You are the knife....that is love. Kafka

Papercuts inspired on Kafka's letter to Milena

Kafka wrote to Milena: Liebe ist, daß du mir das Messer bist, mit dem ich in mir wühle, which has been translated into English as “You are the knife I turn inside myself; that is love. That, my dear, is love,” and into Spanish as “Tú eres el cuchillo que doy vuelta dentro de mí, eso es amor.” I am not convinced that Kafka would have recognized his meaning in either of these translations.

Suspecting that the verb wühle carries associations other than that of a knife turning or churning inside the body, I consulted my friend, the German translator Atida Braun. She explained that wühlen can be used, for example, of someone rummaging through a drawer. This made much more sense to me.

Kafka's image, as I understand it, is not necessarily one of a knife being turned inside his guts. Rather, he entrusts himself to Milena's love to such an extent that she can become his knife: sharp and penetrating, even wounding if necessary, capable of cutting through him and enabling him to discover aspects of himself that have remained hidden—perhaps, metaphorically, in the “drawer of the soul.”

Below: my papercuts.

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