Franz Kafka Quotes


Two possibilities: making oneself infinitely small or being so. The second is perfection, that is to say, inactivity, the first is beginning, that is to say, action.


Citations

Kafka, Franz. The Zürau Aphorisms. Translated by Michael Hofmann, Schocken Books, 2006.

Related Quotes

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.