse at this time, and on June 3, 1924, Kafka died in a sanatorium near Vienna, probably from exhaustion. (A sore throat prevented him from eating, and in those days intravenous therapy was not developed to feed him artificially). The body was transported to Prague, where it was buried on June 11, 1924 at the New Jewish Cemetery.

During his lifetime, Kafka published only a few short stories, which constituted a very small proportion of his work, and his work attracted little attention until his novels were published posthumously. Before his death, he instructed his friend and literary executor, Max Brod, to burn, without exception, everything he had written (except, perhaps, for some copies of the works, which the owners could keep for themselves, but not republish them). His beloved Dora Dimant did destroy the manuscripts that she possessed (although not all), but Max Brod did not obey the will of the deceased and published most of his works, which soon began to attract attention. All of his published work, except for a few Czech-language letters to Milena Jesenskaya, was written in German.

Franz Kafka is one of the brightest phenomena in world literature. Those readers who are familiar with his works have always noted some kind of hopelessness and doom in the texts, seasoned with fear. Indeed, during the years of his active work (the first decade of the 20th century), all of Europe was carried away by a new philosophical movement, which later took shape as existentialism, and this author did not stand aside. That is why all of his works can be interpreted as some attempts to understand one’s existence in this world and beyond. But let's go back to where it all started.

So Franz Kafka was a Jewish boy. He was born in July 1883, and, it is clear that at that time the persecution of this people had not yet reached its apogee, but there was already a certain disdainful attitude in society. The family was quite wealthy, the father ran his own shop and was mainly involved in wholesale trade in haberdashery. My mother also did not come from poor backgrounds. Kafka's maternal grandfather was a brewer, quite famous in his area and even rich. Although the family was purely Jewish, they preferred to speak Czech, and they lived in the former Prague ghetto, and at that time in the small district of Josefov. Now this place is already attributed to the Czech Republic, but during Kafka’s childhood it belonged to Austria-Hungary. That is why the mother of the future great writer preferred to speak exclusively in German.

In general, while still a child, Franz Kafka knew several languages ​​perfectly and could speak and write in them fluently. He gave preference, like Julia Kafka (mother) herself, to German, but he actively used both Czech and French, but he practically did not speak his native language. And only when he reached the age of twenty and came into close contact with Jewish culture, the writer became interested in Yiddish. But he never began to teach him specifically.

The family was very large. In addition to Franz, Hermann and Julia Kafka had five more children, a total of three boys and three girls. The eldest was just the future genius. However, his brothers did not live to be two years old, but his sisters remained. They lived quite amicably. And they weren’t allowed to quarrel over various little things. The family highly respected centuries-old traditions. Since “Kafka” is translated from Czech as “jackdaw,” the image of this bird was considered the family coat of arms. And Gustav himself had his own business, and the silhouette of a jackdaw was on the branded envelopes.

The boy received a good education. At first he studied at school, then moved to a gymnasium. But his training did not end there. In 1901, Kafka entered Charles University in Prague, from which he graduated with a Doctor of Laws degree. But this, in fact, was the end of my professional career. For this man, as for a true genius, the main work of his whole life was literary creativity, it healed the soul and was a joy. Therefore, Kafka did not move anywhere along the career ladder. After university, he accepted a low-level position in the insurance department, and left the same position in 1922, just two years before his death. A terrible disease plagued his body - tuberculosis. The writer struggled with it for several years, but to no avail, and in the summer of 1924, just a month before his birthday (41 years old), Franz Kafka died. The cause of such an early death is still considered not to be the disease itself, but exhaustion due to the fact that he could not swallow food due to severe pain in the larynx.

Character development and personal life

Franz Kafka as a person was very complex, complex and quite difficult to communicate with. His father was very despotic and tough, and the peculiarities of his upbringing influenced the boy in such a way that he only became more withdrawn into himself. Uncertainty also appeared, the same one that would appear more than once in his works. Already from childhood, Franz Kafka showed a need for constant writing, and it resulted in numerous diary entries. It is thanks to them that we know how insecure and fearful this person was.

