Birdyline Book Blog

I don’t think I’m the only one who was forced to read Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis in school. Just like many other students I absolutely HATED (still do) the novel. I didn’t feel like reading a book about a bug-man and I disliked how Kafka wrote the women as complete strereotypes and I possibly disliked how unrealistic almost every interaction the family has with Gregor even more. I do think however, that some meaning can be derived from The Metamorphosis if you look at it like a parable or at least 80% symbolic. The messaging that I find most present and impactful is the dehumanization of people with disability in a work-centric society. Through Gregor’s transformation and the subsequent response of his family, coworkers, and peers, Kafka reveals the judgement and alienation that occurs when a person can no longer work for whatever reason.

The Metamorphosis opens with Gregor finding himself turned into a bug. Instead of worrying about how to turn himself back to human, he is more concerned with how to get to work while avoiding trouble. This reaction seems odd especially considering the magnitude of the problem- but this is one of the first important part in which to not take the words literally. The manager from Gregor’s work comes and demands an explanation as to why Gregor missed his morning train. He states through the door that he “believed [Gregor] to be a quiet, reasonable person,” but is now “dumbfounded” because Gregor seems “intent on flaunting bizarre moods” (Kafka 7). This bizarre intrusion into Gregor’s home proves two things about Gregor’s workplace. First, Gregor and the manager are not held to the same expectations. Gregor has to be “quiet and reasonable” at all times but the manager can barge into his home and cause a fuss over one late day. Second, the manager does not see Gregor as either respectable or worth listening to. Falling short for one day can override at least five years (five-fifteen depending on the translation) of dedication. The manager’s response to Gregor’s absence shows that Gregor had already become less than human in the eyes of his employers prior to his transformation. 

Gregor’s dramatic transformation is a symbol for illness or injury which is suggested by the response of Gregor’s family members. Before he opens the door his mother wails that “he may be seriously ill” and his sister proposes that they “go to the doctor immediately” (Kafka 8). After the door has been opened and his family is faced by the incomprehensibly worse situation than they could have imagined, they interpret it differently than most people would have.

Face it Kafka– In real life, or even in a story incorporating magical realism,  upon seeing a giant insect where a son or brother should be, someone would most likely take it at face value and be scared, but would not automatically make the improbable leap and  recognize it as the missing person. Gregor’s family, however, immediately recognizes the bug as Gregor. Their recognition is more in keeping with seeing someone who is ill rather than seeing their family member transformed into a literal. giant. cockroach. By keeping Gregor’s family’s response in-line with a more realistic occurrence, Kafka underscores the symbolic quality of the transformation.

 Most of Gregor’s family reacts negatively and no longer thinks of him as the same person that he was before. The mother especially allows her revulsion of Gregor to get in the way of caring for her own son. Luckily Gregor’s sister, Grete, seems to accept Gregor despite his transformation and even goes out of her way to make him more comfortable–feeding him and moving the furniture. However, as the need to care for Gregor increases, she becomes more resentful. By Chapter 3, she is “no longer paying any heed to what might be a special treat for Gregor” and instead “would use her foot to shove some random food into Gregor’s room” before rushing off to tend to her own needs (Kafka 30). These responses from his family show that Gregor’s transformation has led to very strained bonds in much the same way that illness can affect relationships.

In the end, the family’s callous response to Gregor’s eventual demise encapsulates the complete loss of value they placed on Gregor’s life once he became financially useless. His father remarks, “well… now we can thank the Lord” immediately upon being informed of his own son’s death. He and his family view Gregor’s death not as a loss of a family member but as a release from a burden. The three take the day off of work and rest, almost in celebration. On their trip out into the countryside they “[discuss] their future prospects and [conclude] that… [they are] anything but bad” (Kafka 40). They come to the conclusion that their jobs are doing quite well and they do not need Gregor at all. Without the burden of Gregor’s care, the family is excited to begin the rest of their lives, and the only momentary second of regret they have is before they conclude that they do not need Gregor’s income. This final dismissal concludes Kafka’s commentary on the alienation and dehumanization that occurs when society views people only in terms of their physical capability and financial usefulness.