The Judgement is a fantastic short story written by the literary giant Franz Kafka in 1913. It details the tale of Georg Bendemann, “a young merchant,” and his relationship with his ill father. Written in one night in a moment of inspiration and catharsis, The Judgement is a great read for anyone interested in the life and psychology of the famed Kafka.
The Judgement begins immediately with exposition: “It was a Sunday morning in the very height of spring.” The protagonist, Georg, “was sitting in his own room on the first floor of one of a long row of small, ramshackle houses stretching beside the river which were scarcely distinguishable from each other in height and coloring.” Georg was writing a letter to an old friend who went to Russia to do business but failed commercially. Georg thought of how his friend “had actually run away to Russia some years before, being dissatisfied with his prospects at home,” only to have his business fail after initially flourishing. It is also noted that the friend in Russia scolded Georg for not contacting him enough, something which Georg feels guilty for. The guilt, despite its existence, isn’t severe in degree, as Georg acknowledges that his friend isn’t socially ambitious and has resigned himself to becoming “a permanent bachelor.”
Georg then provides the audience with a specific statistic: the last time he saw his friend was more than three years ago, a considerable amount of time. In those three years, his mother had died (two years ago), which caused him to live with his father. His mother’s death also motivated him to work exceedingly hard at being a successful businessman, although his father sometimes hindered his efforts, as “Perhaps during his mother’s lifetime his father’s insistence on having everything his own way in the business had hindered him from developing any real activity of his own, perhaps since her death his father had become less aggressive, although he was still active in the business.”
Georg spent some more time writing his letter, stating that his friend was basically a stranger at that point, as Georg knew very little of his friend’s exact circumstances, and his friend likewise was ignorant to Georg’s new determination to be successful. Georg then thought of how successful he was, and how unfortunate his Russian friend was, which made him shrink “from letting his friend know about his business success,” as he didn't want to excite any terrible envy in him. This caused him to give his friend only random pieces of gossip of what was happening at home. Georg then states that he is more comfortable talking about others than himself, and he further reveals that he was engaged a month ago to a girl from a well-off family, Fraulein Frieda Brandenfeld. After some elaboration on the topic, he decides to be somewhat honest to his friend, as he wrote in the end of the letter of his engagement, telling his friend that “‘I know that there are many reasons why you can’t come to see us, but would not my wedding be precisely the right occasion for giving all obstacles the go-by? Still, however that may be, do just as seems good to you without regarding any interests but your own.’”
With the letter tucked in his pocket, Georg went to his father’s room to make sure he wasn’t suffering from ill health. Kafka utilizes juxtaposition involving the settings to show how different Georg’s life could become - when he was writing his letter and reflecting on his life, there was ample light, considering he was outside. However, the moment he entered his father’s room, he was surprised at “how dark his father’s room was on this sunny morning,” as “it was overshadowed” by the “high wall on the other side of the narrow courtyard.” Kafka found his father sitting next to the window in a corner of the room (which contained many mementos of Georg’s dead mother) while reading a newspaper “held to one side before his eyes in an attempt to overcome a defect of vision.” Georg’s father, noticing him, stood up from the chair, revealing that he was in a dressing gown. It becomes apparent to the audience that Georg’s father is large in stature, as Georg remarked that even though his father was old, he was still a giant.
Georg’s father says he prefers the room to remain dark, seeing how he closed the windows. Georg tells his father that he is planning to send the letter with news of his engagement to St. Petersburg to his friend. His father, recognizing the existence of Georg’s friend, emphasized the phrase “‘To your friend,’” implying some disapproval with his son. He then asks Georg whether his friend really exists, or whether he was making up his existence. Georg refused to answer the question, telling his father to not think about his friends, and then he tells him that he cares very much about him, as “‘A thousand friends wouldn’t make up to me for my father,’” and then progressed to tell him that he wasn't taking good care of himself. Georg then told his father that he had to get natural light and to eat the breakfast placed in front of him to maintain good health, and that he would be more than happy to close the business to ensure his physical stability. Georg ends his dialogue by telling his father that he needs to rest.
