least we don’t hear anything about it. On the other hand, there are those who say he must have already been inside the law as he has been taken on into its service and that could only have been done inside. That can be countered by supposing he could have been given the job of doorkeeper by somebody calling out from inside, and that he can’t have gone very far inside as he couldn’t bear the sight of the third doorkeeper. Nor, through all those years, does the story say the doorkeeper told the man anything about the inside, other than his comment about the other doorkeepers. He could have been forbidden to do so, but he hasn’t said anything about that either. All this seems to show he doesn’t know anything about what the inside looks like or what it means, and that that’s why he’s being deceived. But he’s also being deceived by the man from the country as he’s this man’s subordinate and doesn’t know it. There’s a lot to indicate that he treats the man as his subordinate, I expect you remember, but those who hold this view would say it’s very clear that he really is his subordinate. Above all, the free man is superior to the man who has to serve another. Now, the man really is free, he can go wherever he wants, the only thing forbidden to him is entry into the law and, what’s more, there’s only one man forbidding him to do so—the doorkeeper. If he takes the stool and sits down beside the door and stays there all his life he does this of his own free will, there’s nothing in the story to say he was forced to do it. On the other hand, the doorkeeper is kept to his post by his employment, he’s not allowed to go away from it and it seems he’s not allowed to go inside either, not even if he wanted to. Also, although he’s in the service of the law he’s only there for this one entrance, therefore he’s there only in the service of this one man who the door’s intended for. This is another way in which he’s his subordinate. We can take it that he’s been performing this somewhat empty service for many years, through the whole of a man’s life, as it says that a man will come, that means someone old enough to be a man. That means the doorkeeper will have to wait a long time before his function is fulfilled, he will have to wait for as long as the man liked, who came to the door of his own free will. Even the end of the doorkeeper’s service is determined by when the man’s life ends, so the doorkeeper remains his subordinate right to the end. And it’s pointed out repeatedly that the doorkeeper seems to know nothing of any of this, although this is not seen as anything remarkable, as those who hold this view see the doorkeeper as deluded in a way that’s far worse, a way that’s to do with his service. At the end, speaking about the entrance he says, ‘Now I’ll go and close it,’ although at the beginning of the story it says the door to the law is open as it always is, but if it’s always open—always—that means it’s open independently of the lifespan of the man it’s intended for, and not even the doorkeeper will be able to close it. There are various opinions about this, some say the doorkeeper was only answering a question or showing his devotion to duty or, just when the man was in his last moments, the doorkeeper wanted to cause him regret and sorrow. There are many who agree that he wouldn’t be able to close the door. They even believe, at the end at least, the doorkeeper is aware, deep down, that he’s the man’s subordinate, as the man sees the light that shines out of the entry to the law whereas the doorkeeper would probably have his back to it and says nothing at all to show there’s been any change.» «That is well substantiated,» said K., who had been repeating some parts of the priest’s explanation to himself in a whisper. «It is well substantiated, and now I too think the doorkeeper must have been deceived. Although that does not mean I’ve abandoned what I thought earlier as the two versions are, to some extent, not incompatible. It’s not clear whether the doorkeeper sees clearly or is deceived. I said the man had been cheated. If the doorkeeper understands clearly, then there could be some doubt about it, but if the doorkeeper has been deceived then the man is bound to believe the same thing. That would mean the doorkeeper is not a cheat but so simple-minded that he ought to be dismissed from his job immediately; if the doorkeeper is mistaken it will do him no harm but the man will be harmed immensely.» «There you’ve found another opinion,» said the priest, «as there are many who say the story doesn’t give anyone the right to judge the doorkeeper. However he might seem to us he is still in the service of the law, so he belongs to the law, so he’s beyond what man has a right to judge. In this case we can’t believe the doorkeeper is the man’s subordinate. Even if he has to stay at the entrance into the law his service makes him incomparably more than if he lived freely in the world. The man has come to the law for the first time and the doorkeeper is already there. He’s been given his position by the law, to doubt his worth would be to doubt the law.» «I can’t say I’m in complete agreement with this view,» said K. shaking his head, «as if you accept it you’ll have to accept that everything said by the doorkeeper is true. But you’ve already explained very fully that that’s not possible.» «No,» said the priest, «you don’t need to accept everything as true, you only have to accept it as necessary.» «Depressing view,» said K. «The lie made into the rule of the world.»

K. said that as if it were his final word but it was not his conclusion. He was too tired to think about all the ramifications of the story, and the sort of thoughts they led him into were not familiar to him, unrealistic things, things better suited for officials of the court to discuss than for him. The simple story had lost its shape, he wanted to shake it off, and the priest who now felt quite compassionate allowed this and accepted K.’s remarks without comment, even though his view was certainly very different from K.’s.

In silence, they carried on walking for some time, K. stayed close beside the priest without knowing where he was. The lamp in his hand had long since gone out. Once, just in front of him, he thought he could see the statue of a saint by the glitter of the silver on it, although it quickly disappeared back into the darkness. So that he would not remain entirely dependent on the priest, K. asked him, «We’re now near the main entrance, are we?» «No,» said the priest, «we’re a long way from it. Do you already want to go?» K. had not thought of going until then, but he immediately said, «Yes, certainly, I have to go. I’m the chief clerk in a bank and there are people waiting for me, I only came here to show a foreign business contact round the cathedral.» «Alright,» said the priest offering him his hand, «go then.» «But I can’t find my way round in this darkness by myself,» said K. «Go to your left as far as the wall,» said the priest, «then continue alongside the wall without leaving it and you’ll find a way out.» The priest had only gone a few paces from him, but K. was already shouting loudly, «Please, wait!» «I’m waiting,» said the priest. «Is there anything else you want from me?» asked K. «No,» said the priest. «You were so friendly to me earlier on,» said K., «and you explained everything, but now you abandon me as if I were nothing to you.» «You have to go,» said the priest. «Well, yes,» said K., «you need to understand that.» «First, you need to understand who I am,» said the priest. «You’re the prison chaplain,» said K., and went closer to the priest, it was not so important for him to go straight back to the bank as he had made out, he could very well stay where he was. «So that means I belong to the court,» said the priest. «So why would I want anything from you? The court doesn’t want anything from you. It accepts you when you come and it lets you go when you leave.»

Chapter Ten

End

The evening before K.’s thirty-first birthday—it was about nine o’clock in the evening, the time when the streets were quiet—two men came to where he lived. In frock coats, pale and fat, wearing top hats that looked like they could not be taken off their heads. After some brief formalities at the door of the flat when they first arrived, the same formalities were repeated at greater length at K.’s door. He had not been notified they would be coming, but K. sat in a chair near the door, dressed in black as they were, and slowly