The Judgment in Kafka's

The Judgment in Kafka's "In the Penal Colony"
Author(s): Erwin R. Steinberg

Source: Journal of Modern Literature, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 492-514
Published by: Indiana University Press
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ERWIN R. STEINBERG
CARNEGIE-MELLON
UNIVERSITY
The Judgment in Kafka's

"In the Penal Colony"
LIKE WORK,"In the

MOSTOF KAFKA'S Penal Colony" lends itself to many
interpretations. The problemof the studentof Kafkais not to determine
which is the correct reading, but ratherto resolve the contradictions
among the various analyses that suggest divergentreadings.Multiple
interpretations of a workof literatureare usefulwhen they are mutually
reinforcing,but contradictoryinterpretationssuggesteither that one or
more critics is misreadingor that the work itself is so poorly executed
that it becomes an ink blot on which the critic is invited to project
fantasiesarisingout of his own needs and experiences,a do-it-yourself
literaturekit which providesa basic structureto which the critic adds
directionand intention.
The plot of "In the Penal Colony" is simple, if bizarre.An explorer,
visitinga penalcolony on a tropicalisland,is invitedto view the execu-
tion of a soldier who has been condemned to death for failureto per-
form his duty. As the prisonerand his guard stand by, the officer in
charge, a disciple of the formerCommandant,explains the method of
executionto the explorer.The apparatusfor the executionwas invented
by the old Commandant,who is now dead. The condemned man is
strappedin the apparatus,which literallyinscribesthe sentence on his
naked body with long needles. The entire process takes twelve hours,
but at the sixth hour he begins to decipher the sentence through his
wounds. By the time he achieves full enlightenmenthe dies, the ap-
paratuspitches him out, and he is buried.
The new Commandantrthe officerexplains, is opposed to the entire
procedure.He does not supplyreplacementpartsfor the apparatus;and
whereas underthe old Commandantexecutions were widely attended
by the people on the island (includingthe children), under the new
orderexecutions proceed in barrenisolation.
492
493
The officerasks the explorerto intercedefor him with the new Com-
mandant so that he may at least restorethe apparatusto its former
workingcondition and perhapseven to its former importance.When
the explorer expresses disapprovalof the procedureand refuses, the
officer frees the prisonerand submits himself to the machine, which
then seems to go berserkand kills him in short order, despite the ex-
plorer'sattemptto free him.
The explorer,followed by the prisonerand the guard,then proceeds
to a teahouse at the edge of the colony, where he is shown the graveof
the old Commandantand learnsfromthe tombstoneof a prophecythat
the old Commandantwill returnand regaincontrol of the colony. Im-
mediatelyafterwardthe explorer,who had not been planningto leave
until the next day, shakes off the prisonerand the guard and departs
hurriedlyby a smallferryboatto the steamer,which was Iyingout in the
harbor.
As one mightexpect, criticalanalysesof the storyvarywidely. Some
interpretationsare mutuallysupportive.There is no contradiction,for
example, when Globusand Pillardsee in the old Commandanta repre-
sentationof "theprimitive super-ego't1 and Beck sees in him a sugges-
tion of "Moses, or an ancient Hebrew priest,if not Jehovahhimself."2
As a concept, religionas a system involving,among otherthings,ethics
and moralityis quite compatiblewith the psychoanalyticconcept of the
super-ego. Or, to put it another way, a super-ego may well include
religiousethics and moralityor ethics and moralitywhich stem from a
once-held religious belief.
However,whereas Beck sees the old Commandantas an Old Testa-
ment characterand the Commandant'swritings"[I]ikethe Torahand
the commentariessurroundingit,"3 Greenberg insists that "The old
regime of the old Commandantdoes not . . . pointedly referto Old
Testamentdays, it only embracesthem in its meaning,along with all the
otherold regimesthat based theirauthorityon a transcendentreligious
absolute."4He saysfurther,"Nor is the labyrinthinescriptthatregulates
theworkingsof the execution machinea referenceto the HebrewScrip-
1 Gordon C. Globus and Richard C. Pillard, "Tausk'sInfluencing Machine and Kafka's'In the Penal Colony,"'
American Imago, XXI11(Fal1 1966), 196. Italics in the original.
2 Evelyn Torton Beck, Kafkaand the Yiddish Theater (University of Wisconsin Press, 1971), p. 148.
3 Beck, p. 148.
4 Martin Greenberg, The Terrorof Art (Basic Books, 1968), p. 109.
494 ERWINR. STEINBERG
tures but to Scripture-in-general

."5
To enlargethe disagreementeven more, Mendelsohnuses language
in connection with the officer (commonlyregardedas an extension of
the old Commandantand his devout follower)and the officer'suse of
the machinewhich suggestsChristianity.The officer"is a proponentof
a liturgy,and ... the sole survivingpriest.... The victim is merelyan
essential part of the proceedings, much like wine, wafer, and vest-
ments."6 For Mendelsohn, "The machine in operation serves as the
center of the ritual, with the Officer as celebrant and the throng as
communicants."7Only in Christianitydoes apriestwear vestmentsas a
celebrantin a mass in which he offerswine and a waferto communi-
cants.
Politzerrejectsthe idea of the world of the old Commandantand his
machine as symbolic of the world of the Old Testament:"Kafkais far
from equating the torturemachine with Jewish belief."8On the other
hand, he seriouslyentertainsthe possibilitythatthe storyreflectsChris-
tian symbols. The teahouse
assumesthe air of a sacredshrine.... [W]e may comparethe teahouse

with anotherold inn from which anotherold belief, Judaism,proceeded
intothe world,rejuvenatedas Christianity.Theexecutionmachinemay be
likenedto the Cross,the suicide of the officerto a sacrificialdeath. The
wordson the tombstone,"Havefaithandwait!"acquirean almostevangel-
ical ring. The imageryof the story as a whole suddenlyseems to carry
definiteovertonesof Christiansymbolism.9
But he concludes by dismissingthe possibilitythat the story has any

strongreligious significance:
Butas soon as we take the inscriptionon the old Commandant'sgrave
seriously,a strictlyreligiousinterpretation
of "In the Penal Colony" be-
comes untenable.The faiththat the old Commandant'sfollowersare ad-
monishedto preservecannot be anythingbut belief in theirmaster'srigor-
ous martiallaw. This law is no more to be identifiedwith Judaismthan
Christianhope is to be derivedfromthe old martinet'sreturnto the Col-
ony.lo
5 Greenberg, p. 1O9n.
6 Leonard R. Mendelsohn, "Kafka's'In the Penal Colony' and the Paradox of Enforced Freedom," Studies in
ShortFiction, Vlil (Spring 1971), 311.
' Mendelsohn, p. 312.
8 Heinz Politzer, Franz Kafka, Parable and Paradox, rev. and enl. (Cornell University Press, 1966), p. 107.
9 Politzer, p. 1 14.
10Politzer, pp. 1 1F1 15.
KAFKA'S
"PENALCOLONY" 495
In a long footnote Mendelsohnhimselfoffersconsiderableevidence

of other critical disagreement:on 8'wherethe attentionshould be di-
rected,"for example, whetheron the machine or the colony or one of
the characters;or on which is the protagonist,the officer or the ex-
plorer;or on whether the exploreris a neutralobserveror Kafkahim-
5elf.11
Anotherserious problemis what to make of the new Commandant.

