Before the Law
Encyclopedia
"Before the Law" is a parable
in the novel The Trial
, by Franz Kafka
. "Before the Law" was published in Kafka's lifetime, while The Trial
was not published until after Kafka's death.
In some English translations of the original German text, the word "Law" is capitalized. It is important to keep in mind, however, that this is the prerogative of the translator who might wish to focus attention on the myriad connotations of the word beyond its simple juridical meaning; for example, in religious (law as moral or God's law) or psychoanalytic (Freud's "Law of the Father") contexts. In the original German, the capitalization of the word Gesetz ("Law") reflects a standard adherence to the rules of German orthography, which require that all nouns be capitalized, and does not necessarily have wider significance.
the conversation between Paul and the bouncer at Club Berlin is partially lifted from Before the Law.
The section is a lucid example of absurdity in Kafka's works. It also clearly demonstrates the concept of existentialism
, as the man from the country can only enter the gate using his own, individual path. The fable is referenced and reworked in the penultimate chapter of J.M. Coetzee's novel Elizabeth Costello
. Jacques Derrida's essay also titled "Before the Law" examines the meta-fictional aspects within the structure and content of Kafka's fable (For instance the situation of the title before the body of the text and also within the first line of the text itself). Derrida's essay incorporates Immanuel Kant
's notion of the categorical imperative
as well as Freudian psychoanalysis in its reading of Kafka's fable.
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
in the novel The Trial
The Trial
The Trial is a novel by Franz Kafka, first published in 1925. One of Kafka's best-known works, it tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor the reader.Like Kafka's other novels, The Trial was never...
, by Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
. "Before the Law" was published in Kafka's lifetime, while The Trial
The Trial
The Trial is a novel by Franz Kafka, first published in 1925. One of Kafka's best-known works, it tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor the reader.Like Kafka's other novels, The Trial was never...
was not published until after Kafka's death.
"Before the Law"
A man from the country seeks the law and wishes to gain entry to the law through a doorway. The doorkeeper tells the man that he cannot go through at the present time. The man asks if he can ever go through, and the doorkeeper says that is possible. The man waits by the door for years, bribing the doorkeeper with everything he has. The doorkeeper accepts the bribes, but tells the man that he accepts them "so that you do not think you have failed to do anything." The man waits at the door until he is about to die. Right before his death, he asks the doorkeeper why even though everyone seeks the law, no one else has come in all the years. The doorkeeper answers "No one else could ever be admitted here, since this gate was made only for you. I am now going to shut it."In some English translations of the original German text, the word "Law" is capitalized. It is important to keep in mind, however, that this is the prerogative of the translator who might wish to focus attention on the myriad connotations of the word beyond its simple juridical meaning; for example, in religious (law as moral or God's law) or psychoanalytic (Freud's "Law of the Father") contexts. In the original German, the capitalization of the word Gesetz ("Law") reflects a standard adherence to the rules of German orthography, which require that all nouns be capitalized, and does not necessarily have wider significance.
In The Trial
Josef K has to show an important client from Italy around a cathedral. The client doesn't show up, but just as K is leaving the cathedral, the priest calls out K's name, although K has never met the priest. The priest reveals that he is a court employee, and he tells K the story, prefacing it by saying it is from "the introductory texts to the Law," never referring to it by its published title. The priest and K then discuss interpretations of the story before K leaves the cathedral.Significance
In the film After HoursAfter Hours
- Television and film :* After Hours , a 1985 movie directed by Martin Scorsese* After Hours , a 1953 Canadian television series* After Hours , a 2007 television drama broadcasted in Singapore...
the conversation between Paul and the bouncer at Club Berlin is partially lifted from Before the Law.
The section is a lucid example of absurdity in Kafka's works. It also clearly demonstrates the concept of existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, as the man from the country can only enter the gate using his own, individual path. The fable is referenced and reworked in the penultimate chapter of J.M. Coetzee's novel Elizabeth Costello
Elizabeth Costello
Elizabeth Costello is a 2003 novel by South African-born Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee.In this novel, Elizabeth Costello, an aging Australian writer, travels around the world and gives lectures on topics including the lives of animals and literary censorship...
. Jacques Derrida's essay also titled "Before the Law" examines the meta-fictional aspects within the structure and content of Kafka's fable (For instance the situation of the title before the body of the text and also within the first line of the text itself). Derrida's essay incorporates Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
's notion of the categorical imperative
Categorical imperative
The Categorical Imperative is the central philosophical concept in the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, as well as modern deontological ethics...
as well as Freudian psychoanalysis in its reading of Kafka's fable.