Metamorphoses

Uno 6

 

Melinda Uno

Campion 

English 165: Short Story Masters

University of California, Berkeley

11 April 2010

Metamorphoses

“Metamorphosis /mettmorfsiss/   • noun (pl. metamorphoses /mettmorfseez/) 1 the transformation of an insect or amphibian from an immature form or larva to an adult form in distinct stages. 2 a change in form or nature.” (AskOxford.com).

“Metamorphosis n. (pl –ses) a change of form or character.” (Hawker 388).

The concept of change is the primary focus of “The Metamorphosis”. In Franz Kafka’s arguably most well known short story, the first change has already happened. This is the obvious change in Gregor Samsa’s physical makeup revealed in the first sentence, from the body of a human into one of “a gigantic insect” (Kafka 67). Kafka uses the extreme notion of Gregor’s physical metamorphosis as a tool of understanding the metamorphosis of the Samsa family’s lifestyle. In other words, the nature of understanding Gregor’s transformation of form is parallel to the change in the general character of the Samsa family. Gregor’s change is pivotal to the development of the Samsa family as a unit. The coping methods of each of the family members, most specifically the dialogue and Gregor’s own thought processes described in the story expose to the reader the nature of the Samsa family at a very unprotected and vulnerable moment. 

The nature of the stubbornness, unwillingness or inability for the Samsa family to change without an extreme event is primarily apparent in the first section. Gregor’s room is “a regular human bedroom, only rather too small”. The Compact Oxford Dictionary defines regular as” “forming or following a definite pattern; occurring at uniform intervals; conforming to an accepted role or pattern” (Hawker 512). Interestingly, the room is already uncomfortable for Gregor prior to his transformation. This is symbolic of the lack of a comfortable emotional state in his previous lifestyle. When something functions outside of this pattern, everyone is aware. First, the entire family is alerted to the fact that something is wrong: Gregor does not go to work. The fear of the loss of Gregor as financial support to both the family and Gregor’s job sparks immediate response. A higher ranking coworker visits Gregor in attempts to persuade him to work and investigate his absence. The mechanized system to which Gregor works is compared in his mind to a mass of insects and the parts dependent upon each other: “even if he did catch the train he wouldn’t avoid a row with the chief, since the firm’s porter would have been waiting for the five o’clock train and would have long since reported his failure to turn up. The porter was a creature of the chief’s, spineless and stupid” (Kafka 69). The vocabulary of the chief clerk’s dialogue echoes that of something mindless: “I am speaking here in the name of your parents and your chief, and I beg you quite seriously to give me an immediate and precise explanation. You amaze me. You amaze me” (77). It sounds as though everything the clerk says is rehearsed. The motions of Grete’s cleaning of Gregor’s room in section II is also systematic: “she always pushed the char back to the same place window… if he could have spoken to her and thanked her… he could have borne her ministrations better; as it were, they oppressed him” (98). The lodgers are the epitome of this zombie like state which Gregor loathe: “… the lodger really did go with long strides into the hall, his two friends had been listening and had quite stopped rubbing their hands for some moments and now went scuttling after him as if afraid that Mr. Samsa might get into the hall before them and cut them off from their leader” (130). Just as Newton’s First Law of Motion states: “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it”, the Samsa family in a state of consistency must have an external force applied to it in order to change. The external force is the uncontrolled change in Gregor’s physical appearance.

Gregor’s stunning reveal provokes awe and horror into the very hearts of his family and coworker. The extreme lack of fear that Gregor feels upon learning that he has the body of something resembling a multi legged beetle and cockroach like insect is in opposition to the other responses.  Irony does not elude Kafka and is humorous in the fact that Gregor’s chosen profession is a commercial travelling salesman and the primary human functions Gregor loses are his ability to move and his ability to communicate. Gregor’s main concern is the fact that he cannot go to work. He wonders more about how his alarm went off but did not wake him (69) for many more sentences than the length his thoughts about how he transitioned from a human into an insect. Gregor is the one who changed and doesn’t even believe at first. This calm reaction contrasts the panic distress of the other Samsas. Gregor’s main focus is keeping his job, then soothing the chief clerk, and then soothing his family. Yet Gregor is unsuccessful because of the horrific nature of his physical appearance and later his lack of the ability to speak. The clerk flees the scene and Mrs. Samsa dictates action (85), while Mr. Samsa gets angry and cries (81), then forces Gregor back into his room (86). Each of these events is unproductive in helping Gregor transform into a human, a reversal that is a very logically assumed concern of Gregor’s family. Mr. Samsa even prevents Gregor’s emergence from the chrysalis like confines of his room.

