The Kafka Case: Constructing Kafka, Deconstructing the Self in French Letters Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jacob Ryan Schott, M.A. Graduate Program in French and Italian The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Karlis Racevskis, Advisor Eugene Holland Jennifer Willging Copyright By Jacob Ryan Schott 2010 ABSTRACT This dissertation studies the presence and importance of Franz Kafka‘s writing in French letters of the twentieth century. Though born in Prague and a speaker of German, Kafka‘s work has been instrumental to many French thinkers, and I study three in particular: Marthe Robert, Maurice Blanchot, and Alain Robbe-Grillet. I analyze the critical writings of Robert and Blanchot, as they are two of the most comprehensive and prolific writer‘s on Kafka. Their theoretical writings will in turn be used to read and reevaluate the novels Dans le labyrinthe by Robbe-Grillet and Aminadab by Blanchot. This project may be divided into three parts. The first part consists of two chapters and relies on the critical work of Marthe Robert. In her career, she wrote three books devoted entirely to Kafka, and a cycle of four books which reference his writing with great frequency. In her criticism, several themes reappear that treat genre, the conventions of the novel, and the dualities that writers face between living their life, and crafting their art. In the light of her critical oeuvre, the second chapter uses Robert‘s insights to read two novels that belong to a Kafkaesque tradition. In Dans le labyrinthe and Aminadab, I examine genre, rhetoric, and the problematic nature of interpretation. The second part consists of two chapters that rely on the critical work of Maurice Blanchot. Though he never wrote an entire book-length study devoted to Kafka‘s text, Blanchot has written many articles that are dependent on Kafka. He studies the language of literature, the problems of commentary and interpretation, and the unique positioning II of the author, who, alienated from him or herself, experiences a movement from je to il. The survey of Blanchot‘s critical work is used to reexamine Dans le labyrinthe and Aminadab, and to use the novels as illustrations for some of Blanchot‘s abstract ideas. The third part of this dissertation treats questions of selfhood and subjectivity. Writers who have discussed Kafka also exhibit a common interest in questions of subjectivity. This thematic, which is present in the entire project, is discussed at length in the fifth chapter, with the aid of Claude Morali‘s Qui est moi aujourd’hui? This chapter analyzes how the discourse of subjectivity is related to childhood, a theme common to Kafka and the three French writers whom I have chosen. I conclude by questioning whether childhood may be used as a metaphor to help frame the questions I have studied regarding reading, writing, and the interpretation of literature. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to praise the unwavering encouragement I received from Meghan, Jacob, Jennifer, and Charlie. They read my chapters, offered suggestions and corrections, and admirably blended patience with impatience regarding my at times intractable writing. And this says nothing of their invaluable friendship, support, and care. I would like to thank my parents for their enthusiasm, pride, and perspective. I appreciate the efforts of my committee members Professors Racevskis, Willging, and Holland. I would also like to recognize the Professors who opened their doors to me and advised me about the writing process, the difficulty of Blanchot, or the rigors of academic life: Professors Armstrong, and Grinstead. I would like to acknowledge those with whom I studied, conversed, gossiped, dined, opined, and whined: Kevin, Comrade Lina, Belly, Woody, Anita, Jenny, Sébastien, and Matthieu. I would also like to recognize all the friends, students, faculty, and professors with whom I have interacted in my six years in Columbus. Lastly, I am grateful to the Department of French and Italian and The Ohio State University for supporting me, challenging me, and trusting me with this unorthodox project. IV Vita June 1997 Linn-Mar High School 2001 B.A. French, University of Northern Iowa 2005 M.A. French, The Ohio State University 2003 to present Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of French and Italian, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: French and Italian V TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. IV VITA .................................................................................................................................. V INTRODUCTION: FRENCH CONSTRUCTIONS OF KAFKA ..................................... 1 CHAPTER 1. MARTHE ROBERT: LECTRICE DE KAFKA ...................................... 22 1.1 ―QUANT À KAFKA‖ ............................................................................................. 26 1.2 ―LE CAS DE KAFKA‖ ............................................................................................ 29 1.3 ROBERT‘S KAFKA ............................................................................................... 38 1.4 ART AND RELIGION : ―L‘ÉCRITURE, FORME DE PRIÈRE‖ ...................................... 46 1.5 THE REAL, THE FANTASTIC ................................................................................ 53 1.6 STYLE, LANGUAGE, WRITING ............................................................................. 57 1.7 CHARACTER AND THE QUIXOTIC ......................................................................... 63 CHAPTER 2. ILLUSIONS AND ALLUSIONS IN DANS LE LABYRINTHE AND AMINADAB....................................................................................................................... 71 2.1 ROBBE-GRILLET, KAFKA, AND THE CRITICS ....................................................... 72 2.2 ROBERT‘S KAFKA: STRUCTURES IN ROBBE-GRILLET .......................................... 77 2.3 PERCEVAL AND KAFKA‘S HOLY GRAIL ............................................................... 82 2.4 HOLY GRAIL OR EMPTY VESSEL? ....................................................................... 87 2.5 LEAVING THE LABYRINTH, ENTERING THE BOARDINGHOUSE ............................. 95 2.6 AMINADAB AND THE CRITICS ............................................................................. 106 2.7 FROM ALLEGORY TO ERROR AND ILLUSION ...................................................... 111 2.8 AMINADAB AND GENRE ...................................................................................... 117 2.9 THE RHETORIC OF COMME SI ............................................................................. 127 2.10 THE ABSENCE OF CONCLUSIONS AND BEGINNING AGAIN ................................. 136 CHAPTER 3. MAURCE BLANCHOT: KAFKA‘S PHANTOM AND VAMPIRE ... 139 3.1 STAGING BLANCHOT‘S CRITICAL VOICE ........................................................... 140 3.2 ―KAFKA‘S PHANTOM AND VAMPIRE‖ ............................................................... 147 3.3 ―LA BELLE CRUAUTÉ D‘ANALYSE”.................................................................... 152 3.4 ―LA LECTURE DE KAFKA‖ ................................................................................. 161 3.5 ―KAFKA ET LA LITTÉRATURE‖ ........................................................................... 164 3.6 ―LE LANGAGE DE FICTION‖ ............................................................................... 171 3.7 ―LA LITTÉRATURE ET LE DROIT À LA MORT‖ ..................................................... 176 VI 3.8 SOLITUDE AND CONTRADICTIONS IN THE WRITING PROCESS ............................ 180 3.9 ―LE CAS DE KAFKA ET TROUBLE ET COMPLEXE.‖.............................................. 186 3.10 KAFKA‘S ERROR: TO ERR, TO WANDER ............................................................. 190 3.11 NARRATIVE VOICES .......................................................................................... 195 3.12 NARRATIVE NEUTRALITY ................................................................................. 201 3.13 A RETURN TO COMMENTARY ............................................................................ 207 CHAPTER 4. THE WAYS OF SOLITUDE, ERROR AND PATIENCE IN DANS LE LABYRINTHE AND AMINADAB................................................................................... 208 PART ONE: THE WAYS OF SOLITUDE ........................................................................... 208 4.1. ―Je suis seul, ici‖ .............................................................................................. 213 4.2. ―Le mode interrogatif‖ ..................................................................................... 222 4.3. ―Voix‖ .............................................................................................................. 226 PART TWO: THEWAYS OF ERROR ................................................................................ 230 4.4. Sickness ............................................................................................................ 230 4.5 Fatigue .............................................................................................................. 235 4.6 ―Errer‖ .............................................................................................................