Page 71 - the-trial

to provoke him still further by stroking and squeezing the
woman’s arm with his free hand. K. ran the few steps up to
him, but when he had reached him and was about to take
hold of him and, if necessary, throttle him, the woman said,
“It’s no good, it’s the examining judge who’s sent for me, I
daren’t go with you, this little bastard … “ and here she ran
her hand over the student’s face, “this little bastard won’t let
me.” “And you don’t want to be set free!” shouted K., laying
his hand on the student’s shoulder, who then snapped at it
with his teeth. “No!” shouted the woman, pushing K. away
with both hands, “no, no don’t do that, what d’you think
you’re doing!? That’d be the end of me. Let go of him, please
just let go of him. He’s only carrying out the judge’s orders,
he’s carrying me to him.” “Let him take you then, and I
want to see nothing more of you,” said K., enraged by his
disappointment and giving the student a thump in the back
so that he briefly stumbled and then, glad that he had not
fallen, immediately jumped up all the higher with his bur-
den. K. followed them slowly. He realised that this was the
first unambiguous setback he had suffered from these peo-
ple. It was of course nothing to worry about, he accepted the
setback only because he was looking for a fight. If he stayed
at home and carried on with his normal life he would be a
thousand times superior to these people and could get any
of them out of his way just with a kick. And he imagined
the most laughable scene possible as an example of this, if
this contemptible student, this inflated child, this knock-
kneed redbeard, if he were kneeling at Elsa’s bed wringing
his hands and begging for forgiveness. K. so enjoyed imag-

0 The Trial