Tauber,for example, who calls the old Commandant"one aspect of
AlmightyGod,''12barelymentionsthe new Commandant.Politzersays
littlemoreabout him, nordoes Greenberg.The sourceof the difficultyis
that neitherCommandantever appearson stage. We know a good bit
aboutthe old Commandant,however, because the officertells us about
him in some detail and because both the officerand the machineserve
as surrogatesfor him;and we see both of them in action. Butthe officer
tells us much less about the new Commandantand there are no surro-
gates for him. As a resulthe is just a faintfigure,hoveringdimly in the
wings with his ladies.
It is clear from the story,however,thatthe new Commandantrepre-
sents something significantlydifferentfrom the old Commandant.In-
deed with the officer,the explorer,and the machine center stage front
and the prisonerand his life literallyhangingbetween the philosophies
of the tvvoCommandants,the storywould seem to requiresome reason-
able balance between the two clearly counterpoisedimportantfigures
Offstage the two Commandants.
In an attempt to resolve the disagreementsI have sketched and
many others-I would propose yet another analysis of "In the Penal
Colony," one which takes into account more fully than do earlier
analysesthe time at which Kafkalived and Kafka'spersonalcrises. If
whatI have said suggeststoo littleconcern with the text and too greata
concernwith non-literarymatters,I can only plead that:
1. I shall attemptto ground my argumentfirmlyin the text; and ulti-
mately, my argumentwill rest on evidence fromthe text.
2. Most critics agree that "In the Penal Colony" and Kafka'sworks
generally-beg for interpretation. Thus,for example, Warrensays of
this storythat it is "prettypersistentlyand consistentlyallegorical'';13
Mendelsohn,p- 316.
12 HerbertTauber,FranzKafka(London:Secker& Warburg,1948), p. 62.
13 Quoted in Greenberg,p. 105.
and Greenbergadds, "that is, it refersone directlyto ideas.''14In-

deed, he says, "Ideasobtrudein the storywith unusualdistinctness
and in the end the readeris confrontedwith an intellectualdilemma
ratherthan a living mystery."15
Itis that intellectualdilemmathat I intendto probeand to derivefromit

some aestheticconclusions.
Letus look firstat the old Commandant.He inventedthe apparatus
that not only providedjustice for the island (92) but also "Enlighten-
ment" even "to the most dull-witted" (104).16Furthermore,he or-
ganized the whole penal colony (92), which was very much a world
unto itself.He was, in fact,omniscient.Whenthe explorerasks,"Did he
combine everythingin himself,then?Was he soldier,judge, mechanic,
chemist and draughtsman?" the officer replies, "Indeedhe wast' (96).
Finally,the "prophecythat aftera certain numberof years the Com-
mandantwill rise again and lead his adherentsfrom this house to re-
cover the colony" (127) caps the earliersuggestionsof divinity.Ifit is to
be taken literally,it suggestsa resurrection;if metaphorically,a mes-
siah. The old Commandantis thus a god a god, we should note, who
in earliertimes explained his rules to his people: "the Commandant
always used to do the explairling"(95). But is he any particulargod?
A considerationof the old Commandant'splansfor the machine,the
machine itself, and the sentences it inscribedwill help to answer that
question.When the officerpreparesto show the explorerthe old Com-
mandant'sdrawings,"he inspected his hands critically;they did not
seem clean enough for him for touchingthe drawings;so he went over
to the bucket and washed them again" (96). When he spreadsthese
"guidingplans," he does not allow the explorerto touch them (101).
When the explorersays that he cannot make out the script,the officer
replies, "Yes, it's no calligraphyfor school children. It needs to be
studiedclosely" (102).
There is a religiousdocument to which such actions and remarks
would apply: the Torah (that is, the Pentateuch the five books of
Moses). When the scroll of the Torah is taken out of the Ark in the
14 Greenberg, p. 105. Italics in the original.

t5 Greenberg, p. 104.
All pages references to "In the Penal Colony" are to the Modern Libraryedition of Selected Short Stories of
lff
Franz Kafka, trans. Willa and Edwin Muir (Random House, 1952).
KAFKA'S
"PENALCOLONY" 497
synagogue to be read from duringa service,l7it is treatedwith rever-

ence. In many synagogues it is paradedthroughthe congregation,and
male membersof the congregationshow it their respect by kissingthe
corner of their prayershawl and touching that corner to the Torah.
When the scroll is uncoveredand spreadopen to be read, the place is
indicated not by hand, but by a silver pointer.When a memberof an
orthodoxcongregationis called up to say the blessingduringthe read-
ing of the Torah,he kissesthe cornerof his prayershawl and touches it
to the appropriatepassageon the scroll. Inshort,the scroll is touched by
the handsof those officiatingat the service only as is absolutelyneces-
sary and not at all by the membersof the congregation.To drop the
scroll is a sin for which one does penance by fasting.
IfKafkawas ever called up to say the blessingover the readingof the
Torah,he would have treatedit with similarrespect.l8And Kafkawould
not have been able to makeout the scripttfor it is in Hebrewta language
of which he acquiredonly '/scantknowledge. . . fromreligiousinstruc-
tion as a child and as a youth.''l9(He began to study the language
seriouslyabout four years afterwriting"Inthe Penal Colony"- that is,
shortly afterthe firstWorld War.)20Finally,orthodoxJews do indeed
studythe Torahclosely. It is not somethingleftto school children,but a
lifetimeoccupation.
The officer'sdescriptionof the script as it is inscribedon the body
suggestsanotherancient Hebrewtext the Talmud:
Of course the scriptcan't be a simpleone....So there have to be lots and
lots of flourishesaroundthe actualscript;the scriptitselfrunsaroundthe
body only in a narrowgirdle; the rest of the body is reservedfor the
embellishments.(102)
The Talmudcontains the Mishnah,the Gemara,and furthercommen-
tary,medievaland later.(TheMishnahis a redaction,arrangement,and
revisionof the Oral Lawby RabbiJudahha-Nasiaboutthe beginningof
the third century. The Gemara is commentaryand discussion on the
Mishnahby Hebrewscholarsbetween the thirdand fifthcenturies.)As
17 As a boy, Kafka
thoughtof the scrollsas @'dolls
withoutheads."FranzKafka,LeXerto His Father, trans.Ernest
Kaiserand EithneWilkins(SchockenBooks,1966), p. 77.
18 Kafka"wentin dreadforyears"of being"calledup to readthe Torah."Kafkasayshisfathertreatedhisown
beingcalled up as "little,not verysignificantincidents."Kafka,Lettersto His Fatteerop. 79.
19JohannesUrzidil,There Goes Kafka, trans.HaroldA. Basilus(WayneStateUniversityPress,1968),p. 105.
20 Urzidil,p. 105
printedtraditionally,a page of the Talmudcontained, basically,a cen-

