„Verovatno Jevrejin” - pitanјe jevrejstva Franca Kafke

Abstract

U radu se analizira i predstavlјa složenost jevrejstva Franca Kafke, uz cilј da se osvetli kulturološki, politički i teritorijalni kontekst Praga uoči Prvog svetskog rata. Bavićemo se, dakle, Kafkinim ličnim osećanjem jevrejstva, a ne analizom njegovih dela iz perspektive judaizma. Uronjenost u judaističku tradiciju (misticizam, kabalu, cionizam) izazivala je kod ovog autora na smenu pozitivne i negativne reflekse. Pored uvida Benjamina, Deleza i Gatarija, posebno skrećemo pažnju na tekst Džudit Batler iz 2011. godine "Ko poseduje Kafku?", koji problematizuje Kafkinu nacionalnu i kulturnu pripadnost. Zanimlјiv i relevantan izbor Kafkinih misli o jevrejstvu iz njegovih dnevnika, pisama i priča, pokazaće delikatnu poziciju neprestanog kolebanja između jevrejstva, cionizma i latentnog ateizma.

This paper's aim is to analyze and present the complexity of the Jewishness of Franz Kafka, paying special attention to the cultural, political, and territorial background and context of Prague, Czech Republic, in the years prior to the outbreak of the Great War. The main topic will therefore be Kafka's personal and subjective feelings of Jewishness and not the analysis of his work from the perspective of Judaism. Kafka's engrossment in the Judaic tradition (mysticism, Kabbalah, Zionism) and their identification with it resulted in both positive and negative reflexes. Apart from the notable insights by Benjamin, as well as poststructuralist theories put forward by Deleuze and Guattari, we especially emphasize the article by Judith Butler from 2011, "Who Owns Kafka?" which problematizes Kafka's national and cultural affiliations. An interesting and relevant selection of Kafka's own thoughts on Jewishness, collected from his diaries, letters, and short stories, shows the delicate position of the never-ending oscillation and ambivalence between being Jewish, Zionism, and latent atheism.