The overarching theme of The Castle is K.’s struggle against an all-powerful yet unreachable authority and the impenetrable, totally illogical, convoluted bureaucracy of its workings. This is a common theme in Kafka’s works, found also in The Trial and Metamorphosis. The term “Kafkaesque” is commonly used to describe an overly complicated, frustrating battle with bureaucracy.

Both the Castle and the elusive director Klamm are physical representations of remote and unreachable power. The villagers live in the Castle’s shadow, and its influence pervades every aspect of their lives. Klamm is mentioned by almost every character, and his long reach can be felt radiating from the past, in the case of the landlady Gardena’s short relationship with him many years ago, through to the present, such as when Frieda returns to the taproom where Klamm will find her again at the story’s end. The villagers live in fear and awe of the Castle, and through fear of reprisal they turn against each other rather than showing solidarity together. This is reflected in how the community shuns Amalia’s family after she refuses to become Sortini’s a sexual plaything.

The inscrutable machinations of the bureaucratic processes that accompany the Castle’s power are expressed by many of the characters in interminable monologues that are often several pages long.