tered passage from the Mishnahand its attendantGemarasurrounded
by furtherscholarly commentary;21 The commentarieswere, indeed,
"embellishments"in that they analysed, expounded on, expanded,
examinedthe implicationsof, and appliedto everydaylifethe particular
passage from the Mishnah.The examinationwas frequentlyphraseby
phrase,and the variouscommentswere generallyattributedby name to
the scholarswho made them.
Finally,the legalityand sternovertonesof the two sentences of script
(or scripturthe Germanword that Kafkaused, Schrift,means both)
given in the story HONOR THY SUPERIORSand BE JUST also
suggestthe Old Testamentbecause of the widely-heldview thatJudaism
is a religionof laws (comparedwith Christianityas a religionof love; I
shall have more to say about this matterbelow).
There are several mattersin the story that point at the time in the
Jewishcalendar at which Kafkawrote "In the Penal Colony." The of-
ficertells the explorerthatthe prisonerdoes not knowwhat his sentence
is (96), that, indeed, he does not even know that he has been sentenced
(97), and that "My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never doubted"
(97). Finally,"the prisonermustfast for a whole day beforethe execu-
tion" (107).
Kafkasays that he finished "In the Penal Colony" during his two-
week vacation Saturday,October 3, through Sunday, October 18,
1 914.22 Itis difficultto telI when he began it. InentriesalI duringAugust
and throughthe middleof Septemberhe complainedin his diaryabout
his inabilityto writeor about how slowly his writingwas going.23Given
his repeatedtestimonythat his best works were writtenat night in a
burstof creativityand in a single sitting,24however, I would assumethat
the storywas startedand finishedduringhis vacation in October,since
although he complained on October 7, "I have written little and fee-
bly," he reportedon October 15, "two weeks of good work."25In 1914,
21 Fora discussionof the Mishnah,the Gemara,and the Talmud,see Encyclopedia ludaica (Macmillan,
1971);for a pictureof a pageof the Talmud,see Vol. 15, p. 757.

22 Max Brod,ed., The Diaries of Franz Kafka, 1914-1923, trans.MartinGreenbergand HannahArendt
(SchockenBooks,1949), pp. 93, 107
23 Brod,pp. 75-92
24 See, for example,Max Brod,ed., The Diaries of Franz Kafka, 1910-1913, trans.MartinGreenbergand
HannahArendt(SchockenBooks,1948), pp. 275-276; and Brod,Diaries, 1914-1923, pp. 100-101, 107.
25Brod,Diaries, 1914-1923, p. 93.
"PENALCOLONY"
KAFKA'S 499
the firstday of Rosh Hashanah,the beginningof the JewishNew Year,

was September21; and the concluding day, Yom Kippur(the Day of
Atonement),was September30. Ifthe storywas not writtenimmediately
afterYom Kippur,it seems certainlyto have been writtenin its parting
shadow.
Forthe observantJew,Yom Kippuris a day of awe and anxiety.As the
congregationacknowledgeto God in their prayers,it is a Day of Judg-
ment:
Letus tell how utterlyholy this day is and how awe-inspiring.It is the day
when thy dominion shall be exalted, thy throne shall be establishedon
mercy,and thou shalt occupy it in truth.Trueit is that thou artjudge and
arbiter,discernerand witness,inscribingand recordingall forgottenthings.
Thouopenestthe book of recordsand it readsitself;every man'ssignature
is contained in it.
The greatshofaris sounded;a gentlewhisperis heard;the angels,quak-
ing with fear, declare: "Theday of judgmentis here to bringthe hostsof
heaven to justice!" Indeed, even they are not guiltless in thy sight. All
mankindpasses beforethee like a flock of sheep. As a shepherdseeks out
his flock, makinghis sheep pass underhis rod, so dost thou make all the
living souls pass beforethee; thou dost count and numberthy creatures,
fixingtheir lifetimeand inscribingtheirdestiny.26
As the service proceeds,the readerpointsout whatthe judgmentmaybe

and how it may be averted:
On Rosh Hashanahtheirdestiny is inscribed,and on Yom Ki,opurit is
sealed, how many shall pass away and how many shall be broughtinto
existence; who shall live and who shall die; who shall come to a timely
end, and who to an untimelyend; who shall perishby fire and who by
water;who by swordand who by beast;who by hungerand who by thirst;
who by earthquakeand who by plague; who by stranglingand who by
stoning;who shall be at ease and who shallwanderabout;who shall be at
peace andwho shallbe molested;who shallhavecomfortandwho shallbe
tormented;who shall become poorand who shall become rich;who shall
be loweredand who shall be raised.
Butrepentance,prayerand charitycancel the sterndecree.27
The sinner,of course, does not know that he has been sentenced, what
the sentence is, or when it will be executed. Furthermore,"Guilt is
neverdoubted."As the congregationacknowledgein theirprayers,"we
are neitherinsolentnorobstinateto say to thee: 'Lordour God and God
ed. and trans.,High Holyday Prayer Book, Yom Kippur (HebrewPublishingCompany,

26 PhilipBirnbaum,
1960), pp. 50S508.

27 Birnbaum,p. 508.
R. STEINBERG
ERWIN
500
not sinned.' Indeed we have

ourfathers, we are just and have
of
sined
n t '28 course, is the requirement
Another relevantreferencein the story,of
day." ObservantJewsfastfrom
"the prisonermustfastfor a whole
that to its conclusion, sundown
beginningof Yom Kippur,at sundown,
the
thenext day.
of
abouthis uniform.Theexplorer
Finally,there is the officer'scomment
the tropics surely." And the
"these uniformsare too heavy for
says, we don't wantto
replies,@'Of
officer course, butthey mean home to us;
the Yom Kippurservice ended,
about home" (91). Traditionally,
forget
"Next year in Jerusalem."29
keepingwith everythingwe know
Itis interestingto note here that, in
of anxietyand guilt in the holy
aboutKafka,he respondedto the themes
of pardon.As we have
dayof Yom Kippur,but not to the possibility
[can] cancel the sterndecree";
seen,"repentance,prayerand charity
the congregationrecognize that
and in their prayerson Yom Kippur
us this Day of Atonement,
"Thou, Lordour God, hast graciouslygiven
and forgiven,a holy festi-
wherein all our iniquitiesare to be pardoned
Egypt."30Ind>ed,as the very
valin remembranceof the exodus from of
it is a day of atonement, a day
nameof the holy day indicates, says,
expiation, a day of forgiveness.As Birnbaum
with physicalmortification[that is,
Thoughthe Day of Atonementbegins It is a day of self-denialand at the
fasting],it ends with spiritualexaltation. of the atonementprayers
Thearrangement
sametime a sabbathof sabbaths. sense of guilt to the sense of joy and
forms a gradualascent from the and mercy.3l
confidentrelianceupon divine love
to the sense of guilt and cannot as-
ButKafka,of course, respondsonly
love and mercy.Althoughin this
cendto the sense of joy and of divine
fact reprieved,another is condemned
storythe condemned man is in no
anxious flight. For Kafkathere is
anddies; and the story ends in
of Israel'siniquitiesinto the wilder-
scapegoat"to bear away the stains
as those prayingacknowl-
runsthroughthe entireservice;for
28 Birnbaum, p. 66. Awarenessof havingsinned and "ifthoushouldst record sin,who could liveon?If
alive is freefromguilt,"
edgeto God, "inthysightno man pp. 90, 714. Fora statement of Kafka'sguiltand
could stand?"-Birnbaum,
thoushouldstexecutesentence,who Father, pp. 77-79.
the synagogue,see his Letterto His
fearin connectionwithJudaismand on "TheJudgment,"writtentwo years
impactof Yom Kippur
29 Birnbaum, p. 743. Fora discussionof the 'TheJudgment,"' Modern Fiction Studies, Vlil(Spring
Judgmentin Kafka's
earlier,see ErwinR. Steinberg,"The
1962), 23-30.
30 Birnbaum, p. 520.
31 Birnbaum,p. x.
"PENALCOLONY"
KAFKA'S 50l
ness," as there was in Old Testamentdays.32Eachman sufferswithout

