59 pages • 1 hour read
The Metamorphosis
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Symbols & Motifs
Metamorphoses
Many kinds of metamorphoses take place in The Metamorphosis. The initial change in form—Gregor's, from man to vermin—takes place in the first sentence. However, Gregor's family also undergoes changes. For example, Mr. Samsa's first glimpse of Gregor's new form transforms him into a hissing, menacing man who had "no longer the voice of only a single father" (16). Mr. Samsa's transformation continues when Gregor's inability to work forces Mr. Samsa, who's become fat and sedentary during his unemployment, to don a uniform and work in a banking office. Before Gregor's change, Mr. Samsa had spent most of his time confined to his armchair. After Gregor dies, Mr. Samsa seems to gain more authority as a patriarch, taking his "wife on one arm and his daughter on the other" (46) and evicting the lodgers.
Grete also undergoes a change. She begins the novella as Gregor's beloved younger sister, whom he hopes to send "next year to the conservatory, regardless of the great expense" (23). Grete is the only family member who shows Gregor any compassion, bringing him food and tidying his room. Later, Grete begins working as a salesgirl and has less time for Gregor. When, after over a month of Gregor's condition, Grete's violin playing draws Gregor out of his bedroom, Grete breaks into "a crying fit" (43) and urges her parents to "get rid of it" (43). No longer referring to Gregor as her brother, Grete severs herself from Gregor irreversibly. By the novella's end, Grete's metamorphosis from girl to woman becomes complete when Mr. and Mrs. Samsa realize Grete has turned "into a beautiful and voluptuous young woman" (48). This transformation acts as "something of a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions" (49) for the family.
"Vermin"
The German words which describe Gregor's state, ungeheueren Ungeziefer, have been translated variously as “monstrous vermin,”“huge bug,” and “some sort of monstrous insect.” The German word ungezibere translates to “an unclean animal unfit for sacrifice,” while Ungeziefer refers to six-legged insects, or bugs, colloquially. Difficulty in translation has caused some confusion as to Gregor's physical state. In English, “vermin” tends to describe rodents, but in Kafka's description, Gregor has an "armour-hard [sic] back,” a "brown, arched abdomen divided up into rigid bow-like sections,” and "numerous legs, pitifully thin" (3). This description, and later descriptions of Gregor's movements, suggest Gregor is a cockroach-like insect. However, Kafka resisted including illustrations for his vision of Gregor. This ambiguity, both in the original German and subsequent translations, serves a few purposes. First, it allows the reader room for imagination. Second, it puts more pressure on Gregor's figurative metamorphosis from overworked laborer to crawling pest. And third, knowing the German association with animal sacrifice, suggests that Gregor's death may have been a kind of sacrifice, made for the prosperity of his family.
The Woman in Furs
After noticing his physical transformation, Gregor immediately notices the only picture hanging on his wall: "a woman with a fur hat and a fur boa[…]lifting up in the direction of the viewer a solid fur muff into which her entire forearm had disappeared" (3). Later, Gregor's mother reveals that Gregor built the frame himself. "Fretwork" (9), or ornamental woodworking, turns out to be Gregor's only form of "diversion" (9) in an otherwise mundane life of constant work. The framed picture represents one of the only self-serving things Gregor seems to have done. Later, when Grete and Mrs. Samsa begin to move his furniture from his room, Gregor clings to the picture. Pressing himself to the cool glass makes Gregor's "hot abdomen feel good" (30). This near sensual act of pressing himself to an image of a glamorous woman shows not only Gregor's clinging to humanity but his clinging to potential for romance and beauty.
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By Franz Kafka
