K. goes to visit the chairman in his home. K.’s initial attitude to the meeting is calm acceptance and almost resignation at the idea that “dealing with the Count’s authorities was very simple for him” (57). K. reflects on how he has been treated so far: He has been given small favors and trivial matters to deal with, all intended to distract him from the bigger issues and weaken his defenses so he is less prepared for the “other, greater battles” (58). He feels the “remote and invisible gentlemen” (58) in authority over him will eventually come and tell him to leave. He feels that Klamm holds more power over him in the bedroom, through his connection to Frieda, than he does over K.’s service as a surveyor.

On first meeting the chairman, K. finds “his view of the local authorities very much confirmed” (59). The bedridden chairman welcomes K. and asks him to sit down and explain what he wants. K. reads Klamm’s letter aloud and maintains the feeling of “extraordinary ease of dealing with the authorities” (59). However, the chairman soon dispels this false sense of security as he embarks on a long, convoluted, and extremely frustrating explanation of the process of K.