He is one of the outstanding German-speaking writers of the 20th century, Franz Kafka. The Castle is the book that made him world famous. Like many works of the writer, the novel is saturated with absurdism, anxiety and fear of the outside world. Let's talk about this nontrivial creation in more detail.
About the work
Kafka began writing the novel “Castle” in 1922, but in the same year he decided to stop working on it. The work remained unfinished, in this form it was published in 1926.
In a letter to his friend Max Broad, Kafka wrote that he deliberately quit writing the book and no longer intends to continue it. In addition, he asked a friend to destroy all draft records after his death. But Broad did not fulfill the last wish of a friend and preserved the manuscript.
Franz Kafka, The Castle: a summary. Welcome to the absurd!
The protagonist is a young man of about thirty years old named K. In a late winter evening he arrives in the Village and stops at the inn. K. goes to bed, but in the middle of the night, Schwarzer, the son of the castle keeper, wakes him up. The boy reports that no one without the permission of the count can live in his possessions, to which the Village belongs. The hero explains that he is a surveyor and arrived here at the invitation of the count. Schwartz calls the Castle, where they confirm the guest’s words, and also promise to keep him in awe.
Leaves in the absolute solitude of his hero Kafka. The “castle” (the contents of which are presented here) immerses the reader in an absurd reality that cannot be resisted.
In the morning, K. decides to go to the Castle. But the main road does not lead to the goal, but turns to the side. The hero has to go back. At the inn, "helpers" are already waiting for him, completely unaware of the work of land surveyors. They report that you can enter the Castle only after obtaining permission. K. begins to call and demand that he be given permission. But the voice in the handset replies that he was denied this forever.
Guest from the Castle
In the works Kafka conveys his attitude. The "castle" (a brief summary serves as proof of this) is permeated with gloom and hopelessness. The most insignificant place is assigned to man in him; he is powerless and defenseless.
The messenger of Barnabas appears, distinguished from other local residents by his openness and sincerity, and transmits to C. a message from the Castle. It says that K. was accepted into the service, and the village headman was appointed as his chief. The hero decides to get down to work and stay away from the officials. Over time, he will be able to become “his” among the peasants and earn the favor of the count.
Barnabas and his sister Olga help K. get into the hotel, where the gentlemen who come to the Village from the Castle stop. It is forbidden for strangers to sleep here, and the place for K. is only in the buffet. This time, the hotel was visited by an official Klamm, whom all the villagers had heard of, but no one had ever seen him.
Gives to the helpers of his hero the same disenfranchised allies as he himself, Franz Kafka. “Castle” (a brief summary will help to make up a general impression of the work) describes the clash of powerless, but reasonable people, with representatives of the authorities, whose actions are completely meaningless.
An important person in the hotel is the barmaid Frida. This is a very sad and nondescript girl with a "miserable little body." But in her opinion, K. read the superiority and ability to resolve any complex issues. Frida shows K. Klamma through a secret peephole. The clerk turns out to be a clumsy fat gentleman with sagging cheeks. The girl is the lover of this man, therefore, has a great influence in the Village. K. admired by the willpower of Frida and invites her to become his mistress. The barmaid agrees they spend the night together. In the morning, Klamm is demanding calling Frida, but she replies that she is busy with a land surveyor.
No surveyor needed
Kafka (“The Castle”) lends even love to the depraved and absurd character. The summary clearly illustrates this. The next night, K. spends in the inn with Frida almost in the same bed with his assistants, whom it is impossible to get rid of. The hero decides to marry Frida, but first wants the girl to let him talk with Klamm. But the barmaid and the mistress of the inn tell K. that this is impossible. Klamm, a man from the Castle, will not talk with a simple surveyor, who is an empty place. The landlady very regrets that Fritz preferred the "blind mole" to the "eagle".
