As like as two snakes

As like as two snakes is a simile that K. uses to describe his two assistants, Artur and Jeremias, whom he cannot tell apart. The phrase captures the assistants' indistinguishability and their unsettling, almost reptilian quality, and it becomes a recurring motif in K.'s struggle with the castle's authority.

The Simile and Its Context

K. first uses the simile in the saloon bar of the Bridge Inn, shortly after the assistants have arrived and introduced themselves. He is comparing their faces, trying to find a difference between them, and he says: "apart from that you're as like as two snakes." The comparison is striking because it suggests not just similarity but a kind of slipperiness and coldness, qualities that will come to define the assistants' role in K.'s life. The phrase is also a moment of frustration for K., who is trying to establish control over his new situation but finds himself confronted with two men he cannot even distinguish from one another.

The assistants' resemblance is so complete that K. decides to treat them as a single man, calling them both Artur. He explains that if he sends Artur somewhere, they will both go, and if he gives Artur a job, they will both do it. This decision is a practical response to his inability to tell them apart, but it also reflects his deeper sense of being surrounded by forces he cannot fully grasp or control.

The Assistants' Nature and Role

The simile of the snakes is reinforced by the assistants' behavior throughout the novel. They are described as being "very much alike, with dark brown complexions setting off their very black goatee beards," and they move with a synchronized, almost mechanical quality. They are sent to K. by Galater, who was deputizing for Klamm at the time, with the instruction to "cheer him up a little." This origin suggests that they are not simply servants but instruments of the castle's authority, designed to observe and influence K. in ways he does not fully understand.

The assistants' snake-like quality is also evident in their persistence and their ability to insinuate themselves into K.'s life. They follow him everywhere, even when he tries to dismiss them, and they seem to have a particular interest in Frieda, K.'s fiancée. Frieda herself notes that their eyes, "so guileless yet sparkling, sometimes remind me of Klamm's," suggesting a connection between the assistants and the castle's highest authority that K. is unable to see.

The Simile's Development and Significance

The simile of the snakes recurs in K.'s thoughts as he struggles with the assistants' presence. He finds them "importunate, lecherous young fellows" and is constantly annoyed by their behavior, yet he is unable to rid himself of them. The comparison to snakes also hints at a kind of danger, as if the assistants are not merely annoying but potentially harmful. This is borne out when Jeremias, one of the assistants, eventually runs off with Frieda, leading to the end of K.'s relationship with her.

The phrase "as like as two snakes" thus becomes a shorthand for the assistants' unsettling nature and their role in K.'s larger struggle with the castle. It captures the way in which the castle's authority operates through seemingly insignificant figures, who are nonetheless capable of exerting a powerful and disruptive influence on K.'s life. The simile also reflects K.'s own sense of alienation and his difficulty in navigating a world where appearances are deceptive and identities are fluid.