Franz Kafka (1883-1924) stands as one of the most influential and enigmatic figures in modern literature. His work marks a pivotal transition from 19th-century realism to the profound innovations of 20th-century literary modernism. This essay examines the intricate relationship between his personal biography, his literary output, and his lasting impact on Western culture, with particular attention to his epistolary relationship with Milena Jesenská.
Timeline of Franz Kafka’s Life
Franz Kafka’s existence was marked by a series of formative events that profoundly shaped both his personality and literary work:
July 3, 1883: Born in Prague (Austro-Hungarian Empire) into a middle-class Jewish family1
1885: Family relocates from natal home
1889-1893: Attends German Primary School for Boys in Masná Street2
1893-1901: Studies at German State Grammar School in the Golz-Kinský Palace2
1901-1906: Studies jurisprudence at German Karl-Ferdinand University, also attending lectures in German studies and art history2
1902: First meeting with Max Brod, who becomes lifelong friend and literary executor2
1904: Becomes member of the “Prague Circle,” writes first version of Description of a Struggle2
1906: Obtains doctorate in law2
1907: Begins work at Assicurazioni Generali2
1908: Joins Workers’ Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia, first publication of short stories3
1910: Begins keeping a diary3
August 13, 1912: Meets Felice Bauer at Max Brod’s home1
September 22, 1912: Writes “The Judgment” in a single night, beginning creative breakthrough1
1912-1917: Correspondence and two engagements with Felice Bauer1
1914: Moves into first independent apartment, writes The Trial3
1915: Publishes The Metamorphosis3
1917: Tuberculosis diagnosed, final break with Felice Bauer1
1919: Engagement to Julie Wohryzek, writes “Letter to His Father”1
1920-1923: Intense correspondence with Milena Jesenská1
1922: Writes The Castle, retires due to illness3
July 1923: Meets Dora Diamant at Baltic resort1
September 1923: Moves to Berlin with Dora1
June 3, 1924: Dies of tuberculosis at Kierling sanatorium near Vienna1
Family Context and Formative Influences
Franz Kafka was born into a prosperous Jewish merchant family in Prague, a city that exemplified the cultural complexities of the Habsburg Empire. His father, Hermann Kafka, had risen from humble origins to become a successful businessman, while his mother, Julie Löwy, came from a more cultured Jewish family1. The family belonged to the German-speaking minority in Bohemia, creating a complex linguistic and cultural identity that would profoundly influence Kafka’s work.
Hermann Kafka’s dominating personality cast a long shadow over his son’s development. The father-son relationship became the subject of Kafka’s most revealing personal document, the 47-page “Letter to His Father” (1919), in which he analyzed the psychological impact of his father’s authoritarian nature4. As Kafka wrote: “You asked me recently why I maintain that I am afraid of you. As usual, I was unable to think of any answer to your question, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you”4. This paternal terror became a structural element of Kafka’s psyche and literary imagination.
Romantic Relationships: A Pattern of Epistolary Passion
Felice Bauer: The Extended Courtship
Kafka’s relationship with Felice Bauer began at Max Brod’s house in August 1912 and lasted five years, conducted primarily through correspondence1. Felice, a Berlin businesswoman working for a dictaphone company, became the recipient of hundreds of letters that reveal Kafka’s paradoxical nature: deeply romantic yet terrified of commitment5.
Their relationship was marked by Kafka’s constant vacillations about marriage. As one critic notes: “their courtship was thus conducted largely through letters” and Kafka “routinely wrote twice a day, and was troubled if Felice did not match his output”5. The correspondence ceased when Kafka’s tuberculosis diagnosis in 1917 made marriage impossible6.
The Epistolary Romance with Milena Jesenská
The most significant and well-documented relationship of Kafka’s later years was his correspondence with Milena Jesenská (1920-1923). Milena, a 24-year-old Czech journalist and writer, initially contacted Kafka to translate his story “The Stoker” from German to Czech7 8. This professional inquiry blossomed into one of literature’s most intense epistolary love affairs.
Milena Jesenská was far more than just Kafka’s correspondent. She was “a brilliant journalist, a free and committed woman who became a ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ in 1994”9. Born into a Czech Christian family, she had already defied social conventions by marrying Ernst Pollak, a Jewish intellectual, and was establishing herself as a writer and translator9.
The correspondence between Kafka and Milena developed an extraordinary intensity. As Kafka wrote: “Nothing unites two people so completely, especially if, like you and me, all they have is words”6. Their relationship was almost entirely epistolary—they met only twice during their correspondence, spending four days together in Vienna and later meeting briefly in Gmünd10.
