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Illustrated portrait of Frau Grubach

A character in The Trial

Frau Grubach

Frau Grubach is Josef’s landlady.

The book

Cover of The Trial by Franz Kafka
The TrialFranz Kafka, 1925

A man is arrested without a charge and trapped inside rules controlled by authorities who refuse to explain them.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Frau Grubach is Josef’s landlady. She respects his position and tries to reassure him after the arrest, but her gossip about Fräulein Bürstner angers him. She represents the ordinary social world that continues around the case and is gradually contaminated by it. She remains at the boardinghouse when Josef is taken away.

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