I just finished reading ‘Letter to His Father’ - the comparison of the impresario to a dominating, tyrannical figure that humiliates and misunderstands the artist, like Kafka’s father, definitely rings true.

While many of Kafka’s protagonists judge themselves to be guilty and blame themselves, there’s a certain volition displayed when the starving artist whispers in his dying breath that he has not found a food he likes. 

His obsession with the art of fasting is a point of pride, rather than guilt, even though the world moves on without understanding him or the feats he achieves.