Kafka's Geometry

Abstract

In Kafka's fiction there are many journeys but few arrivals. A typical example is the protagonist of Ein Landarzt riding naked through the blizzard, insisting, Niemals komme ich so nach Hause (E 205). 1 The abrupt switch to present tense at this point, which suggests that the preceding story is past but the return journey continues even to the present moment, strengthens the impression that the journey truly is unending. Yet this is the same ten mile distance that he had previously travelled in a moment (nur einen Augenblick). He expresses no concern about direction, only about the horses' sluggishness (langsam wie alte Manner). Common sense insists that if the wagon is advancing homeward, however slowly, it must eventually arrive. This apparent paradox may be dismissed by saying that the account is to be interpreted symbolically. But this is not quite satisfactory, for it denies the intense physical realism of Kafka's narrative. If it is symbolic truth that we are to read here, then we still ought not to gloss over the form, which is quite precise and realistic on the small scale, though contradictory on the large. While vaguely described fantastic journeys are common in fairy tales and mystical writings (cf., Jofen 32-33), Kafka's stories are exceptional for the minute care and tenacity with which they explore and flesh out a fairly consistent alternative of distance which underlies the fantasy. It might seem unwarranted to seek motifs of abstract in Kafka's writings. While geometry appears in the titles of important critical works on Kafka (cf., Stoltke; Sussman), it is used only as a general word for logical precision. Kafka is supposed to have been a poor student of mathematics and theoretical science, and to have suffered paralyzing incompetence in the