Kafka’s letters to Milena reveal a man more vulnerable and passionate than in other periods of his life. The relationship became what scholars describe as “an intercourse with ghosts,” as Kafka himself noted: “Writing letters is actually an intercourse with ghosts and by no means just with the ghost of the addressee but also with one’s own ghost”10 11. For Kafka, who often felt like “the loneliest man in the world,” this connection was almost supernatural7.
Milena understood Kafka’s nature with remarkable clarity. In her obituary for him, she described Kafka as “shy, reticent, gentle and kind, visionary, too wise to live, too weak to fight”7. In letters to Max Brod, she offered penetrating insights: “Frank cannot live. Frank is incapable of living. Frank will never recover his health. Frank will die soon”10.
The correspondence ultimately became what Kafka described as “pure anguish,” the anguish that “pulls its plow through sleep”10. The relationship ended when the intensity became unbearable for both parties, though their mutual understanding remained profound.
Dora Diamant: The Final Love
In 1923, Kafka met Dora Diamant, a 25-year-old actress from a Polish Hasidic family, at a Baltic resort1. Unlike his previous relationships, this one allowed Kafka to experience what he had always dreamed of: “moving to Berlin and living the free life of a writer”1. Dora accompanied Kafka during his final months, remaining with him until his death in 1924.
Literary Works: Between Expressionism and Existentialism
Kafka’s literary production represents a unique synthesis of realistic detail with fantastical elements, anticipating the anxieties of modernity. His work has been associated with both expressionism and existentialism, though he never declared allegiance to any particular movement12 13.
The Metamorphosis: Masterpiece of Modern Literature
The Metamorphosis (1915) begins with one of literature’s most famous opening lines: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect”13 14. This physical transformation serves as a metaphor for the alienation experienced by modern individuals in an increasingly dehumanized society.
The novella explores themes central to existentialist philosophy: alienation, the absurd, and the search for meaning in a meaningless world12 15. As one analysis notes: “Gregor’s metamorphosis into an insect reflects the alienation he experienced in life. Even before his transformation, he had disliked his job and office manager, had few friends, spent evenings alone”14.
The Trial: Bureaucratic Nightmare
The Trial (1925, posthumous) presents Josef K. confronting an incomprehensible legal system that arrests him without explanation16 17. The novel has been interpreted as a prophetic critique of totalitarian bureaucracy and the powerlessness of individuals within impersonal systems.
As one critic observes: “The Trial follows its tragic path deeper into K.’s insular, menacing, and sexualized world, it gradually becomes clear that the answer was never forthcoming”16. The novel’s genius lies in Kafka’s withholding of information from both protagonist and reader, creating a sense of existential uncertainty that reflects the human condition.
The Castle: The Ultimate Kafkaesque Vision
The Castle (1926, posthumous) depicts K., a land surveyor attempting to reach the mysterious authorities of a castle that governs a village18. The novel explores themes of exclusion, bureaucracy, and the individual’s struggle against incomprehensible power structures.
The work has been interpreted as “an allegory of immigration,” reflecting Kafka’s own experience as a cultural outsider18. The castle represents “the impenetrable and self-perpetuating nature of political power,” while K.’s futile quest embodies the existential condition of striving for unattainable goals18.
Influence on Existentialist Philosophy
Kafka is recognized as a precursor to existentialist philosophy, particularly in his exploration of themes such as angst, the absurd, and the human condition12 13. Albert Camus extensively analyzed Kafka’s work in The Myth of Sisyphus, seeing in it the perfect representation of the human confrontation with an incomprehensible universe13.
Jean-Paul Sartre also recognized Kafka’s profound influence on existential thought. As one scholar notes: “Kafka’s works have significantly shaped existentialist and absurdist literature” and “his exploration of existential themes has significantly shaped existentialist and absurdist literature”12 19. The core existentialist proposition that Kafka anticipated is that “the foundation of human feeling and thinking is anxiety; this arises when we recognize the absurd and lack of meaning of our existence”12.
The Term “Kafkaesque” in Popular Culture
The impact of Kafka’s work extends far beyond literature, as evidenced by the widespread use of “Kafkaesque” to describe certain types of experiences. The term is defined as describing situations that are “disorientingly and illogically complex in a surreal or nightmarish way”20 21.
Dictionary.com defines “Kafkaesque” as “relating to, characteristic of, or resembling the literary work of Franz Kafka; marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity”20. The term is commonly applied to bureaucratic situations that echo the nightmarish systems depicted in Kafka’s novels22.
