In the Penal Colony

“In the Penal Colony” reflects Franz Kafka’s frustration with bureaucracy and authorities, his struggle with alienation and identity crisis, and his deep anxieties and illness. The story can also be considered a commentary on the political and social climate of Kafka’s time, which was characterized by violence, disillusionment, injustice, and authoritarianism. However, his political motivations are not reflected in the story. Rather, “In the Penal Colony” is motivated by his struggles and experiences, which included his physical illnesses (tuberculosis, cluster headaches), mental health issues (depression, anxiety), his conflict with his father, and the exhaustive nature of his desensitizing job.

Kafka was born in 1883 to a middle-class Jewish family in Prague. He studied law but had more artistic inclinations. Throughout his life, he struggled with insecurities and inhibitions, and his sense of alienation plagued his personal relationships. The year he wrote this short story, Kafka became engaged to Felice Bauer in May, but the engagement was broken in August 1914. In addition to his Jewish identity in a hostile land, this experience heightened his sense of isolation, which is reflected in the story. The penal colony is located in an alienated “low lying valley” (74). Kafka’s contemporaneous society was a dual monarchy in which individuality and freedom were suppressed. Only the aristocracy enjoyed free will, agency, and power over the oppressed people.

During his years of working as an insurance agent for workers’ accidents, Kafka witnessed laborers being treated as less than human, and they were denied their well-deserved compensation. This bitter experience with bureaucracy inspired Kafka’s signature Kafkaesque writing style and is also depicted in this story with the machine that engulfs humans without any hesitation. The prisoners are subjected to injustice and “complete inhumanity” (88).

Kafka’s complicated relationship with his father is one of the most recurring themes in his works. Walter Sokel in Kafka—Tragik und Ironie claims that the old commander in “In the Penal Colony” is just another variant of Kafka’s father. The old commander is an authoritarian ruler who demands complete obedience and is strictly against innovation. Similarly, Kafka’s father was a dominating figure who was a successful businessman and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. He was never appreciative or supportive of Kafka’s love for literature. The character of the condemned man portrays Kafka’s struggle against his father’s absolute authority, depicting Kafka’s simultaneous resistance and helplessness.