Gregor’s room is the main setting for most of the story, and this physical state is a microcosm of the relationships between Gregor and his parents and sister. Gregor’s room is attached to several others by means of locked doors, solid wood that muffle sound and block sight. The change in Gregor’s voice and appearance is unknown until Gregor speaks and reveals himself. Gregor’s room is attached to both his sister’s room and the living room and in the beginning of the story, the Samsa’s communicate through it (70-80). Gregor is both between his parents and his sister physically early in the story and also emotionally divided between them in the section II. Then, as Grete tends for Gregor and cleans his room (105 etc.) Gregor’s emotional interests are guided by his sister’s interests (i.e. her taste for music and his desire to pay for her musical education). Then, acting in what they believe to be Gregor’s best interest and in accordance with his desires, Grete and Mrs. Samsa clear out Gregor’s furniture from his room: “They were clearing his room out; taking away everything he loved… they were now loosening the writing desk which had almost sunk into the floor, the desk at which he had done all his homework when he was at the commercial academy… (104). Gregor associates his desk with human memories and by removing this item and his other belongings, his mother and sister are controlling Gregor’s immediate stimuli. When Gregor acts in his own interest, his sister scolds him for not accounting for his mother’s sensitive sentiment (104). The problem of Gregor’s state is locked away and dealt with according to the rest of the Samsa’s conditions. Grete will care for her brother, but only if she doesn’t have any contact with him, while Mrs. Samsa faints and cannot even tolerate the sight of Gregor, and Mr. Samsa chooses to not interact with Gregor unless forced to do so. Although Gregor is the most obviously oppressed in the story, there are hints of oppression of the women of “The Metamorphosis”. After hearing of his wife and daughter’s encounter with Gregor, he says: “Just what I expected… just what I’ve been telling you, but you women never listen” (107). This is an example of a misinterpretation in communication, a common occurrence in the story. Mr. Samsa hears what reinforces his fears, while his sister fails to accurately dictate Gregor’s intent. The communication issues of the family are also a result in Gregor’s inability to speak. He can hear everything said but say nothing himself. His actions are all that can be interpreted and because of his appearance every action he makes sparks an involuntary response in the other characters. 

Gregor’s account of events and his thought processes play an important role in the makeup of “The Metamorphosis”. Gregor’s failed persuasions to the chief clerk are a sign of Gregor’s inability to express himself. Gregor makes a lot of excuses for events over which he has no control, and even blames his love for his sister’s music on his insect state: “Was he an animal, that music had such an effect upon him?... He was determined to push forward until he reached his sister” (121), even though he expresses his love for her music earlier in the story. Also, because his family cannot understand him, Gregor’s reaction to their conversations is often extreme. Gregor seems to be selling himself of a lifestyle that he doesn’t want, in order to do what he feels he must do, but the general laziness and unhappiness of the Samsa family suggests that Gregor is facilitating this condition for everyone. 

The extremity of the contrast in the emotional and physical reactions to Gregor’s change reveal why the change was unlikely to occur without some sort of emotional trauma such as the death in the Samsa family. This along with the idea that stages in the development of the Samsa family over time resemble the metamorphosis of an insect or amphibian supports the notion that Gregor’s death is inevitable; as distinct as the states of life and death. Gregor is the lifeline that financially supports the whole family up to the point of his metamorphosis. Mimicking phases of development, the story is divided into three sections and in the first section the family is the least autonomous and Gregor’s ignorance of the nature of his new form is the least developed. He attempts to get out of bed and contemplates asking for help: “Two strong people- he thought of his father and the servant girl- would be amply sufficient... ignoring the fact that the doors were all locked, ought he really to call for help? In spite of his misery he could not suppress a smile at the very idea of it (73-4); (It is noticeable that Gregor omits the presumably physically weaker members of his family, his mother and sister, and yet it his sister who has the strength of will to take ownership of Gregor’s care). The family is dependent entirely on Gregor’s income and it is not until section II that the reader learns the details of the family’s financial situation. After the initial shock of Gregor’s change has dissipated, the remaining human Samsas converse monetary subjects while Gregor listens through the door and contemplates: “Now his father…could not be expected to do much… Gregor’s old mother, how would she earn a living with her asthma, and was his sister to earn her bread, she who was still a child of seventeen…” (97). Gregor’s opinion of his old father’s strength barely includes caring for Gregor (and Mr. Samsa fails to even do that). Indeed, Gregor’s fears seem to come true in Section III, as the family is exhausted by caring for themselves (112), but the resolution of the story is sufficient evidence that the family gains something from Gregor’s change. The Samsa family at the end of “The Metamorphosis” is very different from the Samsa family in the beginning. The Samsa family in the beginning is infantile, unmotivated energy that must be charged into action by an event such as Gregor’s change. As extreme as turning on a switch, the Samsa family is pushed through a slow and tough transition stage until they can move forward with their lives. 

​While “The Metamorphosis” is a fitting title in more ways than one, the title would also work as “The Metamorphoses”, the plural, for there are many changes that occur in this story. Gregor’s physical state reflects that of a phase in the Samsa family’s life, and his transformation and death serve as milestones or markers of the beginning and ending of a period of growth. Although Gregor’s physical makeup changes, his internal state remains constant. For his family, the changes are reversed, and the other Samsas emerge from this time in a more developed and prosperous state.