The relationship with the father did not work out initially. Like any writer, Kafka was a vulnerable person, sensitive and constantly reflective. But the stern Gustav could not understand this. He, a true entrepreneur, demanded a lot from his only son, and such upbringing resulted in numerous complexes and Franz’s inability to build strong relationships with other people. In particular, work was hell for him, and in his diaries the writer more than once complained about how difficult it was for him to go to work and how fiercely he hated his superiors.

But things didn’t go well with women either. For a young man, the time from 1912 to 1917 can be described as first love. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful, like all the subsequent ones. The first bride, Felicia Bauer, is the same girl from Berlin with whom Kafka twice broke off his engagement. The reason was a complete mismatch of characters, but not only that. The young man was insecure in himself, and it was mainly because of this that the novel developed mainly in letters. Of course, distance was also a factor. But, one way or another, in his epistolary love adventure, Kafka created an ideal image of Felicia, very far from the real girl. Because of this, the relationship collapsed.

The second bride was Yulia Vokhrytsek, but with her everything was even more fleeting. Having barely concluded the engagement, Kafka himself broke it off. And literally a few years before his own death, the writer had some kind of romantic relationship with a woman named Melena Yesenskaya. But here the story is rather dark, because Melena was married and had a somewhat scandalous reputation. She was also the main translator of the works of Franz Kafka.

Kafka is a recognized literary genius not only of his time. Even now, through the prism of modern technology and the fast pace of life, his creations seem incredible and continue to amaze quite sophisticated readers. What is especially attractive about them is the uncertainty characteristic of this author, the fear of existing reality, the fear of taking even one step, and the famous absurdity. A little later, after the death of the writer, existentialism made a solemn procession around the world - one of the directions of philosophy that tries to understand the significance of human existence in this mortal world. Kafka saw only the emergence of this worldview, but his work is literally saturated with it. Probably, life itself pushed Kafka to just such creativity.

The incredible story that happened to the traveling salesman Gregor Samsa in 1997 has many similarities with the life of the author himself - a closed, insecure ascetic prone to eternal self-condemnation.

Absolutely “The Process”, which actually “created” his name for the culture of world postmodern theater and cinema of the second half of the 20th century.

It is noteworthy that during his lifetime this modest genius did not become famous in any way. Several stories were published, but they brought nothing but a small profit. Meanwhile, novels were gathering dust on the tables, the very ones that the whole world would talk about later and would not stop talking to this day. This includes the famous “Trial” and “Castle” - all of them saw the light of day only after the death of their creators. And they were published exclusively in German.

And this is how it happened. Just before his death, Kafka called his client, a person quite close to him, a friend, Max Brod. And he made a rather strange request to him: to burn all the literary heritage. Leave nothing, destroy to the last sheet. However, Brod did not listen, and instead of burning them, he published them. Surprisingly, most of the unfinished works were liked by the reader, and soon the name of their author became famous. However, some of the works never saw the light of day, because they were destroyed.

This is the tragic fate of Franz Kafka. He was buried in the Czech Republic, but in the New Jewish Cemetery, in the family grave of the Kafka family. The works published during his lifetime were only four collections of short prose: “Contemplation”, “The Village Doctor”, “Gospodar” and “Punishments”. In addition, Kafka managed to publish the first chapter of his most famous creation “America” - “The Missing Person”, as well as a small part of very short original works. They attracted virtually no attention from the public and brought nothing to the writer. Fame overtook him only after his death.

