In this blog post, I’ll explore the portrayal of isolated individuals in modern society and how organizations oppress them through the play ‘The Trial’.
Having lived a life far removed from theater since childhood, I rarely had the opportunity to attend plays, visit art museums, or go to concerts, nor did I have any interest in them. Even as an adult, I knew almost nothing about theater; my only experience consisted of a few plays I’d seen as a child when my mother took me. Then, I had the opportunity to see a stage adaptation of Franz Kafka’s ‘The Trial’. I knew only that “Franz Kafka is a literary master,” but among his works, I was familiar only with ‘The Metamorphosis’; I had never even heard of ‘The Trial’. Since I went to see the play in such a state of ignorance, I had no expectations, and I couldn’t even shake off my drowsiness until just before the play began. My seat was in the third row from the stage—so close that I was even worried I might fall asleep during the performance. This boredom continued until the protagonist, Josef K, appeared.
The plot of ‘The Trial’ goes something like this. One morning—a morning no different from any other, except that it was his birthday—Josef K is suddenly arrested. A self-made bank manager, he is interrogated without knowing the reason for his arrest. He meets various people—his uncle, a famous lawyer, a woman next door, a painter, a priest, and a judge—and tries desperately to prove his innocence, but no one helps him do so. Ultimately, his ordinary and uneventful daily life is completely shattered. The relentless police interrogations and the way those around him treat him like a criminal cause him mental stress and a sense of confinement; eventually, driven to despair, he meets a tragic end.
Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’ similarly deals with the changes in the protagonist and his circumstances following a sudden upheaval in his ordinary life. Josef K is suddenly arrested on the morning of his birthday and interrogated without knowing the reason. This arrest can be seen not merely as being taken into police custody for a crime, but as a symbol of psychological confinement. He believes he has committed no crime, but under the constant psychological pressure, he gradually becomes confused himself. At first, he tried to laugh off the news of his arrest, but when everyone—from the police officers to the lawyer, the priest, and the judge—treated him as a criminal, he fell into a state of anxiety. He constantly strives to prove his innocence, but those around him pay him no attention. Even his uncle, who could be considered his only family, seems concerned only with the family’s reputation and shows no interest in Josef K’s psychological state or whether he is guilty or not. This seems to illustrate the reality of individual isolation in modern society. Individuals are powerless to resist organized institutions and are forced to live under constant surveillance and pressure day after day. Although people maintain various relationships, the reality is that there is almost no one with whom they can truly share their deepest concerns. If there had been even one person in the play to whom Josef K could have confided his worries, his fate might have been different.
None of the characters in the play have a close relationship with him either. The bank clerk covets his position, the woman next door tries to seduce him, and his uncle cares only about the family’s reputation. Amid these dehumanizing relationships, I came to understand to some extent why Kafka portrayed the protagonist as a self-made man without a family.
I, too, find myself thinking that if something like this were to happen to me, I might initially brush it off as no big deal, only to later find myself in a situation just like Josef K’s. If I had never committed a crime, yet everyone around me treated me like a criminal and looked at me strangely, I wonder if I might truly go mad. A line spoken by Josef K toward the end of the play sticks with me.
“Yes, I am guilty. I am guilty because I cannot prove my innocence.” This line made me reflect anew on myself and the society I belong to.
Modern society is a society governed by the rule of law, which aims to maintain order through the law. Therefore, while determining whether an individual is guilty or innocent is important, the only way to prove innocence ultimately depends on the testimony of others. If everyone were to unjustly accuse an individual of guilt without any basis, and no one were to speak out against it, the events depicted in ‘The Trial’ could very well happen in reality. It’s a terrifying thought.
This work brings to mind situations in modern society where individuals file lawsuits against large corporations. Whether it’s a claim for damages or a case involving foreign objects found in food, individuals often raise issues against massive organizations only to lose the case while left isolated. Such cases cast doubt on modern societies governed by the rule of law.
Undoubtedly, human society judges everything by law and maintains balance under the banner of the rule of law. However, individuals often find themselves unprotected, isolated, and ultimately crushed. Society is composed of individuals, yet we all need to pay closer attention to the contradiction in which those very individuals are isolated from society.
