The Metamorphosis is a literary classic about a man who turns into a giant bug overnight for no explicable reason published in 1915 by the literary giant Franz Kafka. The Metamorphosis, like Kafka’s other works, involves surrealism and absurdism to send a message, if any, to the audience.
The Metamorphosis begins with Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman, transforming into an insect after he went to bed. The beginning of the story captures the sense of dread and surprise elegantly:
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” Gregor is bewildered at his new body, considering that “He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.” Gregor, expectedly, is shocked, and hoped that he was still dreaming, but quickly came to realize that he wasn’t, for he was in his room which was “rather too small.” Gregor tries to get out of bed, and finds it hard to. He uses his dilemma to perform some introspection, as he reflects on his dreary, robotic, and depressing job - his job as a travelling salesman is “much more irritating work than doing the actual business in the office, and on top of that there’s the trouble of constant traveling, of worrying about train connections, the bed and irregular meals, casual acquaintances that are always new and never become intimate friends” (76). Gregor hates his job so much that he wishes for the devil to rid him of it, as his employers couldn’t care less of his personal health (he doesn’t get enough sleep) and they’re also hypocritical - while he is slaving away in drudgery, others “live like harem women.” To elaborate, when Gregor in the past arrived to work, his employers had only woken up.
Gregor then reminds himself that no matter how much he loathes his job, he must stick to it because his family relies solely on him as a breadwinner. It also becomes apparent that his parents were indebted to the chief of the business, which was why they offered Gregor as the equivalent of an indentured servant. Gregor then decided to go to work despite his present condition, and he was shocked when he saw that it was “half-past six o’clock,” as he usually got up at 5:00 AM. He found it hard to open the door due to his new body, and when his mother came to check on him (only to make sure he goes to work), Gregor tells her that he is okay, but his voice didn't sound like his own, making his family concerned. Eventually, as the hours go by, the chief clerk of the corporation Gregor served in came to check on him. Gregor told the chief clerk not to come in, and his sister, Grete, began to cry (not for Gregor’s health, but for the chance that he might lose his job and condemn them to work themselves). The chief clerk eventually becomes angry at Gregor, telling him that he was being rude and unfair to his parents, which is quite ironic, considering that he was yelling at him in his own house. The chief clerk then disparaged Gregor, telling him that he once thought that he was “‘a quiet, dependable person, and now all at once you seem bent on making a disgraceful exhibition of yourself.’”
Gregor attempted to answer the chief clerk, but they were unable to understand what he was saying, though his words “seemed clear enough to him.” Eventually, not wishing to cause trouble for his parents any longer, Gregor opened the door by using his mouth. Furthermore, “Since he had to pull the door toward him, he was still invisible when it was really wide open.” The chief clerk and his family then saw him as he emerged in his new body, and they were terrified, though their reactions still differed. Gregor’s father “knotted his first with a fierce expression on his face as if he meant to knock Gregor back into his room, then looked uncertainly around the living room, covered his eyes with his hands, and wept till his great chest heaved.” The clerk, on the other hand, escaped, and Gregor chased him, wanting to confirm that his job wasn’t threatened in any way by his metamorphosis - “The chief clerk must be detained, soothed, persuaded, and finally won over; the whole future of Gregor and his family depended on it!” When the chief clerk began to escape, his father became enraged, and “snatched in his left hand a large newspaper from the table, and began stamping his feet and flourishing the stick and the newspaper to drive Gregor back into his room.” Gregor, not resisting, found himself locked in his room.
Gregor passed out once he returned to his room, and when he awoke he found some food left for him, including milk, which he previously enjoyed. However, when he drank the milk, he found he didn't like it, as his new physiology had changed his appetite drastically. Later, when his sister noticed that most of the food was untouched, she replaced them with rotten leftovers, which he enjoyed earnestly. Later one night, Gregor heard of the dire financial situation his family found themselves in, as his mother had severe asthma, his father “was still hale enough but an old man, and he had done no work for the past five years and could not be expected to do much … he had grown rather fat,” and while his sister could easily do work, her parents wanted to spoil her, seeing how they viewed it as absurd as to how a potential worker could be “a child of seventeen and whose life hitherto had been so pleasant, consisting as it did in dressing herself nicely, sleeping long, helping in the housekeeping, going out to a few modest entertainments, and above all playing the violin?”