Life

Kafka was born on July 3, 1883, into a Jewish family living in the Josefov district, the former Jewish ghetto of Prague (Czech Republic, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). His father, Herman (Genykh) Kafka (-), came from the Czech-speaking Jewish community in Southern Bohemia, and was a wholesale merchant of haberdashery goods. The surname "Kafka" is of Czech origin (kavka literally means "daw"). On Hermann Kafka's signature envelopes, which Franz often used for letters, this bird with a quivering tail is depicted as an emblem. The writer's mother, Julia Kafka (née Etl Levi) (-), the daughter of a wealthy brewer, preferred German. Kafka himself wrote in German, although he also knew Czech perfectly. He also had a good command of French, and among the four people whom the writer, “without pretending to compare with them in strength and intelligence,” felt as “his blood brothers,” was the French writer Gustave Flaubert. The other three are Franz Grillparzer, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Heinrich von Kleist. Being a Jew, Kafka nevertheless practically did not speak Yiddish and began to show interest in the traditional culture of Eastern European Jews only at the age of twenty under the influence of Jewish theater troupes touring in Prague; interest in learning Hebrew arose only towards the end of his life.

Kafka had two younger brothers and three younger sisters. Both brothers, before reaching the age of two, died before Kafka turned 6 years old. The sisters were named Ellie, Valli and Ottla (all three died during World War II in Nazi concentration camps in Poland). In the period from to Kafka attended primary school (Deutsche Knabenschule) and then gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1901 by passing the matriculation exam. After graduating from Charles University in Prague, he received a doctorate in law (Kafka’s work supervisor on his dissertation was Professor Alfred Weber), and then entered the service as an official in the insurance department, where he worked in modest positions until his premature retirement due to illness in the city. Work for the writer was a secondary and burdensome occupation: in his diaries and letters he admits to hatred of his boss, colleagues and clients. In the foreground there was always literature, “justifying his entire existence.” After a pulmonary hemorrhage, long-term tuberculosis ensued, from which the writer died on June 3, 1924 in a sanatorium near Vienna.

Franz Kafka Museum in Prague

Kafka in cinema

• "It's a Wonderful Life of Franz Kafka" ("Franz Kafka's 'It's a Wonderful Life'", UK, ) Blend "Transformations" Franz Kafka with "This Wonderful Life" Frank Capra. Academy Award" (). Director: Peter Capaldi Starring Kafka: Richard E. Grant
• "The Singer Josephine and the Mouse People"(Ukraine-Germany, ) Director: S. Masloboishchikov
• "Kafka" ("Kafka", USA, ) A semi-biographical film about Kafka, whose plot takes him through many of his own works. Director: Steven Soderbergh. As Kafka: Jeremy Irons
• "Lock " / Das Schloss(Austria, 1997) Director: Michael Haneke / Michael Haneke /, in the role of K. Ulrich Mühe
• "Lock"(Germany, ) Director: Rudolf Noelte, in the role of K. Maximilian Schell
• "Lock"(Georgia, 1990) Director: Dato Janelidze, as K. Karl-Heinz Becker
• "Lock "(Russia-Germany-France, ) Director: A. Balabanov, in the role of K. Nikolai Stotsky
• "The Transformation of Mr. Franz Kafka" Director: Carlos Atanes, 1993.
• "Process " ("The Trial", Germany-Italy-France, ) Director Orson Welles considered it his most successful film. As Josef K. - Anthony Perkins
• "Process " ("The Trial", Great Britain, ) Director: David Hugh Jones, in the role of Joseph K. - Kyle MacLachlan, in the role of the priest - Anthony Hopkins, in the role of the artist Tittoreli - Alfred Molina. Nobel laureate Harold Pinter worked on the script for the film.
• "Class Relations"(Germany, 1983) Directors: Jean-Marie Straub and Daniel Huillet. Based on the novel "America (Missing)"
• "America"(Czech Republic, 1994) Director: Vladimir Michalek
• "The Country Doctor by Franz Kafka" (カ田舎医者 (jap. Kafuka inaka isya ?) ("Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor"), Japan, , animated) Director: Yamamura Koji

The idea of ​​the story "Metamorphosis" has been used in films many times:

• "Metamorphosis"(Valeria Fokina, starring Evgeny Mironov)
• "The Transformation of Mr. Sams" ("The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa" Carolyn Leaf, 1977)

Bibliography

Kafka himself published four collections - "Contemplation", "Country Doctor", "Kara" And "Hunger", and "Fireman"- first chapter of the novel "America" ("Missing") and several other short essays. However, his main creations are novels "America" (1911-1916), "Process"(1914-1918) and "Lock"(1921-1922) - remained unfinished to varying degrees and saw the light of day after the author’s death and contrary to his last will: Kafka explicitly bequeathed the destruction of everything he had written to his friend Max Brod.

