Elements of Autobiography and Existentialism in Kafkas A Country Doctor - Book Report/Review Example

Elements of Autobiography and Existentialism in Kafka’s A Country Doctor “Kafka’s world is ultimately one that comes to a full stop, and K[afka] himself is one who dwells in its fixity, which has become the hallmark of the modern age in which closed rooms, closed doors, and closed windows personify a barren, spiritless world” (Panichas 91). Franz Kafka is one of those authors who is not easily understood by readers, yet keep their interests with flights of fantasy and twists into the magical. This essay shall focus on Franz Kafka’s short story A Country Doctor, and argue that the work contains elements of both, autobiography and the struggle of living or existentialism. The essay shall also cite appropriately from afore mentioned short story and from the critiques of Kafka’s works to elucidate the same. The Dual-Minded Doctor - Summary and Analysis of the Story The story begins with the only doctor in the town - the protagonist having to visit a sick boy late in the night of a blizzard, with no means of travelling to reach the patient as his horse died of extreme cold the previous night. The author presents his noble intentions and his helplessness at the very outset itself, that while he really wants to reach out to his patients, he is unable to do so because the situation was “hopeless” and his “own horse had died the previous night” (Kafka 1). What appears to be a noble struggle/effort at the beginning, itself becomes a bitter cause for compliant later – his endeavour to reach out to his patients. His good maid-servant Rosa’s attempt to procure borrow a horse for him fails. As is by magic, a groom suddenly appears with two very good horses out of the “cracked door of the [unused] pig sty;” (Kafka 1) however, the groom as if sensing the desperation of the doctor and extracting fees from the doctor for his supply of horses, kisses the maid Rosa brutally. When admonished by the doctor, he simply beckons the latter to take the horses and be on his way to treat the patient. This, the doctor does, despite the groom’s declaration of staying with Rosa and refusal to come with the doctor. The doctor does little to assuage Rosa’s fears of being raped by the groom, but for the feeble protest “It’s not my intention to give you the girl as the price of the trip” (Kafka 1). Here again, the protagonist paints a rather weak picture of himself, indecisive and tormented by perpetual dilemma, which he is powerless to overcome. The reader is completely confused by the to and fro movement in the narration, between the past and the present and also the opposites that abound in the narrative. Almost as if by magic, once again, the horses reach him to the patient’s house immediately; and suddenly the snowfall stops and it is moonlight everywhere! Paradoxically, the doctor is not able to understand anything from the parents words, but he clearly understands the faint whisper of the patient himself who implores “Doctor, let me die” (Kafka 1). He happily rushed to attend to his patient, but is suddenly reminded of Rosa’s plight and loses interest in treating his patient abruptly; and without examining the patient thoroughly, he comes hastily concludes that the young man was “healthy” (Kafka 1). Again this changes when the boy’s wound is revealed and the boy implores the doctor to save him; rather than sympathizing with the boy’s plight the doctor is embittered that the patients were “Always demanding the impossible from the doctor” (Kafka 1). This duality transmits the dilemma and the feeling of deep underlying unhappiness on to the reader, and the noble intentions of wanting to save his patient at the beginning turns to disenchantment and feelings of betrayal of being overworked and underpaid; that “they have once more called for my [his] help unnecessarily” (Kafka 1). In his blind adherence to duty, the doctor failed to recognize a false alarm, and this made him compromise Rosa’s safety. This feeling of being betrayed by the very people he worked so hard to help, lingers on till the end of the story, “Betrayed! Betrayed! Once one responds to a false alarm on the night bell, there’s no making it good again—not ever” (Kafka 1). Autobiographical Elements in A Country Doctor Will Self proves the autobiographical elements of the story, “There are entries in Kafka’s journal that amply confirm a hermetic reading of ‘A Country Doctor’ – one purely in terms of the author’s self-generated worldview, which he himself characterized as ‘a talent for portraying my dreamlike inner life’ “ (p 1). Therefore it is natural that Franz Kafka’s doctor is stressed to the core and like his creator, “no matter how beleaguered or befuddled, is striving “to find a place for himself in the scheme of things” (Vivas cited in Panichas 85). The country doctor is very much a manifestation of Kafka himself and carries the seeming helplessness and powerlessness of the author himself. Jeff Nowak & Allen B. Ruch, who have written Franz Kafka’s biography, observe that “consistent pressure transformed Kafka into a nervous wreck” (p. 1), and that after one particular examination, Kafka succumbed to sheer physical exhaustion, very much like the protagonist in the story, who feels completely overworked and burdened with his responsibilities, and the over expectations of his townsmen. “Kafka himself is representative of “the condemned man” who is powerless before the ineradicable condition of despair, non-meaning, exclusion, isolation” (Panichas. 