In order to gain an understanding of this aphorism by Kafka, let us look in on the
provost at a prestigious liberal arts college. This paragon of the college sits
behind a large mahogany desk befitting a judge, where he prepares the talk he will
give later that day on “interfaith and the new spirituality,” a subject
dear to his heart after a life spent pursuing the Good. The uncharismatic demeanor
and costive smile bespeak youthful summers at Bible camp where, in fact, he met
his devoted wife who has been his spiritual bellwether and helpmeet. He appears
at the moment in a state of agitation and discomfiture—yes, that is the right
word, for he feels his life is comfortless. Although he is afraid to admit it, the
source of this anxiety is that whoreson of lust he constantly feels gripping him
with its insidious claws. You would be surprised—no, not surprised but more
likely shocked—to find that underneath the folders on his desk reposes a print
of Balthus’ Therese Dreaming, which has recently inspired reveries
that distract him from his more transcendent lucubrations. Looking closely at his
face we notice beads of sweat on his upper lip and brow, as his lubricious gaze
follows the heavenly, callipygian form of his young assistant Alex (yes, we might
agree that her pertly swaying behind could be considered a physical manifestation
of heaven) leaving his office after having been bent over the cabinet vainly searching
for a file which was already on his desk. At this point you would no longer be surprised
to learn he is thinking of the comfort he could find with Alex. Before long, his
imaginings achieve a poetic purity imbued with a new kind of spiritual fervor, as
he is enraptured by visions of venery, unspeakable thoughts of exalted and beatific
transgressions with Alex that give new meaning to the word Good.
[Editor’s Note: The title of this story is Number 30 of 109 aphorisms written
by Franz Kafka from September 1917 through April 1918, which were then published
by Max Brod in 1931 (six years after Kafka’s death) in a volume entitled,
The Zürau Aphorisms.]
Bio:
Kimmo Rosenthal
