💌 [New work] ‘The Judgment’, Key to understand Kafka

Kafka's short story, 'The Judgment'

2024. 2. 16.

Dear ,

Hello? It's Brayle here, once again with a pen in hand.

I had a great holiday and sat down at my desk with a happy heart!
, I hope my excitement is conveyed to you.🥰

By the way, Valentine's Day is this week, right?
I'm a little embarrassed...

but I don't have anyone to give me chocolate right now!😳
So, I guess I should buy some sweet chocolate and eat it...
, what kind of chocolate do you like?
Oh my, while I'm talking about it, I have to go buy one!🍫🍫

Oh, did you know that Franz Kafka didn't eat chocolate?
He tried to live an ascetic life,

and it is said that he even rarely consumed favorite foods such as coffee or tea!
While we're talking about Kafka, today I'd like to introduce one of his works! 😃

A Short and Powerful Story,

‘The Judgment’(Das Urteil)

Franz Kafka's short story 'Metamorphosis' is the best known of his works.
People who have read the book say that various parts of 'Metamorphosis' may be a bit of a reflection of the author's own life!
I felt that way too...

But that doesn’t mean ‘Metamorphosis’ is an autobiographical novel!
Even if you don't write your own story,

the things you have experienced or your feelings can be seen in the story.
I think we can see clues in many places in 'Metamorphosis' when we look at the similarities between the main character's last name 'Samsa' and Kafka's last name!🧐

By the way, today I'm going to talk about 'The Judgment', a work written before 'Metamorphosis'.📖
'The Judgment' was written in Franz Kafka's room in 8 hours

on September 22, 1912! (Published in June 1913)😲
Kafka even said in the morning after writing, 'I have written so far,'

and I think he must have had a proud tone...!
Kafka viewed the work as "one of his most successful and perfect literary creations" which he was able to write in a "semi-unconscious state of mind".

What happened that made him write a novel in just 8 hours?⌚

Kafka's Unconsciousness is Reflected

Don't worry, I won't give any spoilers!

First of all, ‘The Judgment’ is a work dedicated to F.
In other words, it was dedicated to Felice Bauer (if you've seen my letters, you'll know who she is!), with whom Kafka was exchanging letters at the time.
But... the content of the novel was a little strange

because it was dedicated to someone he had feelings for...🤔

To give you a quick idea, the main character, Georg, wants to announce his marriage to his fiancée to his friends living abroad.

And he tries to tell it to his father, who is his business partner.

But behind this good news, a shocking truth and conclusion was coming...💦

This work seems to reflect Kafka's unconsciousness.
Once Franz Kafka was done writing his work,

he discovered that the main character Georg and his own name had the same number of letters.
And the fiancee character's name starts with F, like Felice.
Moreover... the name's spelling (Frieda) also has the same number of letters as Felice.
(There are many other things in common!) 😮

But I think what is most reflected in the novel is

the relationship between Franz Kafka and his father, Hermann Kafka.
Kafka was greatly oppressed by his father and lived a life weighed down by it. Even when he wrote ‘The Judgment’ and ‘Metamorphosis’!
Read 'The Judgment' and you will find out how Franz Kafka felt about his relationship with his father.😥

'The Judgment' is usually included along with 'The Metamorphosis' in Kafka's short story collections, so if you haven't read it,

it would be a good idea to read it along with 'The Metamorphosis'!📚

Perhaps because Kafka wrote it in 8 hours, it is not that long.
For reference, MazM's 'The Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka' (working title) will also cover the creative process and content of 'The Judgment'!👐

Right! Next week, I plan to share the revised character concept design based on feedback from MazMians.
Please look forward to seeing how the character designs of Franz, Felice, and Hermann have changed!😉

Martin's Concept Art Sharing Time

Martin came by today again to show you concept art of 'Metamorphosis'!
We'll see more advanced art in the game, but let's see what Martin was thinking.

"This is concept art that came from the question, ‘What kind of facial expression does Kafka make when he works?’ In my imagination, Kafka is concentrating so hard that he makes a scary expression. What do you think Kafka is like when he works?"

Brayle's Question

, if MazM characters wrote novels about themselves...
Who do you think will tell what story?

There are already characters in the story who have expressed their feelings through letters! (R.I.P.⚰️)

[What if MazM characters wrote their own stories?]

, If you share your ideas, I'll make sure to share them with other MazMians in the next letter.

Thank you again today!

Have a wonderful day! 🥰🥰

Warm Regards, Brayle🤍🐬🤍

Letter from MazMian!

If the first scene of 'Metamorphosis' happened to you...

what would you do? And what will your family do?
만약 '변신'의 첫 장면이 당신에게 일어난다면... 어떻게 하실 건가요?

당신의 가족들은 어떻게 할까요?

"The first thing I would do is look at myself in the mirror. I would feel panic, disbelief in what was happening and would try to take off the “suit”, but I would soon realize that I was no longer a person. Then I I would pack up the things dear to my heart and run away from home, run as far as I could, just so that no one would see what I had become. Hiding in secret places I would watch other people,I would begin to envy them and, out of anger, would begin to scare passers-by, and maybe even harm them.

My family will only see that I am missing and start searching, maybe one day they will find out the truth, and maybe they will let me go and move on with their lives. If they somehow found out the truth (from me or by accident),then they would make an effort to find me and tell me that they are nearby and love me anyway. Unfortunately, they would not be able to come to terms with who I became and would begin to hate me.

by 'Luo Bingge'

"First of all I would like to thank u and ur team for giving me an opportunity to express my views on this topic,

The answer to this question can be quite tricky. While any normal first instinct of a human being might be to differ the reality from the strange dreams they had. I personally think that I would first find a place to hide without getting in anyone's sight. While constantly trying to keep myself calm, I would try to process things. Like the incidents or things that may not seem unusual at first, but may have resulted in it. I would try to seek the strange patterns from my dreams. Uncertain of the future, and not having the ability to trust anyone I think I would keep a journal with me adding the littlest information ( not sure whether an insect could write or not). The incident taking place afterwards can be only left to fate from my perspective.

I haven't read the book yet, so I may not be of much help.

I am not much sure what they would do. I think I would try to be away from there sight and take any opportunity to avoid them knowing this condition."

by 'Ruhi'

"No se, intentaria vivir mi vida en una alcantarilla jugando videojuegos y leyendo historias

Igual me matan a machetazos si ven un bicho gigante en la casa xD"

by 'Muzzy'

"I would look at myself in the mirror and be really fascinated and interested at the same time as it would be a new experience. I have never seen any sort of insect that closely so it would be amazing to see such a detailed view up close. 😜😁

1st off they will all freak out because none of them have seen an insect of that size and my sisters will all start screaming 😂as I always scare them with even the tiniest of insects.🤭 But I think after explanation they will understand that I'm still family (if they understand insect charades, that is 🤗😉)."

by 'Pinky Star'

"I try to scream, but I can't because I'm a bug. But I still has mouth!
My family might sell me to a biology lab if I turn into a bug...!

저는 비명을 지르려고 하지만 벌레라서 지르지 못할 거예요. 입은 있지만요!
제 가족은... 직접 물어봤더니 거대한 벌레를 연구실에 팔면 어떻겠냐고 하더라고요...!!"

by 'Brayle'

[Send your letter to MazM]

Brayle🤍 : I hope we can enjoy leisurely and comfortable days together. 🐬
Gaila🧡 : Loves games. Appears occasionally. 🪁
Eleanor💜 : Aspires to be a smart human-like figure! I mainly handle Special MazM Letters. ⌚

"You can be even greater and should be.✍📜"