Texts, Textuality, and Silence in Franz Kafka's Das Schloss

Abstract

The understanding and interpretation of texts, papers, documents, and even of narration are central elements in Franz Kafka's novel Das SchloJJ. Texts and textual interpretation present a problematic in the novel which impacts upon the critical analysis of the novel itself. Texts in Das SchloJ, by this is meant all written items and some narratives, represent the authority of the Castle with its bureaucratic, confusing, and hierarchical structure. In order to exist within this closed system, incorporating the village and the Castle, it appears necessary to understand these written items and narratives. This understanding, K. believes, should be achieved through correct interpretation and evaluation. K. searches for this correct interpretative method because he wishes to become a part of this system. Amalia, on the other hand, presents a possible alternative to the interpretative problem in her refusal to interpret, in the sense that interpretation is a means of gaining an absolute understanding of the Castle. She denies this method of interpretation because it does not question the structures of the system or of interpretation. The events in the novel and Kafka's text demand an active, questioning interpretation. This must be approached on two levels: first, from within the text, the story of K. and his striving to interpret and understand the Castle; and second, from the perspective of the reader, who is confronted with similar problems when attempting to interpret Kafka's text, the novel itself. Texts and textuality will be examined from three aspects: content, what the text