Background of the Novel
The Metamorphosis is Franz Kafka’s (1883-1924) masterpiece. It was completed in 1912, but the author didn’t publish it till 1915. It is a modernist work, which in the form of the novella, has created a nightmarish fictional world. It has hugely impacted literature, and an example of it can be cited as a genre named ‘Kafkaesque.’ These are dystopian, nightmarish works that cause a helpless feeling of disgust in the reader. It can also be called a magic-realism work.
It has attracted much scholarly attention because of its mysterious nature. Scholars view it from different angles, and their opinions regarding it vary. Some consider it a feminist piece, some think of it as a tale of oppression told allegorically, some take it as an autobiographical piece. Its importance for the scholars lies in the fact that seen from any angle; it never disappoints the scholars. It has been studied using psychoanalysis, political, and social criticism, and from the religious or philosophical point of view, it has never-exhaustingly yielded results. Scholars have referred to it as a work that ‘depict(s) the mercilessness of the world.’
It has been analyzed in historical and biographical contexts, which has revealed many facts regarding it. It tells the miserable story of young Kafka, who was trying hard to become a successful businessman. Nazism was in vogue in Germany and its area of influence. Czech Jews were having a tough time due to growing anti-Semitism. Kafka had isolated himself and felt inferior due to his haunted thinking. This work is a suggestion of his defiance of the then accepted values and rejection to yield to them. It is often cited as a work that symbolizes alienation. It realizes the feeling of being in an inescapable void that haunted Kafka’s mind until his death.
Scholars speculate that why Kafka used dung beetle to be the final form of his protagonist Gregor. Some relate it to his loathing for his family, while others relate it to the shame that he felt of himself. Some muse that whether it was the alienation that he felt due to his Gnosticism and his conversion from Judaism. What has made it a classic is the question that often scholars try to find answers for. The shortest answer that can be given is that Kafka’s personal questions have changed into global questions and now haunt the minds of the majority of human beings, threatening the global civilization. In short, we can say that it is a rich, complex tale, and the more scholars dig into it, the more will it yield.
The Metamorphosis Summary
Part I
Gregor Samsa has disconcerting dreams, and when he wakes up, his appearance horrifies him. He has changed into some huge insect, has numerous legs, and he has a shell on his body. To know what calamity has struck him, he looks around in his room. Everything is the same that he has left before sleeping, and he can’t see any change that can give a clue regarding his transformation.
He thinks that it may be a nightmare and wants to go back to his bed. He can’t because he has lost his human legs, and the only option he is left with is to roll and go back to his bed. He is thunderstruck because it’s not a bad dream that can be forgotten, and life will become normal. He is in a helpless situation.
He thinks about the miseries in his life. He considers how constant travelling has affected his life, not being able to make friendships. His job is difficult and can’t quit it though he wants it to. His parents are in debt, and if he quits his job, it will create problems for his whole family. He is facing a dilemmatic situation. His boss is an irritable person, and it’s hard to bear his constant nagging nature. He has overslept, and if he gets late, he will scold him.
He is getting late, and his mother is at the door asking him to get up. When he doesn’t respond, his sister and father join her. He tries to answer her, but his voice has also changed. He twists his body tries to reach the door and open it for them to see his condition. His office manager rings the door because it’s late and he hasn’t reached the office. He shakes his body violently and throws his body out of bed.
The manager comes to his door and asks if everything is alright. His mother is trying to convince the manager that he is getting prepared and will join work in a few whiles. The manager is angry and knocks the door again. Grete, his sister, is crying in the next room. The manager tells his parents that his work is not satisfactory, and he may have stolen money and would be hiding it there. Her mother persistently requests him to calm down. Gregor requests him that he is not feeling well and asks him not to bother his parents.
He is lying on the ground, and he wants to get erect using the door. On the other side of the door, he can hear the manager and his family discussing the strange change in his voice. Grete has been struck the most by this sudden change in his behavior. She leaves in a hurry to find a locksmith and a doctor.