One month after his transformation, Grete found it somewhat normal to go into his room to clean it and leave him food, though they never talked. Whenever she would come in, Gregor would hide himself under the sofa to not frighten her. He also becomes used to his body, as “he had formed the habit of crawling crisscross over the walls and ceiling,” and “especially enjoyed hanging suspended from the ceiling; it was much better than lying on the floor; one could breathe more freely, one’s body swung and rocked lightly; and in the almost blissful absorption induced by this suspension it could happen to his own surprise that he let go and full plump on the floor.” His sister came to the conclusion that he enjoyed walking on the ceilings and the walls due to the residue he left, and decided it would be best for all the furnitude in the room to be removed. As Gregor watched from under the sofa, he became perturbed when his mother moved to remove a picture of a girl, causing him when they left to protect the picture with his own body. When they returned, Grete saw Gregor first, but didn't faint. His mother, when she saw him, was so terrified that she shrieked and fainted, falling “with outspread arms over the sofa as if giving up, and did not move.” Grete, angry, yelled his name, and Gregor realized that “This was the first time she had directly addressed him since his metamorphosis” (107).
When Gregor’s father came home and saw his wife in a delirium, he believed that Gregor had attacked her, causing him to physically assault him. Gregor, upon seeing his father, was surprised, for he believed that his father was a physically weak man who could barely walk, yet he had a job and was “dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, such as bank messengers wear; his strong double chin bulged over the stiff high collar of his jacket; from under his bushy eyebrows his black eyes darted fresh and penetrating glances; his onetime tangled white hair had been combed flat on either side of a shining and carefully exact parting.” Regardless, his father began furiously throwing apples at him, and one found itself into Gregor’s armored back, grievously injuring him. Gregor then retreats back to his room. For more than a month, the apple lodged in his back prevented him from most movement, and was likely to have permanently crippled him, taking him “long, long minutes to creep across his room like an old invalid.” This had the terrible side effect of making it impossible for him to climb the walls, an activity he actually enjoyed. It seemed that Gregor became depressed due to his family’s situation, causing him to eat very little. Grete also began leaving less food for him, as her sympathy has its limits and now she views him as a pest, despite the irony that he had provided for his family (who had a parasitic relationship with him) for years without break.
Gregor’s family, to support themselves, decided to rent part of their apartment to some boarders. The boarders themselves were obnoxious to Gregor, as he lacked food and emotional support while they took all their advantages (including mobility) for granted. One day, Grete began playing the violin, and the boarders clearly illustrated that “they had been disappointed in their expectation of hearing good or enjoyable violin-playing, that they had had more than enough of the performance and only out of courtesy suffered a continued disturbance of their peace. From the way they all kept blowing the smoke of their cigars high in the air through nose and mouth one could divine their irritation. And yet Gregor’s sister was playing so beautifully. Her face leaned sideways, intently and sadly her eyes followed the notes of music.” Gregor, entranced by her music and longing for company, left his room quietly, but was soon spotted by the boarders. The boarders were self-righteous and had no sense of respect, as they angrily demanded for their money to be returned due to the unsanitary conditions of the house (their lodgings, actually, were fine - it was just Gregor’s room which was unclean, which they didn't even enter) without even listening to Gregor’s father. One of the boarders went so far as to spit on the ground.
Gregor’s father was somewhat devastated and suffered from disappointment, collapsing into his chair. Grete then stated that it would be best to get rid of Gregor, as he made life hard for them. She ironically and stupidly said that Gregor “‘will be the death of both of you, I can see that coming. When one has to work as hard as we do, all of us, one can’t stand this continual torment at home on top of it. At least I can’t stand it any longer.’” This is ironic due to the fact that Gregor had worked himself half to death for years to provide for his family (who mostly stayed at home), yet remained loyal to them, mentioning near the beginning of the story that he was willing to become a corporate drone for their sake. His family, on the other hand, after working for only a few months, complained constantly of Gregor and wished to cast him away. This, in my opinion, is the true meaning of The Metamorphosis - while Gregor was physically transformed, the bizarre situation brought out the worst in his family members, causing them to forget all the good Gregor did for them, leading them to the conclusion that he should be removed.
