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overcoat and also unbuttoned his frock coat the painter said
to him in apology, “I must have warmth. And it is very cosy
here, isn’t it. This room’s very good in that respect.” K. made
no reply, but it was actually not the heat that made him un-
comfortable but, much more, the stuffiness, the air that
almost made it more difficult to breathe, the room had prob-
ably not been ventilated for a long time. The unpleasantness
of this was made all the stronger for K. when the painter in-
vited him to sit on the bed while he himself sat down on the
only chair in the room in front of the easel. The painter even
seemed to misunderstand why K. remained at the edge of
the bed and urged K. to make himself comfortable, and as
he hesitated he went over to the bed himself and pressed K.
deep down into the bedclothes and pillows. Then he went
back to his seat and at last he asked his first objective ques-
tion, which made K. forget everything else. “You’re innocent,
are you?” he asked. “Yes,” said K. He felt a simple joy at an-
swering this question, especially as the answer was given to
a private individual and therefore would have no conse-
quences. Up till then no-one had asked him this question so
openly. To make the most of his pleasure he added, “I am
totally innocent.” “So,” said the painter, and he lowered his
head and seemed to be thinking. Suddenly he raised his
head again and said, “Well if you’re innocent it’s all very
simple.” K. began to scowl, this supposed trustee of the
court was talking like an ignorant child. “My being inno-
cent does not make things simple,” said K. Despite
everything, he couldn’t help smiling and slowly shook his
head. “There are many fine details in which the court gets

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