Petitions explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Guilt and Redemption

  The family's desperate attempts to seek forgiveness for an unacknowledged guilt, and the impossibility of redemption within the Castle's system.

• Bureaucracy and Alienation

  The impersonal and unresponsive bureaucracy that denies any wrongdoing and frustrates all efforts at reconciliation.

• The Absurdity of Existence

  The father's senseless vigil and the family's self-destructive pursuit of forgiveness highlight the absurdity of their situation.

Characters to notice

• Olga

  Narrates the family's tragic story of seeking forgiveness from the Castle.

• Amalia

  Remains silent and aloof while her family desperately seeks forgiveness; later nurses her father.

• Barnabas

  Works as an assistant for Brunswick to support the family.

• K.

  Listens intently to Olga's story and interrupts to ask if her father's plan was right.

• Brunswick

  Hires Barnabas as an assistant, taking a risk for the family's sake.

• Bertuch

  Allows the father to sit on his property near the Castle; was a former customer.

Key passages

• “And what did we do meanwhile? The worst thing we could have done, something much more deserving of contempt than our original offence⁠—we betrayed Amalia, we shook off her silent restraint, we couldn’t go on living like that, without hope of any kind we could not live, and we began each in his or her own fashion with prayers or blustering to beg the Castle’s forgiveness.”

  Olga admits that their betrayal of Amalia was worse than the original offense, as they abandoned her silent resolve and began desperately seeking the Castle's forgiveness.

  Olga reflects on the family's misguided actions after Amalia's rejection of Sortini.

• “Father didn’t give in, he was still very strong in those days, and his enforced leisure gave him plenty of time. ‘I’ll restore Amalia’s honour, it won’t take long now,’ he used to say to Barnabas and me several times a day, but only in a low voice in case Amalia should hear, and yet he only said it for her benefit, for in reality he wasn’t hoping for the restoration of her honour, but only for forgiveness.”

  The father's claim to restore Amalia's honor was a pretense; his true aim was to obtain forgiveness for the family.

  The father's delusion and the family's self-deception are highlighted.

• “He hit upon the idea⁠—and it showed that his mind was already giving way⁠—that his guilt was being concealed from him because he didn’t pay enough; until then he had paid only the established taxes, which were at least high enough for means like ours. But now he believed that he must pay more, which was certainly a delusion, for, although our officials accept bribes simply to avoid trouble and discussion, nothing is ever achieved in that way.”

  The father's belief that paying more bribes would reveal his guilt was a delusion, as bribes in the Castle system achieve nothing.

  The futility of the family's efforts is underscored by the Castle's indifference to bribes.

• “The plan he had hit on was to plant himself on the main road near the Castle, where the officials pass in their carriages, and seize any opportunity of putting up his prayer for forgiveness. To be honest, it was a wild and senseless plan, even if the impossible should have happened, and his prayer have really reached an official’s ear. For how could a single official give a pardon? That could only be done at best by the whole authority, and apparently even the authority can only condemn and not pardon.”

  The father's plan to intercept officials on the road was futile, as no single official has the power to pardon, and the Castle's authority can only condemn.

  Olga explains the hopelessness of the father's final scheme.