table set at an angle on a very low podium which was as overcrowded as
everywhere else, and behind the table, near the edge of the podium, sat
a small, fat, wheezing man who was talking with someone behind him. This
second man was standing with his legs crossed and his elbows on the
backrest of the chair, provoking much laughter. From time to time he
threw his arm in the air as if doing a caricature of someone. The youth
who was leading K. had some difficulty in reporting to the man. He had
already tried twice to tell him something, standing on tiptoe, but
without getting the man's attention as he sat there above him. It was
only when one of the people up on the podium drew his attention to the
youth that the man turned to him and leant down to hear what it was he
quietly said. Then he pulled out his watch and quickly looked over at K.
"You should have been here one hour and five minutes ago," he said. K.
was going to give him a reply but had no time to do so, as hardly had
the man spoken than a general muttering arose all over the right hand
side of the hall. "You should have been here one hour and five minutes
ago," the man now repeated, raising his voice this time, and quickly
looked round the hall beneath him. The muttering also became immediately
louder and, as the man said nothing more, died away only gradually. Now
the hall was much quieter than when K. had entered. Only the people up
in the gallery had not stopped passing remarks. As far as could be
distinguished, up in the half-darkness, dust and haze, they seemed to be
less well dressed than those below. Many of them had brought pillows
that they had put between their heads and the ceiling so that they would
not hurt themselves pressed against it.
K. had decided he would do more watching than talking, so he did not
defend himself for supposedly having come late, and simply said, "Well
maybe I have arrived late, I'm here now." There followed loud applause,
once more from the right hand side of the hall. Easy people to get on
your side, thought K., and was bothered only by the quiet from the left
hand side which was directly behind him and from which there was
applause from only a few individuals. He wondered what he could say to
get all of them to support him together or, if that were not possible,
to at least get the support of the others for a while.
"Yes," said the man, "but I'm now no longer under any obligation to hear
your case"--there was once more a muttering, but this time it was
misleading as the man waved the people's objections aside with his hand
and continued--"I will, however, as an exception, continue with it
today. But you should never arrive late like this again. And now, step
forward!" Someone jumped down from the podium so that there would be a
place free for K., and K. stepped up onto it. He stood pressed closely
against the table, the press of the crowd behind him was so great that
he had to press back against it if he did not want to push the judge's
desk down off the podium and perhaps the judge along with it.
The judge, however, paid no attention to that but sat very comfortably
on his chair and, after saying a few words to close his discussion with
the man behind him, reached for a little note book, the only item on his
desk. It was like an old school exercise book and had become quite
misshapen from much thumbing. "Now then," said the judge, thumbing
through the book. He turned to K. with the tone of someone who knows his
facts and said, "you are a house painter?" "No," said K., "I am the
chief clerk in a large bank." This reply was followed by laughter among
the right hand faction down in the hall, it was so hearty that K.
couldn't stop himself joining in with it. The people supported
themselves with their hands on their knees and shook as if suffering a
serious attack of coughing. Even some of those in the gallery were
laughing. The judge had become quite cross but seemed to have no power
over those below him in the hall, he tried to reduce what harm had been
done in the gallery and jumped up threatening them, his eyebrows, until
then hardly remarkable, pushed themselves up and became big, black and
bushy over his eyes.
The left hand side of the hall was still quiet, though, the people stood
there in rows with their faces looking towards the podium listening to
what was being said there, they observed the noise from the other side
of the hall with the same quietness and even allowed some individuals
from their own ranks, here and there, to go forward into the other
faction. The people in the left faction were not only fewer in number
than the right but probably were no more important than them, although
their behaviour was calmer and that made it seem like they were. When K.
now began to speak he was convinced he was doing it in the same way as
them.
"Your question, My Lord, as to whether I am a house painter--in fact
even more than that, you did not ask at all but merely imposed it on
me--is symptomatic of the whole way these proceedings against me are
being carried out. Perhaps you will object that there are no proceedings
against me. You will be quite right, as there are proceedings only if I
acknowledge that there are. But, for the moment, I do acknowledge it,
out of pity for yourselves to a large extent. It's impossible not to
observe all this business without feeling pity. I don't say things are
being done without due care but I would like to make it clear that it is
I who make the acknowledgement."
