Franz Kafka: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Kafka wrote in German in a Czech city, read Flaubert and Kleist like scripture, sat spellbound in a touring Yiddish theatre, and left most of his work unpublished and unfinished. This mix traces the authors he copied into his diaries, the Prague circle around him, and the writers who made "Kafkaesque" a word.

The Kynda mix for Franz Kafka

• Key Influence · Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist (1810). Kafka read Kleist's novella repeatedly and recited it aloud at a Prague public reading, calling Kleist one of his true blood-relations among writers alongside Flaubert, Grillparzer and Dostoevsky. Kohlhaas — a horse dealer destroyed by his own absolute insistence on legal redress against an indifferent apparatus — supplies the exact engine of The Trial: the clean sentence, the deadpan escalation, and a law that answers the petitioner only with further procedure.
• Influencia Obscura · The Poor Fiddler by Franz Grillparzer (1848). The least-read of the four writers Kafka listed as kin. Grillparzer's novella about a meek civil servant's son who fails at life and plays unlistenable music with total devotion is a near-blueprint for Kafka's artist figures — the trapeze performer, the hunger artist, the singing mouse Josephine. Kafka carried a copy, mentioned Grillparzer in letters and diaries, and inherited his Austrian bureaucratic melancholy.
• Local Roots · The Golem by Gustav Meyrink (1915). Meyrink wrote the other great German-language Prague novel, published the same year as The Metamorphosis, turning the Jewish Quarter's legend into a labyrinth of identity and dread. He moved in overlapping Prague literary circles and was read by Kafka's generation. Where Kafka stripped the city of all local colour, Meyrink saturated it — the two books together define what Prague contributed to modernist unease.
• Beyond the Medium · Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard (1843). Kafka read Kierkegaard from 1913 onward and wrote in his diaries and letters of recognising his own situation in the Dane's — the broken engagement, the father, faith as something unintelligible to reason. Kierkegaard's Abraham, commanded by an authority he cannot justify or explain, is the theological ancestor of Kafka's accused men, and his aphoristic method shaped Kafka's own Zürau reflections.
• Peer · The Confusions of Young Master Törless by Robert Musil (1906). Musil, as an editor at Die Neue Rundschau, solicited work from Kafka and published his prose — making him one of the few major contemporaries to engage Kafka professionally. Törless, set in a boarding school where cruelty operates by its own unquestioned rules, shares Kafka's cool clinical prose applied to an institutional nightmare. Both were Habsburg writers trained in technical, non-literary professions.
• From the Canon · The Trial by Franz Kafka (1925). Begun in 1914 weeks after his engagement to Felice Bauer collapsed in a hotel-room confrontation Kafka himself likened to a tribunal, and left unfinished in loose chapters. Josef K. is arrested without charge and defeated not by a verdict but by procedure. Brod assembled and ordered the manuscript after Kafka's death, against his instruction to burn it — the novel that gave the language the word Kafkaesque.
• Key Collaborator · The Redemption of Tycho Brahe by Max Brod (1915). Brod met Kafka at a student lecture in 1902 and became his closest friend, his agent, the man who pushed him into print, and the executor who refused his written instruction to burn everything — publishing The Trial, The Castle and Amerika in the years after 1924. His own historical novel about Brahe and Kepler, dedicated to Kafka, is the best way to hear the voice on the other side of that forty-year conversation.
• Legacy · Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges (1944). Borges translated Kafka into Spanish in the 1930s and wrote the essay Kafka and His Precursors, arguing that Kafka retroactively created his own ancestors — the most influential single statement on him. The infinite library, the lottery that governs a city, the bureaucratic eternity: Borges carried Kafka's apparatus into Latin America, from where it reached Cortázar, Márquez and the whole boom generation.

