A major literary figure in the 20th-century, who has an adjective named after him, is Franz Kafka. He was a German-language Jewish Czech writer and novelist who is famous for his visionary, surreal and dreamlike narratives, and his influence is still felt throughout “contemporary discussions of identity and societal structures,” per EBSCO. His most popular works include The Trial (Der Prozess in its original German) in 1925 and The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung) in 1915.
Kafka was not famous while he was alive and didn’t live long enough to see his works resonate with others—many were published posthumously—but his stories focused on anxieties and feelings of alienation that many people in Europe and North America felt in the early 1900s, per Britannica. And our quote of the day features Kafka’s thoughts on how youthful wonder is imperative in being happy.
Born in the city of Prague in 1883, Kafka was the eldest child; his father was very strict and a “prominent” merchant, per EBSCO, and his domineering nature caused a very strained relationship between him and Kafka, which you can later see in Kafka’s works. The family lived in the Josefstadt, which was the Jewish ghetto section of the city. Kafka died of tuberculosis in 1924 at the age of 40, but his three younger sisters all died during the Nazi Holocaust.
Kafka’s writings inspired the adjective “Kafkaesque,” which means something relates to his work, especially if it has “a nightmarishly complex, bizarre or illogical quality,” per the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The Metamorphosis is maybe the best example of this, because it tells the story of a man who wakes up one day as a bug. It is, of course, surreal and terrifying, but at its core the story deals with existential dread and alienation, which was very relatable at the time (and still is).
Today’s quote by Kafka is from a book of conversations he had with a friend, and talks about the beauty of youthfulness and how it isn’t jaded by the world yet.
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Quote of the Day by Franz Kafka
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“Youth is happy, because it has the ability to see beauty.”
This quote is from the book Conversations with Kafka, by Gustav Janouch, a Czech poet and memoirist. He knew Kafka through his father and became “fascinated” by him, so he recorded and wrote down their conversations for “posterity,” per New Directions Publishing. According to Goodreads, Janouch and Kafka—who were about 17 and 37 at the time, respectively—would take long walks together through Prague, talking at length about things that Janouch found to be “amazing” and “incisive.” Some argue that these accounts aren’t fully accurate, while others admire how well it depicts Kafka.
The section this quote is in begins with Janouch talking to Kafka about Kafka’s story The Stoker and how “there is so much sunshine and high spirits” in it. Kafka then responds with why that is: children and young people—“youth”—are the subject, even if they are “not in the story.” He then says:
“Youth is full of sunshine and love. Youth is happy, because it has the ability to see beauty. When this ability is lost, wretched old age begins, decay, unhappiness.”
Janouch then asks, “So age excludes the possibility of happiness?” To which Kafka responds, “No, happiness excludes age… Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
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Deeper Meaning of Franz Kafka’s Quote—Connection Between Happiness and Wonder
The one line of the quote that we’re highlighting today is meaningful on its own. But given Kafka’s whole sentiment, it’s an even more beautiful way to view the world.
When Kafka says, “Youth is happy, because it has the ability to see beauty,” he’s saying that childlike wonder and innocence give younger people and kids this innate capacity to see and embrace the beauty in this world. They can see the wonderfulness in the smallest things and aren’t jaded by society yet. Not that children don’t know pain or sadness, but they experience the lovely nature of things and see beauty all around them, to their core.
He then says that “wretched” old age sets in, leading to unhappiness once they aren’t able to “see beauty” anymore, implying that the fatigue and hate of the world have finally gotten to them and they’ve “grown up” and out of their youth. Kafka clarifies that getting old doesn’t mean you can’t be happy, but rather “happiness excludes age.” He then finishes his thought with maybe the best line of his statement by saying that you can have a forever youthfulness if you keep your ability to see beauty.
Kafka’s point is that the soul can stay “young” and have a childlike wonder if you continue to see the good in things. If you can acknowledge the beauty in little things and not get bogged down and weathered by life, you can keep that youthful happiness. If we choose to lean into curiosity, awe and reverence for the beautiful aspects of life, we can stay forever young—in a way.
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More Quotes from Franz Kafka
- “You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.”
- “I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”
- “No one else could ever be admitted here, since this gate was made only for you. I am now going to shut it.”
- “So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”
- “How can one take delight in the world unless one flees to it for refuge?”
- “I made the remark that I don’t avoid people in order to live quietly, but rather in order to be able to die quietly.”
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