A Country Doctor is a short story written by Franz Kafka. Released in 1919, it tells of the titular country doctor visiting a sick kid.
A Country Doctor is the titular short story of the collection of the same name.
Characters[]
- The country doctor
- Rosa
- The kid
- The groom
Plot summary[]
One night, a country doctor has to make an emergency visit to a young patient ten miles away. He finds that his horse has died in the night but soon finds horses. Though his maid Rosa is unable to find a horse, the doctor finds two muscular horses and a mysterious groom in a pigsty after the doctor kicks said pigsty in frustration. While setting the horses up, the groom tries to kiss Rosa but is rejected by the young woman. Though the doctor tries to keep the groom away from Rosa, he is unable to do so.
Once at the farmhouse where his young patient lies in bed (which he finds to be a nigh-instantaneous process), the doctor is led to the bed of his patient by his family. While standing over the kid, the doctor hears the kid asking him to die. Despite this, the doctor prepares to give the kid a clean bill of health but soon finds an axe wound in the kid's side that is crawling with blood-red worms. As the family (in joy at the service of the doctor and accompanied by a tune sung by a school choir) strip the doctor naked and put him into bed with his patient, the horses (who have left their straps) look in from the windows.
Once the family leaves, the doctor (his thoughts filled with fears about his maid Rosa) tells his patient that his wounds will most likely not be fatal. After gathering his things, the doctor mounts one of the horses and begins travelling back to his house. Though the doctor thinks that the horse will be as fast as it once was (and remaining undressed due to this), the horse trots along at a leisurely pace. He feels that he has been disgraced and believes that he has betrayed by the village.
Sources[]
- Wikipedia