Franz Kafka: The Trial, Metamorphosis, Amerika & more characters

First appears in chapter 2

A traveling salesman who supports his parents and younger sister. He wakes to find that his body has become a giant insect-like creature, leaving him unable to work or communicate normally with the family that depends on his income.

First appears in chapter 2

Gregor's younger sister, a violinist whom he hopes one day to send to music school. She initially becomes his principal caregiver, bringing food and trying to understand the needs of his altered body.

First appears in chapter 2

Gregor's father, whose failed business left the household dependent on his son's work. Gregor's transformation forces him back into employment and intensifies his fear and hostility toward the creature in his home.

First appears in chapter 2

Gregor's mother, who loves her son but is overwhelmed by the sight and practical reality of his transformed body. She is divided between maternal concern and physical terror.

First appears in chapter 3

A senior bank clerk who is arrested on his thirtieth birthday without being told his offense. Allowed to continue working while the case advances, he searches for a rational procedure inside a court that operates through hidden offices and personal influence.

First appears in chapter 3

A young typist lodging in K.'s boarding house. Officials use her room during his arrest, and K. later draws her into an agitated reenactment of the intrusion.

Also known as Dr. Huld

First appears in chapter 3

An ailing advocate retained by K.'s uncle to handle the case. He claims useful court connections but offers K. no transparent strategy or measurable progress.

First appears in chapter 3

Huld's nurse, who is familiar with the psychology of accused men and quickly becomes intimate with K. She offers personal attention and indirect knowledge of the court rather than a clear path through it.

First appears in chapter 3

A painter favored by court officials who explains to K. the practical outcomes available through lower-level influence. His account shows that apparent acquittal and indefinite postponement both leave an accused person under continuing threat.

Also known as The Prison Chaplain

First appears in chapter 3

A clergyman attached to the prison who confronts K. in the cathedral. He knows the case is going badly and tells a parable about a man who spends his life waiting for access to the law.

First appears in chapter 4

A sixteen-year-old European immigrant sent to America after a scandal at home. Earnest and repeatedly vulnerable to stronger personalities, he moves through a sequence of unstable homes and jobs in an unfinished search for belonging.

First appears in chapter 4

A ship's stoker whom Karl meets while arriving in New York. Karl's effort to defend the man in a dispute with his superiors becomes his first encounter with the shifting power relations of his new country.

First appears in chapter 4

Karl's wealthy American uncle, who recognizes him aboard the immigrant ship and installs him in a privileged new life. His support is generous but conditional, and he expects Karl to obey his plans exactly.

First appears in chapter 5

An Irish wanderer Karl meets on the road after losing his uncle's protection. Along with Delamarche, he attaches himself to Karl, consumes his resources, and repeatedly complicates his attempts to find stable work.

First appears in chapter 5

Robinson's French companion, physically forceful and domineering. He first travels with Karl as a fellow unemployed immigrant and later tries to keep him inside a household Karl wants to escape.

First appears in chapter 5

A wealthy former singer who employs Delamarche and Robinson in her crowded apartment. Demanding and possessive, she makes Karl's presence in her household another form of confinement.

First appears in chapter 11

A rural physician summoned across a blizzard to examine a sick boy. Lacking a usable horse until a mysterious groom appears, he is carried into a night visit that strips him of professional control and leaves his home exposed.

First appears in chapter 11

The doctor's young servant, left at home when a threatening groom supplies supernatural horses and sends the doctor away. The doctor's anxiety about her safety follows him throughout the visit.