“Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.”
Chapter 1: Arrest
Josef K., a senior bank clerk, wakes up to find two strangers in his room who inform him he is under arrest. They refuse to explain the charges. Despite his protests, K. is allowed to go to work but must report to an unspecified court.
Chapter 2: First Interrogation
K. is summoned to a shabby tenement building where a makeshift court is held. He delivers an impassioned speech denouncing the opaque legal system but is met with indifference. The examining magistrate warns him that his defiance may harm his case.
Chapter 3: In the Empty Courtroom
K. returns to the courtroom unsummoned, finding it empty except for a law student and a washerwoman. He discovers law books filled with obscene drawings, further undermining his faith in the system.
Chapter 4: Fraulein Bürstner’s Friend
K. encounters Fraulein Bürstner’s roommate, who hints at knowledge of his case. He later tries to discuss his arrest with Bürstner but is interrupted, leaving him frustrated and isolated.
Chapter 5: The Whipper
K. stumbles upon the two warders who arrested him being whipped in a storage room for complaining about him. Horrified, he fails to intervene, and the scene haunts him.
Chapter 6: K.’s Uncle & The Lawyer
K.’s uncle, alarmed by the arrest, introduces him to a sickly lawyer, Huld, who claims influence with the court. Huld’s lethargy and cryptic advice leave K. skeptical.
Chapter 7: The Painter
K. visits Titorelli, a court painter, who explains the futility of acquittal in the system. The only outcomes are temporary delays or indefinite postponement, deepening K.’s despair.
Chapter 8: The Merchant Block
A merchant named Block, another of Huld’s clients, reveals his own years-long trial has reduced him to subservience. K. is disgusted by Block’s resignation.
Chapter 9: In the Cathedral
A priest summons K. to a cathedral and tells him the parable “Before the Law,” about a man eternally barred from entering. The priest insists the court wants nothing from K. but his acknowledgment of guilt.
Chapter 10: The End
On K.’s 31st birthday, two executioners take him to a quarry. They stab him to death as he dies pondering his own complicity, “like a dog.”
Key Ideas
- The absurdity of bureaucratic systems that operate without transparency or justice.
- Alienation and powerlessness of the individual against faceless authority.
- The psychological toll of guilt, whether real or imposed.
Notable Adaptations
| 1962 | The Trial (Film) | Orson Welles’ surreal adaptation starring Anthony Perkins. |
| 1993 | The Trial (Opera) | Philip Glass’s minimalist interpretation. |
| 2019 | Kafka’s Trial (Play) | Experimental staging by Richard Jones. |
Who should read this book?
- Readers drawn to existential and absurdist literature.
- Those interested in critiques of institutional power.
- Fans of psychological and philosophical narratives.