Kafka's University Years

Friendships and Forgotten Drawings

Last time, we discussed Kafka’s summer fling with Selma Kohn. Let’s now continue.

During his later high school years, Franz Kafka forged a profound bond with Oskar Pollak, a friendship that would significantly influence his intellectual and artistic growth. The letters exchanged between the two friends from 1902 to 1903 suggest an intense connection, with some scholars speculating about a potential romantic interest on Kafka’s part. For instance, when Pollak mentioned a certain girl in one of his letters, Kafka responded, “Wouldn’t that separate us? Is that so strange? Are we enemies? I am very fond of you.” ¹

At any rate, Pollak was a mentor figure to young Kafka, introducing him to new ideas in art, literature, and philosophy. What’s more, some letters to Pollak seem to foreshadow the grotesque imagery that Kafka would later employ in stories like “In the Penal Colony”. Consider, for instance, Kafka’s description of his writing desk as a torture device:

Where the writer’s knees usually …