Introduction
The Metamorphosis is one of the most challenging works of the 20th century. In his novel, through the wide use of symbols, Kafka aptly portrays the breakdown of social ties. In Samsa’s example, the author depicts how perceptions and feelings of family members change, revealing the illusory character of seemingly unshaken family bonds and relations in society.
The novel is full of allegories, metaphors, and hidden connotations, which lay the basis for any possible interpretation and allow the readers to draw parallels between fiction and reality. The physical metamorphosis of Gregor serves to highlight the moral metamorphosis of his family, and the physically repulsive insect shows more human feelings than people.
The central themes raised in the novel are the interrelations between a person and society and the restrictions these relations impose on an individual. The book argues that outer attributes of success and well-being replace true feelings, which people have to hide deep within themselves in today’s society. While people are accessed by outer attributes, the wall of alienation between individuals grows, resulting in the disintegration of a society, due to which each person remains alone with his hopes and feelings.
Transformation as an Embodiment of Gregor’s Life
The novel’s central character is Gregor Samsa, a young man who lives with his family: his mother, father, and sister. He works as a traveling salesman and provides for his family – parents, and sister. He is a man with a deep inner world and a sincerely loving heart who, every day, forces himself to go to an unloved job for the sake of his family. Moreover, he is constantly afraid to let his family down and not live up to their expectations.
Portraying Gregor’s character Kafka (1948) raises the topic of the sacrifice of one person for the benefit of many and, at the same time, its meaninglessness. Neither Gregor’s parents nor his sister truly cares for his feelings, but, at the same time, they are happy to take his money and make use of it (Kafka, 1948). Later it turns out that Gregor’s father is not too old to work, and his sister is able to find a job, too; they just do not want to take the trouble working while Gregor can provide for them. Denying himself every luxury, Gregor believes that the family can not do without him, while in reality, his father puts his money away for himself.
Perhaps the transformation would not have taken place if the atmosphere within the family had been different and Gregor had had his share of love and affection. The transformation turns out to be only a complete embodiment of the state of things in which Gregor had been living for a long time. Now his appearance reflects the life he led because love for his family stood above all his other interests, and he had to live like a fussy and helpless insect. Nevertheless, Gregor believes his family truly loves him and will support him in any situation.
All Gregor’s illusions are shattered when he turns into a repelling insect. Gregor loses the ability of speech, but not of understanding, and at once, he is confronted with the truths that he could not understand before due to exhausting work. Thus, he discovers that his relatives are more concerned about his losing a job than about his well-being. Being in dire need of sympathy, he sees that his family takes no pains to understand him. They make no effort to communicate with him through gestures or body language and treat him as if he has lost all feelings with the ability to speak.
In fact, his family begins to treat him as an enemy. They close the door into his room as if he were dangerous and wanted to escape. His sister is the only one who comes to him and then only to clean the room and bring him food; she takes no notice of Gregor and, in fact, is happy not to see him at all (Kafka, 1948). When one day he shows himself, she does not step into the room at all, uncaring whether he will remain hungry.
Gregor’s mother first wants to see her son but is unable to take him as he is – she screams and faints, frightening her daughter and Gregor. His father is hostile and treats Gregor as if he were a natural insect. Kafka (1948) writes, “For [Gregor] knew from the first day of his new life that, as far as he was concerned, his father considered the greatest force the only appropriate response” (p. 31).
All members of Gregor’s family once willingly called him brother and son, were proud of him, and enjoyed the fruits of his work. Now they think about themselves, what people will say – about anything but Gregor, leaving him alone with his misfortune, without hope, nor for help nor sympathy. Here the theme of social loneliness is felt, which inextricably follows the main character. Gregor is alienated from his family not by his revolting appearance but, in truth, by the loss of the ability to contribute to the family’s well-being in terms of money and social position.
Kafka’s View of Society in Relationship to the Protagonist
The author opposes an individual to the society, stating that deeply feeling individuals may not find their place within modern society, built on greed, self-preservation, and love for comfort. Here Kafka draws parallels with his own life since his parents were not interested in his inner world and cared only about his physical comfort. Kafka grew up in a family where his father’s authority was absolute and overriding; the inability to share his feelings with anyone led to feelings of deprivation and deep sadness.