Novels and short prose

• "Description of one struggle"(“Beschreibung eines Kampfes”, -);
• "Wedding Preparations in the Village"(“Hochzeitsvorbereitungen auf dem Lande”, -);
• "Conversation with a Prayer"(“Gespräch mit dem Beter”);
• "Conversation with a Drunk Man"(“Gespräch mit dem Betrunkenen”);
• "Airplanes in Brescia"(“Die Aeroplane in Brescia”), feuilleton;
• "Women's Prayer Book"(“Ein Damenbrevier”);
• "First long journey by rail"(“Die erste lange Eisenbahnfahrt”);
• Co-authored with Max Brod: "Richard and Samuel: a short journey through Central Europe"(“Richard und Samuel – Eine kleine Reise durch mitteleuropäische Gegenden”);
• "Big Noise"(“Großer Lärm”);
• "Before the Law"(“Vor dem Gesetz,”), a parable later included in the novel “The Trial” (chapter 9, “In the Cathedral”);
• “Erinnerungen an die Kaldabahn” (, fragment from a diary);
• "School teacher" ("Giant Mole") (“Der Dorfschullehrer or Der Riesenmaulwurf”, -);
• "Blumfeld, the old bachelor"(“Blumfeld, ein älterer Junggeselle”);
• "Crypt Keeper"("Der Gruftwächter" -), the only play written by Kafka;
• "Hunter Gracchus"(“Der Jäger Gracchus”);
• "How the Chinese Wall was Built"(“Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer”);
• "Murder"(“Der Mord”), the story was subsequently revised and included in the collection “The Country Doctor” under the title “Fratricide”;
• "Riding on a Bucket"(“Der Kübelreiter”);
• "In our synagogue"(“In unserer Synagoge”);
• "Fireman"(“Der Heizer”), subsequently the first chapter of the novel “America” (“The Missing”);
• "In the attic"(“Auf dem Dachboden”);
• "One Dog's Research"(“Forschungen eines Hundes”);
• "Nora"(“Der Bau”, -);
• "He. Records of 1920"(“Er. Aufzeichnungen aus dem Jahre 1920”), fragments;
• “To the series “He””(“Zu der Reihe “Er””);

Collection “Punishment” (“Strafen”, )

• "Sentence"(“Das Urteil”, September 22-23);
• "Metamorphosis"(“Die Verwandlung”, November-December);
• "In the penal colony"("In der Strafkolonie", October).

Collection “Contemplation” (“Betrachtung”, )

• "Children on the Road"(“Kinder auf der Landstrasse”), detailed draft notes for the short story “Description of a Struggle”;
• "The Rogue Exposed"(“Entlarvung eines Bauernfängers”);
• "Sudden Walk"(“Der plötzliche Spaziergang,”), version of a diary entry dated January 5, 1912;
• "Solutions"(“Entschlüsse”), version of a diary entry dated February 5, 1912;
• "Walk to the Mountains"(“Der Ausflug ins Gebirge”);
• "Sorrow of a Bachelor"(“Das Unglück des Junggesellen”);
• "Merchant"(“Der Kaufmann”);
• "Looking Absently Out the Window"(“Zerstreutes Hinausschaun”);
• "Way home"(“Der Nachhauseweg”);
• "Running By"(“Die Vorüberlaufenden”);
• "Passenger"(“Der Fahrgast”);
• "Dresses"(“Kleider”), sketch for the short story “Description of a Struggle”;
• "Refusal"(“Die Abweisung”);
• "For riders to think about"(“Zum Nachdenken für Herrenreiter”);
• "Window to the Street"(“Das Gassenfenster”);
• "The desire to become an Indian"(“Wunsch, Indianer zu werden”);
• "Trees"(“Die Bäume”); sketch for the short story “Description of a Struggle”;
• "Yearning"(“Unglücklichsein”,).

