Andre Monserrat
The Novel
5/13/93
Final Paper
IN THE CATHEDRAL
The element of the religious in Kakfa’s The Trial
When examining The Trial, one can see Kafka’s satire of a labyrinthine bureaucracy on one hand and a commentary on the religious institution on the other. It is this latter commentary that I wish to discuss in this paper. While there are allusions to religion scattered throughout the novel, I would like to concentrate on the chapter entitled “In the Cathedral,” which I believe to be the most religiously saturated part of the text.
I think this chapter offers some insight into what K. is being accused of. He claims to be innocent, recollecting no crime that he might have committed, and I believe that he has done nothing wrong. He is not accused as a consequence of some action. Instead, he is in a state of being accused because, by his very nature, he is able to be accused. For, in the society portrayed in The Trial, if one is able to be accused it is the same thing as being accused. He was born accused — it is the human condition to be accused.
This seems analogous to the doctrine of Original Sin. Man is inherently tainted and born into this world with a debt owed to God. The debt is too huge for anyone to ever repay. In the context of the novel, a man is born accused of wronging God. It does not matter whether the individual is informed of it or not.
Joseph K. is aware that he is accused. Although he tries all sorts of ways to help his case, nothing seems to work. When he meets the priest in the cathedral, he is informed that he has been casting about for the wrong kind of help. The priest diagnoses K.’s problem: he does not understand the nature of the Court.
Why doesn’t he understand the Court’s nature? Why doesn’t K. ask for the “right” kind of help? Why doesn’t he just ask some member of the Court what he is supposed to do? Because it is not the Court’s job to help. Here, I believe, is the crux of the matter. It seems that Court and its entire system is not designed to help those who are accused. This is Kafka’s analogy of the established Church and its religion.
Kafka paints a picture of the Church as this ridiculous institution that is designed help people by following certain rules. The rules, of course, effectively prevent any sort of useful help from filtering down to those seeking it. Take the story of the Doorkeeper. The Doorkeeper’s duties involve two things: 1) Not allowing the man through the door because he is not to enter at that time, and 2) To wait until the man dies and shut the door. The Doorkeeper adheres to these directives with remarkable dedication, but what good does this do for the man who has to wait?
The door is made only for the waiting man to pass through, but he cannot know this unless he asks the Doorkeeper. In the story, he asks when he is about to die and it is too late.
You know, Professor, this paper is getting really hard to write. I’m getting really uptight about it and its stressing me out. I type a line, a paragraph if I’m lucky, and then I crash down onto my bed, brooding over what to say next. I am a writer. This should not happen. So, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do next: I’m just going to talk real informal-like about some of the things I observed in the chapter, just like I was expressing an opinion in class. Okay? Here goes.
Alright, I think the Doorkeeper represents the clergy. They are there to inform the masses that they have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They are appointed by God (“the voice calling them” referred to by the preacher) and so they are in a sense only lackeys in the great spiritual chain. Now, the way it came across to me is like this: Kafka thinks that the church is not doing its job and helping people get to heaven, have a better life, and whatever. They give the message of salvation when it’s too late. I don’t understand how that is possible, but then, I am not living in Kafka’s society.
I thought it was interesting how the preacher did not speak informally with K. until he came down off the pulpit and was on the same ground with K. “I had to speak to you first from a distance,” the preacher explained. “Otherwise I am too easily influenced and tend to forget my duty.” Here Kafka is saying that the preacher’s job is more important than the souls he is supposed to be saving. This is akin to the Pharisees worshipping religion rather than God. Anyway, the preacher is basically saying, “I need to stay way up here above your head and do my job because if I come down there, I might feel compassion for you and I might be moved to help you which is something outside of my job description.”
Oh, gee, I made it to the fourth page!
I know, this is really bad. Hey, I’m trying, Istvan. Can I call you that — “Istvan”? You never told us what to call you: Istvan, Professor, Professor Csicsery-Ronay, Hey You…
I found the discussion of the Doorkeeper story very interesting also. I saw a lot of parallels with the interpretation of the Bible. Some people say that it answers questions with both a “Yes” and a “No.” Statements such as “The right perception of any matter and a misunderstanding of the same matter do not wholly exclude each other,” showed me that Kafka was taking a real farcical viewpoint of this whole matter.
Also, the possible ignorance of the doorkeeper brought up these thoughts: If a priest does not completely understand the Bible, how can he instruct others with it? If he does not know God or has not seen Him, how can he instruct others about Him?
Hey, look, feel free to stop reading at any point. I can feel the slough of despond beginning to suck me under. I can’t imagine this paper getting any better. It’s just not clicking for me here. The ideas dance about at the furthest fringes of my mind, but only a few accept my invitations to come nearer.
20% of my grade… 20% of my grade… That just seems too abstract at this point. I’m sure it will take on a new level of tangibility when I see “D” or “C for originality” at the top of the paper.
Well, hopefully I’ll do better on the take-home essay. I think I’ll ramble on over to the fifth page just to give this paper a bit more heft so I can at least look you in the eye when I turn it in.
Well, Professor, it’s been a cool class and all. See ya. Have a nice trip to wherever it is you’re going (the place with the wacked-out telephone system). Give me a call sometime <insert drum riff and canned laughter here>.
Sincerely,
Andre Monserrat
(A student who actively participates in class, got B’s on pretty much everything else, missed only 6 days of class, etc., etc., whine, pule, beg, please don’t give me the axe, whimper, plead…)