Here's the hitch, though: Any time a famous writer's distinct literary traits and characteristics -- things that make their works clearly distinguishable from many other authors -- becomes its own basis as an adjective to describe those traits (ex. Emily Dickenson: "Dickensian", George Orwell: "Orwellian"), the meaning of that adjective depends completely on individual interpretations of the original work.
No matter what the dictionaries state about the definition of "Kafkaesque", the true meaning has nothing to do with these "official" dictionary definitions and more about what critics' opinions are on Kafka himself.
People have many different views on what defines Kafkaesque for them. I personally interpret it as surreal, abnormal, and somewhat frightening. These are very clear themes from the very beginning of 'The Metamorphosis". Beginning with its first sentence, the story deals with wildly absurd circumstances; our protagonist wakes up one morning having turned into a monstrous insect. This first sentence in the book already tells us that the story operates in some otherworldly, random chaotic universe. Not only is the main character's random, spontaneous transformation a weird circumstance, it is way beyond the boundaries of natural phenomena and therefore physically impossible. From the start, Gregor's metamorphosis takes on supernatural significance.
Something else I found bizarre, or perfectly fitting with my personal opinion of what makes something Kafkaesque, was the prevalent idea throughout the book of Disconnect between Mind and Body. Yes, Gregor Samsa now physically resembles a giant insect, but inside, he's still the old gregor. Despite the drastic and shocking transformation, his mind is still left the same, which causes a total lack of harmony in his day-to-day functions. For instance, there was that part in the beginning of the book where he was so used to sleeping on his side but couldn't turn over because his new insect body wouldn't allow him to move as freely as he used to. He also tried to turn a doorknob but could not because he could no longer physically function like he used to.
This confusing disconnect between his mind and body was clearly uncontrollable for Gregor, and we could see his desperation to function and live as the normal person he was before , but not being able to. His vivid distress is off-putting and very scary for the reader; definitely what I would call Kafkaesque.
I like how people can have different interpretations of what Kafkaesque really means. I don't think I would call this surreal though. It has surreal elements in it, like how he turns into an insect, his boss shows up to his house, and he three doors to his room, but a lot of it seems in a way rational. Like I think that it would be more surreal if he became a talking insect and could move around like a human. But Gregor really turns into an insect - he walks like one, he can't talk, he eats like one, and he starts to behave like one. He fully transforms into an insect while I believe that in surrealism he would become a humanlike insect. I do believe that there is a disconnect between his mind and his body, but it feels like that disconnect starts to disappear after awhile. He gets used to his body and behaves more like a bug. But I think that all of his emotions are still Gregor emotions not insect emotions. He seems to lose everything that makes him human on the outside (behavior, tastes, motion, appearance) but he retains his humanity in his thoughts and emotions.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! I associate Kafkaesque with the surreal and strange and horrifying at times--but also revealing and forcing readers to confront some uncomfortable aspects of humanity. If I were simply watching a horror film, I would not say it is Kafkaesque unless it was troubling in a semi-permanent way or something that would stick with me.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I feel that one of the most important aspects of Kafkaesque literature is a dreamlike atmosphere, or the sense that things are happening on a sort of dream-logic. Yes, of course the chief clerk is dispatched to the home of a traveling salesman. Yes, of course someone can turn into an insect. Along those same lines, I think that another important aspects is to try to blur the line between 'dreamlike' and 'nightmarish' (The chief clerk's spiel, as well as the lodgers, or Gregor's new life and death)
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point about Kafkaesque elements. Mr. Mitchell specifically told us that people have trouble defining it, and I think that's because it's such a subjective definition. It depends entirely on each reader's interpretations of Kafka's writing. Nevertheless, I like your interpretation of Kafkaesque. That surreal quality you mentioned really makes The Metamorphosis what it is. It especially drives home the dream-like qualities of the story. I don't personally think Kafkaesque features are frightening, but I can understand why they might be. Even if we know that this kind of thing can never happen to us in our world, it's still a terrifying story to read at times.
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