While Georg was tucking his father into bed, his father remarked once again that it was unlikely that he had a friend in St. Petersburg, as he found the very idea insane. Georg then became ashamed of himself while he was “taking off the woolen drawers” his father “wore over his linen underpants and his socks,” as “The not particularly clean appearance of his underwear made him reproach himself for having been neglectful.” Georg feels even guiltier upon realizing that he and his fiance had made no plans involving his father yet, and that they had only “taken it for granted that the old man would go on living alone in the old house.” As a result of his feelings of remorse and contrition, Georg rapidly vows that he would bring his father with him to his new house.
After tucking his father in bed, his father suddenly became angry with him and jumped out of the bed “with a strength” that sent all the blankets “flying in a moment.” His father then told Georg that he only wanted to cover him with blankets to forget about him, and that he wished his son was Georg’s friend, not Georg himself. He then mocked Georg’s relationship with his fiance, saying that his fiance seduced him by lifting up her skirt, “‘the nasty creature.’” He then describes Georg as being a low human being, as he gave in to the temptation and married her “‘in order to make free with her undisturbed,’” and due to marrying such a woman he has “‘disgraced your mother’s memory, betrayed your friend, and stuck your father into bed so that he can’t move.’” His father then continued his rant, saying that he still has strength left, enough strength to defend Georg’s friend.
Georg, angry at his father and frightened by his erratic behavior, calls him a comedian. His father gladly took the insult, telling him that he was indeed playing a comedy, for his wife was dead and his son was ungrateful, seeing that he was “‘strutting through the world, finishing off deals that I had prepared for him, bursting with triumphant glee, and stalking away from his father with the closed face of a respectable businessman!’” Georg’s father then maintains that he’s much stronger than Georg despite his weakened state, and that he will take away everything Georg “earned,” including his future wife. He then calls his son stupid, as he was ignorant to the fact that his father had been writing letters to his friend ever since he was gone - “‘in his left hand he crumples your letters unopened, while in his right hand he holds up my letters to read through!’”
Georg’s father reveals that he has spent many years observing Georg and waited for him to think about someone other than himself - “‘How long a time you’ve taken to grow up! Your mother had to die, she couldn’t see the happy day, your friend is going to pieces in Russia, even three years ago he was yellow enough to be thrown away, and as for me, you see what condition I’m in.’” Georg’s father then finishes his rant, telling Georg that he was so extremely selfish that he thought of no one save himself, and that even though he was “‘An innocent child,’” he was “‘still more truly’” “‘a devilish human being.’” Georg’s father then condemns him to “‘death by drowning.’”
After hearing the words, “Georg felt himself urged from the room, the crash with which his father fell on the bed behind him was still in his ears as he fled.” He then made his way to a water source and “swung himself over” the railing, as when he was young he was a “distinguished gymnast” to the pride of his parents. Before letting himself go, he made sure that there would be some loud noise to cover up his fall, and that noise was eventually provided by a motor-bus. Before falling to his demise, Georg “called in a low voice” for his parents to know that he has always loved them and will continue to love them. Meanwhile, “an unending stream of traffic was just going over the bridge.”
Personal thoughts:
The Judgement is a work that excellently personifies Kafka’s writing, for the plot is both surreal and absurd. The Judgement, as stated before, was written in a single night of inspiration, and it was inspired by Kafka’s own life. The most obvious conflict Georg faces in The Judgement is his relationship with his father, which is verbally abusive and humiliating for him. Georg’s own unquestioning obedience to his father also solidifies the nature of their relationship. Kafka’s personality in his life could be described as introverted and anxious, which didn't sit well with his strong, extroverted, aggressive father. For the majority of his life, beginning from his childhood, Kafka was humiliated and put down emotionally by his father, and he felt he couldn’t live up to him, since his father was a self-made businessman. In another one of his works, Kafka writes that as a child he asked his father during the night to get him some water, and his father responded by dragging him outside the house and leaving him outside in the cold. Kafka then writes, ironically, that after that experience he no longer caused too much trouble, as he kept mostly to himself to decrease the likelihood of such events happening again. The Judgement is a great short story, and I recommend it to those interested in surrealism, the value of perception, and Kafka’s works.
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