OnlineBookClub.org

In The Trial by Franz Kafka there is a quote: "It is often better to be in chains than to be free."

In the movie Orson Welles plays the lawyer who says the line to K, who is played by Anthony Perkins. That line was one of the reasons why I read the book.

My wife and I were talking about this the other day. I had always taken it to mean something along the lines of, be careful what you wish for; too much freedom, or excess, can be trouble.

For example we want to be able to be "free" and eat as much as we want. Sometimes it's better to be in chains, or have discipline, than to live how we want.

My wife related it to money, and how people think that being free means having a lot of money and doing what you want with it. It's better to be in chains, and have some restraint rather than truly spending the money how we want.

We both thought it was interesting and could have multiple meanings. I was wondering what other people think? Have you ever heard that quote before? If so, what do you think it means?

Thanks,

-Mark

I think this is an allusion to the existentialist idea that men fear the responsibility of having to make choices - they prefer to be led. We prefer tyranny to the potential chaos resulting from freedom.

Once, in a chatroom, a young person asked for a clear definition of the term existentialism. I replied by saying, "You have been warned by your parents not to break curfew. You ignore them and come home at 1 AM in the morning only to find that all your possessions are on the curb in front of the house and the locks of the house have been changed. That sinking feeling you have when it suddenly dawns upon you that you are now entirely responsible for everything in your life beginning at that moment is what is called existentialism."

I was suggesting that at that time the curfew breaker would prefer the chains of parental tyranny to the freedom of personal responsibility.

I wish our twenty-four year old would experience some existentialism on his own. Thank you for your input DAto, I appreciate it. Interesting perspective, had not thought of it in those terms before.

In my opinion the quote talks about the responsabilities that come along with freedom. Like anything in this world, freedom doesn’t come for free. It has to be payed with a lot of responsibility. When we can do whatever we want to do, we are going to be held completely accountable for our actions and that is why many people choose to live their lives “in chains”.

As a German literature student, I have to give my opinion on this! It's not the first time I've heard the quote and I must say it's one of the most famous in German Literature! The whole book is about the concept of freedom and guilt, and how in the end K's whole life ends up being the trial itself, a trial that has no beginning, no end, and it leads him to a very atrocious death that gives him no explanation. In the end the only thing K could do was accepting his fate, since there is no other option for him, he is the prisoner in a society that doen't help him and leaves him lonely and helpless. I think that the concept that it's better to be in chains than free signifies Kafka's feelings toward the beliefs he was taught from his Jewish parents, and the concept of guilt, which is deeply important in Judaism. K's punishment can be interpreted as a consequence for the lack of guilt that he shows even when he's accused by the officers.
In the end there is no solution to the story because that's Kafka specific trait: there is no answer, you, reader are the one who can speculate, try and understand the meaning behind K's tragic life.