K. stopped speaking and looked down into the hall. He had spoken
sharply, more sharply than he had intended, but he had been quite right.
It should have been rewarded with some applause here and there but
everything was quiet, they were all clearly waiting for what would
follow, perhaps the quietness was laying the ground for an outbreak of
activity that would bring this whole affair to an end. It was somewhat
disturbing that just then the door at the end of the hall opened, the
young washerwoman, who seemed to have finished her work, came in and,
despite all her caution, attracted the attention of some of the people
there. It was only the judge who gave K. any direct pleasure, as he
seemed to have been immediately struck by K.'s words. Until then, he had
listened to him standing, as K.'s speech had taken him by surprise while
he was directing his attention to the gallery. Now, in the pause, he sat
down very slowly, as if he did not want anyone to notice. He took out
the notebook again, probably so that he could give the impression of
being calmer.
"That won't help you, sir," continued K., "even your little book will
only confirm what I say." K. was satisfied to hear nothing but his own
quiet words in this room full of strangers, and he even dared casually
to pick up the examining judge's notebook and, touching it only with the
tips of his fingers as if it were something revolting, lifted it in the
air, holding it just by one of the middle pages so that the others on
each side of it, closely written, blotted and yellowing, flapped down.
"Those are the official notes of the examining judge," he said, and let
the notebook fall down onto the desk. "You can read in your book as much
as you like, sir, I really don't have anything in this charge book to be
afraid of, even though I don't have access to it as I wouldn't want it
in my hand, I can only touch it with two fingers." The judge grabbed the
notebook from where it had fallen on the desk--which could only have
been a sign of his deep humiliation, or at least that is how it must
have been perceived--tried to tidy it up a little, and held it once more
in front of himself in order to read from it.
The people in the front row looked up at him, showing such tension on
their faces that he looked back down at them for some time. Every one of
them was an old man, some of them with white beards. Could they perhaps
be the crucial group who could turn the whole assembly one way or the
other. They had sunk into a state of motionlessness while K. gave his
oration, and it had not been possible to raise them from this passivity
even when the judge was being humiliated. "What has happened to me,"
continued K., with less of the vigour he had had earlier, he continually
scanned the faces in the first row, and this gave his address a somewhat
nervous and distracted character, "what has happened to me is not just
an isolated case. If it were it would not be of much importance as it's
not of much importance to me, but it is a symptom of proceedings which
are carried out against many. It's on behalf of them that I stand here
now, not for myself alone."
Without having intended it, he had raised his voice. Somewhere in the
hall, someone raised his hands and applauded him shouting, "Bravo! Why
not then? Bravo! Again I say, Bravo!" Some of the men in the first row
groped around in their beards, none of them looked round to see who was
shouting. Not even K. thought him of any importance but it did raise his
spirits; he no longer thought it at all necessary that all of those in
the hall should applaud him, it was enough if the majority of them began
to think about the matter and if only one of them, now and then, was
persuaded.
"I'm not trying to be a successful orator," said K. after this thought,
"that's probably more than I'm capable of anyway. I'm sure the examining
judge can speak far better than I can, it is part of his job after all.
All that I want is a public discussion of a public wrong. Listen: ten
days ago I was placed under arrest, the arrest itself is something I
laugh about but that's beside the point. They came for me in the morning
when I was still in bed. Maybe the order had been given to arrest some
house painter--that seems possible after what the judge has
said--someone who is as innocent as I am, but it was me they chose.
