This post is on the meaning of wollen as used in this passage from chapter 'Weg nach Ramses' of Amerika (Der Verschollene) by Frankz Kafka.
Es war übrigens keine Zeit, sich darüber auszusprechen, denn die Zimmerfrau kam herein, genau so verschlafen wie in der Nacht, und trieb alle drei auf den Gang hinaus, mit der Erklärung, daß das Zimmer für neue Gäste hergerichtet werden müsse. Davon war aber natürlich keine Rede, sie handelte nur aus Bosheit. Karl, der seinen Koffer gerade hatte ordnen wollen, mußte zusehen, wie die Frau seine Sachen mit beiden Händen packte und mit einer Kraft in den Koffer warf, als seien es irgendwelche Tiere, die man zum Kuschen bringen mußte.
Some translations of the highlighted passage.
Will and Edwin Muir:
Karl, who had started to pack his box
Mark Harman:
Karl, who was about to tidy up his trunk
Bernard Lortholary:
Karl, qui s'apprêtait justement à mettre de l'ordre dans sa mallette
Alexandre Vialatte:
Karl, qui s'apprêtait à refaire sa malle
For the meaning of s'apprêtait à, please see e.g. definition 2 on this Wiktionary page.
QUESTION
What does wollen mean in the passage?
Would it have been a mistranslation to render the clause as:
Karl, who had wanted just then to. . .
For question 3, I assume that wanting in this context would be a mistranslation for wollen, which must here be understood as being about to etc., as offered by the four translators. (If, on the other hand, the German text simply meant Karl having wanted and the translations were taking a liberty, then question 3 would not arise.) So assuming, how can I tell when wollen means wanting vs. being about to etc.?
If hatte were changed to hätte, would the clause then mean:
Karl, who had wanted just then to. . .
BACKGROUND
I have asked these questions on whether wollen could have no element of volition in its meaning.
Does “wollen” ever function like English “will” to signal a future event (no volition)
Can you use “wollen” in Konjunktiv II simply to mean what will happen (no volition)?
On hatte vs. hätte, this other post may be relevant: