Quotessence
Home / Authors / Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsLiteratureWorldLettersKafkaLoveWritingMenPeopleWayDoeLifeFranz KafkaKnowsThinkingI CanKafkaesqueLetters To MilenaBookHumans

Famous Franz Kafka Quotes

“My grandfather used to say: Life is astoundingly short. To me, looking back over it, life seems so foreshortened that I scarcely understand, for instance, how a young man can decide to ride over to the next village without being afraid that -not to mention accidents- even the span of a normal happy life may fall far short of the time needed for such a journey.”

MenMaySeemsYoungLife IsUsedFallNextJourneyNeededNormalAccidentsInstanceYoung ManOver ItVillageHappy LifeGrandfatherLooking BackMy GrandfatherBeing Afraid
Author:Franz Kafka
Create image

“Everyone strives to attain the Law,' answers the man, 'how does it come about, then, that in all these years no one has come seeking admittance but me?' The doorkeeper perceives that the man is nearing his end and his hearing is failing, so he bellows in his ear: 'No one but you could gain admittance through this door, since this door was intended for you. I am now going to shut it.”

MenYearsDoeEndsLawAnswersFailingDoorsGainsEarsStriveSeekingHearingPerceiveStrifeAdmittance
Book:The Trial
Create image

“What a fate: to be condemned to work for a firm where the slightest negligence at once gave rise to the gravest suspicion! Were all the employees nothing but a bunch of scoundrels, was there not among them one single loyal devoted man who, had he wasted only an hour or so of the firm's time in the morning, was so tormented by conscience as to be driven out of his mind and actually incapable of leaving his bed?”

MenMindHoursMorningFateBedConscienceLeavingDrivenBunchFirmEmployeeLoyalDevotedSuspicionIncapableScoundrelsNegligence
Author:Franz Kafka
Create image

“One of the first signs of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die. This life appears unbearable, another unattainable. One is no longer ashamed of wanting to die; one asks to be moved from the old cell, which one hates, to a new one, which one willl only in time come to hate. In this there is also a residue of belief that during the move the master will chance to come along the corridor, look at the prisoner and say: "This man is not to be locked up again, He is to come with me.”

MenFirstsLooksMovingHateDiesAsksBeliefWishUnderstandingChanceMastersMovedCellsThis LifeAshamedPrisonerLockedUnbearableWanting To DieUnattainableLocked UpCorridorsWish To Die
Author:Franz Kafka
Create image