There were two police thugs occupying the next room. They could not have
taken better precautions if I had been a dangerous robber. And these
policemen were unprincipled riff-raff, they talked at me till I was sick
of it, they wanted bribes, they wanted to trick me into giving them my
clothes, they wanted money, supposedly so that they could bring me my
breakfast after they had blatantly eaten my own breakfast in front of my
eyes. And even that was not enough. I was led in front of the supervisor
in another room. This was the room of a lady who I have a lot of respect
for, and I was forced to look on while the supervisor and the policemen
made quite a mess of this room because of me, although not through any
fault of mine. It was not easy to stay calm, but I managed to do so and
was completely calm when I asked the supervisor why it was that I was
under arrest. If he were here he would have to confirm what I say. I can
see him now, sitting on the chair belonging to that lady I mentioned--a
picture of dull-witted arrogance. What do you think he answered? What
he told me, gentlemen, was basically nothing at all; perhaps he really
did know nothing, he had placed me under arrest and was satisfied. In
fact he had done more than that and brought three junior employees from
the bank where I work into the lady's room; they had made themselves
busy interfering with some photographs that belonged to the lady and
causing a mess. There was, of course, another reason for bringing these
employees; they, just like my landlady and her maid, were expected to
spread the news of my arrest and damage my public reputation and in
particular to remove me from my position at the bank. Well they didn't
succeed in any of that, not in the slightest, even my landlady, who is
quite a simple person--and I will give you here her name in full
respect, her name is Mrs. Grubach--even Mrs. Grubach was understanding
enough to see that an arrest like this has no more significance than an
attack carried out on the street by some youths who are not kept under
proper control. I repeat, this whole affair has caused me nothing but
unpleasantness and temporary irritation, but could it not also have had
some far worse consequences?"
K. broke off here and looked at the judge, who said nothing. As he did
so he thought he saw the judge use a movement of his eyes to give a sign
to someone in the crowd. K. smiled and said, "And now the judge, right
next to me, is giving a secret sign to someone among you. There seems to
be someone among you who is taking directions from above. I don't know
whether the sign is meant to produce booing or applause, but I'll resist
trying to guess what its meaning is too soon. It really doesn't matter
to me, and I give his lordship the judge my full and public permission
to stop giving secret signs to his paid subordinate down there and give
his orders in words instead; let him just say 'Boo now!,' and then the
next time 'Clap now!'"
Whether it was embarrassment or impatience, the judge rocked backwards
and forwards on his seat. The man behind him, whom he had been talking
with earlier, leant forward again, either to give him a few general
words of encouragement or some specific piece of advice. Below them in
the hall the people talked to each other quietly but animatedly. The two
factions had earlier seemed to hold views strongly opposed to each other
but now they began to intermingle, a few individuals pointed up at K.,
others pointed at the judge. The air in the room was fuggy and extremely
oppressive, those who were standing furthest away could hardly even be
seen through it. It must have been especially troublesome for those
visitors who were in the gallery, as they were forced to quietly ask
the participants in the assembly what exactly was happening, albeit
with timid glances at the judge. The replies they received were just as
quiet, and given behind the protection of a raised hand.
"I have nearly finished what I have to say," said K., and as there was
no bell available he struck the desk with his fist in a way that
startled the judge and his advisor and made them look up from each
other. "None of this concerns me, and I am therefore able to make a calm
assessment of it, and, assuming that this so-called court is of any real
importance, it will be very much to your advantage to listen to what I
have to say. If you want to discuss what I say, please don't bother to
write it down until later on, I don't have any time to waste and I'll
soon be leaving."
There was immediate silence, which showed how well K. was in control of
the crowd. There were no shouts among them as there had been at the
start, no-one even applauded, but if they weren't already persuaded they
seemed very close to it.
K. was pleased at the tension among all the people there as they
listened to him, a rustling rose from the silence which was more
invigorating than the most ecstatic applause could have been. "There is
no doubt," he said quietly, "that there is some enormous organisation
determining what is said by this court. In my case this includes my
arrest and the examination taking place here today, an organisation that
employs policemen who can be bribed, oafish supervisors and judges of
whom nothing better can be said than that they are not as arrogant as
some others. This organisation even maintains a high-level judiciary
along with its train of countless servants, scribes, policemen and all
the other assistance that it needs, perhaps even executioners and
torturers--I'm not afraid of using those words. And what, gentlemen, is
the purpose of this enormous organisation. Its purpose is to arrest
innocent people and wage pointless prosecutions against them which, as
in my case, lead to no result. How are we to avoid those in office
becoming deeply corrupt when everything is devoid of meaning? That is
impossible, not even the highest judge would be able to achieve that for
himself. That is why policemen try to steal the clothes off the back of
those they arrest, that is why supervisors break into the homes of
people they do not know, that is why innocent people are humiliated in
front of crowds rather than being given a proper trial. The policemen
only talked about the warehouses where they put the property of those
they arrest, I would like to see these warehouses where the hard won
possessions of people under arrest is left to decay, if, that is, it's
not stolen by the thieving hands of the warehouse workers."
