{"id":144762,"date":"2026-04-27T20:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.society19.com\/uk\/?p=144762"},"modified":"2026-04-27T20:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:25:16","slug":"franz-kafka-best-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.society19.com\/uk\/franz-kafka-best-quotes\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Best Quotes Of Franz Kafka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Franz Kafka is cynical, mysterious, slightly heartbroken and probably my ultimate crush of all time. He was a 20th <\/sup>century German-speaking Bohemian Jewish novelist who was mainly known for writing about bizarre, sincere and abhorrent truths within society.<\/p>\n

Franz Kafka\u2019s hostile perception of the world might make him come across as bitter to the naked eye. But the novelist actually grew up with a verbally and physically abusive father so his disdain towards the world isn\u2019t exactly revolutionary.<\/p>\n

Kafka\u2019s Father despised his son\u2019s chosen profession and wished he would do something more \u2018manly\u2019 which led to Franz Kafka struggling with his Jewish identity and developing commitment issues in his adult life.<\/p>\n

To make things worse, his father used to call him and his friends\u2019 \u2018vermin\u2019 and used to taunt Kafka for not having a \u2018manly job.\u2019 He wanted a son that would go out and do hard labour, but his son was a writer, a dream that created so much resentment.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure if I understand what all of Franz Kafka\u2019s quotes mean, but here are 10 of Kafka\u2019s best quotes about life, heartbreak, commitment issues and following your dreams.<\/p>\n

1. There is an infinite amount of hope in the universe \u2026 but not for us<\/h2>\n

Again, I\u2019m not exactly sure what it means, but my university professor explained it to us once and this is what I think.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the idea that you always think things are going to be better for the next generation and the ones to come but not for you.<\/p>\n

\n

2. Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable<\/h2>\n

What is acceptable is often based on dubious morals enforced by a broken system but doing what is right will always triumph and prevail in the end.<\/p>\n

3. Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old<\/h2>\n

4. Don\u2019t bend; don\u2019t water it down; don\u2019t try to make it logical; don\u2019t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly<\/h2>\n

An interesting fact about Franz Kafka was that he used to be a health and safety officer. His job involved going to desolate and neglected places and write about what he could see and would often bring that into his writing.<\/p>\n

For example, in The Trial, he talks about rats running away from human waste in order to convey how much humans have fallen because what we consider to be the height of vermin are now running away from us.<\/p>\n

5. I no longer know if I wish to drown myself in love, vodka or the sea<\/h2>\n

I chose this one because it\u2019s relatable.<\/p>\n

\n

6. From a certain point onward, there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached<\/h2>\n

I like to think that there are only two ways of interpreting this quote, it\u2019s either really dark or really relatable.<\/p>\n

7. I\u2019m doing badly, I\u2019m doing well; whichever you prefer<\/h2>\n

I think he\u2019s calling out everyone\u2019s bs by subtly implying that all opinions are subjective.<\/p>\n

8. A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity<\/h2>\n

9. It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves<\/h2>\n

I included this quote because it makes me feel better when I come across know-it-alls.<\/p>\n

10. He is terribly afraid of dying because he hasn\u2019t yet lived<\/h2>\n

This quote refers to the idea that people are scared of dying with regrets as opposed to death itself.<\/p>\n

\n

I studied Franz Kafka at uni and could definitely go on and on, but I\u2019ll stop for now. Even though I don\u2019t fully understand his thought process I find Kafka so intriguing and would love to be able to understand the cryptic messages in his quotes and books eventually. \u00a0Comment your favourite quote below!<\/h3>\n

Feature Image Source: https:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/pin\/518336238345396507\/<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Franz Kafka is cynical, mysterious, slightly heartbroken and probably my ultimate crush of all time. He was a 20th century German-speaking Bohemian Jewish novelist who was mainly known for writing about bizarre, sincere and abhorrent truths within society. Franz Kafka\u2019s hostile perception of the world might make him come across as bitter to the naked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25266,"featured_media":144763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true},"categories":[8479],"tags":[16,20243,11631],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-144762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-books","tag-franz-kafka","tag-literature"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 Best Quotes Of Franz Kafka - Society19 UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m not sure if I understand what all the quotes by Franz Kafka mean, but here are 10 of his best ones about life, heartbreak, commitment issues and dreams.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.society19.com\/uk\/franz-kafka-best-quotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Best Quotes Of Franz Kafka - 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