{"id":2425,"date":"2020-06-23T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/?p=2425"},"modified":"2021-07-23T10:00:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T09:00:17","slug":"a-kafkaesque-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2020\/06\/23\/a-kafkaesque-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"A Kafkaesque Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blog by Cormac Francis Mullins and JJ Coughlan<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, it was difficult not to experience a sense of claustrophobia. Confined to one\u2019s room and sequestered from society and family, the dystopian universe we had been faced with felt oppressive and nightmarish. In many senses, it felt \u201cKafkaesque.\u201d As such, we undertook to utilize this period of solitary confinement as an opportunity for immersion in the writings of Franz Kafka in the hope of transcending this disconcerting reality and attaining a new enlightened outlook.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Metamorphosis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arguably Kafka\u2019s most notable work, The Metamorphosis<\/em> recounts the story of Gregor Samsa, a salesman who wakes up one morning to find he has been transformed into a \u2018monstrous vermin\u2019.\u00a0 Samsa\u2019s emotional and psychological turmoil in response to this has been mirrored across society: \u201cI cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Judy
Judy Horacek, reproduced with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

This absurd situation has reflected the personal and societal deconstruction that has taken place with the global pandemic. Like Samsa, we may think \u201c\u2018What if I went back to sleep for a while, and forgot about all this nonsense?\u2019\u201d We have all awoken to a bewildering landscape that has been inexplicably altered. Work practices have been overhauled. Many have been segregated and quarantined in their rooms much like Samsa. Our new world order appears to straddle fantasy and reality.<\/p>\n

This upheaval can be a traumatic experience, with many of us experiencing feelings of confusion and despair. We may even wish to hiss with \u201cimpotent fury.\u201d Loss of routine can precipitate emotional fluctuations that can occur throughout any transformation.[1]<\/a> This can jolt us into uncertainty and cause us to lose our sense of identity. Samsa wondered, \u201c\u2018What now?\u2019 … and looked around in the dark.\u201d This powerlessness and alienation ultimately lead to Samsa\u2019s demise; \u201chis head involuntarily dropped, and his final breath passed feebly from his nostrils.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Trial<\/strong><\/p>\n

The turmoil wreaked upon our lives by the virus has parallels to Kafka\u2019s The Trial<\/em>, where Josef K, a bank cashier, is persecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority. The novel depicts a tyranny which appears capricious, irrational, and incomprehensible. The more Josef K tries to escape its grasp, the more he becomes enmeshed in its web. K\u2019s plea of \u201cbut I\u2019m not guilty\u201d is met with the response, \u201cthat is how the guilty speak\u201d. It speaks of the terror of dealing with a force that does not play by the rules through which one interprets the world.<\/p>\n

The unpredictability and absurdity have been mirrored by our current predicament. This \u2018invisible enemy\u2019 has immobilized our healthcare systems and threatened our ability to provide care. It has dismantled our assumptions and exposed the structures that have previously governed our lives as fickle and decrepit.<\/p>\n

This discontinuity can cause confusion and disorientation, whereby \u201cthe right understanding of any matter and a misunderstanding of the same matter do not wholly exclude each other.\u201d In the face of such disorder, we are forced to re-examine, recalibrate, and realize that \u201cyou don\u2019t have to consider everything true, you just have to consider it necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

New Perspectives
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turmoil, upheaval and isolation are ubiquitous throughout the writings of Kafka. These themes are experienced by many, not least throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and are an inescapable part of the human condition. In difficult times such as these, we must strive \u201cto learn how to deal with the situation as it is\u201d and tend to that within our immediate sphere of control. This requires a strong sense of self and societal awareness, in order to recognize where we, and those around us, are on this emotional journey.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic can be a disorienting experience. It is tempting to try to explain these events and extract a fundamental \u2018truth\u2019 from the experience. To Kafka, this essential truth does not exist. Rather, multiple possibilities for interpretation exist simultaneously. Perhaps we can attain deliverance by extracting our bias and finding a fresh perspective. Kafka writes in his parable, \u2018The Trees\u2019:<\/p>\n

\u201cFor we are like tree trunks in the snow. In appearance they lie sleekly and a little push should be enough to set them rolling. No, it can’t be done, for they are firmly wedded to the ground. But see, even that is only appearance.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The structures of our healthcare system, society, and self have always been \u201cfirmly wedded to the ground\u201d; however, the coronavirus pandemic has brought the realization that \u201ceven that is only appearance.\u201d The turbulence of the pandemic has eroded these social constructs, exposing them as vulnerable with, \u201ca little push\u2026enough to set them rolling.\u201d The resulting feelings of estrangement and helplessness force us to confront our fate in much the same way as Gregor Samsa and Josef K. There is consolation in realizing that their alienation was not solitary but instead part of a universal experience. In uncovering these common roots, we can understand that this struggle is part of a shared humanity. We can utilize this period of chrysalis for re-orientation, since competing perspectives are equally \u201conly appearance.\u201d We can choose to stand upright again \u201clike tree trunks in the snow.\u201d In this way, the chaos and confusion of change can represent an opportunity for positive growth and evolution rather than the threat of a dark Kafkaesque metamorphosis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dr Cormac F Mullins MB, FCAI, MSc (Twitter: @cormac_mullins<\/a>) is a fellow in pain medicine and anaesthesiology with a master’s qualification in health services management.\u00a0Dr JJ Coughlan MB, MRCP is a medical doctor, specializing in cardiology.\u00a0Both authors are currently working in St James\u2019s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Fisher J. The process of transition (Fisher\u2019s Personal Transition Curve). 2012.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kafka, Franz. 1996. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories.\u00a0<\/em>New York: Barnes & Noble Books.<\/p>\n

Kafka, Franz. 2009.\u00a0The Trial. New York: Oxford world\u2019s classics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blog by Cormac Francis Mullins and JJ Coughlan During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, it was difficult not to experience a sense of claustrophobia. Confined to one\u2019s room and sequestered from society and family, the dystopian universe we had been faced with felt oppressive and nightmarish. In many senses, it felt \u201cKafkaesque.\u201d As […]<\/p>\n

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