Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor

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Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor (Blumfeld, ein älterer Junggeselle) is an incomplete story by Franz Kafka. Probably written in the beginning of 1915, it first appeared in Beschreibung eines Kampfes (Description of a Struggle). It relates part of the life of Blumfeld, an elderly bachelor, who upon arriving home finds two balls bouncing off the ground of their own accord. The balls follow him wherever he goes, and it clearly annoys him. The action continues into the next day, following his attempt to be rid of the balls. After finding an apparent solution, he goes off to work, where we see him interact with those around him.^[1]

An entry from Kafka's Diaries dated February 9, 1915 could refer to "Blumfeld":

Just now read the beginning. It is ugly and gives me a headache. In spite of all its truth it is wicked, pedantic, mechanical, a fish barely breathing on a sandbank.^[2]

A re-imagining of the story by Carter Scholz is featured in Kafka Americana.

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Kafka, Franz. The Complete Stories. New York: Schocken Books, 1971
2. ^ Kafka, Franz. Diaries 1910-1923. New York: Schocken Books, 1988.

The Works of Franz Kafka  v • d • e

Novels The Metamorphosis • The Trial • The Castle • Amerika Short Stories 1904-1912: Description of a Struggle • Wedding Preparations in the Country • The Judgment • Contemplation • The Stoker 1914-1917: In the Penal Colony • The Village Schoolmaster (The Giant Mole) • Before the Law • Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor • The Warden of the Tomb • A Country Doctor • The Hunter Gracchus • The Great Wall of China• A Message from the Emperor • A Report to an Academy • A Dream • Up in the Gallery • A Fratricide • The Next Village • A Visit to a Mine • Jackals and Arabs • The Bridge • The Bucket Rider • The New Advocate • An Old Manuscript • The Knock at the Manor Gate • Eleven Sons • My Neighbor • A Crossbreed (A Sport) • The Cares of a Family Man 1917-1923: The Refusal • A Hunger Artist • Investigations of a Dog • A Little Woman • The Burrow • Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk • A Common Confusion • The Truth about Sancho Panza • The Silence of the Sirens • Prometheus • The City Coat of Arms • Poseidon • Fellowship • At Night • The Problem of Our Laws • The Conscription of Troops • The Test • The Vulture • The Helmsman • The Top • A Little Fable • Home-Coming • First Sorrow • The Departure • Advocates • The Married Couple • Give it Up! • On Parables Diaries, Notebooks and Letters The Diaries 1910-1923 • The Blue Octavo Notebooks • Letter to His Father • Letters to Felice • Letters to Ottla • Letters to Milena • Letters to Family, Friends, and Editors Collections The Complete Stories • The Sons • The Penal Colony • Parables and Paradoxes • The Great Wall of China • Dearest Father