Kafka's Narrative Theater

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, German, Theory
Cover of the book Kafka's Narrative Theater by James Rolleston, Penn State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Rolleston ISBN: 9780271072814
Publisher: Penn State University Press Publication: October 22, 1990
Imprint: Penn State University Press Language: English
Author: James Rolleston
ISBN: 9780271072814
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Publication: October 22, 1990
Imprint: Penn State University Press
Language: English

Can one speak of Kafka's heroes as "characters"? If so, why is it so hard to define their characteristics? If not, how is the reader persuaded to accompany them on their existential journeys, accepting their behavior as falling within the realm of human logic? This study argues that Kafka's fiction has two conflicting premises: the subjective impossibility of human existence, foreclosing all hope of "meaning" in individual actions; and the ordered structure of human thoughts which assign meaning to the smallest event and analyze endlessly the behavior of other people. Kafka's characters are always, either potentially or actually, moving in both directions at once, earnestly building up a continuous logic to their actions while skeptically dismantling their own pretensions to existence. The device of the circumscribed narrator, congruent with the hero, knowing only what the hero knows, yet not identical with him, enables Kafka to contain both fundamental tendencies in a single sentence.

Although Kafka is widely read, his works seem to give rise very easily to misconceptions; this study is designed primarily to facilitate an intelligent reading of Kafka. Without imposing answers of its own, it seeks to foster an awareness of the problems of perspective and presentation which Kafka engages.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Can one speak of Kafka's heroes as "characters"? If so, why is it so hard to define their characteristics? If not, how is the reader persuaded to accompany them on their existential journeys, accepting their behavior as falling within the realm of human logic? This study argues that Kafka's fiction has two conflicting premises: the subjective impossibility of human existence, foreclosing all hope of "meaning" in individual actions; and the ordered structure of human thoughts which assign meaning to the smallest event and analyze endlessly the behavior of other people. Kafka's characters are always, either potentially or actually, moving in both directions at once, earnestly building up a continuous logic to their actions while skeptically dismantling their own pretensions to existence. The device of the circumscribed narrator, congruent with the hero, knowing only what the hero knows, yet not identical with him, enables Kafka to contain both fundamental tendencies in a single sentence.

Although Kafka is widely read, his works seem to give rise very easily to misconceptions; this study is designed primarily to facilitate an intelligent reading of Kafka. Without imposing answers of its own, it seeks to foster an awareness of the problems of perspective and presentation which Kafka engages.

More books from Penn State University Press

Cover of the book A Civil Tongue by James Rolleston
Cover of the book The Illusion of Civil Society by James Rolleston
Cover of the book The Arras Witch Treatises by James Rolleston
Cover of the book The Other American Moderns by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Plowshares by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Nothing but Love in God’s Water by James Rolleston
Cover of the book The Making of a Market by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Chaucer, Gower, and the Vernacular Rising by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Understanding the Qurʾanic Miracle Stories in the Modern Age by James Rolleston
Cover of the book A Cultivated Reason by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Surveying the Avant-Garde by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Terms of Response by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Beyond the Aesthetic and the Anti-Aesthetic by James Rolleston
Cover of the book An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias by James Rolleston
Cover of the book Rousseau on Education, Freedom, and Judgment by James Rolleston
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy