Page 179 - the-trial

lost, but in the end it reaches into some place where origi-
nally there was nothing and pulls enormous guilt out of it.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” said the painter, as if K. had been dis-
turbing his train of thought for no reason. “But you are
innocent, aren’t you?” “Well of course I am,” said K. “That’s
the main thing,” said the painter. There was no counter-ar-
gument that could influence him, but although he had made
up his mind it was not clear whether he was talking this way
because of conviction or indifference. K., then, wanted to
find out and said therefore, “I’m sure you’re more familiar
with the court than I am, I know hardly more about it than
what I’ve heard, and that’s been from many very different
people. But they were all agreed on one thing, and that was
that when ill thought-out accusations are made they are not
ignored, and that once the court has made an accusation it
is convinced of the guilt of the defendant and it’s very hard
to make it think otherwise.” “Very hard?” the painter asked,
throwing one hand up in the air. “It’s impossible to make it
think otherwise. If I painted all the judges next to each oth-
er here on canvas, and you were trying to defend yourself in
front of it, you’d have more success with them than you’d
ever have with the real court.” “Yes,” said K. to himself, for-
getting that he had only gone there to investigate the
painter.
One of the girls behind the door started up again, and
asked, “Titorelli, is he going to go soon?” “Quiet!” shouted
the painter at the door, “Can’t you see I’m talking with the
gentleman?” But this was not enough to satisfy the girl and
she asked, “You going to paint his picture?” And when the

1 The Trial