“the hem of the prayer mantle” – Comical incongruencies and ‚religious humor’ in Franz Kafka’s diaries and letters Cover Image

„den letzten Zipfel des Gebetsmantels“ – Komische Inkongruenzen und ‚religiöser Humor‘ in Franz Kafkas Tagebuchaufzeichnungen und Briefen
“the hem of the prayer mantle” – Comical incongruencies and ‚religious humor’ in Franz Kafka’s diaries and letters

Author(s): Beate Sommerfeld
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, German Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: Franz Kafka; humor; comic; Judaism

Summary/Abstract: Kafka’s humor and the comic aspects of his texts recently have been focused extensively by scholars. Both can be observed particularly in Kafka’s confrontation with his religious environment. This is pointed out on the example of his diaries and letters. Referring to Henri Bergson, Kafka’s specific comical imagery is shown as an effect of the observed incongruencies between assimilated Western Judaism and Hasidic Judaism. With reference to Felix Weltsch and Søren Kierkegaard, Kafka’s humor is emphasized as an expression of his own religious inquiries.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 29
  • Page Range: 5-26
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: German