As one analysis notes: “Kafka’s exploration of the human condition still strikes a chord today. Ordinary people confronting irrational forces beyond their control resonates deeply in our complex, confusing, and overwhelming world”21.
Influence on Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture
Kafka’s influence on subsequent literature is immeasurable. Writers including Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, and Haruki Murakami have acknowledged their debt to Kafka23 19. García Márquez famously stated that The Metamorphosis “defined a new path for my life from the first line”23.
In popular culture, Kafka’s influence extends to film, television, and other media. Directors like David Lynch, Terry Gilliam (Brazil), and Michael Haneke have created works that embody Kafkaesque themes24 25. The television series Breaking Bad included an episode titled “Kafkaesque,” while numerous films have been described as capturing Kafka’s distinctive atmosphere of surreal oppression25.
Contemporary writers continue to engage with Kafkaesque themes. Haruki Murakami’s novel Kafka on the Shore explicitly references the Prague writer, with the protagonist adopting “Kafka” as his chosen name, explaining that it means “crow” in Czech26. The novel uses Kafka as “a continuous reference” that ties together its surreal events26.
The Prague Legacy: Kafka Museum and Cultural Impact
Prague has embraced its most famous literary son through the Franz Kafka Museum, which opened in 2005 in the Malá Strana district27 28. The museum offers “an in-depth look at the life and work of one of the 20th century’s most influential writers,” featuring “Kafka’s personal letters, diaries, manuscripts, and photographs”27.
The museum’s design reflects Kafka’s literary aesthetic, with “dark and winding spaces” that “mirror the dream-like and often unsettling environments found in Kafka’s stories”27. The exhibition includes correspondence between Kafka and Milena Jesenská, providing visitors with insight into their remarkable relationship28.
Max Brod: The Savior of Kafka’s Legacy
The preservation of Kafka’s work owes entirely to Max Brod’s decision to disobey his friend’s final wish. Kafka had explicitly requested that all his unpublished manuscripts be burned “preferably unread”13. However, Brod had previously warned Kafka that he would not comply with such a request1.
As Brod later justified: “Convinced of the seriousness of my refusal, Franz should have appointed another executor if his own disposition had been for him of unconditional and final seriousness”1. Brod not only preserved the manuscripts but edited and published them, becoming the architect of Kafka’s posthumous fame.
Kafka’s Enduring Relevance
A century after his death, Kafka’s work continues to resonate with contemporary readers who find their own anxieties reflected in his writing. As one recent analysis notes: “Kafka’s influence on our age is akin to the impact Shakespeare and Dante had on theirs”29. His exploration of alienation, bureaucratic oppression, and existential uncertainty speaks directly to modern concerns about individual powerlessness in complex societies.
The continuing relevance of Kafka’s work lies in its ability to articulate universal human experiences. As one critic observes: “his works help us understand the surreal, frustrating, and sometimes downright terrifying aspects of modern life”21. In an era of increasing bureaucratization and technological complexity, Kafka’s nightmarish visions feel prophetic rather than merely literary.
Conclusion: The Century of Kafka
Franz Kafka represents far more than an exceptional writer; he embodies the contradictions and anxieties of modernity itself. His work anticipated the horrors of the twentieth century: totalitarianism, dehumanizing bureaucracy, and individual alienation. As one assessment notes: “Kafka’s works are often seen as prophetic, offering a vision of totalitarian regimes, bureaucratic madness, and surveillance that eerily prefigures the darkest aspects of the 20th century”29.
The trajectory of Kafka’s life—marked by tension between literary ambition and familial obligations, by passionate epistolary relationships that remained largely unconsummated, and by a struggle against illness that ended in premature death—became the laboratory for the conflicts he would transform into universal literary themes. His correspondence with Milena Jesenská, his tormented relationship with his father, and his various romantic failures all contributed to a body of work that speaks to the fundamental human condition.
The ultimate irony of Kafka’s legacy is that this man who felt like a failure, who requested the destruction of his work, and who lived in relative obscurity, has become one of the most influential writers in history. His “betrayal” of 19th-century narrative conventions opened new pathways for modern literature, while his exploration of the human condition continues to resonate with each new generation of readers confronting the absurdity of contemporary existence.
As we mark the centenary of his death, Kafka’s relevance appears undiminished. In an age of global uncertainty, bureaucratic complexity, and individual alienation, his work provides both a mirror for our anxieties and a language for expressing the inexpressible. Franz Kafka remains, as W.H. Auden suggested, one of those rare writers whose influence on an age equals that of Shakespeare or Dante—a testament to the enduring power of literature to illuminate the darkest corners of human experience.