Abstract: In this paper, I study conspiracy theories as two novelists handle them: Kafka and Sade. Kafka’s depiction of guilt depends on anxiety that refers to nameless accusations. His protagonists may well assume that a conspiracy targets them in a way they can never understand. I explain the logic of the law that embodies such anxiety, in his novels The Trial and The Process. My second example is the Marquis de Sade who gives many examples of conspiracies on his major novels Justine and Juliette. I study two of them, first, the group of murderous monks in Justine and the Parisian secret society called Sodality in Juliette. Both are successful organizations and Sade helps us understand why this is so. I discuss some real life examples of conspiracies. Finally, I compare Kafka, Sade, and their viewpoints: Kafka’s is that of the victim and Sade’s that of the victor.

Peer reviewed