Kafka, the Lost Doll, and the Lesson

Germany 1923. At the age of 40, writer Franz Kafka, who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin as he had often done. One day he met a little girl who was crying. She had lost her favorite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully.

Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would once again look for her. (Keep in mind this is 1923.)

The next day, Kafka gave the girl a letter “written” by the doll saying “Please don’t cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures.”

Thus began a story that continued for many weeks.

During their meetings, Kafka read aloud the letters of the doll—carefully written with exciting and whimsical adventures and conversations of places she had traveled and people she had met and befriended. The little girl found this most adorable and exciting.

Finally, Kafka bought a new doll to pass off as the lost doll. He presented it to his young friend telling her the doll had returned to Berlin.

“It doesn’t look like my doll at all,” said the girl.

Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: “My travels have changed me.” The little girl hugged the new doll and happily brought her home.

A year later Kafka died.

Many years later, the now-adult girl found a letter inside an unseen nook in the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written: “Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way.”

* * *

Attribution for this is unknown for certain but thought to be Dwojra Diament. She was one of Kafka’s fiancés over his lifetime and his last one. She is the person who kept some of his last writings in her possession until they were confiscated by the Gestapo in 1933. 

For me, I think there are a few takeaways from this story. It is a remarkable story of kindness and compassion from Kafka in the form of letters. We see how important love and hope are in order to move forward. And maybe most important, there are a couple of lessons in this story: Loss and grief are intertwined. They are experienced by everyone of every age. Whether the loss and grief are over a person or a pet or loved object (such as a beloved doll), they are very real. We learn here that we heal when we discover how, after a loss, love comes back around to us in a different form.

We also learn the value of giving our time and kindness to others in need.