Chapter 7

Lawyer - Manufacturer - Painter

One winter morning - snow was falling in the dull light outside -
K. was sitting in his office, already extremely tired despite the early
hour. He had told the servitor he was engaged in a major piece of work
and none of the junior staff should be allowed in to see him, so he
would not be disturbed by them at least. But instead of working he
turned round in his chair, slowly moved various items around his desk,
but then, without being aware of it, he lay his arm stretched out on the
desk top and sat there immobile with his head sunk down on his chest.

He was no longer able to get the thought of the trial out of his
head. He had often wondered whether it might not be a good idea to work
out a written defence and hand it in to the court. It would contain a
short description of his life and explain why he had acted the way he
had at each event that was in any way important, whether he now
considered he had acted well or ill, and his reasons for each. There
was no doubt of the advantages a written defence of this sort would have
over relying on the lawyer, who was anyway not without his shortcomings.
K. had no idea what actions the lawyer was taking; it was certainly not
a lot, it was more than a month since the lawyer had summoned him, and
none of the previous discussions had given K. the impression that this
man would be able to do much for him. Most importantly, he had asked
him hardly any questions. And there were so many questions here to be
asked. Asking questions were the most important thing. K. had the
feeling that he would be able to ask all the questions needed here
himself. The lawyer, in contrast, did not ask questions but did all the
talking himself or sat silently facing him, leant forward slightly over
the desk, probably because he was hard of hearing, pulled on a strand of
hair in the middle of his beard and looked down at the carpet, perhaps
at the very spot where K. had lain with Leni. Now and then he would
give K. some vague warning of the sort you give to children. His
speeches were as pointless as they were boring, and K. decided that when
the final bill came he would pay not a penny for them. Once the lawyer
thought he had humiliated K. sufficiently, he usually started something
that would raise his spirits again. He had already, he would then say,
won many such cases, partly or in whole, cases which may not really have
been as difficult as this one but which, on the face of it, had even
less hope of success. He had a list of these cases here in the drawer -
here he would tap on one or other of the drawers in his desk - but
could, unfortunately, not show them to K. as they dealt with official
secrets. Nonetheless, the great experience he had acquired