Franz Kafka Quotes


People keep themselves at a tolerable height above an infernal abyss toward which they gravitate only by putting out all their strength and lovingly helping one another. They are tied together by ropes, and it's bad enough when the ropes around an individual loosen and he drops somewhat lower than the others into empty space; ghastly when the ropes break and he falls. That's why we should cling to the others.


Citations

Kafka, Franz. Letters to Friends, Family, and Editors. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston, Schocken Books, 1977, p. 15.

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Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
  • Born: July 3, 1883
  • Died: June 3, 1924
  • Nationality: German
  • Profession: Novelist, Short Story Writer, Insurance Officer

Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. It has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those found in his writing.