“ correct understanding of a matter and a misunderstanding of the same matter are not mutually exclusive. ”
Franz Kafka, The Trial (1925). copy citation
| Author | Franz Kafka |
|---|---|
| Source | The Trial |
| Topic | understanding misunderstanding |
| Date | 1925 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by David Wyllie |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7849/pg7849-images.html |
Context
“Even if all he said about his power and the power of the other doorkeepers and how not even he could bear the sight of them - I say even if all these assertions are right, the way he makes them shows that he's too simple and arrogant to understand properly. The commentators say about this that, 'correct understanding of a matter and a misunderstanding of the same matter are not mutually exclusive'. Whether they're right or not, you have to concede that his simplicity and arrogance, however little they show, do weaken his function of guarding the entrance, they are defects in the doorkeeper's character.”
source
Meaning and analysis
