Only one reference to chess has been found in Kafkas work, within the epistolary genre. In Letters to Milena (Schocken Books, New York, 1990), the following paragraph is part of one of the letters: The only thing I do fear and I fear this with my eyes wide open, I am drowning in this fear, helpless (if I could sleep as deeply as I sink into fear I would no longer be alive) is this inner conspiracy against myself (which the letter to my father will help you understand better, although not entirely, since the letter is much too focused on its purpose), which is based on the fact that I, who am not even the pawn of a pawn in the great chess game, far from it, now want to take the place of the queen, against all the rules and to the confusion of the game I, the pawn of a pawn, a piece which doesnt even exist, which isnt even in the game and next I may want to take the kings place as well or even the whole board. Moreover, if that were what I really wanted, it would have to happen in some other, even more inhuman way
Continue Reading