What influenced Franz Kafka

• Heinrich von Kleist. The article reports Brod's comparison of Kafka's descriptive ability with Kleist's. (also via Michael Kohlhaas) “Kafka's style had been compared to Kleist's as early as 1916, in a review of "Die Verwandlung" and "Der Heizer" by Oscar Walzel in Berliner Beiträge .” (Wikipedia)
• Robert Walser. The article explicitly says Kafka admired Walser. (also via Mountain Halls, Jakob von Gunten) “Kafka also admired the Swiss author Robert Walser , and Max Brod reported that Kafka would laugh hysterically while reading aloud from one of his favorite Walser short prose pieces, " Mountain Halls ."” (Wikipedia)
• Expressionism. The article explicitly attributes Expressionist influence to some of Kafka's books. “The Warden of the Tomb can be considered as part of the metaphysical strand of Expressionist literature, of which Kafka was a leading representative.” (Critical Stages/Scènes critiques)
• Julius Guttmann. Kafka attended classes taught by Guttmann. “He studied Hebrew while living in Berlin, hiring a friend of Brod’s from Palestine to tutor him and attending Rabbi Julius Grünthal’s and Rabbi Julius Guttmann’s classes in the Berlin Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Colleg…” (Jewish Virtual Library)
• Gustave Flaubert. The article says Kafka counted Flaubert among his true blood brothers. (also via Sentimental Education) “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky , [ 45 ] Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol , Franz Grillparzer , [ 46 ] and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers ".” (Wikipedia)
• Julius Grünthal. Kafka attended classes taught by Grünthal. “He studied Hebrew while living in Berlin, hiring a friend of Brod’s from Palestine to tutor him and attending Rabbi Julius Grünthal’s and Rabbi Julius Guttmann’s classes in the Berlin Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Colleg…” (Jewish Virtual Library)
• Fyodor Dostoevsky. The article says Kafka counted Dostoevsky among writers he called his true blood brothers. (also via Crime and Punishment) “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky , [ 45 ] Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol , Franz Grillparzer , [ 46 ] and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers ".” (Wikipedia)
• Franz Grillparzer. The article says Kafka counted Grillparzer among his true blood brothers. (also via The Poor Fiddler) “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky , [ 45 ] Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol , Franz Grillparzer , [ 46 ] and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers ".” (Wikipedia)
• Pua Bat-Tovim. Kafka hired Bat-Tovim as his Hebrew tutor. “He studied Hebrew while living in Berlin, hiring a friend of Brod's from Palestine, Pua Bat-Tovim, to tutor him” (Wikipedia)
• Mountain Halls by Robert Walser. The article identifies Mountain Halls as one of Kafka's favorite Walser pieces. “Kafka also admired the Swiss author Robert Walser , and Max Brod reported that Kafka would laugh hysterically while reading aloud from one of his favorite Walser short prose pieces, " Mountain Halls ."” (Wikipedia)
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866). Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky) — titan for Franz Kafka “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol, Franz Grillparzer, and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Jakob von Gunten by Robert Walser (1909). Jakob von Gunten (Robert Walser) — ghost for Franz Kafka “Besides these, he took an interest in Czech literature and was also fond of the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, though his "admiration for Goethe was, however, somewhat ambivalent: 'By the power of his works Goethe probably holds ba…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard (1843). Fear and Trembling (Søren Kierkegaard) — culture for Franz Kafka “Auden, Jorge Luis Borges, Don DeLillo, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, David Lodge, Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, Rainer Maria Rilke, J.D.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Peter Kropotkin. The article records Kafka's approving diary reference to Kropotkin. “In one diary entry, Kafka referred to the influential anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin : "Don't forget Kropotkin!"” (Wikipedia)
• Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert (1869). Sentimental Education (Gustave Flaubert) — titan for Franz Kafka “Kafka was an avid reader throughout his life; together he and Brod read Plato's Protagoras in the original Greek, on Brod's initiative, and Gustave Flaubert's L'éducation sentimentale and La Tentation de St.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The article describes Kafka's fondness for Goethe's works and his ambivalent admiration for him. “Besides these, he took an interest in Czech literature [ 31 ] [ 32 ] and was also fond of the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , [ 48 ] [ 49 ] though his "admiration for Goethe was, however, somewhat ambivalent” (Wikipedia)
• Dante Alighieri (1265). The article reports Auden's comparison of Kafka with Dante. “The British-American poet W. H. Auden called Kafka "the Dante of the twentieth century";” (Wikipedia)
• The Poor Fiddler by Franz Grillparzer (1848). The Poor Fiddler (Franz Grillparzer) — ghost for Franz Kafka “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol, Franz Grillparzer, and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Nikolai Gogol. The article says Kafka counted Gogol among his true blood brothers. “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky , [ 45 ] Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol , Franz Grillparzer , [ 46 ] and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers ".” (Wikipedia)
• Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist (1810). Michael Kohlhaas (Heinrich von Kleist) — titan for Franz Kafka “Kafka considered Fyodor Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Nikolai Gogol, Franz Grillparzer, and Heinrich von Kleist to be his "true blood brothers".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Tales of Rabbi Nachman by Martin Buber (1906). The Tales of Rabbi Nachman (Martin Buber) — culture for Franz Kafka “That same year, a Rabbi of the Bar Kochba Youth Movement in Prague, Martin Buber, wrote to Brod (the editor of Kafka's Werke) that these stories were "a great possession, that could show how one can live marginally with complete integrit…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche (1883). Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Friedrich Nietzsche) — culture for Franz Kafka (openlibrary.org)
• Amerika: Heute und Morgen by Arthur Holitscher (1912). Amerika: Heute und Morgen (Arthur Holitscher) — ghost for Franz Kafka