Collection “The Country Doctor” (“Ein Landarzt”, )

• "New Lawyer"(“Der Neue Advokat”);
• "Country Doctor"(“Ein Landarzt”);
• "On the gallery"(“Auf der Galerie”);
• "Old Record"(“Ein altes Blatt”);
• "Jackals and Arabs"(“Schakale und Araber”);
• "Visit to the Mine"(“Ein Besuch im Bergwerk”);
• "Neighboring Village"(“Das nächste Dorf”);
• "Imperial Message"(“Eine kaiserliche Botschaft,”), the story later became part of the short story “How the Chinese Wall was Built”;
• "The care of the head of the family"(“Die Sorge des Hasvaters”);
• "Eleven Sons"(“Elf Söhne”);
• "Fratricide"(“Ein Brudermord”);
• "Dream"(“Ein Traum”), a parallel with the novel “The Trial”;
• "Report for the Academy"(“Ein Bericht für eine Akademie”,).

Collection “The Hunger Man” (“Ein Hungerkünstler”, )

• "First Woe"(“Ersters Leid”);
• "Small woman"(“Eine kleine Frau”);
• "Hunger"(“Ein Hungerkünstler”);
• "The Singer Josephine, or the Mouse People"(“Josephine, die Sängerin, oder Das Volk der Mäuse”, -);

Short prose

• "Bridge"(“Die Brücke”, -)
• "Knock on the Gate"(“Der Schlag ans Hoftor”);
• "Neighbour"(“Der Nachbar”);
• "Hybrid"(“Eine Kreuzung”);
• "Appeal"(“Der Aufruf”);
• "New lamps"(“Neue Lampen”);
• "Railway Passengers"(“Im Tunnel”);
• "An Ordinary Story"(“Eine alltägliche Verwirrung”);
• "The Truth About Sancho Panza"(“Die Wahrheit über Sancho Pansa”);
• "Silence of the Sirens"(“Das Schweigen der Sirenen”);
• “Commonwealth of Scoundrels” (“Eine Gemeinschaft von Schurken”);
• "Prometheus"("Prometheus", );
• "Homecoming"(“Heimkehr”);
• "City coat of arms"(“Das Stadtwappen”);
• "Poseidon"("Poseidon", );
• "Commonwealth"(“Gemeinschaft”);
• “At Night” (“Nachts”);
• "Rejected Petition"(“Die Abweisung”);
• "On the issue of laws"(“Zur Frage der Gesetze”);
• “Recruitment” (“Die Truppenaushebung”);
• "Exam"(“Die Prüfung”);
• “Kite” (“Der Geier”);
• “The Helmsman” (“Der Steuermann”);
• "Top"(“Der Kreisel”);
• "Fable"(“Kleine Fabel”);
• "Departure"(“Der Aufbruch”);
• "Defenders"(“Fürsprecher”);
• "The Married Couple"(“Das Ehepaar”);
• “Comment (don’t get your hopes up!)”(“Kommentar - Gibs auf!”, );
• "About Parables"("Von den Gleichnissen",).

Novels

• "Process "(“Der Prozeß”, -), including the parable “Before the Law”;
• "America" ​​("Missing")(“Amerika” (“Der Verschollene”), -), including the story “The Stoker” as the first chapter.