redemptionfor his sins and wandersperpetuallyin the wildernesshim-
self.
There is in the story repeated reference to tradition and ritual-
sometimes pointless ritual.There are the unsuitableuniformsand the
highlyornatescript,alreadyreferredto. The officerwho officiatesat the
"service" speaks Frenchto the explorer, a language that neitherthe
prisonernor his soldier guardunderstands(93), in much the same way
that those officiatingat the services Kafkaattended spoke Hebrew, a
languagethat Kafkadid not understand.Thereis the officer'swashingof
his handsbeforetouchingthe old Commandant'sdrawings.Thereis the
direct appeal by the officer to tradition(114). Above all, there is the
soldier'sassignment,for the failureof which he is to be punished:'jItis
his duty, you see, to get up every time the hour strikesand salute the
captain'sdoor" (98).33
As MartinBuberhasexplained,Judaismhas always hadto struggle(as
all religionsmust over time) to preventa meaningfulreligiousgesture
from becoming a meaninglessreligiousritual:
For the actualityof the faith of Biblical and post-BiblicalJudaism. . .
fulfillmentof the Torahmeans to extend the hearingof the Word to the
whole dimensionof humanexistence. This demand made it necessaryto
struggleagainsta witheringor hardening,which knew of no other fulfill-
mentthanthe carryingout of the rules,and so madethe Torahin fact intoa
"law" which a person had merely to adhere to as such, ratherthan to
comprehendits truthwith every effortof the soul and then to realize it.34
As Buber points out, Torah means not "law," but rather"direction,

instruction,information."35
Kafkawrote to his fatherthatas a young man he resentedbitterlythe
meaninglessness of the Jewish ritual that his father performed in-
frequentlyand requiredof him:
Fourdays a year you went to the synagoguewhere you were, to say the
least,closer to the indifferentthan to those who took it seriously,patiently
p. 538. Kafkaseems to have denied the possibilityof salvationto the very end. See ErwinR.
32 Birnbaum,
Steinberg,"Kof The Castle: OstensibleLandSurveyor,"College English, XXVII(December1965), 185-189.

33 Theexplanation thisdutyis reminiscentof the explanationsfor
forthe necessityof the soldier'sperforming
the necessityof performingmanyreligiousdutiesthat have come down throughtime but have now lost their
functionandthustheirmeaning:"Notan exactingduty,andverynecessary,since he hasto be a sentryas well as
a servant,and mustbe alertin bothfunctions"-p. 98.
34 MartinBuber,The Types of Faith, trans.NormanP. Goldhawk(1951; rpt.Harper& Row, 1961), p. 58.
35 Buber,p. 57.
502 R. STEINBERG
ERWIN
so
wentthroughthe prayersas a formality.... (Idon'tthinkIwas ever again
funda-
bored,except laterat dancing lessons.).. . ButotherwiseI was not but
mentallydisturbedin my boredom,unless it was by the bar mitzvah, words,
thatdemandedno morethan some ridiculousmemorizing,in other
home
it led to nothingbutsome ridiculouspassingof an examination.... atwhich
it was, if possible, even poorer,being confined to the firstSeder,
moreand moredeveloped into a farce.... Thiswas the religiousmaterial
handedon to me.... How one could do anythingbetterwith thatmaterial
the
than get rid of it as fast as possible, I could not understand;precisely
gettingrid of it seemed to me to be the devoutestaction.36
Kafkamightwell have reflecteda negativeattitudetowardseemingly

meaninglessritualeven if his personalexperience with Judaismhad
beendifferent.In 1914, when Kafkawrote "Inthe PenalColony," reli-
giousreformhad been an importantconcern among WesternEuropean
or
Jews and particularlyamong GermanJews for a hundredyears
more.All through the nineteenth century reformershad inveighed
to
againstcircumcision,for example, againstthe relegationof women
of a
screenedbalconies in the synagogue, and against the tradition
personalMessiahwho would lead the Jews back to Palestine. Similar
disagreements occurredover whetherthe synagogueservice had to be
entirelyin Hebrewor whetherpartsor all of it could be in the vernacu-
lar.
Thus,for example, in 1845 the leadersof the "Societyfor Reformin
Judaism"in Berlinissued "An Appeal to the GermanCo-Religionists"
whichproclaimed:
with
Our internalreligion the faithof our heart is no longer in accord in
the externalformof Judaism. We cling to the spiritof the Old Testament,
had
whichwe see a tokenthatGodhadrevealedHimselftoourancestorsand
enlightenedtheir spirit.We are convinced that the teaching of Judaism
as was
is an eternaltruth andthatin due time all of humanitywill turnto it
comprehend the Bible in its Divine
promisedus. However, we wish to in
spirit.We no longerwish to sacrificeour Divinefreedomand to remain that
the clutchesof the dead letter.We can no longer pray conscientiously
out of
the Messiahshould restorea kingdomto us, that he should lead us
as one is expatriated from
the fatherland,to which we are deeply attached,
an alien countryto the land of one's ancestors. We can no longer observe
the
preceptswhich are devoid of our spirit;we can no longer cling to
ShulhanAruchthat fastensthe goal and the way of Judaism to antiquated
the
preceptsthathadbeen justifiedin bygonetimes.We retainin ourhearts that we
holy essence of our religion,but we cannot preserve it in the form
posterity. So we stand between the
have inheritedit let alone transmitit to
the
gravesof our forefathersand the cradlesof our children,and we hear
been the HighHolydays Rosh

36Kafka,Letterto His Father,pp. 77-79. Threeof thosefourdays musthave
Hashanahand Yom Kippur.
"PENALCOLONY"
KAFKA'S 503
voice of the time as thoughstrickenby thunder;it commandsus the last

generationof ancientJudaism-to be the pioneersin layinga foundationfor
a new structurefor the succeeding generations.37
TheJewsof Prague,, largelyGerman-speaking, wereas concernedabout

thesemaKers as weretheJewsof Berlin,andin the firsttwo decadesof
the twentiethcenturythe matterof ritualcontinuedto be forsuchJews
the causeforseriousdisagreement andeven acrimonious debate.
Otherthingsbroughtto Kafka'sattentionthedifferencebetweentradi-
tionalorthodoxJudaismandthe moreliberalformof Judaismhisfamily
andtheothermiddle-class Jewsof Praguetypicallyprofessed.Brodsays
thatKafka"tookpartin debatesbetweenJewsfromthe EastandJews
fromthe West- in silence,observing.'t38 As he explainsin a note in
Kafka'sdiaries,"WeZioniststookadvantage of EasternEuropeanJewish
warrefugeesto holddiscussionsevenings.Itwas ourpurposeto clarify
the relationsbetweentheJewsof the EastandtheWest."39 Asa resultof
one such meeting,Kafkarecordedin his diaryon March11, 1915:
Easternand WesternJews,a meeting.The EasternJews'contemptforthe
for this contempt.The way the EasternJews know
Jews here. JzJstification
the reasonfor theircontempt,but the WesternJews do not. Forexample,
the appallingnotions, beyond all ridicule,by which Mothertriesto com-
prehendthem.40
And Brodreportsthathe took Kafkato a hasidic"ThirdMeal"at the

