# Mrs. Grubach — The Trial character guide

> Mrs. Grubach in The Trial by Franz Kafka.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the shocked Mrs. Grubach

**First appearance:** 0001-chapter-one-arrest-conversation-with-mrs-grubach-then-miss-b-rstner

## Snapshot

Josef K.'s landlady, whose orderly boarding house is the first place the arrest intrudes, and whose distress is more visible than his own.

## Who they are

Mrs. Grubach keeps a living room crowded with furniture, tablecloths, porcelain and photographs, and she keeps her lodgers' mornings running on schedule — until the morning the strangers arrive and the cook does not come. She is shaken by what has happened under her roof, anxious about respectability and reputation, and eager to explain herself to K. even as he tries to wave her off. She matters because she is the first person to treat his arrest as real, and her fear quietly confirms what he refuses to accept.

## Relationships

### [Josef K.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/josef_k)

_social_

Mrs. Grubach is Josef K.'s landlady, who is deferential and sympathetic but also complicit in the oppressive atmosphere of his boarding house.

### [Miss Bürstner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/miss_buerstner)

_social_

Miss Bürstner is a lodger in Mrs. Grubach's boarding house, and their relationship is that of tenant and landlady with polite but distant interactions.

### [Josef K.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/josef_k)

_social_

Mrs. Grubach is Josef K.'s landlady, who is deferential and sympathetic but also complicit in the oppressive atmosphere of his boarding house.

### [Josef K.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/josef_k)

_social_

Mrs. Grubach is Josef K.'s landlady, who is deferential and sympathetic but also complicit in the oppressive atmosphere of his boarding house.

### [Miss Bürstner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/miss_buerstner)

_social_

Miss Bürstner is a lodger in Mrs. Grubach's boarding house, and their relationship is that of tenant and landlady with polite but distant interactions.

### [Miss Bürstner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/miss_buerstner)

_social_

Miss Bürstner is a lodger in Mrs. Grubach's boarding house, and their relationship is that of tenant and landlady with polite but distant interactions.

## In the story

### [THE TRIAL](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/chapters/the-trial-franz-kafka)

K.'s landlady who is shocked by the arrest.

### [Chapter One Arrest—Conversation with Mrs. Grubach—Then Miss Bürstner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/chapters/chapter-one-arrest-conversation-with-mrs-grubach-then-miss-b-rstner)

K.'s landlady; expresses concern and loyalty after the arrest, though she is visibly shaken.

### [Chapter Four: Miss Bürstner's Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/chapters/chapter-four-miss-b-rstner-s-friend)

Reconciles with K. after their earlier quarrel, discusses Miss Montag's move, and is visibly distressed.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters/mrs_grubach
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trial_se/characters