Prague: “Little Mother with Claws”? (Franz Kafka) – “Fata Morgana of Life”? (Franz Werfel)

Three significant books that deal with Prague are used as gateways to literary thoughts about this ancient city at the center of Europe. Short glances at the city's history are followed by two figures directly related to the nature of Prague, Franz Kafka and Jaroslav Hašek, whose tragic visions alternate and often merge with raucous laughter. This leads to the complex Czech-German relations that have been haunting, but also enriching the city's culture. Returning to literature, this study briefly explores works (banned during the Communist regime) where Prague appears filtered through the intellects and perceptions of three very different Czech writers (Klíma, Kundera, Vaculík). Subsequently, the vision expands to the enormous impact Prague has had on internationally well-known writers (Apollinaire, Banville, Beckett, Rilke, Trollope). Ultimately, this essay seeks to highlight the opposites which Prague comprises – its ancient nature as it constantly renews itself, its tragic periods shot through with lively irony, its jostling because of political changes and finally, its perennially being steeped in a specific magic which writers of different cultures have long been trying to describe.