Inspired on what Kafka wrote to Milena
It has been translated into English as: “You are the knife I turn inside myself; that is love. That, my dear, is love.”
The translation into Spanish is even bloodier...."Tú eres el cuchillo que doy vuelta dentro de mí, eso es amor". No....I don't believe Kafka would have liked these translations.
Could the German word wühle have other meanings?. I consulted with a German translator friend of mine, Atida Braun she told me the word wühle is used "when someone is rummaging in a drawer"
This makes more sense to me.
It means that Kafka trusts Milena's love to the point where she can become his knife and cut through him, so that he sees things in him he did not see before. Her love is like a tool that rummages in his soul and allows him to discover himself or find hidden things "lost in the drawer of the soul"
He trusts her love, Kafka knows Milena won't kill him, she can therefore be his knife, sharp and penetrating, even wounding, but all for the good of finding himself.
This is the best definition of love I found: a trust so deep that one knows that if the other is hurting, it is for the good.