Franz Kafka – The Franz Kafka mechanical head, Prague
Fact of the Czech figure „The intersection of Europe”
Part of the „Transfer of the culture” topic
The mechanical sculpture near Národní třída in Prague, popular with tourists, is an absurd reminder of the world-famous writer Franz Kafka, whose work is considered an early example of literary existentialism.
Kafka lived and worked in Prague at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, surrounded by a cosmopolitan milieu of literary and intellectual circles in which German, Jewish and Czech cultures intermingled. During his short life Kafka published only a few short stories and novels. His early death interrupted his literary plans. Fortunately, Max Brod, one of his many friends, did not listen to Kafka’s wish to destroy the unfinished texts. He published his friend’s novels The Castle and The Trial and contributed to Kafka’s emergence as one of the most famous and influential writers of the 20th century.
Although Kafka does not deal with the question of cultural or national identity in his works, his literary characters reflect his life experience and the culturally diverse society with which he was associated. This may have contributed to the birth of an author who transcended and blurred the boundaries of established writing styles and reflections on being human in the modern world. His disturbing work has attracted readers around the world and continues to raise questions to this day.
