Yareah Magazine

Ann Timmermans 

by Dominique d'Orange

The author grew up in a suffocating family in which he felt abandoned, a failure and a disappointment to his demanding parents. The young writer was under constant pressure, both at home and at school. He suffered from the complicated relationship with his authoritarian, dominating father.

Kafka created a frightening fantasy world in which the freedom of the main characters was deprived.

One of the characteristics of his literary work is an ominous atmosphere in which both the bureaucracy and the impersonal society are getting a grip on the individual.  The lying government and court smothers individuals. The main characters get entangled in bureaucratic labyrinths, laws and rules. Without any moral explanation absurd decisions and sentences are being imposed upon people, causing a needless sense of guilt.

The Metamorphosis(1915) is a story about the overnight transformation of law-abiding Gregor Samsa into a giant bug. The family provider becomes an outsider with an inescapable fate. Kafka describes denial, paternal terror, love turning into hate  and the fear for the outside world vividly.

About this short story, Kafka said: “ The dream unveils the reality, leaving the imagination behind. “ Making the implausible plausible is the secret to his writing.

The writer had artistic aspirations. Drawing, a very old passion of his,  was even more intimate to him than writing. He even used to hide his personal  pictographic figures for others.

This article has been illustrated by the untitled oil painting by d’Orange( 100 x 120 cm, February 1991) The dark colours and the lady’s facial expression convey a sense of Kafkaesque mystery.

I would like to conclude with the author’s words: “Truth is a matter of the heart, which can only be approached by art.”

Read more about Dominique d'Orange:

http://www.dominiquedorange.com/

Yareah magazine contact: Isabel del Rio: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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