Josef K. and Miss Bürstner

Josef K. and Miss Bürstner are neighbors in Mrs. Grubach's lodging house, but before the morning of K.'s arrest they have exchanged little more than a few words of greeting. Miss Bürstner works as a typist, leaving early and returning late, and K. knows almost nothing about her. Their relationship is transformed abruptly when the proceedings of K.'s arrest are conducted in her room without her knowledge or consent.

The Arrest Invades Her Room

On the morning of his arrest, K. is led into Miss Bürstner's room, which has been commandeered by the court officials. The supervisor sits behind her bedside table, using it as a desk. Three junior bank employees—Rabensteiner, Kullich, and Kaminer—stand in a corner looking at her photographs, which have been taken down from the wall and placed on a piece of fabric. A white blouse hangs on the handle of the open window. K. is acutely aware that this invasion has occurred without Miss Bürstner's permission, and he later feels responsible for the disorder. That evening, he decides he must apologize to her and restore order to the flat, believing that doing so will erase the traces of the morning's events.

The Nighttime Encounter

K. waits for Miss Bürstner to return home, lying on his couch and smoking until nearly midnight. When she finally arrives, shivering and pulling a silk shawl over her slender shoulders, K. steps out of the darkness of his room to speak with her. She is startled but agrees to let him into her room for a few minutes, though she is tired and has just come from the theatre. K. apologizes for the untidiness of her room, but Miss Bürstner notices that her photographs have been disturbed and is upset. K. explains that an investigating committee was there because of him, and she laughs, intrigued. To demonstrate what happened, K. reenacts the scene, moving her bedside table to the middle of the room and sitting behind it as the supervisor did. He calls out his own name, "Josef K.!"—and the cry is answered by loud, curt knocks at the door of the adjoining room, where Mrs. Grubach's nephew, Captain Lanz, is sleeping. Miss Bürstner goes pale with shock.

The Kiss and Its Aftermath

In the panic that follows the knocking, K. kisses Miss Bürstner on the forehead, then on the mouth, and then over her whole face "like a thirsty animal lapping with its tongue when it eventually finds water." He finally presses his lips to her neck and throat for a long time. She tolerates this but then leads him to the door, telling him to go. Before he leaves, she offers him her hand to kiss, turning away as if she does not know what she is doing. K. goes to bed satisfied with his behavior but surprised that he is not more satisfied, and he is seriously worried about Miss Bürstner because of the captain. The next day, he tries to speak with her again, but she avoids him. He waits in his room without the light on, watching the hallway; he gets up an hour early to try to catch her before work. None of his efforts succeed.

The Letters and the Barrier

K. writes Miss Bürstner letters, both to her office and to the flat, justifying his behavior, offering to make amends, and promising to observe whatever boundaries she sets. He begs for a chance to speak with her and informs her that he will wait in his room all the following Sunday for a sign. The letters are not returned, but there is no answer. On that Sunday, K. sees through his keyhole that Miss Montag, a French teacher, is moving into Miss Bürstner's room. Miss Montag then summons K. to the dining room and tells him, on behalf of her friend, that a meeting would be of no benefit to anyone. K. is angry and goes to Miss Bürstner's door, knocking gently, then harder, but there is no answer. He opens the door to find the room transformed: two beds stand against the wall, clothes are piled on chairs, and Miss Bürstner is gone. She has left while Miss Montag was speaking with him. K. sees Miss Montag and Captain Lanz watching him from the dining room doorway, and he rushes back to his own room, humiliated.

A Lingering Presence

Miss Bürstner reappears only at the very end of the novel. On the evening before his thirty-first birthday, as K. is being led to his execution by two men in frock coats, he sees a young woman emerge from a side street into a square. He is not certain it is her, but the similarity is great. The sight of her reminds him of the reproach she represents, and he decides that the only thing he can do now is keep his common sense and do what is needed to the end. He lets his companions lead him away, and Miss Bürstner turns off into a side street, disappearing from the narrative. K. later reflects to Leni that his lover Elsa knows nothing about his trial, and that this is a major advantage over other women—an implicit contrast with Miss Bürstner, who has been drawn into the proceedings against her will. The relationship remains unresolved, a fragment of ordinary life that the court has touched and broken.