In such meetingsand visits,Kafkamusthave
close of the Sabbath.41
learneda good bit aboutthe ritualand legalismof EasternEuropean
orthodoxJudaism.
We now have a possiblesolutionto the problemof the two Com-
mandants.Perhapsthe old Commandant shouldbe seen as the Godof
orthodoxJudaism strict,masculine,demandingrigid adherenceto
tradition,imposingsternjustice,the Godwho, in ancienttimes,spoke
directlyto hispeople.ThenewCommandant, then,couldbe theGodof
37 Simon Dubnov, History of the Jews, trans. Moshe Spiegal, Vol. 5, 4th rev. ed. (Thomas Yoseloff, 1973), pp.
92-93. See also David Philipson, The Reform Movement in Judaism, new and rev. ed. (KTAVPublishing House,
1967), and Jacob Katz, Out of the Ghetto (Harvard University Press, 1973). I point particularly to the German
Jews becauser despite the fact that they lived in Prague, Kafka'sfamily was German-speaking.
I am indebted to Rabbi Moshe V. Goldblum and Professor Richard L. Schoenwald for guiding me to these
works and to Dean J. Hirshfield for his contributions to the Judaica collection at Carnegie-Mellon University.
38 Max Brod, Franz Kafka,trans. G. Humphreys Roberts and RichardWinston, 2nd ed. (Schocken Books, 1960)
p. 153.
38 Brod, Diaries, 1914-1923, p. 321, n. 32.
40 Brod, Dlaries, 1914-1923, p. 117
41 Brod, Franz Kafka, p. 153.
reformJudaism.He is certainlyhostileto the old ritual;the officersays

that the new Commandantis "always looking for an excuse to attack
our old ways of doing things"(105); and the explorerrecognizes that
"the Commandant. . . was no upholderof the procedureand main-
tained an attitudealmostof hostilityto the author"(106). He espouses
more humane rituals:the explorer"felt some hope that the new Com-
mandant. . . was apparentlyof a mindto bringin, althoughgradually,a
new kind of procedurewhich the officer'snarrowmind was incapable
of understanding"(99); and the officer complains of "our new, mild
doctrine"(107). The new Commandantworksto end the isolationof his
people by improvingcommunicationswith other religions:the officer
complains that the new Commandantconcerns himself with "mostly
harborworks,nothingbut harborworks!"(115). And he makesreligion
more available to women: there are ten referencesto the new Com-
mandant'sladies (on 107, 108, 111, 112, 115, 116, and 12 1); butthere
is only one referenceto the old Commandant'sladies (108).
There is anotherpossible solution, however. To consider it we must
exami-nethe difference between Judaismand Christianityas the two
religions have been seen through the centuries. One difference fre-
quently proposed is that the God of Judaismis a God of justice and
vengeance whereas the God of Christianityis a God of love. Thus
Judaismis held by many Christians(and by some Jews)to be a religion
of laws and Christianitya religionof love. A second, relatedand con-
sequent, difference is, as Paul propounded,that in Judaismsalvation
comes from fulfillmentof God's law, whereas in Christianitysalvation
comes fromfaith in Christ.42
In its most extreme formJthe idea of a wrathfulJewish God and a
loving ChristianGod was firstfully expounded by Marcion,a second-
centuryGnostic:
In his moralearnestnessand special concern with the problemof evil,
Marcionwas impressedby Paul'sdenunciationsof the Mosaic Lawas the
cause of sin and the principleof injustice.Concludingthatthe Lawcould
not be the work of the ChristianGod, Marcionin his Antitheses(lost)
repudiatedthe Demiurgeor CreatorGod of the O[ld] T[estament],who
was not wicked, but who was the cause of the world and of evil. He
consideredthis god as legal-minded,offeringmaterialrewards,capricious,
violent, vindictive,a tyrant,and a petty-mindedbungler,while the abso-
lutelyperfectGod, the God of purelove and mercy,was visiblyembodied
in Jesus. Marcioncharacterizedthe formeras "just," "the rulerof this
42 See Bubeds discussiont PP- 44 4i50
"PENALCOLONY"
KAFKA'S 505
aeon," "predictable,"and "known"throughthe creationof the OT. The

latterhe confessed to be the forgivingand saving God, as "the Fatherof
Jesus,""good" and "unknown,""the hiddenor StrangerGod," "other,"
"differentr"and "new."43
AlthoughMarcionwas declared a heretic and his ideas officially re-

jected by the Church,the concept of an importantdifferencebetween
the God of the Old Testamentand the God of the New Testament,
between a God of law and a God of love, continued to be held as
valid.44
At the beginningof the eighteenthcentury,for example, many Jews
believed in
the old partisandefinitionof Judaismas a reiigionof law, that is, of obser-
vances and prohibitions.Traitsof inwardnessand spiritualityin Jewish
reiigion were either overlooked or discarded. This evaluation was
strengthenedby the statementmade by MosesMendelssohn the accepted
authorityon Judaism-that the unique content of Judaismreposed in its
law. Forthose UeWs]who were now seekingan escape fromrationalism,
Jewishreligionseemed an unpromisinghaven.45
Thus,forexample, HenriettaHerz,hostessof a famoussalon, a Jewwho

laterconvertedto Christianity,said of her fatherthat "he lived strictly
withinthe Lawof his faith,but had the gentlenessand love of Christian-
ity in his heart.'t46
AmongChristiansthatdifferencecontinuedto be expressed.Here,for
example, is Adolf Harnack,probablythe best known GermanChristian
1967), p. 194.
43New CaFolic Encyc/opedia/vol. 9 (McGraw-Hiil
44BubersaysthatPaul"opposesthe ever-approaching Marcionitedanger,the severingnotonly of the Old and
New Testaments,but that of creationand salvationJof Creatorand Savior,for he sees how nearmen are, as
Kierkegaard creationwiththe Fall,'andhe knowsthata victoryforMarcioncan
saysof the Gnosis,'to identifying
lead to the destructionof Christianity;but-this seems to me to be morestronglyrecognizedagainin Christen-
dom to-day-Marcionis notto be overcomeby Paul,"Buber,p. 167. Paul'sown distinctionbetweenJudaismas
a religionin which the fulfillmentof the law saves and Christianityas a religionin which faithsaves provides
fertilegroundin which to growthe Marcionitedoctrine.
45Katz,p 120
46 ManyJews,of course,deny thisdistinction. See, forexample,Buber,pp. 6S72, 136 In lateryears,Kafka,
betweenChristianlove of one's neighbor
too, seemsto have rejectedthe distinction:"Thereis no contradiction
and Judaism.On the contrary!Loveof mankindis an ethicalachievementof the Jews.Christwas a Jewwho
broughthis methodof healingto the whole world";GustavJanouch,Conversations withKafka,trans.Goronwy
Rees,2nd ed. (New Directions,1971),p. 67. ButKafkaalso continuedto see harshnessin Judaism:"Jewryis not
merelya questionof the practiceof a way of life in a communityconditionedby faith";Moses"is not a leader.
He is a judge,a sternjudge.Inthe end mencan only leadby meansof harsh,inexorablejudgment,"Janouch,p.
109.
SomeJews,however,continueto acceptthe distinction.Forexample,in a speech in Pittsburghearlyin June
1973, an addressto the NationalConferenceof Christiansand Jews,SenatorJacobJavitis"salutedNCCJas a
'unique force,' an instrumentof 'noble motivation'that blends 'Hebraicjustice' with 'Christianloving-
June7, 1973, p. 6.
kindness,"'M. K.Susman,"As I See It,"Thelewish Chronicleof Pittsburgh,
theologianat the beginningof the twentiethcentury,in his widely read

