Helplessness in "The Trial"

 Helplessness in “The Trial”

Written in 1925, “The Trial” is Franz Kafka’s commentary on corrupt court systems that exist, and will always continue to exist in society. To Kafka, society was always controlled by something greater than any one man, greater than the human being. This showed in almost all of Kafka’s works, from less known novels like “Amerika”, to better known novels such as “Metamorphosis” and “The Trial”. His characters, like those of Albert Camus, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are preoccupied, if not controlled by the institutions of the societies that they live in. These characters develop of sort of helplessness that no human being should have to endure. In “The Trial” the main character Josef K, experiences this type of a situation. One in which he has no control of his own fate, or at least he thinks so. Therefore, in “The Trial” Franz Kafka demonstrates the power that institutions have over the individual; revealing through Josef K the physical and mental helplessness that the court system can cause over man.

         Born in Prague, Bohemia Franz Kafka had a father who was very interested in social movements. This gave Kafka the ability to see the institutions at an extremely young age.  Because of this, Franz was sent to German schools instead of the Czech schools in Prague ("Franz Kafka Biography"). His childhood was an early stepping stone to his view of the world. Although Kafka was Jewish he went to the German schools, and lived in Prague, which at the end of the 19^th century had become anti-Semitic towards Jews. Since there were many riots, this was probably this start of the feeling of helplessness that is so evident in his novels and short stories.

          At the beginning of “The Trial” it becomes evident that the main character Josef K, is being tried for a crime. Yet, throughout the entire book Kafka does not reveal neither to the reader, nor to the main character the exact crime that he is being tried for. When he is first tried with the crime, Josef thinks that it must be a practical joke set by his friends and colleagues because it is his birthday. As reality sets in, K begins to realize the dire situation that has overcome him. He attempts to appeal the case, but realizes that he is fighting a hopeless fight. Both the police and court system seem to give him no options, as they have complete control of his situation, basically control of his life. This is when the first signs of paranoia start to appear.

       Paranoia seems almost always to lead to a feeling of helplessness. According to John Mirowsky, author of “Paranoia and the Structure of Powerlessness” paranoia is an alienation from others that has gone beyond a sense of disconnection to one of persecution (Mirowsky 228). This is completely true when it comes to the main character Josef K. Josef K first becomes paranoid in the scene “In the Empty Courtroom”. As a result of his arrest, K starts to feel the anxiety and stress that only contributes to the paranoia. The paranoia continues to put more stress and pressure on him, as the trial becomes nearer. This ultimately leads to a panic attack that occurs in the Law Court Offices, panic attacks that continue to happen throughout the book. His paranoia seems to subside a little as soon as he steps out of the offices, furthering his distance away from the Court system.

      Although Josef’s panic attacks stop momentarily they come back later in the book. This could be a result of the feeling of helplessness that increases as the novel goes on. John Mirowsky believes that powerlessness leads to the belief that important outcomes in one’s life are controlled by external forces and other persons, rather than by one’s own choice and effort. This interacts with the threat of victimization or exploitation to produce mistrust which can develop into paranoia (Mirowsky 228). Mirowsky’s characterization of powerlessness coincides with the novel “The Trial”. Josef begins to believe that he has no control over his own life, mostly because of the control that the Judicial System has in his society. Instead of being able to plead with the courts, Josef feels like a victim in his own town because he has no idea what he is being tried for, and no idea how to defend himself. This in turn, leads to Josef’s basic mistrust of people in his society. He even goes so far as to call out (verbal or in thought) his Uncle, his lawyer, and a priest for being a part of the institution that is the Court System.

     In the chapter “The Cathedral” Josef demonstrates his extreme mistrust and paranoia. Josef is assigned to escort an Italian to the cultural spots of the city, the cathedral. Josef starts to doubt the court system, and the people around him, thinking that they want him away from his office so that they can look through things when he is gone. This demonstrates the mistrust that Josef has of the institutions. The Italian never shows, but a caretaker escorts Josef inside the cathedral where a priest, who actually works for the court, tells Josef of his case being caught up in the lower courts. Josef seems to trust the priest completely, ignorantly believing some of his advice. Josef’s paranoia is evident in the fact that he doubts many of the events that occur to him. Almost like a puppet, Josef is helpless to the control that the government and court has over him. Even as he realizes that they have control over him, Josef is not able to do anything about it.

      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.

       The helplessness that occurs in Josef K throughout the novel is most evident in the final scenes of the book.  Yet again on his birthday, two men come for Josef. Instead of attempting to flee them, to keep his freedom and free will, Josef goes with them. This is because Josef feels helplessness towards that institution, towards the court, and the system that these two men represent. He willingly goes with them, and when given the chance to escape, the chance to call to a police officer to free him, he chooses to do otherwise. Instead of calling towards the officer, he runs (with the two men) away from the officer, almost insuring his own death. Josef feels hopeless, and although he knows that the institution, the court is flawed and deceitful, he submits to them. Even though he knows the truth, he accepts the fate that he truly knows they have chosen for him.

“The Trial” by Franz Kafka demonstrates the power that institutions have over the individual; revealing through Josef K the physical and mental helplessness that the court system can cause over man. In all aspects of his life Josef K experienced this feeling of helplessness. Whether it be in his relationships with women, or in his problems with the court system and crime, he could never find trust. This mistrust that he had with almost everyone was mostly due to his paranoia, which is caused by and parallels hopelessness. In creating the character Josef K, and writing of his situation, Kafka wrote and vented on his own life, the mistrust he experienced in all aspects of his life, and the hopelessness that he must have felt after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.