Law books

The law books that the court uses to conduct its proceedings are not legal texts at all but indecent novels and pornographic pictures, a discovery that exposes the hypocrisy and corruption at the heart of the judicial system prosecuting Josef K.

Appearance and Contents

During his second visit to the interrogation room on Juliusstrasse, K. finds the room empty and the examining judge's table holding a few books. The court usher's wife, who has offered to help K., shows him the books. They are old and well worn; the cover of one is nearly broken through its middle, held together with a few threads. Everything is covered in dust, which the woman wipes off with her apron before K. can pick them up. K. opens the top book and finds an indecent picture: a man and a woman sit naked on a sofa, the base intent of the artist easy to see but executed with such gross lack of skill that the figures dominate the picture in overly upright postures, creating a false perspective that makes it difficult for them to approach each other. K. does not thumb through that book any further. He opens the next one at its title page and finds it is a novel titled What Grete Suffered from her Husband, Hans. "So this is the sort of law book they study here," K. says, "this is the sort of person sitting in judgement over me."

Contrast with Official Pretensions

The discovery of these books stands in stark contrast to the court's elaborate formalities and claims of legal authority. The court maintains a vast organization with policemen, supervisors, judges, scribes, and even executioners, yet its foundational texts are pornography and cheap fiction. The examining judge's notebook, which K. had earlier handled with contempt, is described as an old school exercise book, misshapen from much thumbing, its pages closely written, blotted, and yellowing. The court's law books are kept in the same room where the court usher and his wife live, a space that doubles as a living quarters and must be cleared out when the court is in session. The woman tells K. that her husband is the court usher and that they are allowed to live there as they like, but the room's dual function as domestic space and courtroom further diminishes the dignity of the proceedings.

Significance for K.'s Understanding

This revelation confirms K.'s growing suspicion that the court is not a legitimate judicial body but a corrupt and arbitrary institution. Earlier, when the examining judge had asked K. if he was a house painter, K. had taken this as symptomatic of the whole proceedings against him. The pornographic law books provide concrete evidence that the court's claims to legal knowledge and justice are a sham. K. later reflects on the court's offices being located in attics, which he sees as a sign of the court's poverty or its squandering of funds on itself rather than on proper administration. The law books, kept in a room that is also a living space, reinforce this impression of a system that is both impoverished and morally bankrupt. The court's pretense of legal authority is further undermined by the fact that the books are not even law-related, but rather the sort of material that would be found in a common lodging house rather than a court of law.

Connection to the Court's Methods

The nature of the law books aligns with the court's broader methods of operation, which K. has experienced firsthand. The court does not rely on legal reasoning or evidence but on personal connections, bribes, and the manipulation of appearances. The examining judge's notebook, which K. had dismissed as containing nothing of value, is treated by the judge as an official document. The court's reliance on such flimsy and inappropriate materials mirrors its reliance on flimsy and inappropriate procedures. The law books, like the court itself, are a facade: they look like legal texts from a distance but contain nothing of substance. This discovery also echoes the court's treatment of the accused, who are denied access to the court records and the indictment, left to guess at the charges against them. The court's own law books are not legal texts but pornography, suggesting that the entire legal process is a form of entertainment or exploitation rather than a pursuit of justice.