K. was interrupted by a screeching from the far end of the hall, he
shaded his eyes to see that far, as the dull light of day made the smoke
whitish and hard to see through. It was the washerwoman whom K. had
recognised as a likely source of disturbance as soon as she had entered.
It was hard to see now whether it was her fault or not. K. could only
see that a man had pulled her into a corner by the door and was pressing
himself against her. But it was not her who was screaming, but the man,
he had opened his mouth wide and looked up at the ceiling. A small
circle had formed around the two of them, the visitors near him in the
gallery seemed delighted that the serious tone K. had introduced into
the gathering had been disturbed in this way. K.'s first thought was to
run over there, and he also thought that everyone would want to bring
things back into order there or at least to make the pair leave the
room, but the first row of people in front of him stayed were they were,
no-one moved and no-one let K. through. On the contrary, they stood in
his way, old men held out their arms in front of him and a hand from
somewhere--he did not have the time to turn round--took hold of his
collar. K., by this time, had forgotten about the pair, it seemed to him
that his freedom was being limited as if his arrest was being taken
seriously, and, without any thought for what he was doing, he jumped
down from the podium. Now he stood face to face with the crowd. Had he
judged the people properly? Had he put too much faith in the effect of
his speech? Had they been putting up a pretence all the time he had
been speaking, and now that he came to the end and to what must follow,
were they tired of pretending? What faces they were, all around him!
Dark, little eyes flickered here and there, cheeks drooped down like on
drunken men, their long beards were thin and stiff, if they took hold of
them it was more like they were making their hands into claws, not as if
they were taking hold of their own beards. But underneath those
beards--and this was the real discovery made by K.--there were badges of
various sizes and colours shining on the collars of their coats. As far
as he could see, every one of them was wearing one of these badges. All
of them belonged to the same group, even though they seemed to be
divided to the right and the left of him, and when he suddenly turned
round he saw the same badge on the collar of the examining judge who
calmly looked down at him with his hands in his lap. "So," called out
K., throwing his arms in the air as if this sudden realisation needed
more room, "all of you are working for this organisation, I see now that
you are all the very bunch of cheats and liars I've just been speaking
about, you've all pressed yourselves in here in order to listen in and
snoop on me, you gave the impression of having formed into factions, one
of you even applauded me to test me out, and you wanted to learn how to
trap an innocent man! Well, I hope you haven't come here for nothing, I
hope you've either had some fun from someone who expected you to defend
his innocence or else--let go of me or I'll hit you," shouted K. to a
quivery old man who had pressed himself especially close to him--"or
else that you've actually learned something. And so I wish you good luck
in your trade." He briskly took his hat from where it lay on the edge of
the table and, surrounded by a silence caused perhaps by the
completeness of their surprise, pushed his way to the exit. However, the
examining judge seems to have moved even more quickly than K., as he was
waiting for him at the doorway. "One moment," he said. K. stood where he
was, but looked at the door with his hand already on its handle rather
than at the judge. "I merely wanted to draw your attention," said the
judge, "to something you seem not yet to be aware of: today, you have
robbed yourself of the advantages that a hearing of this sort always
gives to someone who is under arrest." K. laughed towards the door. "You
bunch of louts," he called, "you can keep all your hearings as a present
from me," then opened the door and hurried down the steps. Behind him,
the noise of the assembly rose as it became lively once more and
probably began to discuss these events as if making a scientific study
of them.
Chapter Three
In the empty Courtroom--The Student--The Offices