Kafka, over and over again

 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)   

     --------------------------

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.” 

                 -------------------                                                  

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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