Letters

• Letters to Felice Bauer (Briefe an Felice, 1912-1916);
• Letters to Greta Bloch (1913-1914);
• Letters to Milena Jesenskaya (Briefe an Milena);
• Letters to Max Brod (Briefe an Max Brod);
• Letter to Father (November 1919);
• Letters to Ottla and other family members (Briefe an Ottla und die Familie);
• Letters to parents from 1922 to 1924. (Briefe an die Eltern aus den Jahren 1922-1924);
• Other letters (including to Robert Klopstock, Oscar Pollack, etc.);

Diaries (Tagebücher)

• 1910. July - December;
• 1911. January - December;
• 1911-1912. Travel diaries written during a trip to Switzerland, France and Germany;
• 1912. January - September;
• 1913. February - December;
• 1914. January - December;
• 1915. January - May, September - December;
• 1916. April - October;
• 1917. July - October;
• 1919. June - December;
• 1920. January;
• 1921. October - December;
• 1922. January - December;
• 1923. June.

Notebooks in octavo

8 workbooks by Franz Kafka ( - gg.), containing rough sketches, stories and versions of stories, reflections and observations.

Aphorisms

• "Reflections on Sin, Suffering, Hope and the True Path"(“Betrachtungen über Sünde, Leid, Hoffnung und den wahren Weg”, ).

The list contains more than a hundred sayings by Kafka, selected by him based on materials from the 3rd and 4th notebooks in octavo.

About Kafka

• Theodor Adorno "Notes on Kafka";
• Georges Bataille "Kafka" ;
• Valery Belonozhko “Gloomy notes about the novel “The Trial””, "Three Sagas of Franz Kafka's Unfinished Novels";
• Walter Benjamin "Franz Kafka";
• Maurice Blanchot "From Kafka to Kafka"(two articles from the collection: Reading Kafka and Kafka and Literature);
• Max Brod "Franz Kafka. Biography";
• Max Brod “Afterwords and notes to the novel “Castle””;
• Max Brod "Franz Kafka. Prisoner of the Absolute";
• Max Brod "Kafka's Personality";
• Albert Camus "Hope and absurdity in the works of Franz Kafka";
• Max Fry "Fasting for Kafka";
• Yuri Mann "Meeting in the Labyrinth (Franz Kafka and Nikolai Gogol)";
• David Zane Mairowitz and Robert Crumb "Kafka for Beginners";
• Vladimir Nabokov "The Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka";
• Cynthia Ozick "The Impossibility of Being Kafka";
• Anatoly Ryasov "The Man with Too Much Shadow";
• Nathalie Sarraute "From Dostoevsky to Kafka".

Notes

Links

• Franz Kafka "Castle" ImWerden Library
• The Kafka Project (In English)
• http://www.who2.com/franzkafka.html (In English)
• http://www.pitt.edu/~kafka/intro.html (In English)
• http://www.dividingline.com/private/Philosophy/Philosophers/Kafka/kafka.shtml (In English)

Franz Kafka, whose works are known throughout the world, was a German-speaking author of Jewish origin. Oddly enough, the writer, who is now known throughout the world, was not popular during his lifetime and published only a few short stories. Kafka ordered his entire literary heritage to be burned, but his friend Max Brod disobeyed, and only thanks to this the world was able to find out who this mysterious writer was and get acquainted with his works.

The writer's childhood

Kafka Franz - famous of Jewish origin. He was born on July 3, 1883 in one of the ghettos of Prague, which at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The writer's father, Hermann Kafka, was a Czech-speaking Jew, worked as a salesman in a haberdashery store, and his mother, Julia Kafka, spoke more German, just like Franz, who, however, knew Czech and French well. In addition to him, the family had several more children. The future writer's two younger brothers died in childhood, but he had three more sisters. Little Franz went to school until 1893, and then moved to a gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1901, receiving a matriculation certificate.

Mature years

After graduating from the University of Prague, Kafka received a doctorate in law. After that, he worked in the insurance department as a simple official. In 1922, Kafka retired prematurely due to illness. However, during his service in public office, Kafka remained devoted to his main occupation - literature, to which he devoted a lot of time. Due to long-term tuberculosis, which began after a pulmonary hemorrhage, the writer died on June 3, 1924. Before his death, Kafka asked his friend to burn all unpublished manuscripts, but he did not listen to him and therefore many of the works of the talented author were published posthumously.