He opens the door lock with great efforts and opens the door. He gets out of the room and is amazed that he can use these small legs to move. When the manager’s eye catches his glimpse, he is terrified. In this terror, he moves backward frantically. He tells him not to say something about this at his workplace because people will find something to chew on. But the manager doesn’t listen to him and leaves their home in terror, leaving back his cane. His father gets angry and tries to shoo him back to the room using the manager’s cane. His father is harsh and doesn’t care about the plight that has suddenly caught him. He moves backward and reaches back his room, injuring himself. His father closes the door behind him to ensure that he doesn’t get out again.
Part II
In the evening, when Gregor wakes up, he sees somebody has kept food for him in the room. There is a bowl of milk and bread, and his appetite forces him to taste it. But he cannot take it, it tastes bad. He tries to listen if anybody is talking, but all he can hear is complete silence. Probably his family’s routine has changed because he can’t hear his father reading the newspaper.
A sudden movement astonishes him; the door opens and closes instantly. He remembers the time when he was normal and was proud that he is the one who feeds the family. But this all is no more, and he is a loathed animal, not even let to step out of his room. He is aware of the hard situation that this disaster has led to, but he thinks that he will try to reduce the effects of it as much as possible. Everything has changed, and his room seems strange to him, now he feels uncomfortable there.
The next day his sister opens the door, and when she sees him, she is frightened. In this fright, she closes the door. A few whiles later, she opens the door again and finds the foodstuff untouched. She doesn’t take it back and brings the left-out food, leaving it on the floor to let him eat. When she leaves, he eats the rotten food and leaves the fresh one. He moves fastly and hides beneath the couch so that his sister is not disturbed. She cleans up the stuff he has left.
He is not sure what has happened to him that changed his form. As time passes, his family gets accustomed to this routine, and his sister informs them regularly about his eating habits. He thinks about time that has passed and wonders how his family sent away the locksmith and doctor. A notable change that he has noticed is that the maid has left and doesn’t come anymore.
One the first day, he has heard his father discussing the financial problems. He told Gregor’s mother and sister that he has saved small friction of his earnings. These savings bring interest now, which will help them cope with the problems. This brought a little relief to him because he thought his family would starve to death due to no income. He is glad that his father was aware of the importance of savings, and now it’s bringing ease to the family.
His father knows that his savings won’t last long, maybe a year or two. After that, they will have to find an alternative. His mother and father are not physically well, and their health can’t afford work. His sister is a bit foolish and can’t be allowed to work outside. Gregor grows pessimistic due to the impending hard times. His eyesight is deteriorating and can’t see much far. His sister notices the changes, and now, when cleaning the room, she sets the chair near the window. From the window, he takes a look at the outside environment. She leaves the window open for him so that fresh air comes to his room.
A month has passed, but still, his family has not accepted his new form. His sight still frightens them. His sister comes to his room to clean it, but she hasn’t the courage to see. He longs for his family’s love, but nobody wants to show it. He hides his body in the bed sheet, but still, his sister fears to look at him.
He spends his time crawling in the room while sometimes he clings to the ceiling and moves from one corner to another until he falls. For the first two weeks, his parents didn’t come near him, but then his mother insisted on seeing him. His sister and father tried to convince her that it’s not a good idea. But this happens soon, and his sister asks her help in a chore. While moving into the room, his ooze litters the room. Grete gets this idea and asks her mother to help get the furniture get out of the room.
His mother is astonished at the idea that the furniture needs to be removed. She is hopeful that he will come to his real self, and when he becomes normal, everything should be normal, not reminding him of the bad dream. He is emotional at hearing his mother’s sound. This reminds him of his old self and the change that now he thinks as a bug. Though her mother is reluctant to move the furniture, his sister insists on doing so. She thinks that she cares for him, understands him, and is aware of his needs. He wants to tell them that he wants the furniture to be let the way it is, but he can’t because it would frighten them.
