K.

K., a young man seeking entrance to the Castle. He is both puzzled and irritated by his inability to get to the Castle, where he had thought himself needed as a Land Surveyor. He never reaches the Castle. Kafka intended, in a chapter planned but never written, to relate that K. was to be given permission to live and work in the village though not to enter the Castle itself. K.’s efforts to reach the Castle resemble Christian’s struggle in The Pilgrim’s Progress to reach the Celestial City; however, Christian succeeds, whereas K. does not.

Frieda

Frieda, a fair-haired, sad-eyed, hollow-cheeked young barmaid who is Klamm’s mistress. She becomes K.’s fiancée and stays with him at the Bridge Inn and, later, at the schoolhouse. Jealous of his apparent interest in Olga and Amalia, she rejects K. for Jeremiah.

Barnabas

Barnabas, a white-clad young messenger who brings K. a letter from Klamm and introduces him to Barnabas’ family. He is a servant at the Castle.

Olga

Olga, his yellow-haired sister, a strapping girl with a hard-looking face. She shows kindness to K. and tells him much about the organization of the Castle and about the village people.

Amalia

Amalia, another sister who closely resembles both Olga and Barnabas.

Arthur

Arthur, K.’s assistant, a slim, brown-skinned, jolly young man with a little pointed black beard. He and Jeremiah keep an almost constant watch on K.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah, another assistant who looks so like Arthur that K., who says they are as alike as two snakes, calls him Arthur also.

Klamm

Klamm, a chief at the Castle who is often seen at the Herrenhof. He is plump, ponderous, and flabby-cheeked, and he wears a pointed black mustache and a pince-nez.

Schwarzer

Schwarzer, a young man who telephones the Castle to check on K. He is in love with Gisa.

The Superintendent

The Superintendent, a kindly, stout, clean-shaven man suffering from gout. He tries to explain to K. the intricacies of the management of the Castle.

Gardana

Gardana, the landlady at the Bridge Inn. She was once, briefly, Klamm’s mistress.

Momus

Momus, the village secretary, a deputy of Klamm.

Gisa

Gisa, the lady schoolteacher.

Sortini

Sortini, a great official at the Castle who once wrote an obscene letter to Amalia.

The main character in The Castle is once again referred to simply as K. He arrives in a small village, claiming that he has been hired by the local landowners as a surveyor and announcing that his assistants will arrive the following day. Although communication with the castle does not confirm K.'s claims, before the villagers can react to his deception, the castle validates his appointment. The rest of the novel follows K.'s attempts to gain entry to the castle; he ultimately dies, largely due to neglect, among the villagers with whom he has been living.

As with Kafka's other protagonists, K. remains an enigmatic figure, lacking both a past and an inner life, yet he is governed by history and ideas. The secondary characters in the novel both help and hinder K. in his quest to gain the attention of the powerful official Klamm, who appears to have the ability to navigate the bureaucracy that impedes K.'s efforts. Frieda briefly seems capable of providing access to Klamm, as she was once his mistress, but this turns out to be another fleeting opportunity for K. Despite the fact that granting favors does not seem to significantly improve Frieda's situation, Olga's story of her sister's refusal to sleep with another castle official illustrates how devastating a lack of cooperation can be. One refusal destroys the entire family forever.