Kafka's The Trial

[Anonymous]

One of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

The chapter that struck me most was the whipping scene, where lowly agents Franz and Willem were being whipped in a storage closet at the bank where Joseph K. worked.

Here's what I don't understand. Why was the punishment taking place at the bank rather than in a government building?

It's the most bizarre part of the novel until the Cathedral scene at the end.

[Anonymous]

It's Kafkaesque.

[Anonymous]

This kind of rational question doesn't typically get you very far with Kafka, but there are a number of possibilities.

The "court" places itself within K.'s view as it sees fit. It may be intentional for the court to have K witness this procedure. The court may see the "justice" meted out to the warders to be something that would make it more legitimate in the mind of K, as at some level it shows K. there is some kind of penalty for corruption. Therefore K can't simply see the court as completely arbitrary. Psychologically K. will be affected by the idea that his complaints, which appeared to be useless in the scene with the Examining Magistrate, actually do have an effect - although with no benefit to him.

It also shows that the court also invades K. personal space at it sees fit. It makes the promise that K. will be able to go about his business in a normal way and it appears that the encounters with the court will be scheduled to accommodate that. The whipping scene establishes that this will not be the case. (The cathedral scene is another indication of the court showing its ability to carry on its business where it seems fit).

Before K.'s physical destruction the court engages in psychological destruction as well. It's arbitrary appearance in a neighbor's room, the junk room in his bank, the cathedral does not limit it to a courtroom in the normal sense. Plus the court has relationships to pornography (the book in the judge's room) and sadism (whipping scene) which also reach into K.'s psyche.

To summarize: think of these actions of the court as part of the psychological destruction of K. which will make up many aspects of the book, while the physical destruction of K. is addressed in a rather perfunctory manner.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, the first sentence of the second paragraph should be removed and that paragraph should say "The court's dishonesty is also shown in the invasion of K.'s personal space."