Constructive destruction: Kafka's aphorisms, literary tradition, and literary transformation

The study presents a thorough investigation of Kafka's aphoristic writings, examining them in terms of the history of the aphorism in Germany, and paying special regard to Kafka's contemporary Austrian aphorists. Emphasis is placed on the role of the aphorism in the development of Kafka's literary creativity. Aphoristic discourse presented itself to Kafka as a possible manner of resolving specific conflicts in his life and art, above all the crisis of communication the individuality of the self. Aphoristic structure provides the transitional link between Kafka ́s early perspectivistic narrative

Front matter --; Introduction --; CHAPTER ONE: History, Tradition, and Structure of the Aphorism --; CHAPTER TWO: Aphorism and Aphorists in Turn-of-the-Century Austria --; CHAPTER THREE: Kafka: Aphoristic Text and Aphoristic Context --; CHAPTER FOUR: Kafka and his Aphoristic Precursors --; CHAPTER FIVE: Kafka's Aphorisms: Intratext and Intertext --; CHAPTER SIX: Aphorism and Met-Aphorism: The Relationship of Aphorism and Parable in Kafka's Œuvre --; BIBLIOGRAPHY