book, WhatIs Christianity?,takenfrom his highlyacclaimed lecturesat
the Universityof Berlinin the winterof 1899-1900:
Uesus] came into immediateopposition with the official leaders of the
people, and in them with ordinaryhumannaturein general.Theythought
of G(;das of a despotguardingthe ceremonialobservancesin Hishousehold;
he breathedin the presenceof God. Theysaw Himonly in His law, which
they had convertedinto a labyrinthof darkdefiles, blind alleys and secret
passages;he saw and felt Him everywhere.They were in possessionof a
thousandof His commandments,and thought,therefore,that they knew
Him; he had one only, and knew Him by it. They had made this religion
into an earthly trade, and there was nothing more detestable; he pro-
claimed the livingGod and the soul's nobility.
* * *
Forhundredsof yearsthe poorand oppressedin the people of Israelhad

been cryingout for justice. Itwas a cry which still affectsus to-dayas we
hearit in the wordsof the prophetsand out of the prayersof the Psalmists;
but time aftertime it passed unheeded. None of the legal regulationsin
force was freefromthe powerof tyrannicalauthorities,to be distortedand
exploited by them just as they saw fit.
Anotherof Harnack'sstatementscould applydirectlyto the apparatusin
"Inthe Penal Colony":
It was only the justice which was exercised with violence and therefore
unjustly,the justicewhich lay uponthe nationlike a tyrannicaland bloody
decree, that [Jesus]set aside. He believed in truejustice, and he was cer-
tain,too, thatit would prevail;so certain,thathe did not thinkit necessary
for justiceto use force in orderto remainjustice.
Of Paul, Harnacksaid flatly, "It was he who confidentlyregardedthe

Gospel as a new force abolishingthe religionof the law." Christianity,
said Harnack,was thus severedfromits Palestinianand Jewishconnec-
tion: "Paul put it in competitionwith the Israelitishreligion:'Christis
the end of the law."' Those, then, were the widely held religiousviews
when Kafkawas young and, one mightadd, intellectualviews, since
at the end of the nineteenthcenturythe religiousand intellectualworlds
in Europeoveriappedwidely.47
Should we posit, therefore,that the old Commandantis the God of
the Old Testamentand the new Commandantthe God of the New
47Adolf Harnac, What Is Christianity?, trans. Thomas Baily Saunders (Putnam, 1901), pp. 50-51, 108, 109,
177, 178. 8'Harnackwas a great enthusiast for Marcion," says R. M. Grant in Cnosticism and EarlyChristianity
(Columbia University Press, 1959), p. 125. Harnack wrote Marcion. Das Evangelium vom Fremden Gott (Leipzig,
1921; 2nd ed., 1 924). I am gratefulto ProfessorsDikran Y. Hadidian and James D. Qualben for introducing me to
Harnack and the Marcion literature.
KAFKA'S
"PENALCOLONY" 507
Testament?There are passages in the storywhich would supportsuch

an analysis.The new Commandant,for example, has had to acknowl-
edge the truthof the old prophecy(92), just as Christiansacknowledge
the truth(althoughfrequently,perhaps,the metaphoric"truth")of the
Old Testament.The new Commandanthas shown an "inclinationto
interfere"with the judgments of the officer, who representsthe old
Commandant(97-98). As the explorerputs it succinctlyto himself,"the
new Commandant. . . was no upholderof the procedureand main-
tained an attitude almost of hostility to the officer" (106). Similarly
Paul and Christianity rejectedthe Jewishconcept of the law and its
fulfillment.Finally,there is the statementthat the old Commandantis
not buriedin a place of respect,butalong the backwall of the teahouse:
"thepriest wouldn't let him lie in the churchyard" (126; italicsadded).
Was Kafkaconsidering, becoming susceptible to, inclining toward
Christianity?We know that he read and was impressed by Kier-
kegaard,48and Christianitymust have been discussed, perhapseven
promoted,in the intellectualcircle in which he moved. Itcertainlywas
widely discussed and promoted in the intellectual circles in which
many Jews in Germanymoved at the time.49Therewere, furthermore,
examples of well-known Jewish members of the artisticand literary
world who had become Christians.In Germanyat the beginningof the
nineteenthcenturytherewere three hostessesof famous literarysalons,
HenrieeaHerz, DorotheaMendelssohn,and RachelLevin,and not long
after,the writerLudwigBorne(1786-1837). Soon afterhimtherewas the
poet HeinrichHeine (l 797-1856).5In Kafka'sfather'sgenerationthere
was GustavMahler(1860-1911), the composer, born in Bohemia,who
had been periodicallyin Pragueand who convertedto Catholicismjust
before the turnof the century.51Among Kafka'sown friendsthere was
FranzWerfel,for whom, althoughhe neverconverted,Christianityheld
a continuinginterest:he wrote Paul Among the Jews and The Song of
Bernadette; he recorded in his journal,"I stepped into a church for a
momentto prayfor her. Not that I have turnedChristian;butthe church
is the place where many are prayingto avert cruel fates"; and in his
48Brod,Franz Kafka, p. 170.

49 See, for example, Nahum N. Glatzer,Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought, 2nd rev. ed. (Schocken
Books,1970), especiallythe "Introduction"

and ChapterII,"BetweenChurchand Synagogue,1913-1914."
50Dubnov,"TheApostates(Borne,Heine, Marx,and Stahl),"pp. 103-112.
51 AlmaMahler,Gustave Mahler, Memories and Letters(London:JohnMurray,1946), p. 37.
R. STEINBERG
ERWIN
508
medals of the Virgin."52

his wife found when he died "little
wallet
in his youthful reaction against
Consciouslyor subconsciously, Thereis no supportfor
Judaism,Kafkamay have flirtedwith Christianity.
diaries, however, forthere are
sucha hypothesisin Kafka'spublished
and there are even fewer in
fewreferences in them to Christianity;
of referencesto Christianity
Brod'sbiographyof Kafka.Butthat paucity
In Prague,Kafkafaced Chris-
ispuzzlingeven withoutthe hypothesis.
CharlesBridge,for example,
symbols everywherehe turned.The
tian
life-sizedstatuesof saintsand
which Kafkacrossed regularly,had many
1896 to 1907 Kafkalivedacross
leastone crucifixionscene. Andfrom
at
he could see fromhis family's
streetfromthe Tynchurch,into which
the question, "Wasn'tthere
apartment.53 Furthermore,in response to my
Christianityand
considerable discussion of the differences between
and other places that Kafka
Judaism at the Cafe Arco, the Cafe Edison,
by GertrudeThiebergerUr-
and his friendsmet," I have been assured
and Brod were deeply ab-
zidil,who knew Kafka,that "both Kafka
Christianity.Let us think of
sorbed in the world between Judaismand
book Heidentum,ChristerQtum, ludentum(1921). And I am sure
Brod's
Butnot in a cafe, where Kafka
these two friendssharedthe topic often.
If Kafkawas quite interestedin
used to be very silent, just a listener."54
how then does one account
thedifferencebetween the two religions,
interestin the diaries and in Brod's
forthe lack of evidence of that
biography?
clearlythat Brodtook consider-
A readingof the biographyindicates
what he felt to be the essentially
ablecare not only to demonstrate
documentKafka'slove in his
Jewish natureof Kafka'sstories,butalso to
from an orthodox Jewish family
lasttwo years for a young woman
colony of the BerlinJewishPeople's
whomhe met at the Balticseaside
a "repentant"Jew, seeking "to re-
Homeand Kafka'sclaim to being to the dia-riesthat "In
turn."55 Brod also confesses in his postscript
1958), pp. 113, 294. The Encyclopedia