87). This precisely the impression that Kafka’s doctor offers the reader; the doctor almost appears to beg the readers to see his viewpoint of himself “I am employed by the district and do my duty to the full, right to the point where it’s almost too much. Badly paid, but I’m generous and ready to help the poor” (Kafka 1). The doctor’s failure to take a strong, decisive step to protect Rosa from the brutality of the groom seems to be a reflection of Kafka’s faltering in his real life relationships with Felice Bauer and Milena Jesenská-Polak, both of which failed to progress into marriage (Nowak & Ruch 1). Furthermore, Joan M. Wolk cites Breon Mitchell, to analyze the complexity of Kafka’s relationships as “Despite Kafka's esteem for marriage and a family, his father, Hermann, vehemently opposed his son's wishes citing a lack of adequate income” (p. 1); and this opposition from his father probably influenced Kafka's inferiority complex regarding his capability to be a suitable husband. This aspect can be seen in the country doctor appear almost impotent in front of the groom, to help Rosa or punish her tormentor. The struggle/conflict that Kafka’s characters experience between the need to belong and his rejection of the world as full of exploiters may have their origins in the personal experiences of the author himself. Kafka’s Existentialism For Kafka, the world is full of uncontrollable events, and yet he has to bear the consequences of those events, and he grapples with his desires and self-made duties, and this “struggle against absurdity, despair, hopelessness-against a world that turns a deaf ear to his pleas for assistance and direction—can arouse sympathy” (Panichas 91). The substance of this statement is reflected in the character of the protagonist in A Country Doctor. For example, he meekly rides away with the horses to his patient’s house, but when he is supposed to focus on his patient, he suddenly thinks of Rosa, and without fully discovering the illness of the boy (patient) he decides to leave for home. “Kafka's world is essentially chaotic, and this is why it is impossible to derive a specific philosophical or religious code from it” (Czermak 1) and such traits of confusion paradox are typical of existentialists. However, there is one difference according to Steven Kreis; while indeed Kafka’s works abound with “absurdity and dread” he is unlike “the later existentialists” in that, “he did not derive positive value from these modes of experience; the value of what Kafka wrote perhaps lies in the intense clarity of the exploration” (p. 1). For example, the doctor does not pause to think the ridiculousness of the whole thing that two healthy horses could suddenly appear out of a pig-sty which had fallen into disuse! The existentialist perspective rooted in Kafka’s writings lend to the portrayal of dilemma, duality and disorder in the lives of his heroes. The lack of clear thinking coupled with indecision in everything from protecting Rosa, to diagnosing the young boy’s illness, is the root of all his miseries; however, he is blind to it and always prefers to shift the blame on other people or factors, he tried to check the groom and prevent him from harassing Rosa, but the horses were uncontrollable and moved away. Rather than develop a logical solution to his problems, the doctor prefers to revel in experiencing his problems, almost thoughtlessly, which is what makes it absurd to the readers. Yet the doctor himself is oblivious of this and feels he is “completely calm and clear about everything” (Kafka 1). Conclusion Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor leaves a lasting impression of confusion, powerlessness and helplessness of its protagonist on the reader. The short story has elements of autobiography and existentialism which are typical to Kafka’s writings. The struggles and pains that Kafka experienced in his real-life were locked deep within him only to find manifestations in the absurdity and magical setting in his writings. The study has enabled an understanding of the deeper undercurrents that have contributed to the chaotic and bewildering nature of Kafka’s writings. List of works cited Czermak, Herberth CliffsNotes on The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. 15 Jun 2013 . Kafka, Franz (1919). A Country Doctor translated by Ian Johnston (2009). Online version http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/countrydoctor.htm Kreis, Steven (2000). “Franz Kafka, 1883-1924” in The History guide – Lectures on Twentieth Century Europe online version last revised in 2012, available at http://www.historyguide.org/europe/kafka.html Nowak , Jeff & Ruch, B. Allen (2004). “The most fortunate and unfortunate of men – Kafka Biography” in the modern world online version available at http://www.themodernword.com/kafka/kafka_biography.html Panichas, George A (2004). "Kafka’s Afflicted Vision: A Literary-Theological Critique."Humanitas 17. Pp. 83-107. Available online http://www.nhinet.org/panichas17-1&2.pdf Self, Will (2012). “Kafka’s Wound – A digital Essay” Online version available at http://thespace.lrb.co.uk/#note-11 Vivas, Eliseo (1948). “Kafka’s Distorted Mask,” in Kafka: A Collection of Critical Essays, ed by Ronald Gray (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1962), 139. Reprinted from Vivas’s Creation and Discovery (1948). Wolk, M. Joan (2009). “Franz Kafka's Ein Hungerkünstler: Metaphor of Conflict” Online version revised by Mauro Nervi in 2011, available at http://www.kafka.org/index.php?id=198,334,0,0,1,0 Read More