A Little Woman

"A Little Woman" (orig. German Eine kleine Frau) is a short story by Franz Kafka.

Plot summary

The story begins with a detailed description of an anxious young woman. The woman is frustrated with the narrator for some reason which he cannot understand since they are strangers. The narrator contemplates the situation and wonders what will help the little woman with her obsessive frustration with him. He contemplates suicide as a possible solution but eventually decides to keep the issue concealed, aware that the woman will continue to live in rage.

Process of writing

At the end of September 1923 Kafka moved to Berlin-Steglitz with Dora Dymant where he wrote "A Little Woman," based on their landlady. The story was included in the collection Ein Hungerkünstler (A Hunger Artist) published by Verlag Die Schmiede, (Berlin, 1924). Kafka read the proofs for the volume though it was only published after his death. The story is included in The Complete Stories

Footnotes