“He ought long ago to have had, not a uniform, for there aren’t many in the Castle, but a suit provided by the department, and he has been promised one, but in things of that kind the Castle moves slowly, and the worst of it is that one never knows what this slowness means; it can mean that the matter’s being considered, but it can also mean that it hasn’t been taken up, that Barnabas for instance is still on probation, and in the long run it can also mean that the whole thing has been settled, that for some reason or other the promise has been cancelled and that Barnabas will never get his suit. One can never find exactly what is happening, only a long time afterwards. We have a saying here, perhaps you’ve heard it: ‘Official decisions are as shy as young girls.’”
Franz Kafka, “The Castle”, 1926.
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