Kafka’s protagonist, Gregor, suffers deeply from the attitude he perceives within the family to himself. However, Gregor, as a loving and caring individual, even understanding that his family does not take any interest in his feelings or health, still thinks of them with tenderness. Kafka (1948) writes, “He remembered his family with deep feelings of love” (p. 45). Moreover, Gregor is eager to do his best not to disturb anyone and, in the body of an insect, behaves more humanly than his family. Thus, Kafka (1948) opposes an individual the society, stating that deeply feeling individuals may not find their place within modern society, built on greed, self-preservation, and love for comfort.
Indeed, soon Gregor is seen as an inconvenience within his own family, and they are eager to get rid of him: “It must be gotten rid of […]. That is the only way, father”, says Grete (Kafka, 1948, p.42). Having made no attempt to communicate with Gregor, she blatantly claims that he lacks understanding and is no better than a usual insect. Shutting the door behind him, she shuts out all the good things that Gregor had done for them; once he is incapable of taking care of himself, no one is willing to compromise their comfort for his sake. The family is not willing to try to cure his wound, which had inflamed; they are not even interested in whether he eats or not.
Thus, the novel depicts social alienation, alienation the most drastic since it takes place within a family, among people one first turns to for love and compassion. Kafka paints the picture of a deeply feeling individual, capable of self-sacrifice, rejected by his family at the moment when he needs them most, but who, miraculously, still cares for them.
Kafka (1948) portrays this with the help of a terrible metonymy: he conveys the complete spiritual isolation of the hero through an incredible metamorphosis of his appearance. This metonymy can be extended further to embrace society at large where people, above all, care about their own comfort. While society is governed by self-preservation, each person remains alone with his feelings since social ties are futile. Kafka sees alienation and the inability to foster loving and caring relations as one of the worst calamities of the twentieth century.
The very fact that Gregor refuses to eat is suggestive: torn between love for his family and the understanding that they do not care for him, he chooses death rather than living with strangers ironically called ‘the family. Moreover, he does not want to create inconvenience to the people he loves. His whole life has been a sacrifice for his family’s sake, and, to remain true to his character, Gregor Samsa has to die not to become a burden to the people he loves.
The death of Gregor lifts him above the hostile world: having learned the truths about his family and the society at large, he understands how unbearable his situation is. Turning into an insect serves, on the one hand, as a sentence imposed on the hero of the story, but, on the other hand, it morally justifies and tragically elevates him. The alienation of Gregor, which arose within the family and therefore had the character of universality, conveys the features of society at large, where the considerations of success and comfort often override sympathy, compassion, and disinterestedness.
Incredibly, everyone is relieved by Gregor’s death, seeing it as liberation from hateful duties. “It’s lying there, totally snuffed!” says the cleaning woman, who is the first to see the dead Gregor (Kafka, 1948, p.45). Gregor’s mother only asks indifferently whether it is true, and his father’s reaction is monstrous: “Well, now we can thank God” (Kafka, 1948, p.46).
The callousness with which Gregor’s family took the news of his death reflects the indifference that reigns in society regarding an individual’s needs and feelings. His parents and sister plan to move to a new place to forget the events of the last months, to forget Gregor altogether. In fact, they have already forgotten him, making plans for their daughter’s marriage.
Conclusion
Today, the problems raised in Kafka’s novel are especially relevant because the cult of success in terms of money and comfort in modern society often replaces human consideration. Society itself imposes a limitation on individuals, dividing people into successful and not, into those who ‘made it and those who did not.
Children are often afraid not to live up to their parent’s expectations, not get the right education, or find a highly-paid job. They often choose careers and professions with high salaries but not those they have an inclination to. Societal and family considerations often come to the fore, while an individual is tormented by the contradiction between his desires and society’s expectations. The novel raises the problem of alienation which arises when people, eager to share their success, forget to share their trouble and feelings.
Moreover, the novel highlights how the attitude to a person when he is incapacitated and cannot take care of himself may change on the part of his family and friends. The very title of the novel ‘transformation’ depicts physical transformation and a more profound moral transformation within family members, where from the seemingly supportive and united family, they turn into Gregor’s bitter enemies. Today, with the aging population and a high number of traffic accidents, it becomes especially relevant to remember that we are human, and misfortune may happen to everyone.
Work Cited
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Schocken Books, 1948.