Maya's Last 500 words

     Within the larger work of The Trial, there is a “short story” titled “Before the Law”. In the final chapters that Kafka himself was able to write, Josef K. meets with a priest, telling him the story of the man who sought the Law. Essentially, the man in the story, after facing a ring of gatekeepers, comes across the gate where one enters in order to find the Law. The man is deterred from entering by the gatekeeper who tells him he is unable to go in at the moment. As he lays dying, the gatekeeper tells him, “[No] one else could gain admittance here, [this] entrance was meant solely for you,” and he closes the gate (Kafka, 217). The man then dies at the foot of the gate, never being able to enter. The story’s extreme depth has given rise to many different readings and analyses. However, from the more general and broad opinions that others have given, more specific conclusions may be drawn in relation to Franz Kafka’s life. K. believes that the gatekeeper has deceived the man, that he allowed him to sit and wait for years upon years knowing that the man would ultimately not be able to go inside. The priest tells Kafka that the gatekeeper telling the man that he “can’t grant him admittance now” implies that the entrance “was mean solely for [him],” (Kafka, 218). If the Law is analogous to some sort of purpose for the man in “Before the Law”, then it seems as though Kafka aims to tell his reader that whatever “door” holds our purpose will not be available to us even when we most need it, even though the door is meant just for us. If one were to have access to this door at any given time, “the chase” Kafka mentioned in his diary entry which caused him to become a nervous wreck would cease. It would become unnecessary to continue “running”. One can speculate that this particular scene  is Kafka transferring his sentiments towards “the chase” into a literary medium, maybe even coming to an understanding that he must “consider it necessary,” (Kafka, 223).

     One quote in the chapter containing “Before the Law” that is particularly interesting is the very last quote. The priest, after revealing that he in fact works for the court, says, “The court wants nothing from you. It receives you when you come and dismisses you when you go,” (Kafka, 224). To take a metaphorical point of view, the court almost symbolizes Kafka’s father in this instance. Kafka’s father always viewed him as a failure, even abused him at times, because Kafka never wanted to be a business man, he wanted to be a writer (SP, 1). As Kafka veered away from the path that his father set for him, the more distant he grew and the less willing he became to “receive” him. 

     Considering all of this, it is more than likely that Kafka did “[portray] himself in his work”. The Trial, at first glance, is simply the story of a young business man making an attempt to careen through the inner workings of his oppressive government. Taking a closer look, though, it is much more than that. Seeing all these connections has also made it clearer that their inclusion in Kafka’s work was most likely a conscious decision rather than an unconscious one.