They start moving the furniture, which he doesn’t want to happen. He gets out of the couch and starts moving from one side of the room to another. He clings to the picture of a woman hanging on the wall. This makes him feel comfortable because it has a cold sensation. He clings to it because he doesn’t want it to be taken.
When her sister enters, she sees him and wants her mother not to see him in this situation. Before she can stop her, she enters the room and sees him. At this miserable sight of her son, she is shocked and faints. His father is informed that Mrs. Samsa has fainted; he comes to the room. When he is told the reason for her fainting, he gets infuriated. He misunderstands that Gregor tried to attack her and chases him in the room.
He notices that after his transformation, his father has started working and is a bank attendant now. He wears a uniform and stands straight. He has changed his looks and is no more untidy and dishevelled. He attacks him with fruits trying to hit him. An apple strikes his back, and the pain is unbearable. His mother pleads Mr. Samsa not to harm him.
Part III
In a month, Gregor recovers from the wound that the apple has made. His family reconsiders their perception of Gregor, not taking him just a bug but rather part of their family who has transformed into this vermin. Their attitude towards him has changed; they care about him. In the evenings, his room’s door is slightly left open so that he can have fresh air and see them busy in their activities.
His whole family works now to get their livelihood. His father works for a bank, his mother as a seamstress for a garment shop, while his sister works as a salesgirl. Grete is taking a course in French and shorthand so she can move ahead in her profession. He has come to know that his family’s financial condition is getting thinner. The situation has worsened to the extent that now they have to sell the family jewelry. They can’t afford an expensive apartment like this, but they have no option because Gregor is there.
Gregor, at coming to know this all has lost his peace of mind. He can’t sleep or eat well. All he thinks about is the end of this nightmare, which has ruined his family. He dreams about the end of this nightmare, which has taken hold of his life. He wants it to end as soon as possible so that he can have his family rest get them rid of the tedious routine they are having. He notices a change in his family members’ behavior towards each other. One day his mother cleaned his room, which infuriated Grete when she came to know. She yelled at her mother, telling her that it was her responsibility and nobody should go there. This shouting infuriated her father, and he came to hit her, but her mother took him away, asking him to calm down.
Gregor has noticed another change in his home. The old maid, who used to frighten when she saw him, has gone and is replaced by a part-time maid. This new maid is a bold person and comes to his room without showing any fear. She calls him ‘dung-beetle.’ He is irritated with her presence, and one day, he tries to intimidate her, but she lifts a chair to inform him of the consequences. To fulfill their financial needs, his family takes three boarders. They have long beards and seem serious persons.
Stuff from the boarders’ room is taken and stored in Gregor’s room to ensure cleanliness. This pleases him because he can move around it, but it later depresses him. The boarders have replaced the family members as mere servants and now take their meals in the living room while the family takes its meals in the kitchen. Because of the boarders now his door stays closed and he can’t see what’s happening around.
One day the door is left slightly open, and he can see the boarders sitting in the living room taking their meal. His mother and sister serve them. They take meat and soup, which depresses him because he no longer has human teeth and can’t eat. One day Grete plays violin and is invited by the boarders to play it in the living room. She starts playing it, her mother and father sit in a corner watching her. He comes out of his room in a dirty state and starts watching her. As she plays, the boarders lose their interest in it, and no one is paying heed to the music. He longs to go there and tell her how he has considered sending her to a music school. In this fantasy, he tells her this all, and she is in tears.
A little while later, he hears one of the boarder’s screams who is pointing at the big bug moving towards Grete. The rest of the boarders get angry at Mr. Samsa for not letting them know the presence of this huge bug at the apartment. Grete stops playing the violin and rushes to prepare their beds for the night. They don’t want to stay there anymore and won’t pay for the time they spent there. Instead, they want to sue the Samsas for deceiving them.