Bridge Is Love (Harcourt, Brace,
52Alma Mahler Werfel, And the although his essay Die christliche Sendung
(1917)
embraced Christianity,
Judaica says, "Werfel never actually
16, p. 451).
was a step in that direction" (vol.
photographs Isidor Pollack (Praeger
Kafkaand Prague, trans. P. S. Falla,
53See the pictures in Johann Bauer,
6F67.
Publishers, 1971), pp. 4S47, 49, until
1973. Mrs. Urzidil lived in Prague
Gertrude T. Urzidil to ErwinR. Steinberg, August 28, She is the sister of
54 Personal letter, Meditation, published in 1912.
inscribed copy of his first book, who also knew
1939. In 1913 Kafkasent her an wife of the late Johannes Urzidil,
Thieberger, who gave KafkaHebrew lessons, and the
Friederich pp. 95, 103, 105.
Kafka. Urzidil,
Kafkaand who wrote There Goes
Kafka, pp. 197-212, especially p. 208.
55 Brod, Franz
KAFKA'S
"PENALCOLONY" 509
several(rare)cases I omittedthingsthatweretoo intimate."56 We may

simplybe facedwiththe view of KafkathatBrodhador wantedus to
have. It is also possiblethat Kafkawas eithernot consciousof his
interestin Christianity
or was madeso anxiousby it thathe refusedto
acknowledgeit.
Forthereis otherevidenceof Kafka'sinterestin Christianity. Six or
seven yearsafterhe wrote"Inthe PenalColony,"when he seemsto
haveacceptedJafdaism again,KafkasaidaboutChrist:"He is an abyss
filledwith light.One mustclose one'seyes if one is notto fall intoit.
MaxBrodis writinga long workcalledPaganismoChristianity,Jewry.
Perhapsin argumentwiththe book I mayciarifymy own minda lit-
tle."57Sucha remarkcouldbe madeonly by a manwho hadstoodat
the edge of thatabyssandconsciouslyclosed his eyes so as notto be
attractedby thatlight.
The new Commandant, then, could be the God of the New Testa-
ment.Thetroublewiththatanalysisisthatthereis no Christfigureinthe
story.Howcan one portrayChristianity withoutJesus?Bubersuggestsa
way:
Inthe humanlife of our day, comparedwith earlierepochs, Christianityis
recedingtbut the Paulineview and attitude[thatis, the necessityof faith,
belief] is gainingthe masteryin many circles outside of that Christianity.
Thereis a Paulinismof the unredeemed,one, thatis, fromwhich the abode
of grace is eliminated:like Paul man experiencesthe world as one given
intothe handsof inevitableforces,andonly the manifestwill to redemption
from above, only Christis missing.58
Incharacterizing
Kafka's
writing,Bubersays,
This is the appearanceof Paulinismwithout Christwhich at this time

when God is most hidden has penetratedintoJudaism,a Paulinismthere-
fore opposed to Paul.The course of the world is depicted in moregloomy
colors, and yet Emunah []8trust,resultingfrom an originalrelationto the
Godhead"]is proclaimedanew, with a stilldeepened '8inspiteof all this,"
quite soft and shy, but unambiguous.Here, in the midst of the Pauline
domain it [that is, the Jewishconcept of Emunah] has taken the place of
Pistis[the Paulineconcept of "faith"or "belief"].59
56 Brod,Diaries, 1914-1923, p. 327.

Janouch,p. 166. Itis not clearexactlywhen Kafkamade the remark,but it had to be some time between
57
March1920rwhen Janouchmet him, and 1922, when the book was published(Janouch,pp. 11, 210).
58 Buber,p. 162
59 Buber,pp. 26r169-
Perhapsthatis whatAndersmeantwhen he wrotethatKafka"judgeshis

positionas aJewfromaChristianstandpoint.He is notaJewishtheologian,
but a Christianizingtheologianof the Jewishworld."60
Thus the new Commandantcould symbolize the God of reform
Judaismtthe God of the New Testament,or the God of a Pauline
Judaism- or all three. Kafka'ssymbolsare frequentlyambiguous,com-
plex, multi-faceted.The old Commandantwould seem to symbolizethe
God of contemporaryJudaism,the God of the Old Testament,or the
God of orthodoxJudaism-ort again, all three.6lWith such a reference,
some of the things that the officer says about the old Commandant's
apparatustake on specific meaning.Theysuggeststrongly,forexample,
Kafka'speriod of young manhood in which he felt about his father's
Judaism:"How one could do anythingbetterwith thatmaterialthanget
ridof it as fast as possible, I could not understand;preciselythe getting
rid of it seemed to me to be the devoutest action."62The officer said
about the machine: '@oneof the cogwheels in the Designer is badly
worn; it creaksa lot when it'sworking"(93-94); "thingsare breakingor
giving way here and there" (105); 8'a shabby ceremony carriedout
with a machinealreadysomewhatold and worntt(11l ). Aboutthe time
when the old Commandantranthe islandthe officersays, @'l know it is
impossible to make those days credible nowt' (110). Attendance at
executionshasfallento the numberof those officiating.Whenthe officer
appeals to the explorerfor support,the explorerturnshim down: "I do
not approveof yoajrprocedure"(l 7). Whenthe officerpullsout another
of the old Commandant'spapersfrom the leatherwallet, the explorer
again fails to be able to read it (1l 9). And when the explorerfinally
examines the dead officer,when the machine breaksdown and stops
'@no sign was visibleof the promisedredemption"(126). The anaiogyto
Judaismsuggestsfallingparticipation,a theology that is time-wornand
failing, and rejectionby the explorer.
Butwe have not said enough about the explorer.He is "conditioned
by Europeanways of thought"(l l l ); he is "a privateindividual. . . a
kindof outsider"(113) like Kafka.Moreover,he sharesKafka'sinabil-
ity to place blame squarelyand unequivocally.Forexample, in Kafka's
BO GuntherAnders,Franz Kafka, trans. A. Steer and A. K.Thoriby(London:Bowes& Bowes, 1960), p. 92.

"Inthe PenalColony"with YakovGordin'splayElishe ben Avuya for
fit See Beck'scomparisonof Kafka's
furtherevidencethatthe old Commandant symbolizesthe God of the Old Testament,Beck,pp. 14S153.
62Kafka,Letterto His Father, p. 79.
KAFKA'S
'8PENAL
COLONY"
511
Letterto His Father(a long indictmentof his father'streatmentof him),

