A Hungry Artist

​Franz Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist” is a very strange story about a man whose profession it was (or seemed to be) to simply starve. He was a sort of a freak in a freak show. He had an impresario, traveled all over Europe, and seemed to have a stable career. However, with time the attraction of starving faded away, and the man died in obscurity. Since the whole thriller value of the story hinges on the fact that the hunger artist really did not want to eat because he simply could not find a food he liked, it is very strange that he suffered because of the lack of recognition and appreciation. In reality, if not for his impresario, who forced food on the artist when 40 days were out, he would probably have died a long time ago. And yet, the artist craved recognition for being a professional starver. Perhaps Kafka’s point was that even the most pitiful man has vanity and will be miserable if he is not recognized for something. But there really was no accomplishment in the artist’s starvation. It was his normal way of life. In which case, the only explanation is that the hunger artist was proud of his natural aversion to food just like a beautiful woman would be proud of her natural beauty.