Grete is angry due to this turn of events due to him and asks her family to get rid of him because it isn’t her brother. She says that if it were her brother, he wouldn’t have made their life miserable. He is much pained by this and resolves to bring their miseries to an end. He stays awake till three in the morning and falls. The next morning he is found dead.
His dead body is discovered by the maid when she comes to clean his room. His family comes to see him. His father asks the boarders to leave their apartment immediately. All of them write to their bosses for leave and mention the reason for not being available for work. The maid dumps the body and tells his family, but they show no interest in it. They go out to have a walk and discuss their plans to leave their current apartment and find a smaller one. They discover that they have much more money left than they had thought. Grete looks a beautiful woman, and her parents decide to get her married. Grete stops and stretches.
The Metamorphosis Characters Analysis
Gregor Samsa
Gregor Samsa is the main character in this novella and works as a salesman. A sudden transformation takes place in him, and he changes to a huge insect. Though his body is transformed, he doesn’t change as a character. He stays patient and accepts the hardships silently that he has to face. He has been the sole earner for the family since the failure of his father. He disliked his job, which is a travelling salesperson but doesn’t quit it because his family will starve to death. He accepts everything that has come to his life, and again he does when he becomes an insect. He spends his life after transformation without any complaints or creating any problems for his family members. He is a forbearing person. The conflict in the story is Gregor’s acceptance of his insect body while not giving up his human thoughts.
He initially thinks that his condition will change and he will again be able to support his family. But later he alters this though because there is no escape. At the acceptance of this thought, certain changes come to his psychology. He is happy in dark places, eats things that are filthy and fit for insects. Though there are changes in his psyche, there are still some human feelings that he hasn’t lost. One of them is feeling sympathy for his family members, whose life has been badly affected by this disaster.
He doesn’t want to give up all his human feelings when his family tries to remove the furniture out of his room; he clings to the photograph. This is a reminder that he still wants to stay human. He is depressed by the turn that changed his life, but he doesn’t accept it. He dreams of the good days that may come, but when he understands that it is not possible, he gives up. He understands that he is becoming a burden on his family and dies silently.
Grete
Grete is Gregor Samsa’s sister. She is the only character along with the protagonist who has been focused more than any other character. This shows her significance. She loves her brother even after his transformation. She is portrayed as showing great affection towards his brother even after his transformation. She takes care of him when he has changed and cleans his room. She is the one who is the source of contact between him and the family. She understands his needs and takes the furniture out of the room to provide open space for him. She is the only one who makes Gregor feel that there is anybody who still loves him.
She is the one who undergoes evolution throughout the story. She changes from a foolish girl to a responsible working woman. As she is at the final step of her development, her love for Gregor comes to an end. She refuses to accept this ‘bug’ as her brother. She stops caring for him or doing him his chores. In the end, we see her as a grown woman, stepping to live like an independent person.
This character has attracted many feminist critics, and they call this novella a story of feminist liberation.
Father
Father is seen from Gregor’s perspective. He seems a cold person whose sole concern is money and financial matters. He hasn’t any close relationship with his son and considers him a money-making machine. He has no regard for emotions and human feelings. He has lost his interest in Gregor because he can’t provide the family anymore with money and thus is of no use to him. He has no sympathy for Gregor after he has undergone the transformation. He doesn’t confront Gregor throughout the story but twice. For the first time, one the day when the transformation has taken place. While for the second time, it takes place when he misunderstands his intention as an attack on his mother.
Gregor doesn’t express contempt for his father, but the narrator’s tone shows that he dislikes him. It also suggests that he considers his father responsible for miseries in his life. Gregor feels an alienation for him and isn’t shown showing any affection for him. He is referred to as Mr.Samsa throughout the novella, and this shows the strained relationship between him and his father.
