i started reading this letter because i played the MazM game Kafka's Metamorphosis which really shows Franz Kafka's life and the situations that brought him to write Metamorphosis and the Judgement. there his relationship with his father was shown pretty well which made me curios to read this letter and see how much it was based on this. and yes they did it well.
i think Franz Kafka would've loved the new era of psychotherapy. he seemed to have really done inner work to understand himself for why he is the way he is and how his father had a huge negative influence on him, it was incredible. that being said I felt bad to know his father never got to read this letter which means their relationship never got better... speaking of their relationship, I related more than I thought I did. i too have a complicated relationship with my father. i too am the oldest child and I guess that put me and Kafka both too much in the spotlight of our dads, them wanting us to be better and obeying him in every way. i too have a tongue that doesn't shut up and gets me into trouble more than any of my siblings do. my dad too was always harsh on me (even physically as a kid) and his words always felt like bullets. although I also don't have a great relationship with my mother but that's a topic for another day. it felt interesting seeing how even though Franz was an adult he very much still was a victim of his dad, which was way too real for me. his reasons for not getting married felt like mine for not wanting to either. the way he had weak health and was told it was hypochondria was spot on with mine. he feels too much like a chronically ill autistic guy with general anxiety it hurts to know he never was understood. I'm glad to see someone like him getting recognition and love although after his death... this gave me too many mixed emotions but I'm glad I read it. It feels wild to see how others have fathers similar to mine.