The stars were blinking. An aeroplane, viewed from the dimly lit sitting room of my flat on Singapore’s East Coast, descended gracefully to Changi Airport. I was at peace with myself but looked intently at The Trial by Franz Kafka. As often before, I had difficulty in reconciling the man with the writer.
For just a moment I closed my eyes. When I opened them, Theophil was sitting on a chair facing mine. Nowadays, when he revealed himself to me, he usually assumed the form of Peppi: my late father’s bosom pal, who befriended me after I had stumbled into his antiques shop in London. On other occasions, Theophil adopted his medieval appearance of Satan or Asmodeus – the guise known in the three monotheistic religions. I had got used to this image for years and did not feel threatened by it. Currently, he appeared in an unfamiliar image.
“What are you trying to convey to me, Maestro? I have not seen this semblance before although the image seems familiar.”
“Undoubtedly. You saw pictures of René Descartes. Today we seek to engage in a philosophical enquiry. And he is the father of The Method and of modern philosophy.”
“I see; but surely, I am thinking about Kafka – and he was not a philosopher!”
“True,” replied my benefactor. “But you have written a lengthy article entitled ‘Kafka’s Feet of Clay’, in which you dealt with his writings. Today you are concentrating on his nature as a man. Usually, this is a psychological study. But your approach – weighing argument and its counter – is a philosophical enquiry. My guise is, therefore, suitable.”
“I take your point; but the methodical enquiry you refer to appeared suitable when I discussed the man’s writings. Today, my object is to consider his nature.”
“Would this image be more suitable?” For a few minutes I stared at the image into which he transformed himself. The middle-aged man with the goatee and the piercing eyes looked familiar.
“I am not certain, Dr. Freud. Your method may be helpful if we encounter a stumbling block. But is this a good starting point?”
“Isn’t it? You are trying to illuminate the personality of a given person: Franz Kafka the man. Isn’t the eye of the psychologist the most suitable one? Aren’t you trying to look behind the façade projected by your subject?”
“We may need to resort to this type of enquiry. But – to start with – don’t we have to look at the plain facts, that is, the public image or, as you refer to it: the façade?
“Very well then. How about this image?” He asked as he assumed the form of Peppi.
“Is it suitable?” I wanted to know. “How does Peppi fit in? Isn’t the investigation going to be complex and winding? Further, unlike Descartes and Freud, both of whom are famous, Peppi is an individual known to just a circle of friends.”
“Quite so,” conceded Theophil. “But, for that very reason, isn’t Peppi the most suitable guise? Isn’t he, in more than one sense, akin to the ‘reasonable man’ postulated by your common law?”
For just a moment I hesitated. Then, I saw light. “I get your point,” I confirmed. “Peppi’s strength was common sense and his ability to get directly to point. He was a ‘no-nonsense’ man. I recall how he spotted a rogue or a time waster as soon as that person entered his shop.”
“Exactly! And why is this relevant?”
“It tells us that Peppi would get straight to the plain points and that he would steer our enquiry back on track if it got out of hand.”
“Precisely. You see, we may have to raise issues of a methodical and of psychological nature. Where this occurs, we may seek guidance from the writings of Descartes or Freud. But all in all, our enquiry rests on assessing facts in the light of commonsense or on the view taken by ordinary mortals. In this regard, Peppi is outstanding.”
“Well, then” he continued, “let us start. In your article you argued that Kafka was neither one of the greatest writers of the 20th century nor a contributor to Judaism or Zionism. You made your point. But how about your reference to ‘feet of clay’? Let us trace the phrase.”
“It is inspired by chapter 2 of the Book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream refers to an idol which has feet of iron mixed with clay. Daniel deciphers this as a reference to the decline of the Babylonian empire. The reign one of the great King’s successors is partly as tough as iron but ends up being as brittle as clay.”
“Quite so,” affirmed my ephemeral friend, “but how about the rest of the body?”
“The head is of ‘good gold’, the upper body of silver, the rest of it of copper and the legs …Oh, I see. You suggest that, when assessing Kafka the Man, we commence by discussing the head.”
“Kafka’s early years, rather: his childhood and boyhood. And bear in mind that the dream refers to ‘good gold’. This indicates that the anonymous writer of the Book of Daniel knew full well that not everything that glitters constitutes ‘good gold’.”
“I get the drift,” I told him. “The ‘head’, that is, the individual’s early years, may gleam. But the apparent gold may be ordinary metal gilded with a thin layer of gold.”
“And, of course, the shining surface may turn out to be polished brass rather than gold. And don’t forget the next two parts of the idol: silver and copper.”
“The teens and young manhood being silver?”
“Indeed,” confirmed Theophil. “In Kafka’s case these are significant. They cover his years at the university and early employment.”
“That means,” I interceded, “Kafka’s years prior to his literary outbreak, which eventuated in 1912. But then, he wrote a few pieces earlier on.”
“He did,” confirmed Theophil. “Still, the writings you analysed in your paper date to his mature years, when he was becoming middle aged. And here you eventually turn to the feet: part of iron and the rest as unsteady as clay.”
“But I can see a snag,” I observed after a short reflection. “In the case of most human beings the division works. An individual’s early years, covering his (or her) childhood and primary school, is the ‘Head’. Adolescence – covering secondary and tertiary education and early years of employment (basically the teens and early twentieth) – is akin to the statue’s silver, or upper torso. These are followed by a person’s middle age and working life, or, in the case of most women, family life. In general, an individual embarks on his (or her) working life in the mid-twenties, or if he (or she) attends a university, slightly later. These are the ‘copper’. Years of retirement are often as tough as iron – a person gets his or her deeper insights. But they are frequently mixed with clay or, in other words, deterioration of one sort or another.”
“An in the case of Kafka? Are your referring to his passing away at the young age of 41?” asked my friend.
“I do, Maestro. I have no doubt that his last few years represent iron mixed with clay: impressive literary attainments undermined by ill health culminating with tuberculosis and death. But his adolescence and working life are hard to separate from each other. They overlap. An attempt to demarcate is problematic.”
“Understood,” affirmed my counterpart. “I suggest we bear this in mind when we discuss him. ‘Silver’ and ‘copper’ may be fused in certain regards.”
“So, we now have an outline,” I opined. “When I wrote my article, Kafka’s personality was relevant only in so far as it had a bearing on the compositions. Today, when we set out to discuss the man, we refer to the writings only when they have a bearing on the personality. In a sense, we reverse the process.”
“We do,” he agreed. “But I must be careful. Franz Kafka was not a disciple. But he was special and so I observed him. As you know, I do not reveal secretive information. In consequence, I am a sounding board – a party that listens to arguments and weighs them. I cannot refute any point by relying on secret information gleaned from direct observations I had made during his lifetime.”
“I know this, Maestro. But you can nudge me: I’ll manage to see the light!”
“Let us hope you do. I have had my failures. But, to start with, don’t go too fast. I know that my proximity galvanises you. But if you exceed your natural speed, you could burn out or simply jump to unacceptable conclusions. If you do, you may confuse the issues.”