The Search for Meaning and the Conundrum of Authority in The Castle

Abstract

Franz Kafka’s deliberation on the nature of authority in The Castle leads to the conclusion that though authority cannot be escaped, authority fosters communalism and facilitates interpersonal communication.  Kafka’s titular Castle is an impenetrable, oftentimes nonsensical authority, but its inefficient bureaucracy does not lessen its power and instead strengthens it.  Under its influence, K. undertakes a religious enterprise towards accepting the impenetrability of authority.