Kafka: In Light of the Accident

260 Pages·2017·2.35 MB·English

by  Howard Caygill

KAFKA
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KAFKA
In Light of the Accident
Howard Caygill
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY
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Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc
First published 2017
© Howard Caygill, 2017
Howard Caygill has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on
or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN : HB : 978-1-4725-9542-3
eP DF : 978-1-4725-9544-7
ePub: 978-1-4725-9543-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
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I have so much to do! In my four districts – on top of my other
work – people fall off scaff oldings as if drunk, they fall into
machines, all the beams topple, all the embankments subside, all
the ladders slip and whatever someone passes up falls back and
whatever is passed down is tripped over. And what headaches
from all the girls in the porcelain factories who incessantly throw
themselves down the stairs with towers of crockery.
LETTER TO MAX BROD, SUMMER 1909
A place I have never been before: breath comes diff erently, a
neighbouring star shining brighter than the sun.
17TH ZÜRAU APHORISM
Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging
continually? Backward, sideward, forward in all directions? Is
there still any up or down? Are we not straying as through infi nite
nothing? Do we not feel the breath of infi nite space? Do we not
need to light lanterns in the morning?
NIETZSCHE, THE GAY SCIENCE , §125
Your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs
McGregor.
BEATRIX POTTER, THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT
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For Edi
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
List of Abbreviations x
Preface xii
INTRODUCTION: CHANCE
INTERPRETATIONS 1
1 WRITINGS 9
Accident narratives 9
My Little Car Story 15
Landscapes and landslides 23
Aesthetic apperception 36
Judgements 45
2 ACCIDENTS 55
The world of insurance 55
Accident reports 68
Accident warnings 75
The accidental messiah 82
Accident terminable and interminable 93
3 IMAGES 99
Scripts 99
Surveillance 101
The missing photograph 121
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Pornograph 134
Saints and soldiers 144
4 DOMINATIONS 151
Offi cials 151
Theatres 157
Walls 162
Cities 171
Laws 176
5 LIGHTS 181
Philosophical light 181
Accidental light 185
Evil light 188
Healing light 195
Defi ant light 201
FINAL SENTENCE 205
Notes 207
Bibliography 235
Index 241
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1 Square- shaft wood- planing machine with hand from ‘Measures
for Preventing Accidents from Wood-Planing Machines’, 1909. 61
2 Rows of injured fi ngers from ‘Measures for Preventing Accidents
from Wood-Planing Machines’, 1909. 61
3 Round- shaft wood- planing machine with hand from ‘Measures
for Preventing Accidents from Wood-Planing Machines’, 1909. 63
4 Row of grazed right hands from ‘Measures for Preventing
Accidents from Wood-Planing Machines’, 1909. 63
5 Photograph I from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 107
6 Photograph II from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 108
7 Photograph III from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 109
8 Photograph IV from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 110
9 Photograph V from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 110
10 Photograph VI from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 111
11 Photograph VII from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 111
12 Photograph VIII from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 112
13 Photograph IX from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 113
14 Photograph X from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 114
15 Photograph XI from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 116
16 Photograph XII from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 116
17 Photograph XIII from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 117
18 Photograph XIV from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 118
19 Photograph XV from ‘Accident Prevention in Quarries’, 1914. 120
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