Term Paper Intro

Most, if not all, of Kafka’s literary works depict the interaction between society and the individual, how they serve each other, and how they take advantage of one another. The Trial is no exception; the novel deals with Josef K. and his conflict with the society of the novel. Over the course of the book, the reader learns about both Josef K. and the society itself. One of the main vehicles of the depiction of K. and society is the women of the novel. K. meets several women through the book that affect him and his situation. Due to the novel’s nature, the women in the novel are all supporting characters and rarely appear for more than a few chapters at a time. The women in the book have several functions, some of them give K. advice about his trial, some are K.’s sexual partners, and others K. dismisses altogether. More than just being involved with K., Kafka also illustrates the status of women in society, which is almost exclusively low. Furthermore, women can be seen as an extension of the court system itself, as they are often associated with judges and courtrooms, such as Leni and the washerwoman. Although the women of The Trial, by Franz Kafka, are primarily secondary characters, as a whole they reveal a great deal of both Josef K. himself, the society of the time, and further critique the court systems.