In limine. Ritus, Weiblichkeit und klassische Symbolik in Kafkas "Der Prozess"

In Kafka’s novel The Trial, women play an ambiguous role in Josef K.’s relationship with the law. They act as metaphorical thresholds, guides, prophets and, as the painter Titorelli points out, are an essential part of the complex functioning of the law. The aim of the following essay is to analyse the female characters in The Trial through the lens of ancient symbolism, in order to highlight the many classical symbolic elements with which women are associated in the novel (such as the threshold, the law, the darkness and the moon) and the sacral and mythical dimension of the secret religious rites, the Mysteries, that Kafka’s female characters – through their strong connection to the law, the eros and the earth – seem to evoke.