Kafka's inner world

It is always difficult to talk about a person's feelings, especially if he leads a secluded lifestyle. However, there is documented evidence about the life of the famous German writer of Jewish origin, concerning not only his biography, but also his views on life. What was Franz Kafka really like? “Letter to Father,” one of the writer’s works, is, for example, an excellent reflection of the author’s relationship with his father and a number of childhood memories.

Health

In many ways, the writer’s life was influenced by his health condition, with which he constantly had problems. It is debatable whether his problems were of a psychosomatic nature, but the fact that illnesses plagued the author is certain. and regular gymnastics - this is how Kafka tried to cope with his condition. Franz consumed a lot of unpasteurized cow's milk, which could cause chronic tuberculosis.

Personal life

It is believed that Kafka's failure on the love front is to a certain extent due to his relationship with his oppressive father, because of whom he never managed to become a family man. Nevertheless, women were present in the writer’s life. From 1912 to 1917 he was in a romantic relationship with Felicia Bauer, who lived in Berlin. During this period, they were engaged twice, but both times it did not lead to anything. Kafka and Felicia communicated mainly through correspondence, as a result of which a misconception about the girl arose in the writer’s imagination, which had little correspondence with reality. From the surviving correspondence it is clear that they were different people who could not find a common language. After this, Kafka was in a relationship with Julia Vokhrytsek, but it was also soon terminated. In the early 20s, the writer began an affair with a journalist and translator of his novels, Milena Jesenskaya, who was also married. In 1923, Kafka, along with his muse Dora Dimant, went to Berlin for several months to retire from his family and devote himself entirely to literature.

Death

After visiting Berlin, Kafka returned to Prague again. Gradually, his tuberculosis progressed more and more, causing the writer new problems. This eventually led to Franz's death in a sanatorium near Vienna, probably due to exhaustion. Constant sore throat prevented him from eating, and at that time intravenous therapy was in its early stages of development and could not compensate for nutrition artificially. The body of the great German author was transported to Prague, where he was buried in the New Jewish Cemetery.

Franz Kafka. Creation

The fate of this writer's works is very unusual. During Kafka's lifetime, his talent remained unrecognized, and only a few of his short stories appeared in print, which were not particularly successful. The author became popular after his death and only because his close friend, Max Brod, disobeyed his will and published novels that Kafka wanted to burn so that no one would ever read them.

Otherwise, the world would not have known who Kafka was. The novels that Brod published soon began to attract international attention. All of the author's published works, with the exception of some letters to Milena Jesenskaya, were written in German. Today they have already been translated into many languages ​​and are known all over the world.

Story "Metamorphosis"

Franz Kafka in this work fully reflected his views on human relationships in his characteristic depressive, depressing manner. The main character of the story is a man who wakes up one morning and realizes that he has turned into a disgusting giant insect. The circumstances of the transformation are typical for the author. Kafka does not indicate the reasons, does not talk about the events that happened before, the main character simply faces the fact that he is now an insect. Those around Gregor Samsa perceive his new appearance critically. His father locks him in his room, and his sister, who at first treats him quite warmly compared to others, periodically comes to feed him. Despite his external changes, Gregor remains the same person, his consciousness and his feelings do not change in any way.

Since he was the family's breadwinner and virtually all relatives depended on Gregor, who turned out to be incapacitated after his transformation, the family decided to take in boarders. The new residents of the house behave shamelessly, and the protagonist’s relatives are increasingly critical of him, because now he cannot support them. The sister begins to come less and less often, and gradually the family forgets about the insect that was once their relative. The story ends with the death of the main character, which in reality did not evoke almost any emotions among his family members. To further emphasize the indifference of the people around him, at the end of the work the author describes how Gregor Samsa's relatives are strolling carefree.

