The Silence Of The Sirens
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"The Silence of the Sirens" (German: "Das Schweigen der Sirenen") is a
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
by
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
. It was not published until 1931, seven years after his death.
Max Brod Max Brod (; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a Bohemian-born Israeli author, composer, and journalist. He is notable for promoting the work of writer Franz Kafka and composer Leoš Janáček. Although he was a prolific writer in his ow ...
selected stories and published them in the collection ''
Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer "The Great Wall of China" (German: "Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer", literally "At the Construction of the Great Wall of China") is a short story by Franz Kafka. While written in 1917, it was not published until 1930, seven years after his death. ...
''. The first English translation by Willa and Edwin Muir was published by
Martin Secker Martin Secker (6 April 1882 – 6 April 1978), born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Dou ...
in London in 1933. It appeared in '' The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections'' (
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
:
Schocken Books Schocken Books is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that specializes in Jewish literary works. Originally established in 1931 by Salman Schocken as Schocken Verlag in Berlin, the company later moved to Israel and then the Unit ...
, 1946). The story briefly discusses and re-analyzes the famous journey of
Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...
in which he confronts the deadly
Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths. Places * Si ...
. Canonically, Ulysses tied himself to his ship's mast so that he could experience the
Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths. Places * Si ...
without being driven mad and jumping into the sea. He ordered his crew to stop their ears with wax, so that they would not be tempted by the siren song to steer the ship into the rocks on which the creatures perched. In Kafka's version, however, Ulysses puts wax in his own ears, and is then tied to the mast. Kafka's telling asserts that the Sirens' silence is an even more deadly weapon than their song, and further states that the Sirens fell silent when they saw the expression of "innocent elation" on Ulysses face. Yet because Ulysses' stratagem involved stoppering his ears to block out their singing, Ulysses didn't realize that the Sirens were silent. Finally, Kafka mentions an additional possibility that has been "handed down": that Ulysses knew the Sirens were not singing, but pretended not to notice it in order to protect himself from divine wrath over his victory. But Kafka admits that the human understanding is beyond its depths on this issue. The story can be interpreted as a commentary on the futility of complicated approaches to daunting problems.Franz Kafka: The Silence of the Sirens. S Moses - ''The Denver Quarterly'', 1976 Kafka himself (in English translation) introduces the story as, "Proof that inadequate, even childish measures, may serve to rescue one from peril."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silence of the Sirens, The Odysseus Short stories published posthumously Short stories by Franz Kafka Works based on the Odyssey Sirens (mythology)