Peers and kindred spirits

• Der enge Prager Kreis. Kafka is identified as a member of Brod's named Prague writers' circle. “Max Brod prägte den Begriff Prager Kreis für die Treffen mit seinen Schriftstellerkollegen und -freunden Oskar Baum, Felix Weltsch und Franz Kafka - später kam noch Ludwig Winder dazu.” (Wallstein Verlag)
• Max Brod. The museum places Kafka and Brod in the same close literary circle. (also via The Redemption of Tycho Brahe) “This particularly applies to the four closest friends whom Max Brod dubbed ‘The Prague Circle’: Kafka, Max Brod, Oskar Baum and Felix Weltsch.” (Franz Kafka Museum)
• The Redemption of Tycho Brahe by Max Brod (1915). The Redemption of Tycho Brahe (Max Brod) — collaborator for Franz Kafka “His literary executor and friend Max Brod ignored Kafka's wishes to destroy his remaining works, publishing them to eventual acclaim.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Tonio Kröger by Thomas Mann (1903). Tonio Kröger (Thomas Mann) — peer for Franz Kafka “Others, such as Thomas Mann, see Kafka's work as a quest for God.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Klub mladých. Kafka attended meetings of the named anarchist organization. “Before World War I, [ 130 ] Kafka attended several meetings of the Klub mladých , a Czech anarchist , anti-militarist , and anti-clerical organization.” (Wikipedia)
• Felix Weltsch. The museum places Kafka and Weltsch in the same close literary circle. “This particularly applies to the four closest friends whom Max Brod dubbed ‘The Prague Circle’: Kafka, Max Brod, Oskar Baum and Felix Weltsch.” (Franz Kafka Museum)
• Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten. Kafka joined the named student club. “He also joined a student club, Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten (Reading and Lecture Hall of the German students), which organised literary events, readings and other activities.” (Wikipedia)
• Collected Poems by Edwin Muir (1952). Collected Poems (Edwin Muir) — collaborator for Franz Kafka “Notable among them were their translation of works by Franz Kafka.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Journalism of Milena Jesenská by Milena Jesenská (1919). The Journalism of Milena Jesenská (Milena Jesenská) — collaborator for Franz Kafka “In 1920, Kafka began an intense relationship with Milena Jesenská, a Czech journalist and writer who was non-Jewish and who was married, but whose marriage, when she met Kafka, was a "sham".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Oskar Baum. The museum places Kafka and Baum in the same close literary circle. “This particularly applies to the four closest friends whom Max Brod dubbed ‘The Prague Circle’: Kafka, Max Brod, Oskar Baum and Felix Weltsch.” (Franz Kafka Museum)
• The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke (1910). The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (Rainer Maria Rilke) — peer for Franz Kafka (openlibrary.org)
• The Golem by Gustav Meyrink (1915). The Golem (Gustav Meyrink) — geography for Franz Kafka (openlibrary.org)
• The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek (1923). The Good Soldier Švejk (Jaroslav Hašek) — geography for Franz Kafka (wikidata.org)
• The Man Who Was Born Again by Franz Werfel (1924). The Man Who Was Born Again (Franz Werfel) — geography for Franz Kafka “Among Kafka's friends were the journalist Felix Weltsch, who studied philosophy, the actor Yitzchak Lowy who came from an orthodox Hasidic Warsaw family, and the writers Ludwig Winder, Oskar Baum and Franz Werfel.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Confusions of Young Master Törless by Robert Musil (1906). The Confusions of Young Master Törless (Robert Musil) — peer for Franz Kafka “In 1916, Musil visited Prague and met Franz Kafka, whose work he held in high esteem.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Who Franz Kafka influenced

• Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges (1944). Ficciones (Jorge Luis Borges) — legacy for Franz Kafka “Shimon Sandbank, a professor, literary critic, and writer, also identifies Kafka as having influenced Jorge Luis Borges, Albert Camus, Eugène Ionesco, J.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Breast by Philip Roth (1972). The Breast (Philip Roth) — legacy for Franz Kafka “In 2001, Roth received the inaugural Franz Kafka Prize in Prague.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Agnès Varda. Kafka is listed among Varda’s literary influences. “Many of her influences were artistic or literary, including Surrealism , William Faulkner , Franz Kafka , and Nathalie Sarraute .” (Wikipedia)
• Kafka on the Shore. Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami) — legacy for Franz Kafka “Kafka has been cited as an influence on the Swedish writer Stig Dagerman, and the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, who paid homage to Kafka in his novel Kafka on the Shore with the namesake protagonist and in his short story, "Samsa in L…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Federico Fellini (1920). Amerika (Franz Kafka) — culture for Federico Fellini (via Amerika) “For Intervista, produced by Ibrahim Moussa and RAI Television, Fellini intercut memories of the first time he visited Cinecittà in 1939 with present-day footage of himself at work on a screen adaptation of Franz Kafka's Amerika.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Philip K. Dick. The Trial (Franz Kafka) — titan for Philip K. Dick (via The Trial) “Following his death, he became "widely regarded as a master of imaginative, paranoid fiction in the vein of Franz Kafka and Thomas Pynchon".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Gabriel García Márquez. García Márquez said reading The Metamorphosis changed his sense of what writing could do. (via The Metamorphosis) “Gabriel García Márquez noted the reading of Kafka's The Metamorphosis showed him "that it was possible to write in a different way".” (Wikipedia)
• Hannah Arendt (1906). The Trial (Franz Kafka) — culture for Hannah Arendt (via The Trial) (openlibrary.org)
• Seinfeld by Larry David (1989). The Trial (Franz Kafka) — culture for Seinfeld (via The Trial) (openlibrary.org)