The Trial (Breon Mitchell 1998 Translation) by Franz Kafka

Author:Franz Kafka [Kafka, Franz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature
ISBN: 9780307829443
Publisher: Schocken Books Inc
Published: 1925-01-02T04:00:00+00:00

BLOCK, THE MERCHANT

DISMISSAL OF THE LAWYER

At long last K. had decided to withdraw his case from the lawyer. Doubts as to whether it was the right thing to do could not be totally rooted out, but the firm conviction of its necessity outweighed them. This resolution drained K. of a great deal of energy the day he planned to visit the lawyer; he worked at an unusually slow pace, stayed late at the office, and it was past ten before he finally stood at the lawyer’s door. Before actually ringing the bell, he asked himself if it might be better to dismiss the lawyer by telephone or letter; a personal discussion was bound to prove painful. But in the final analysis, K. did not want to forgo that opportunity; any other manner of dismissal might be accepted silently or with a few formal phrases and, unless Leni could perhaps learn something, K. would never find out how the lawyer took the dismissal and what, in his by no means insignificant opinion, the consequences of this action might be for K. But if the lawyer were sitting across from K. and the dismissal caught him by surprise, K. could easily learn everything he wanted to know from the lawyer’s expression and demeanor, even if he couldn’t coax much out of him. It was even possible he might be persuaded of the wisdom of leaving his defense in his lawyer’s hands after all, and retract the dismissal.

The first ring at the lawyer’s door was, as usual, in vain. “Leni could be a little quicker,” thought K. But it would be good fortune enough just not to have a third party mix in, as they often did, whether it was the man in the dressing gown or someone else who started interfering. As K. pressed the button a second time, he looked back at the other door, but this time it too remained closed. Finally two eyes appeared at the peephole in the lawyer’s door, but they weren’t Leni’s. Someone unlocked the door, braced himself against it for the moment, however, called back into the apartment “It’s him,” and only then opened the door wide. K. had pressed up against the door, for behind him he could hear the key being turned hastily in the lock of the door to the other apartment. Thus, when the door suddenly gave way before him, he practically stormed into the entranceway and caught sight of Leni, to whom the cry of warning from the man at the door had been directed, running off down the hall between the rooms in her slip. He stared after her for a moment and then turned to look at the man who had opened the door. He was a scrawny little man with a full beard, holding a candle in his hand. “Do you work here?” K. asked. “No,” the man replied, “I’m not part of the household, the lawyer just represents me; I’m here on a legal matter.” “Without a jacket?” K.

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