bodies 6-8

The panic attacks that occur in the Law Court Offices, also occur in other scenes throughout the book. One scene is when Josef K meets with the painter in a studio who also happens to be commissioned by the court. Josef goes to see the painter because he supposedly has information about his case. The painter turns out to be a painter for the Court and he explains to Josef the three different types of acquittals that may occur with his case. The three types seem to be quite mysterious and uncertain and the acquittals may take a long time thus he may be liable for arrest at any moment. As the story unfolds Josef’s panic attacks, and his paranoia get worse and worse. After Josef converses with the painter he has another panic attack, as he begins to get paranoid and overwhelmed with stress. All that the painter described just further creates a sense of helplessness for Josef K.

This helplessness that is evident throughout the novel had to stem from somewhere. Thomas M. Havanagh wrote in “Kafka’s “The Trial”: The Semiotics of the Absurd” that “paranoia and schizophrenia (in different proportions and various refinements) have been proposed as that which “explains” both the novels and their creator” (Havanagh 244). Therefore, at some point in his life, probably when he was writing “The Trial” Franz Kafka must have experienced some sort of paranoia resulting from either helplessness or a mild case of schizophrenia. This most probably occurred while he was writing the novel, as he must have been feeling helpless since he was fighting tuberculosis at the time ("Franz Kafka Biography"). Therefore, this helplessness must have been projected in Josef as a result of Kafka’s own feelings.

Kafka’s true emotions also show up in the novel through the almost pointless ‘relationships’ that Josef has with Leni and Ms. Burstner. Similar to in his own life the relationships that Kafka starts with women almost never seem to last. In his real life Kafka was seen as a bachelor, never being able to commit, continually breaking off engagement after engagement (“Franz Kafka Biography”). Kafka must have felt some sort of helplessness, as he could never actually commit to a relationship, not until his deathbed when he proposed to Dora Diamant. Similar to this are Josef K’s relationships with Leni and Ms. Burstner. Ms Burstner rejects Josef, who then intern Josef rejects Leni because he thinks she flirts with other men. This seems very hypocritical as Josef himself flirts with other women. This demonstrates the mistrust that goes hand in hand with paranoia, causing that same feeling of helplessness because not only can Josef not control the trial, he cannot control his own love live. Possibly as a result of all the pressure, and because of his paranoia Josef rejects any relationship that could have been good for him.