Page 82 - the-trial

K. had noticed in the background earlier, he held firmly
on to the beam above the low door swinging a little on the
tips of his feet as if becoming impatient as he watched. But
the young woman was the first to recognise that K.’s behav-
iour was caused by his feeling slightly unwell, she brought
a chair and asked, “Would you not like to sit down?” K. sat
down immediately and, in order to keep his place better, put
his elbows on the armrests. “You’re a little bit dizzy, aren’t
you?” she asked him. Her face was now close in front of him,
it bore the severe expression that many young women have
just when they’re in the bloom of their youth. “It’s nothing
for you to worry about,” she said, “that’s nothing unusual
here, almost everyone gets an attack like that the first time
they come here. This is your first time is it? Yes, it’s nothing
unusual then. The sun burns down on the roof and the hot
wood makes the air so thick and heavy. It makes this place
rather unsuitable for offices, whatever other advantages it
might offer. But the air is almost impossible to breathe on
days when there’s a lot of business, and that’s almost every
day. And when you think that there’s a lot of washing put
out to dry here as well and we can’t stop the tenants doing
that it’s not surprising you started to feel unwell. But you
get used to the air alright in the end. When you’re here for
the second or third time you’ll hardly notice how oppres-
sive the air is. Are you feeling any better now?” K. made no
answer, he felt too embarrassed at being put at the mercy of
these people by his sudden weakness, and learning the rea-
son for feeling ill made him feel not better but a little worse.
The girl noticed it straight away, and to make the air fresher

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