Kafkapauses severaltimes to proclaimblamelessnessnot only for him-
self but for his fatheras well, writes the defense with which his father
"mightanswer,"and then concludes, "I do not deny a certainjustifica-
tion for this rejoinder."63
So, too, in "In the Penal Colony," the explorer's rejection of the
officer's request for heland thus of the apparatus and the old
Commandant- is curiouslyambivalent:
I do not approveof your procedure,even beforeyou took me into your
confidence of course I shall never in any circumstance betray your
confidence I was already wonderingwhether it would be my duty to
interveneand whethermy interventionwould have the slightestchance of
success. I realizedto whom I oughtto turn:to the Commandant,of course.
You have madethatfact even clearer,butwithouthavingstrengthenedmy
resolution:on the contrary,yoursincereconvictionhas touched me, even
though it cannot influencemy judgment.(117)
And althoughhe has rejectedall thatthe old Commandantstood for, he

asksto see his grave(l 26), and when he gets there he kneelsto readthe
inscriptionon the stone (127). "O come, let us worshipand bow down:
let us kneel beforethe Lordour maker,"says the Psalmist(Psalms95:6).
And the prayerbook says, "We bow the head and bend the knee and
magnifythe Kingof kings, the Holy One, praisedbe He."
The inscriptionreports"a prophecy that after a certain numberof
yearsthe Commandantwill rise again and lead his adherentsfromthis
house to recoverthe colony"; and it exhortsthe readerto "Have faith
and wait!" (127).
The explorerhad told the officerthathe would tell the new Comman-
dant what he thoughtof the apparatusand would leave the islandearly
the next morning(118). After he has read the inscriptionon the old
Commandant'sgrave,however, he goes directlyto the harbor,bargains
with a ferrymanto take him to his steamer,shakesoff the soldierand the
condemned man, who try to follow him, and leates the island (127-
128).
Kafkacannot choose: nowhere in the storydoes the worldof the new
Commandantseem attractiveto the explorer:and although he rejects
the world of the old Commandantand says that he will denounce it, he
pays his respectsto the old Commandantand not only cannot carryout
63 Kafka,Letterto His Father, pp. 9, 105, 107, 121, 125.
the denunciation,but quite literallyrushesoff so as not to have to face

the decision.
"Inthe Penal Colony" is clearly a powerfulstory. It is anthologized
regularly,and critics recognize it as one of Kafka'simportantworks.
Moreover/Kafka,who was highlycriticalof his own writing,allowed it
to be publishedwhile he was alive.
Accordingto the analysis I have given above, however, the story is
flawed aestheticallyand intellectually.Because the new Commandant
is so lightly sketched in, he is only dimly perceived. Given so little
weight in the story, he cannot balance the old Commandant,svho
clearly is an importantfigure-as the storyis written,perhapsthe impor-
tant figure.The storythus sometimesappearsto be a judgmentby the
explorer of the old Commandantand his apparatusand other times
appearsto be rathera judgmentby the explorerbetween the world of
the old Commandantand the world of the new one. The explorerts
fleeing so precipitousiysuggeststhe latter;but the story itself supports
that suggestiononly occasionally. And the old Commandant,the ap-
paratus,and the officerweigh so heavilythroughso much of the story
that they overshadowthe expiorer.
Severalcommentsabout Kafkahimselfshould be made here. His first-
burst of creativity,when he wrote his first importantstories "The
Judgment,""TheStoker,"and "Metamorphosis" began in 1912, only
one day afterthe usheringout of the Day of Atonementand not long
afterhe met Felice Bauerand was agonizingover whetherto marryher.
His second burstof creativityoccured in 1914, very soon afterthe Day
of Atonementand three monthsafterhe brokehis engagementto Felice
Bauer.Inthatsecond shortcreativeperiodhe finishedin two weeks '8In
the PenaiColony"and a chapterof Amerika and went on, in only three
months in al1,to write, in addition,the 'imotherX' chapterand '@Before
the Law"of The Trial, "The VillageSchoolmaster"(thatis, "TheGiant
Mole"), and "TheAssistantAttorney"(which has been lost)*64
Secondly, there is an importantdifferencebetween two of the short
stories. In "TheJudgment,"writtenin 1912, the God of theOld Testa-
ment judges Georg (Kafka)to death by water (drowning),and Georg
64Brodt Diaries, 1914-1923, pp. 93, 100, 101, 103, 106, 107. See Steinberg, 8XTheJudgment in Kafka's/The
Judgment,"' especially the concluding paragraphon p. 30. As I have argued in the analysis of "The Judgment"
and would argue here, exacerbated relations with his father also helped bring on the heightening of guilt and
frustration which led to the creative explosions. For the fatherEsreactions to Kafka's relationship with Felice
Bauer and his on-again, off-again engagements with her, see Kafka,Letterto His Father, pp. 95-125.
KAFKA'S"PENALCOLONY" 513
obediently carriesout the sentence on himself.65In "In the Penal Col-

ony," writtentwo years later,the explorer(Kafka)judgesthe God of the
Old Testamentand rejectsHim (theexploreruses the actualwords"my
judgment"after announcingto the officer his disapprovalof the pro-
cedure [117]). Thus the stories reflect two of the three stages in his
attitudetowardJudaismthatKafkaoutlines in his Letterto His Father: his
early fear of it and his laterrejectionof it. The thirdstage, which Kafka
alludes to only brieflybutwhich Broddiscusses in some detail, should,
therefore,be evident in the laterworks.66
Kafka'sabortiveattemptsto rewritethe ending of the storythreeyears
later(August7, 8, and 9, 191 7) show movementin that direction.The
spike is describedas "crookedlyprotrudingfrom[the officer's]shattered
forehead as if it bore witness to the truth";but a note from Brodindi-
cates Kafka'suncertaintyhere: "Theclause, 'as if bore witness to some
truth,'was struckout by Kafkain the manuscript."67What truth?It
appearsin the version of the conclusion Kafkaattemptedlast. The ex-
plorer,immobilizedby the officer'sdeath, thinksof buryingthe corpse,
gives up the idea, and sits in his cane chairfantasizinghis ship slithering
"to him acrossthis tracklesssand to take him aboard."In his imagina-
-
tion, as he stands on the dock looking up at the ship, the officer sud-
denly appears.
"Mycompliments,"the explorerwas obliged to say, and said it gladly."A

conjuringtrick?"he said. "No," the officersaid, "a mistakeon your part;I
was executed, as you commanded.". . . And all saw togetherhow the
officerpassed his hand acrosshis browto disclose a spike crookedlypro-
truding fromhis shatteredforehead.68
Forthe purposesof my argumentthe importantpoints in this revisionof

the conclusion are the explorer's being immobilized ("strickenwith
fatigue"),his commenting"gladly"on the officer'sapparentreturnto
Iife (althoughambiguously,because he was "obliged"to offerhis com-
pliments),and the officer's laying the blame for his death on the ex-
plorer.Kafkais feeiing guiltierin l 917 of his earlierrejectionof Judaism
than he did when he wrote the story in 1914.
ffS See Steinberg,"TheJudgmentin Kafka's'TheJudgment."'

66 Kafka,Letterto His Father, pp. 75-79, 83.
67 Brod,Diaries, 1914-1923, pp. 178, 132 n. 50.
68 Brod,Diaries, 1914-1923, pp. 180-181.
S14
Someof the other,shorter,revisionsshowa similarsenseof guilt.In

onetheexplorerhasa "fit,"says,"Iama curif Iallowthatto happen,"
andrunsaroundon all fourslike a dog. In anotherhe says, "I don't
knowwhatis happening.Myjudgmenthas been leftbackat home in
theNorth."69
Thepossiblealternative endingsthatKafkasketchedareinteresting to
speculate about,particularlyif one looks for signs of change or de-
velopment in Kafka'swork. But it is the storywrittenin 1914 and
published in 1919 withwhichthe readermustcometo terms.Andthat
storyis, for this readerat least,for the reasonsI have indicated,a
powerful story,buta flawedone.
p. 178. I do not know what to make of entry about the snake

"the great
69 Brod,Diaries, 1914-1923,
Madarne" (179).Eventhoughit includesthe wordCommandant once and lies betweenpossiblerevisionsof the

the storyas we know it. I cannot
conclusionof "Inthe PenalColony,"it seems to have nothingto do with
as some criticsseem to have done, that it was a possible additionto or revisionof "Inthe
conclude,therefore,
PenalColony"

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The Judgment in Kafka's "In the Penal Colony"

Author(s): Erwin R. Steinberg