The Trial: who's who, timeline and places
Everyone in The Trial, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.
- Josef K.Josef K. works at the bank and faces an unexplained arrest while remaining free to continue ordinary life.First seen in part 1
- Miss BürstnerMiss Bürstner is the woman whose room the supervisor uses to meet Josef K.First seen in part 1
- FranzFranz is a guard who refuses to explain K.’s arrest and eats his breakfast.First seen in part 1
- WillemWillem is a guard who dismisses K.’s identification papers and refuses to explain the arrest.First seen in part 1
- examining magistrateThe examining magistrate accuses K. of arriving late and wrongly identifies him as a house painter.First seen in part 2
- BertoldBertold is the student who carries away the usher’s wife despite K.’s attempt to intervene.First seen in part 3
- Fräulein MontagFräulein Montag moves into Bürstner’s room and tells K. that Bürstner considers another conversation unnecessary.First seen in part 4
- HuldHuld is a sick lawyer whose court connections may help K. with his criminal case.First seen in part 6
- LeniLeni becomes intimate with K. during his visit to Huld and urges him to confess.First seen in part 6
- K.’s uncleK.’s uncle demands an explanation of the criminal case and takes him to his friend Huld.First seen in part 6
- BlockBlock is Huld’s client, whose legal case consumes his money and attention.First seen in part 8
- prison chaplainThe prison chaplain calls K. by name and warns that the court considers him guilty.First seen in part 9
- Part 1
Franz and Willem interrupt K.’s breakfast routine and refuse to explain his arrest.
- Part 1
The supervisor meets K. in Miss Bürstner’s room and allows him to continue his ordinary life.
- Part 2
K. attends a Sunday hearing and challenges the examining magistrate’s treatment of innocent people.
- Part 2
K. discovers that the audience wear officials’ badges and leaves despite the magistrate’s warning.
- Part 3
K. returns without a summons, finds no hearing, and sees Bertold carry away the usher’s wife.
- Part 3
K. becomes physically helpless in the attic court offices, and two staff members help him reach the exit.
- Part 4
Montag delivers Bürstner’s refusal of another conversation, but K. enters Bürstner’s empty room.
- Part 5
K. discovers Franz and Willem facing a flogging in a bank storeroom and unsuccessfully tries to buy their release.
- Part 5
The next evening, K. finds the storeroom scene unchanged and demands that attendants clear the room.
- Part 6
K.’s uncle takes him to Huld, a sick lawyer who already knows about his case.
- Part 6
K. leaves the legal consultation for an intimate encounter with Leni, who urges confession.
- Part 7
K. decides to direct his own defense, but preparing a petition threatens to consume his working life.
- Part 8
K. visits Huld intending to dismiss him and questions Block about his costly, consuming legal case.
- Part 9
A prison chaplain warns K. that his case is going badly and tells a story about entry to the Law.
- Part 10
Two men lead K. beyond the city to an abandoned quarry and kill him with a knife.
Hidden until you have read that far.
- The bankThe bank is where K. works after the supervisor allows him to continue his ordinary life.First seen in part 1
- boardinghouseThe boardinghouse is where K. faces an unexplained arrest on his thirtieth birthday.First seen in part 1
- Miss Bürstner’s roomMiss Bürstner’s room is where K. meets the supervisor without learning the accusation against him.First seen in part 1
- the examination roomThe examination room holds K.’s crowded Sunday hearing on the fifth floor of a suburban tenement.First seen in part 2
- the court officesThe court offices occupy an oppressive attic where K. needs staff members’ help to reach the exit.First seen in part 3
- storeroomThe storeroom at the bank is where K. finds Franz and Willem facing a flogging.First seen in part 5
- cathedralThe cathedral is where K. expects an Italian bank client but encounters the prison chaplain.First seen in part 9
- abandoned quarryThe abandoned quarry is where two men take K. after leading him beyond the city.First seen in part 10
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