Kafka on the Page: On the Relationship of Drawings, Writing, and the Page in Franz Kafka’s Draftsmanship

Abstract

This essay emphasizes Franz Kafka’s use of the page surface when analyzing the relationship between his draftsmanship and writing. The context of the page, including its size, orientation, margins, and blank spaces, becomes relevant when examining the mise en page, i.e., the placement of drawings and text on a page or sheet of paper. In the early twentieth century, the page and its characteristics, ranging from the materiality of the paper to the mise en page (the French term for “layout”), had been a focus in book design. However, in art history, this term is not commonly used to assess the composition of drawings, as often the type of paper, drawing instruments, or the paper’s color and receptivity to ink have been foregrounded. In literary studies, and mainly in genetic criticism that analyzes drafts and other preparatory documents in addition to the finalized text, the mise en page is also not of primary interest. In Kafka’s case, however, considering his use of the page surface extends existing analyses focusing on the text-image relationship regarding Kafka’s draftsmanship. Furthermore, this focus on the mise en page demonstrates that examining the page’s context can also enhance the study of sketches that other writers, such as Samuel Beckett and Paul Valéry, added to their texts.