Kafka started writing literary prose in his teens.
He soon discovered his odd ability and tendency
to put himself in a half dormant state, some sort of trance,
when writing. Without this ability, it seems
unlikely that he could have written something
close to what he did. Now, writing in this state
of trance seems to have a connection to some state
of ecstasy. Kafka: „My terrible calm takes
my fantasy away.“ He thus seems to have used
an almost pathological state in creation. If
this state or condition was a hypnagogic or
a hallucinate one, we do not know.
What can be inferred from his biography
is that creative periods coincide with
periods of insomnia as well as severe
headaches. Headaches did not torture him
when he refrained from projects that
appeared difficult to him, like, for
instance, the completion of a novel.
Kafka was well aware of this, and
it must have been a peculiarity to
him, and a horror noticing that the
headaches had a connection to the
large artistic projects, that the
body strongly revolted against
his creations and his literary
method! What again was this
nightly “trance”? ( Felice Bauer, his fiancé: "Das ist
nur Bilder, das ist nur Bilder, Franz!" )
Was it a state of “double consciousness”?
He was here, so to say, present
in two worlds at the same time,
both awake and asleep, partly
enjoying imagination, partly
aware and writing, using several
senses, in a kind of “stream of
unconsciousness”? It seems he loved
to be in this state of mind.
”The main enemy of Don Quixote was not
his fantasy, but Sancho Panza.” (FK)
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It was almost like he was using himself as a ”medium.” Furthermore, FK's stories are about writing itself, and these tales do not just use writing as a pretext, but writing is displayed, in brilliant disguise, in a discourse of desire, sometimes quite like an erotic act. Kafka thus displays images for this, as in A Country Doctor, where Kafka uses the image of riding for writing – riding on his pen -, and maybe is naming the tales “horses.”
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HIEBEL.
One of the keys to understanding Kafka's writings can
be found in the relationship between Kafka and psychoanalysis.
Hiebel elaborates on this subject in his book <i>Franz
Kafka, Form und Bedeutung. </i> He has a lot to say about the
presence of elements with traditional psychoanalytic
color in several of Kafka´s works. Hiebel asserts
that one has to discern those narrations by Kafka,
that has a structure very much like that of the
dream, in having inherent a kind of mechanic of
the hieroglyphic kind like that of the dream,
for example, A Country Doctor has, from works
like The Trial, where there can be found an
abundance of conventional dream elements, which
almost seem to emerge from examples from the
Dream Theory of Freud. It is a good distinction
to do, and necessary for further understanding
of Kafka´s literary style. That FK did not
align to psychoanalytical thinking, but
that he sooner, as a kind of protest, shaped
his competitive theory and/or style, is also
part of Hiebel´s view here. It seems reasonable.
However, Kafka´s theory was not explicit
as a theory, but is explicit only in the
form of the art it aimed to create. In Kafka,
it is not about dreams but about ”simulations
of dreams,” Hiebel asserts. This
idea seems rather undialectical,
though. Hiebel is clarifying his
view:
”/…../ and these again are not meant as dreams,
but as realities, which are structured like
dreams.”/……………../ ”It is apparent that Kafka
knows of the model of psychoanalysis and to a
certain extent is accepting this, but sees
it as pure ”modelings”, pictures, images
of mind, myths, tales, and he disrupts
from it every value of explanation as
well as therapeutic value. From his
explicit utterances one can understand
that Kafka is comfortable in a
psychological theory of his own,
rejecting contemporary psychoanalysis.
This competing of theories is, however,
restricted to his own literary works,
in which his own psychology emerges.
This comes about, like we have underlined
several times, in a conscious manner,
which carries the consequence, that
psychoanalysis cannot be used as a
”method” on the works of Kafka and
on Kafka as a person.”
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It is a remarkable conclusion to draw, that
Kafka himself couldn´t be viewed through
psychoanalysis because he was creating a
competing theory! Hiebel claims that the
analyses made by Kaiser and Mecke concerning
psychopathological problems in cases of
presumed schizoid personality, infantilism,
fear of sexuality, fear of homosexuality, etc.,
with Kafka himself, perceived through his
stories, are absurd to undertake. Hibel´s
view is that, to understand Kafka´s works,
the understanding of the psychoanalytical
mythology provides an essential layer within
a broad symbolic and mythical interpretation.
This seems evident.
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