Navigating through works of existentialism has never been easy. In Franz Kafka’s world, The Trial, Joseph K was sentenced to an unknown crime which he as no idea on what has he committed.
Waking up early in his apartment, he was informed of his house arrest by two wardens which he was refused of his breakfast by the landlord lady. Through his painful experience in navigating labyrinth like court rooms, layers of hierarchy and the painful bureaucracy of the court system, K surrenders his faith to the unknown judgement.
No," said the priest, "you don't need to accept everything as true, you only have to accept it as necessary." "Depressing view," said K. "The lie made into the rule of the world.
-Franz Kafka, The Trial
In Metamorphosis, salesman Gregor Samsa woke up one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a bug.
Trying to get a hold on what’s happening to him, he hid in his room trying to cover up the fact that he has turned into a bug from his family, and also his boss who came to his house to bug him to get to work.
Upon discovery, his family blamed him for bringing misfortune to the family as they relied on him and his salary for the family’s wellbeing. His family was terrified of him, left alone, dark and despaired in his solitude and shame as a hideous bug which crawls under the bed and hangs on the ceiling.
He could not explain to the people around him what was happening, he was a bug and, after all, a bug could not speak. And that is a metaphor for the confusion of growing up and navigating through the adult world.
“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”
― Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
And after all, could this be that only with a depressive state of mind, great works of literature could be produced.
An intense feeling of agony and despair, which are essential parts of the painful human experience.
Indeed, Franz Kafka alone was a man plagued by depression and sickness. He was an unhappy man at the core of his personality, and through his unhappiness he broke off his engagement with several of his fiancés. A deep despair of shame and guilt transformed into a story about a man who turned into a bug for no inherent reason, and the crushing depressive nature of reality and navigating though mundane tasks in everyday life which seems to be putting each and every one of us into a trial which we are unaware of what had we committed. Born into a world of pain without an explanation, and perhaps leaving the world in a state of agony.
And indeed, it was depression in the core of our hearts which resonates deeply with timeless works of literature from writers like Franz Kafka.