Malcolm Pasley

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Sir John Malcolm Sabine Pasley, 5th Baronet (April 5, 1926 – March 4, 2004), commonly known as Malcolm Pasley, was a literary scholar best known for his dedication to and publication of the works of Franz Kafka.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Born in Rajkot, India, Pasley was a direct descendant of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, who distinguished himself in the revolutionary wars against the French and achieved baronetcy in 1794.

1944-1946 served in the Royal Navy.[1]

[edit] Academics and Honors

Following is the outline of the academic career of Sir Pasley:[1][2]

  • 1947: Attended Trinity College, Oxford
  • 1949: Graduated with a First in Modern Languages
  • 1949-50: Laming Travelling Fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford
  • 1950-58: Appointed Lecturer in German at Brasenose and Magdalen Colleges (University of Oxford)
  • 1958-86: Emeritus Fellow, Magdalen College
  • 1979-80: Vice-President, Magdalen College
  • 1980: Honorary doctorate from the University of Giessen
  • 1982: Succeeded to the family baronetcy
  • 1983: Elected to the German Academy of Language and Literature in Darmstadt
  • 1986: Retired
  • 1987: Austrian Cross of Honour for Learning and the Arts
  • 1991: Fellowship of the British Academy

[edit] Marriage and Children

Sir Pasley was married in 1965 to Virginia Wait they had two sons:

  • Robert Pasley achieving baronetcy in 1965
  • Second son not identified

[edit] German Language

Pasley wrote of many German authors, with his initial works on the German language, Nietzsche in particular, gaining him much fame. Pasley's work in this area was pioneering; his book Germany: A Companion to German Studies, first published in 1972, is still in heavy demand.[1]

[edit] Kafka

Pasley is best known for his work on the Kafka writings. He began studying Kafka in the early part of his career and was introduced to Marianne Steiner, Kafka's niece and daughter of his sister Valli, by her son Michael, who was a student at Oxford. Through this friendship Pasley became the key adviser to Kafka's heirs. Pasley regarded Kafka as "a younger brother".[2]

In 1956, Salmen Schocken and Max Brod placed Kafka's works in a Swiss vault due to concerns surrounding unrest in the Middle East and the safety of the manuscripts, which were with Brod in Tel Aviv. After significant negotiation, Pasley took personal possession of Kafka's works that were in Brod's possession. In 1961, Pasley transported them by car from Switzerland to Oxford. Pasley reflected on the adventure as one that "made his own hair stand on end".[1]

The papers, except The Trial, were deposited in Oxford's Bodleian library. The Trial remained in the possession of Kafka heiress Ilse Ester Hoffe, and in November 1988 the German Literary Archives at Marbach, Germany purchased the manuscript for £ 1.1 million in an auction conducted by Sotheby's.[3][4]

At Oxford, Pasley headed a team of scholars (Gerhard Neumann, Jost Schillemeit, and Jürgen Born) that recompiled the text, removed Max Brod's edits and changes, and began publishing the works in 1982. This team restored the original German text to its full (and in some cases incomplete) state, with special attention paid to the unique Kafka punctuation, considered to be critical to his style.[5]

[edit] Criticism of Pasley's Work on Kafka

Subsequent to the publication of the Kafka works, Pasley began receiving criticism about the completeness of their German publication. To that end, Stroemfeld Verlag has requested permission to scan the manuscripts to produce a facsimile edition and CD-ROM.

Aside from completeness, they cited a concern for the preservation of the works; some were written in pencil, and many were fading and crumbling.

Pasley refused their requests. He is joined by Marianne Steiner, who in 1998, told The Observer "I cannot forgive them for [the terrible things they had said about Pasley]. I do not want them to have anything to do with the manuscripts."

In April 1998, Stroemfeld published a facsimile version of The Trial. This manuscript, being owned by the German government, was accessible to them. In this publication the manuscript and transcription are listed side by side.

Scholars in favor of the Stroemfeld editions include Jeremy Adler, professor of German at King's College London, American writers Louis Begley and Harold Bloom, professor of Humanities at Yale. [4]

[edit] Works

[edit] Published works

[edit] References

Footnotes:

  1. ^ a b c d The Telegraph obituary (http://www.kafka.org/index.php?id=184,200,0,0,1,0)
  2. ^ a b The (London) Independent, Jeremy Adler, March 26, 2004, (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040326/ai_n12775723)
  3. ^ The Trial, Franz Kafka, Schocken Book, 1998, Publisher's Note page xiii
  4. ^ a b "Scholars squabble in Kafkaesque drama", Von David Harrison, The Observer, May 17, 1998, S. 23 (http://www.textkritik.de/rezensionen/kafka/proc_03.htm)
  5. ^ Stepping into Kafka’s head, Jeremy Adler, Times Literary Supplement, Oct. 13, 1995(http://www.textkritik.de/rezensionen/kafka/einl_04.htm)

[edit] See also

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