Project 2- Franz Kafka
Rayna Kucharyski
Professor Hammett
English 1302
March 21, 2023
Franz Kafka’s Thoughts on Depression
Franz Kafka was a Bohemian novelist and short-story writer who would have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders. The National Library of Medicine states that "It is generally agreed that Kafka had clinical depression, social anxiety, and many other stress-exacerbated ailments throughout life” (Abbasian 2). Kafka was known to have said, "I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy" (Abbasian 1). Kafka believed that the meaning of life was that one day it would end. Considering Kafka's integration of mental illness in his writing, and his lifelong battle with depression, he would agree that depression is a social epidemic.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration says “Depression is a mental health disorder that can affect individuals for a variety of reasons, including genetic factors, life events, and neurochemical imbalances” (Depression 1). Franz Kafka would have recognized depression as being a social epidemic in our modern society because he himself struggled with many mental illnesses. According to what Kafka wrote in his diary circa 1922, “he felt most like himself only when he was suffering” ("The Kafka Diaries." 2023). While depression is a common mental health disorder, it is important to recognize that it is a complex condition that can manifest in different ways for different people. That being said, some experts argue that depression can be defined as a social epidemic. For example, “some studies have suggested that depression rates have been increasing over the past several decades, particularly in Western societies” (Hidaka 2012). This has led some researchers to explore the social and cultural factors that may be contributing to the rise in depression rates.
Although Kafka was alive in a different period and culture, he still struggled with depression even before they had a diagnosis for it. Kafka's writing is often characterized by a sense of hopelessness and futility, as his characters struggle to make sense of a world that is irrational and inexplicable. Kafka made characters in his works represent how he felt. An example of this can be seen in The Metamorphosis, in which Kafka portrayed the character Greggor. Greggor was a salesman who was transformed into a giant insect. As he tries to navigate his new reality, he is met with indifference and hostility from his family and society (Kafka 2013). This can be interpreted as how Kafka felt about himself and the role he felt he played in his family because throughout the text Greggor is a burden on his family and is seen as something that is causing the conflict around him. In his diaries and letters, he describes his feelings of despair, isolation, and alienation from the world around him. Kafka said, "Faced with intolerance and the tyranny of my parents, I live with my family more as a stranger than a foreigner" (Felisati 1). For Kafka, depression was not simply a mood disorder, but a pervasive and existential condition that affected his entire being.
Throughout his work, “Kafka suggests that depression is not simply an individual problem, but a reflection of the larger social and cultural forces that shape our lives” (Felisati 1). He saw the modern world as a place of alienation and dislocation, where human beings are cut off from one another and from themselves. The National Library of Medicine said: "`Depression' is said to contribute 12% of the total burden of nonfatal global disease” (Summerfield 1). Kafka's writing can be seen as a commentary on the social and psychological conditions that give rise to depression and other mental health problems. In his diaries and letters, he often wrote about his feelings of inadequacy and his sense of being a failure.
“Poor self-worth is directly connected to those diagnosed with depression” (Summerfield 3). For Kafka, self-worth was intimately tied to his creative work, this made him very hard on himself and caused self-identity issues. In one diary entry from 1910, he writes: "I am made of literature, and cannot be anything else. But what is the use of that, when I am incapable of producing anything good?" ("Kafka Diaries" Oct. 1910). Kafka's struggles with self-worth were also influenced by his relationships with his family and society. He felt a deep sense of alienation and estrangement from those around him, and he saw himself as fundamentally different from other people. In his work, he often portrayed characters who are similarly isolated and misunderstood.
In the article, The Role of Childhood Trauma in The Neurobiology of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Heim wrote that “Environmental stressors have been known to lead to the development of depression” (Heim & Nemeroff, 2001). Kafka explores the effect of environment on humans in his work "The Trial." "The Trial" is a work that was published after Kafka's death in 1925 that tells the story of a man named Josef K., who is arrested and put on trial for a crime that is never specified. Throughout the novel, K. struggles to understand the charges against him and tries to navigate the legal system in that he finds himself trapped. This can often be seen as a commentary on the arbitrary and oppressive nature of the legal system. At the same time, "The Trial" can also be seen as an exploration of the human condition more broadly. Kafka's characters are often portrayed as struggling to find meaning and purpose in a world that is fundamentally incomprehensible and absurd. K.'s quest for justice becomes a metaphor for the human quest for meaning and connection in a world that seems indifferent to our struggles and suffering.
There have always been social and cultural factors that can contribute to the development and manifestation of depression. Factors such as social isolation, economic inequality, and environmental stressors have all been implicated in the development of depression. Overall, it is important to recognize that depression is a complex and multifactorial condition that can be influenced by a variety of different factors. Based on Kafka's legacy he left for himself, he would describe depression as a social epidemic.
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Works Cited
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Depression. SAMHSA. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/depression
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Felisati D, Sperati G. Famous figures: Franz Kafka (1883-1924).
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Heim, C., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2001). The role of childhood trauma in the neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders: Preclinical and
clinical studies. Biological Psychiatry, 49(12), 1023–1039. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01157-x
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Hidaka BH. Depression as a disease of modernity: explanations for increasing prevalence. J Affect Disord. 2012
Nov;140(3):205-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.12.036. Epub 2012 Jan 12. PMID: 22244375; PMCID: PMC3330161.
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Kafka, Franz, and Stanley Corngold. The Metamorphosis. Modern Library, 2013.
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Kafka translating. (n.d.). Kafka Translated : How Translators Have Shaped Our Reading of Kafka.
https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472543653.ch-002
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Summerfield D. Depression: epidemic or pseudo-epidemic? J R Soc Med. 2006 Mar;99(3):161-2. doi: 10.1177/014107680609900323.
PMID: 16508058; PMCID: PMC1383767.
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"The Kafka Diaries." New York Times, 13 Feb. 2023, p. A19(L). Gale In Context: High School,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A736858934/SUIC?u=owassohs&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=3aacd485. Accessed 16 Apr. 2023.