Your Universe Opens Only to You. The Absurdity of Kafka that Shook the Genius Orson Welles

Franz Kafka, the master of absurdist literature, wrote a very short, yet terrifyingly profound story titled “The Gate of Destiny” (commonly known as “Before the Law”). It is a masterpiece known for being read aloud by the legendary film director Orson Welles at the beginning of his own film, “The Trial”. This time, I would like to think about the “absolute loneliness of human beings” and the “solitary universe” that this story confronts us with.

The Man Who Waited for “Permission” His Entire Life A man from the country comes to the “Gate of Destiny” and tries to enter. However, he is blocked by the gatekeeper standing at the entrance, who says, “Not right now”. The man asks if he might be allowed to enter later, but the gatekeeper simply replies, “It is possible. But not right now”. Without defying the gatekeeper, the man continued to wait for permission. For days, and for years. And finally, growing old and facing his final moments, the man asks the gatekeeper: “Everyone strives for this gate, so how is it that in all these decades, no one but me has ever come here?” The gatekeeper’s answer was all too cruel. “No one else could ever be admitted here. Because this gate was made only for you. I am now going to shut it.”

The Entrance to “Destiny (Universe)”, Not the “Law” The original German title “Gesetz” is usually translated as “law” or “rule,” but tracing its etymology, it has the meaning of “to set” or “to establish”. In other words, what the man spent his entire life trying to enter was not a societal rule, but the “destiny” of his own birth and death; the “truth of his own life”. Here, I am reminded of the dialogue between Albert Einstein and the Indian philosopher Rabindranath Tagore that took place in 1930. While Einstein argued that “the moon certainly exists even if I am not looking at it,” Tagore replied, “If human consciousness no longer feels it as the moon, it is no longer the moon. This world exists only within human consciousness”. The world we see vanishes when we die. We do not all live together in “one big world created by God,” but rather, each of us possesses our own “solitary universe”.

Why Did No One Else Visit? The reason why no one but him came to the man’s gate. It is because, as Nietzsche declared “God is dead,” we are not “brothers and sisters” created by God, but rather lonely beings who simply happened to be born biologically, completely disconnected from others. No one else can enter your universe. And yet, the man abandoned facing his inner self and sought permission from an external authority called the “gatekeeper”. We are the same. The “Gate of Destiny” for living our own lives is always open right in front of us. However, we create our own gatekeepers named parents, bosses, public opinion, or “common sense,” and we continue to wait outside, obeying the words “not right now”. “Surely some great person will teach me the right answer.” “Someday, someone will give me permission.” While waiting like that, our lives reach their end, and our own personal universe (the gate) is closed forever. The gate right in front of you belongs only to you. Who exactly is the gatekeeper blocking you, saying “not right now”? And how will you live in front of that gatekeeper from now on?

🎧 [Audiobook & Commentary Video] The reading and deep commentary on Kafka’s “The Gate of Destiny” (“Before the Law”), the theme of this piece, is available on YouTube (Midnight Audiobooks). Please experience the absurd and beautiful world that fascinated the genius Orson Welles through “sound”.

👉 You can watch the video here: [https://youtu.be/ShCTEmHv8SM] Please let me know the true identity of your “gatekeeper” and your thoughts on loneliness in life in the comments section!

https://youtu.be/ShCTEmHv8SM