The Castle · Chapter
XVII explained
K.
What happens
K. waits outside the Herrenhof with a group of men for the official Erlanger, who is consulting with Momus before admitting clients. The group complains about being kept in the snow due to the landlady's insistence on refinement, but they acknowledge Erlanger's goodwill in coming to the village at night. K. and Gerstäcker are eventually admitted, and they pass through a narrow passage lined with small, noisy rooms where secretaries work. They stop before Erlanger's door, but find him asleep, so they must wait.
Themes in this chapter
Bureaucracy and Alienation
The waiting clients are kept outside in the snow due to the landlady's rules, and the officials work at night, highlighting the alienating and arbitrary nature of bureaucratic processes.
Power and Submission
The clients express gratitude for Erlanger's presence despite the inconvenience, showing their submission to the authority of the Castle officials.
Characters to notice
- K.
Waits outside the Herrenhof for Erlanger, is admitted with Gerstäcker, and reflects on Jeremiah and Arthur's intrigues.
- Erlanger
The official who has arrived in the village and is consulting with Momus; he is asleep when K. and Gerstäcker reach his door.
- Momus
Appears between attendants to announce the first clients to be admitted to Erlanger, and exchanges words with K.
- Gerstäcker
A carrier waiting for Erlanger on account of a carting contract; he is admitted with K. and talks with the servant.
- Jeremiah
Sneaks into Erlanger's room ahead of K. and Gerstäcker, claiming to be a waiter, and is greeted by Momus.
Key passages
“he could easily if he wished—and it would probably be more in accordance with the regulations too—he could easily send an undersecretary and let him draw up statements. Still, he usually refused to do this, he wanted to see and hear everything for himself, but for this purpose he had to sacrifice his nights, for in his official timetable there was no time allowed for journeys to the village.”
Erlanger could delegate the work to a subordinate, but he chooses to handle matters personally, even though it means working through the night because his schedule doesn't permit daytime trips to the village.
Explains why Erlanger holds nighttime hearings, emphasizing his dedication and the constraints of the bureaucratic system.
“It was incomprehensible to her why there should need to be clients waiting at all. "To dirty the front-door steps," an official had once told her, obviously in annoyance, but to her this pronouncement had seemed very illuminating, and she was never tired of quoting it.”
The landlady cannot understand why clients must wait, and she latches onto an official's dismissive remark about dirtying the steps, using it to justify her efforts to keep them outside.
Illustrates the landlady's obsession with refinement and her petty tyranny over the waiting clients.