Mother
Mrs. Samsa is Gregor’s mother and represents a typical mother. She loves her son and can’t accept that he has changed into a bug. For the first time when she says in him this form, she faints because it is unbearable for her. She keeps loving her son though he has changed into an insect. Even in the end, when Grete shows her disgust for this creature, she is the one who opposes the idea of getting rid of it. She is a caring person and stops Mr. Samsa from hitting Gregor when he misunderstands that it has tried to attack her. She also evolves and becomes a working woman because she has no other option.
The Chief Clerk
The chief clerk is an employee at Gregor’s workplace. He is a typical boss whose sole purpose of life is to make a hell of his subordinates’ lives. He is not bold and confident as he shows himself, it can be seen when Gregor as a bug comes out of his room.
The Charwoman
She is the part-time servant who works at Samsas and has replaced the old maid. She is a typical maid who doesn’t care about anything and is shown as robotic, having no feelings. She is the one who dumps Gregor’s body after his death.
Themes in The Metamorphosis
The Absurdity of Life
This novella affirms the absurdity of life. If we look at the main event that took place in Gregor’s life, it can assure us that life is nonsense. We are living in a universe that is chaotic and random. The transformation that is described is impossible and didn’t take place ever.
Another thing signifying the absurdity is that there is no reason given for this transformation or any other information is given regarding it, except that it happened. It is not regarded as a punishment because there is no clue that he was a bad person or committed any mistake that may have led to it. All he has done is for the well-being of his family and intends in the future to do the same. There can be no reason for him deserving this fate. From these reasons, we can conclude that it is not a consequence of anything wrong that Gregor did, rather it is something by chance that absurdly happened to him.
We can also notice absurdity in the rest of the characters. Their behavior changes as the transformation takes place. They behave as this all happened due to Gregor and is responsible for all this.
Sympathy and its Limits
As human beings, all of us have sympathy for each other, though it may be in a meager amount; in some cases, still, it is present. In the case of this story, it is evident. When Gregor transforms, his family has revulsion and sympathy for him at a single instant. His transformation doesn’t lead to instant revulsion; rather, it grows gradually.
They fear and hate this bug that has replaced their family member but doesn’t attempt to kill it or get it out of the home. We can notice Grete; she is sympathetic towards him, but as time passes, she grows indifferent towards him, and in the end, she calls him a bug, not her brother. He is discussed in secret conversations but not let know what they talk about him. They start loathing him and feel frightened from his sight, and this leads their sympathies to the background.
This way, their sympathies change into indifference leading to hatred, and then they feel relieved when he dies. Thus sympathy has its limits, which are crossed in a little time when he transforms.
Incongruous Relationship between Mind and Body
As the transformation takes place, Samsa’s body changes, but his body doesn’t change. This creates a situation of disharmony between his mind and body. He has a human mind trapped in a bug’s body. He tries to perform human actions though he is not human anymore. He thinks about his family and the activities that he used to do as a human being. He wants to be as he used to be, but he can’t, and that creates the conflict. He is unable to reconcile his body and mind. His instincts have changed, and that astonishes him first, but later, he adapts to it.
An instance of this is his eating habits, he used to love milk, but now it seems unpleasant. He eats left out, rotten food after transformation. He comes to know that either he has to choose the body or mind’s comfort, and he prefers the latter. But he can’t find mental comfort due to this insect body and, in the end, dies of depression. From this, it can be concluded that to lead a smooth life, mind, and body should be in harmony.
Estrangement
The transformation that took place in him creates an alienation in him. He changes from a human being to a bug, and this creates a feeling of estrangement because his body is no more human. Though the mind is human, nobody cares about it. He is physically and emotionally isolated from his family. He is estranged from his family, humanity as well himself because he loses the identity that he used to recognize as his before this disastrous change. In short, he is completely isolated and cannot identify himself with anybody; this makes his life a misery.