Analysis

The writer’s usual writing style was fully reflected in the story “Metamorphosis.” Franz Kafka plays the role of the narrator exclusively; he does not seek to reflect his attitude to the events described. In essence, the story is a dry description of events. Characteristic of the writer’s style is also the main character, who faces an unfair, sometimes absurd fate. a person faced with events with which he is unable to fight. Despite the fantastic nature of the plot, the story also contains quite realistic details that actually turn the work into a grotesque.

Novel "The Trial"

Like many other remarkable works of the author, this work was published after the death of the writer. This is a typical Kafka novel, which reflects not only elements of the absurd, but also fantasy and realism. Harmoniously intertwined, all this gives rise to a philosophical story, which became a reflection of the author’s creative quest.

It is not known exactly what principle the writer was guided by when creating “The Process,” however, the manuscript was not formed into a full-fledged work; it consisted of many disparate chapters. Later they were arranged according to the chronology of events, and in this form the world saw the work that Kafka created.

"The Trial" tells the story of a man named Josef K., who works as a simple clerk in a bank. One morning he was arrested by unknown people without specifying the reason. They have been watching him for a long time, but no one is taking measures to detain him.

The most surprising thing here is that Josef K. has no idea what he is suspected of and what he is accused of, since he was not charged with anything. Throughout the entire work, he is forced to try to understand the reason for the arrest. However, he does not succeed even when the accused is sentenced to death and is immediately killed with a blow to the heart, “like a dog.” The main character, alone in his struggle, fails to achieve the truth.

"Lock"

This is another novel by the writer with many plot elements of the absurd, which Franz Kafka used very often. “The Castle” is a work that tells the story of the life of a certain K., who came to the Village to work as a land surveyor. Upon arrival, he learns that everything here is controlled by the Castle, and in order to begin work or at least get there, he must obtain permission.

K. tries in every possible way to get permission, but he fails to do anything. As a result, it turns out that the Village does not need a surveyor, and K. is offered the position of watchman. The main character agrees because he has no choice. The novel ends with K.'s visit to the driver. According to the writer's plan, K. was supposed to stay here forever, and before his death he would have received a message that his residence in the Village was illegal, but now the Castle allows him to live and work here. But he told his friend that he was stopping work on the novel and did not intend to return to it.

Other works

In addition to the above works, the author has many less popular ones. For example, there are several collections of stories with which Franz Kafka began. “Letters to Milena” is one example of the writer’s epistolary lyrics. This is a collection that contains letters addressed to one of his lovers, Milena Esinska, who was initially simply a translator of his works into Czech. As a result, a correspondence romance began between the writer and Milena, which greatly influenced Kafka, but made him even more unhappy than he was before, after it turned out that their characters were incompatible.

This is not the only collection authored by Kafka. During his life, Franz published only his stories, which did not bring him such popularity as the novels recognized posthumously, but they are no less remarkable and valuable from a literary point of view. Therefore, they should also be mentioned. What else remarkable did Franz Kafka create? “Labyrinth” is a collection of short stories that includes a work of the same name and a number of others, the most famous of which is “One Dog’s Studies.”

Style

Absurdity and realism, reality and fantasy... It would seem that these are all incompatible concepts, but the author manages to organically connect elements of different styles and genres. A master of words, a genius who was not recognized during his lifetime, but after his death became popular all over the world - all this is Kafka. Franz became a kind of symbol of the era, the voice of humanity, preaching loneliness.

Conclusion

His heroes are similar: they face problems that cannot be solved and find themselves face to face with fate.

Tragedy and comedy take on the forms of grotesque in Kafka's fantastic stories. He does not seek to show a hero or an outstanding person; the writer talks about a person’s fear of something higher, of the outside world, which depends only on circumstances. Kafka's main characters are people who find themselves in difficult life circumstances that do not depend on them and can hardly be solved. All this gives rise to their uncertainty, loneliness and fear - everything that constantly surrounds people, driving them into a state of anxiety.