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Kafkaesque is an adjective which is used to describe concepts, situations, and ideas which are reminiscent of the literary work of Prague writer Franz Kafka, particularly his novel The Trial and his novella The Metamorphosis.
The term, which is quite fluid in definition, has also been described as "marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity: Kafkaesque bureaucracies" and "marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of impending danger: Kafkaesque fantasies of the impassive interrogation, the false trial, the confiscated passport . . . haunt his innocence" — The New Yorker. [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Kafkaesque
It can also describe an intentional distortion of reality by powerful but anonymous bureaucrats. "Lack of evidence is treated as a pesky inconvenience, to be circumvented by such Kafkaesque means as depositing unproven allegations into sealed files ..." Another definition would be an existentialist state of ever-elusive freedom while existing under unmitigatable control.
The adjective refers to anything suggestive of Kafka, especially his nightmarish type of narration, in which characters lack a clear course of action, the ability to see beyond immediate events, and the possibility of escape. The term's meaning has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical.
Cultural References
- From Woody Allen's 1977 film Annie Hall:
- Rolling Stone Reporter: Having sex with you is a really Kafkaesque experience. I mean that as a compliment.
- Alvy Singer: Umm...thank you.
- In the TV series Mission Hill, cartoonist Andy French displays a drawing of a woman at a meat store pointing at a steak and saying "That is so kafkaesque!". Andy explains that it's meant as a satire to the people who misuse the phrase.
- Piranesi's Carceri and some of M.C. Escher's mazes could be described as Kafkaesque art.
- From the movie Naked Lunch , Joan Lee says that she gets a "Kafkaesque high" off bug powder. "It makes you feel like a bug."
In one episode of "Malcolm in the Middle", when Reece is cornered by a brother of a kid in Malcolm's "smart school", the kid remarks "Kafkaesque, isn't it?"--remarking on the difficulty of the situation for Reece.
See also
- This is one of a whole series of adjectives based on authors' names, such as Brechtian, Joycean, Orwellian, Pinteresque, and Machiavellian.
External links
"Kafkaesque"