A HOUSE DIVIDED: A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHICAL EXAMINATION OF FRANZ KAFKA (CZECHOSLOVAKIA)

This psychobiographical examination of Franz Kafka focused on a single psychodynamic conflict. "Two selves," Kafka maintained, were always "at war within" him. One, referred to in this study as "L," was introverted, pensive, isolated, delicate, sensitive, and artistic. The other, referred to as "K," was extroverted, action-oriented, gregarious, hearty, thick-skinned, and bourgeois. Kafka's experiences, during infancy and toddlerhood, were such as to foster within him a core of L traits. However, during the developmental subphase dubbed "practicing" by Mahler (1968), a K kernel presumably germinated. As Franz grew older, his relationship with his hulking, domineering father assumed particular importance. Oedipal and negative oedipal feelings, coupled with contradictory paternal expectations, figured prominently in the evolution of the L/K conflict.;In accord with psychoanalytic theory, this short story was regarded as projective material. The events which presumably had some bearing on its creation were scrutinized. It was then argued, expanding on the seminal exegesis of Kate Flores (1958), that what were herein called the K and L constellations are represented by two key characters. The paternal mixed messages and the oedipal and negative oedipal feelings which underlay the L/K conflict were shown to be reflected in the narrative. The verdict at the story's close, in which the K-like son is sentenced to death by his father, was analyzed on two levels. First, its psychodynamic implications were addressd. Then it was discussed as being indicative of the conscious predilection for the L constellation which Franz harbored during this era.;"The Judgment" had a great impact upon his life during the months following its creation; moreover, themes of the story were shown to percolate through his mind for years. The study closes with an examination of the relationship between the L/K conflict and the tuberculosis to which Kafka ultimately succumbed.;At the study's outset, the development of psychobiography was reviewed and methodological considerations were addressed. Drawing from his diaries and letters, and from secondary sources, the vicissitudes of the L/K conflict were then traced from its childhood origins through his writing, at age 29, of his first major literary work, "The Judgment.".