This little story says the countryman is the subject and the doorkeeper is the self. The countryman is being subject to the Law. He carries a certain anonymous sense. He is called the countryman and he thinks the Law should be accessible at all times and to everyone. The doorkeeper is unique or untouched by social factors. The doorkeeper wears a fur coat, has a big sharp nose and long, thin, black Tartar beard. He is powerful and only the least of the doorkeepers. Each doorkeeper is more powerful than the last. The third doorkeeper is so terrible that he cannot bear to look at him. The countryman is always responding to the dictates of the Law. The countryman decides that it is better to wait until he gets permission to enter. It costs the rest of his life to keep safe from the influence of the Law. Yes, he is determined by the Law in some way because he is beneath the Law; not allowed to enter. The doorkeeper says, “No one else could ever be admitted here, since the gate was made only for you. This says that the self (doorkeeper) will not allow him to enter because he is not worthy or qualified to be accepted by the Law. I think Kafka suggests that such a self is a necessary category because we as a people want to be different and unique. We are untouched by cultural influences or social factors. We will stand out from a crowd to get attention. If being a little different that makes us special.
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MW: I like the points you reach towards the end, and you have an interesting perspective to be sure. However, a lot of this entry is just rehashing the story, which we've all read.
How does Kafka suggest the self is necessary because we want to be unique? How do you picture the rest of the doorkeepers? Is the self, a limiting and dangerous force that prevents the subject from enjoying the privileges of the laws he seeks to find refuge in, necessary? :EE
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