--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He has two antagonists: the first presses…" description: "\"“He has two antagonists: the first presses him from behind, from the origin. The second blocks the road ahead. He gives battle to both. To be sure, the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cca/franz-kafka-214_wants-push_he-has-two-antagonists-the-first-presses_2411250.jpg" --- # He has two antagonists: the first presses him from behind… ![“He has two antagonists: the first presses him from behind, from the origin. The second blocks the road ahead. He gives battle to both. To be sure, the first supports him in his fight with the second, for he wants to push him forward, and in the same way the second supports him in his fight with…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cca/franz-kafka-214_wants-push_he-has-two-antagonists-the-first-presses_2411250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cca/franz-kafka-214_wants-push_he-has-two-antagonists-the-first-presses_2411250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cca/franz-kafka-214_wants-push_he-has-two-antagonists-the-first-presses_2411250.jpg) > ““He has two antagonists: the first presses him from behind, from the origin. The second blocks the road ahead. He gives battle to both. To be sure, the first supports him in his fight with the second, for he wants to push him forward, and in the same way the second supports him in his fight with the first, since he drives him back. But it is only theoretically so. For it is not only the two antagonists who are there, but he himself as well, and who really knows his intentions? His dream, though, is that some time in an unguarded moment and this would require a night darker than any night has ever been yet he will jump out of the fighting line and be promoted, on account of his experience in fighting, to the position of umpire over his antagonists in their fight with each other.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Two opposing forces push and pull a person, who ultimately becomes the arbiter of their conflict. **In simple terms:** Opposing pressures shape growth. Key Takeaway Embrace conflict to gain perspective. Themes conflict growth self‑reflection power dynamics Mood reflective philosophical Type literary analytical When to use this quote - career advancement - personal struggle - decision making Key Concepts dialectics self‑mastery paradoxical agency Questions to Reflect On - What internal conflicts drive you? - Can you become neutral in a struggle? A Different Perspective The resolution may be illusory; power can be fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antagonists Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonists-fight-6071483/) [Antagonists Presses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonists-presses-6071484/) [Theoretically Antagonists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theoretically-antagonists-6071485/) [Umpire Antagonists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/umpire-antagonists-6071482/) [Wants Push](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-push-966455/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not a guy who wants to push himself into the spotlight or stand out from the crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-vertonghen/i-m-not-a-guy-who-wants-to-push-himself-into-the-spotlight-or-stand/) [Jan Vertonghen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-vertonghen/) > [I think that's what makes a good rapper. Somebody who wants to push themselves and their audience further.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/i-think-that-s-what-makes-a-good-rapper-somebody-who-wants-to-push/) [Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Wants Push quotes > [I'm not a guy who wants to push himself into the spotlight or stand out from the crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-vertonghen/i-m-not-a-guy-who-wants-to-push-himself-into-the-spotlight-or-stand/) [Jan Vertonghen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-vertonghen/) > [I think that's what makes a good rapper. Somebody who wants to push themselves and their audience further.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/i-think-that-s-what-makes-a-good-rapper-somebody-who-wants-to-push/) [Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/) [Browse all 3 Wants Push quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-push-966455/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He has two antagonists: the first presses him from behind, from the origin. The second blocks the road ahead. He gives battle to both. To be sure, the first supports him in his fight with the second, for he wants to push him forward, and in the same way the second supports him in his fight with the first, since he drives him back. But it is only theoretically so. For it is not only the two antagonists who are there, but he himself as well, and who really knows his intentions? 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