Gardena tells K. that about 20 years ago, Klamm called her to her several times. Since then, the Mistress has been keeping the scarf and bonnet presented to him, as well as a photo of the courier who invited her to the first meeting. With the knowledge of Klamma Gardena she got married, and in the first years she talked with her husband only about the official. K. for the first time meets such a close interweaving of personal and official life.
The hero learns from the headman that he received the news of the arrival of the surveyor many years ago. Then the headman sent to the Castle informed that no one in the Village needed a surveyor. Probably, the answer ended up in another department, but this error cannot be talked about, since there are no errors in the chancellery. Later, the control authority acknowledged the oversight, and one of the officials fell ill. And shortly before K.'s arrival, finally, an order was issued to refuse to hire a land surveyor. The appearance of the hero nullified the many years of work of officials. But the document cannot be found.
The Elusive Klamm
Serving as an official, he saw the whole absurdity of Kafka's bureaucratic apparatus. The castle (the summary presented here describes it in some detail) becomes an image of the merciless and meaningless clerical power.
Frida forces K. to get a school watchman, although the teacher tells him that the Village Watchman needs him just like a surveyor. The hero and Frieda have nowhere to live, and they temporarily settle in the classroom.
K. goes to the hotel to meet with Klamm. Pepi, Frida's successor, tells you where to find the official. The hero lurks for a long time in the yard in the cold, but Klamm succeeds in slipping past. The official’s secretary demands that K. undergo an “interrogation”, on the basis of which a protocol will be drawn up. But due to the fact that Klamm himself never reads such papers, K. refuses and escapes.
Barnabas sends the heroes a message from Klamm, in which the official approves of his land surveying. K. decides that this is a mistake and wants to explain everything. But Barnabas is convinced that Klamm will not even hear about it.
K. sees how his bride has changed over the days of marriage. The proximity with the official gave Frida a “crazy charm”, but now it is fading. The girl suffers and fears that K. may give her to Klamm, if he demands. In addition, she is jealous of the hero to the sister of Barnabas Olga.
History of Olga
Clearly separates his characters Kafka. “Castle” (a brief summary partially allows this to be conveyed) is a work where two worlds are clearly drawn. This is a world of officials and ordinary people. The characters are also divided. Heroes from ordinary people have feelings, characters, they are alive and full-blooded. And those who are associated with the office lose their human features, in their guises there is something articulated and fake.
Olga undoubtedly belongs to the first group. And Kafka even introduces the reader to the story of her life. About three years ago, at a village festival, her younger sister Amalia was seen by an official Sortini. The next morning, a letter came from him ordering the girl to appear at the hotel. Amalia burst the message with anger. But never in the Village had anyone dared to push an official away. This misconduct was cursed by their entire family. Nobody came to his father, the best shoemaker, with orders. In desperation, he began to run after the officials and beg them for forgiveness, but no one listened to him. The atmosphere of alienation was growing, and as a result, parents turned into disabled people.
People feared the Castle. If the family managed to hush up the matter, they went to the villagers and said that everything was settled. Then the family was immediately taken back. But family members suffered and did not leave home, so they were expelled from society. Only Barnabas, as the most “innocent,” is allowed to communicate. It is important for the family that the boy officially works in the Castle. But there are no documents about this. Barnabas himself is not sure about this, so he does a poor job. Olga, in order to get information about her brother, is forced to sleep with the servants of officials.
Meeting with officials
Frida, tired of the disorder and exhausted by insecurity in K.'s loyalty, decides to return to the buffet. With her, she calls Jeremiah, the assistant to the hero, with whom she hopes to create a family.
Erlanger, the secretary of Klamm, agrees to accept K. in his hotel room at night. In front of his number there is a whole queue. Everyone is happy to be here, as the secretary has deigned to spend personal time to receive them. Many officials accept petitioners with meals or in bed. In the corridor, our hero accidentally meets Frida and makes attempts to return her. But the girl accuses K. of treason with the girls from the "shameful family", and then runs away to Jeremiah.