Grete, after her uninformed words, went on by saying that the creature couldn’t possibly be Gregor, as Gregor would want the best for his family, and that “‘If this were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that human beings can’t live with such a creature, and he’d have gone away on his own accord. Then we wouldn’t have any brother, but we’d be able to go on living and keep his memory in honor.’” This clearly demonstrates the hypocrisy of Gregor’s family, as Gregor is still mentally competent and sophisticated, and the fact that they believe Gregor should put himself in extreme danger (if he goes outside in his present state and is spotted, he would be put down) for their sake shows their ludicrously low standards. Even worse, when Grete says that Gregor’s family would “‘keep his memory in honor,’” she should remember that she never appreciated Gregor’s intense effort, so even if he did leave, they would still complain about him. Gregor, hearing his sister's words, decides to do what his family wishes, and goes back into his room to await his death. The moment he retreated to his room, the door was “hastily pushed shut, bolted, and locked. The sudden noise in his rear startled him so much that his little legs gave beneath him. It was his sister who had shown such haste. She had been standing ready waiting and had made a light spring forward, Gregor had not even heard her coming, and she cried ‘At last!’ to her parents as she turned the key on the lock.”
Gregor, being condemned to die in his room, accepts his fate, and finds the sensation of dying to be peaceful - “True, his whole body was aching, but it seemed that the pain was gradually growing less and would finally pass away … The first broadening of light in the world outside the window entered his consciousness once more. Then his head sank to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of his breath.” The next morning, his body was discovered by the charwoman who was used to his form. When the charwoman informed Gregor’s family of his death, they praised God for killing him and were happy they rid themselves of a “nuisance.” Gregor’s mother went so far as to smile at Grete, and decided to celebrate by kicking out the boarders and to pass the day in leisure, as “they had not only deserved such a respite from work, but absolutely needed it.”
As they left the house, Gregor’s father said that bygones should be bygones, and that they should move on. They then went via tram to the open country outside of the town. Unrepentant of how they had treated Gregor, they noted that “The greatest immediate improvement in their condition would of course arise from moving to another house; they wanted to take a smaller and cheaper but also better situated and more easily run apartment than the one they had, which Gregor had selected.” Gregor’s parents then noted that Grete, though pale from the experience, had become a quite good-looking young woman, as she had “increasing vivacity … she had bloomed into a pretty girl with a good figure.” Gregor’s parents “grew quieter and half unconsciously exchanged glances of complete agreement, having come to the conclusion that it would soon be time to find a good husband for her.” It was then, coincidentally, that Grete “sprang to her feet first and stretched her young body.”
Personal thoughts:
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a brilliant story about the nature of change, human nature, and society. When I first read it, I was somewhat confused, but as I inspected it again the picture of the situation presented became much clearer and refined. As stated before, I view The Metamorphosis as describing the transformation of Gregor’s family, as even though they got good jobs due to their crisis, they came to despicably loathe Gregor, making no attempts at conversation with him. One of the key features of this book that makes it stand out to me is how it is connected to human nature, as it reminds me of Machiavelli’s quote from The Prince that “it is better to be feared than loved,” as he elucidates that human beings are as a whole greedy, spiteful, envious, ungrateful, and mean-spirited, which makes it easy for them to forget about good actions in the past. I also see The Metamorphosis as criticizing human selfishness and capitalism, as Gregor was only valued by his family as a breadwinner, and they knew nothing about him as a person since he spent almost all of his time working. Of course, once Gregor became incapacitated due to his metamorphosis, they came to resent, and then to hate him, as they took his kindness for granted for so many years that they took it as a given for the future.
The callousness of Gregor’s family towards his death incensed me, as they had forgotten all the good he had done for them, and viewed him only as a financial burden. I thought while I was reading this that it would be ironic if Gregor’s transformation was only temporary, and that he would be transformed back in a year, as I also view The Metamorphosis as a parable of the nature of change. It is possible that Gregor’s transformation can be read as a breadwinner becoming ill with a terrible condition which incapacitates them, as Gregor went from the sole provider of the family to a dependent. Indeed, if read this way, stories like these are quite common - people who provide for others are cast aside and viewed negatively the moment they are no longer needed or are no longer capable of doing what they were supposed to do. The ending of the story is a clear critique of human nature, as the parents of Gregor probably wanted to have Grete married solely for the financial benefits which they would receive from her husband, reinforcing the theme that not all parasites have hideous appearances. To repeat for the last time, they felt no remorse or contrition for how they treated Gregor, feeling only relief that Grete ended up better than him, which makes me wonder: how will they treat Grete if she wakes up one morning after having uneasy dreams, only to find himself transformed into an insect? I highly recommend The Metamorphosis for people interested in change, symbolism, human nature, and surrealism.
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