Chekhov's Mistress
Homage to Kafka on the Occasion of his Birth Anniversary
Kafka, death, quotes from diary
Franz Kafka died at the age of 40 after leaving a legacy of some of the richest literature of the century. Today is his birth anniversary, so I thought, on this holiday weekend, instead of writing anything myself, I would copy out an entry from Kafka’s diary. I tried to pick something that is, I believe, indicative of many entries in the personal journal of the man who wrote Metamorphosis.
24 January, 1922:
How happy are the married men, young and old both, in the office. Beyond my reach, though if it were within my reach I should find it intolerable, and yet it is the only thing with which I have any inclination to appease my longing.
Hesitation before birth. If there is a transmigration of souls then I am not yet on the bottom rung. My life is a hesitation before birth.
Steadfastness. I don’t want to pursue any particular course of development, I want to change my place in the world entirely, which actually means that I want to go to another planet; it would be enough if I could exist alongside myself, it would even be enough if I could consider some spot on which I stand as some other spot.
Franz kafka: The Diaries, 1910 – 1923, edited by Max Brod
Schocken Books, New York
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About this Post
- Posted by: Bud Parr
- Date: July 03, 2004
- Filed Under:
Wise Men Fish Here: Literature
- Comments:0
- Links to this Post: Technorati