Franz Kafka’s novel “The Castle” cannot be read and understood as a classic literature of realism. There are many game tricks, characters, hints and shortcomings. It is no coincidence that Kafka is called the forerunner of existentialism.
After a conversation with Frida, the hero cannot find Erlanger's number and enters the first one that comes across. Official Burger lives there, who was delighted with the arrival of the guest. K., exhausted and tired, falls onto the official’s bed and falls asleep while the owner of the room is discussing official procedures. But soon Erlangre called to him. The secretary reports that Klamm cannot work normally when it is not Frida who serves beer to him. If K. can return the girl to work in the buffet, this will greatly help him in his career.
Ending
The novel "Castle" ends. Kafka didn’t finish it, so you can’t say how, according to the author’s idea, it should have ended, you can only describe the moment at which the story broke.
The landlady, learning that K. was immediately received by two officials, allows him to stay overnight in the beer hall. Pepi laments that Klammu did not like. The hero thanks the Mistress for the overnight stay. The woman begins to talk about her outfits, recalls that K. somehow made a remark to her, which really touched her. The hero maintains a conversation, revealing fashion knowledge and good taste. The hostess is interested and recognizes that K. can become her wardrobe advisers. She promises to call him whenever new outfits are brought.
Soon the stabler Gersteker offers the hero work in the stable. He hopes that through K. he will be able to achieve Erlanger’s location himself. Gersteker invites the hero to spend the night at his home. The mother of the groom, reading a book, gives K. a hand and invites him to sit next to her.
Quotes
At the very center of the story, Kafka (The Castle) breaks off his work. The quotes below will help you get an idea of the style and language of the novel:
- "Administrative decisions are timid, like young girls."
- “The volume of work does not at all determine the degree of importance of the case.”
- "He played with his dreams, dreams played with him."
- "Man acts boldly in his ignorance."
Analysis
This novel is considered among critics the most mysterious of all that Kafka wrote. The “castle” (an analysis we will now examine) presumably touches on the theme of the path of man to God. But since the work is not finished, there is no way to be sure of this. The only thing that can be said for sure is the presence of bureaucratic satire. As for genre specificity, this is more of an allegorical and metaphorical text than a fantastic one.
It is impossible to understand exactly where events unfold. There is nothing that could indicate at least a country. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the images of the Village and the Castle are also allegorical. The depicted world exists by its absurd laws. Kafka was kind, "painfully experiencing his inability to establish a fertile contact with the outside world." This gloomy sensation is reflected in all the works of the writer, we see him in the "Castle".
The hero finds himself in a world in which he has no place, but he is forced to somehow adapt to chaotic reality.
Franz Kafka, The Castle: reviews
Today, the writer is very popular, especially among reading youth. Therefore, it is not worth talking about the relevance of his works - since interest does not fade away, it means that the topic remains in demand. As for the "Castle", the book is very highly appreciated by readers. Many focus on just making fun of bureaucratic orders, which in our society sometimes reach the same absurd proportions as in the days of the writer. It is not surprising that Kafka, who has worked so well for a long time, has described this side of clerical life. The “Castle”, reviews of which are mostly positive, nevertheless leaves readers with a gloomy sediment and a sense of hopelessness. Some incorrectly interpret the novel, perceiving it as an "ode to bureaucracy", and not a satire on the power of officials. The latter is not surprising, since the novel is rather difficult to interpret. And incompleteness only complicates understanding.
To summarize
Raises the idea of the meaninglessness and absurdity of being in his novel Kafka (The Castle). The chapter summary further convinces us of this. By the way, this topic was very relevant for literature of the 20th century. Many European writers turned to her, but only Kafka was so depressingly gloomy. The monologues and actions of his heroes are often meaningless and illogical, and the chaos created around creates an oppressive sense of the futility of being. Nevertheless, the work of Kafka is very popular among readers, and interest in him does not fade away. And do not forget that the writer made a considerable contribution to the development of such a famous direction as existentialism.