One thing more, this estrangement is not a sudden incident. It has taken place gradually, starting from his workdays as a sales manager. He has no friends, and his family considers him their part up till he is providing them with their needs. When he ceases to do this function, this becomes evident. The only identity he has is being the provider of livelihood to his family, and this comes to an end with the transformation.
Man and the Natural World
This work is a question mark about the differences between human beings and animals. The only thing that we consider is the mind, which makes us distinct from animals. Gregor is a human being stuck in an animal body, but he isn’t considered a human being. This leads to the question of whether human beings really think? If this is so, then why didn’t his family recognize this fact. Man considers himself a social being blessed with the power to think, and on this basis, he has divided the beings between rational and non-rational beings. But is this division fair? Is man really a rational being? This is the question which The Metamorphosis raises.
Life, Consciousness, and Existence
Existence is the question that is haunting the human mind since times immemorial. People wonder where did they come from, why did they come, what’s their purpose and there are many other questions which people muse about. But a strange thing happens when a sudden change in life comes, and you’re thunderstruck having nothing to do except think and try to find out the answers.
The same has happened to Gregor when life has changed, and he has nothing to do except to think over his miseries. He is conscious of his condition, can’t stop thinking, and can’t change the miserable situation. The same happens once in the life of every human being, though the same physical transformation doesn’t take place. This the basic question which is the theme of this novella, and it makes the reader reconsider thinking all that is happening around.
Morality and Ethics
It is a basic question into the nature of morality and ethics. These are defined as the way we perceive others and how this perception determines our attitude towards them. Different cultures interpret it differently, but Kafka has tried to question it universally that how a human would deal with another when he doesn’t consider him a human being. This thing has been the cause of miseries since the Neanderthal times. The instance that Kafka has tried to refer to as the dealing of Jews by the anti-Semitics.
Family
Institution of the family is the most attacked icon in the modern era. Kafka has questioned it both from the modernist view as well from the ethical point of view. In a family, the father is the head while he earns nothing, while the son earns but still has no value. And if something happens to him, he loses all the value and is valued like a bug. Kafka questions this and tries to subvert the prevalent values, as a strong attack on the family.
Isolation
Sometimes our wishes come true, but they prove fatal if compared to the misery we are already in. Gregor wanted to get a short period of isolation but changed into a bug, being isolated forever. This was a desire that ruined his life. Though it seems somewhat supernatural, the author conveys the message that we should be careful regarding our wishes. The same happened to Gregor, and he had no option except to feel shame for the form he transformed into. So there may be a message to reconcile with the society, and if we don’t want to, then the consequences may be grave.
The Metamorphosis Literary Analysis
The Metamorphosis is a modernist work that successfully uses the dystopian idea of things to tell the human beings of the horrors of existence. It makes the reader think about the ontological problems, portraying the realities that we intentionally try to avoid. It forces the reader through its use of the metaphor of bug, problems of identity, and the depressing plot and tone to imagine himself in a void and a helpless situation. It makes the reader think about how the writer may have felt when he went through all this. Technically it is an unmatched and successful work that can efficiently make the reader consider the existential problems.
Bug as a metaphor
Bug/vermin is a loathsome being that humans consider not even worthy of being paid heed. Here the author has successfully employed this metaphor to let the reader understand the feeling of being a vermin and face its consequences. It’s a reference to the feeling of socially isolated and boycotted Jews who faced the miseries for years. It may also be considered a reference to his personal feelings due to the problems in his life, and he has transformed into an artistic masterpiece. This metaphor lets the readers feel how it feels when one is isolated and loathed for not being the same as others.
Familial Relationships
It is a scrutiny of a dying society where family relationships have been reduced to merely financial relationships. In this type of society, family relationships exist if a person is able to help the other members financially if he loses this ability; he loses his value. This novella asks the father and son’s relationship to be reconsidered and reshape the family where perks and perils are equally divided. It asks for the reconsideration of the idea that one is considered a human being in the family until he is earning, otherwise bug. Thus a universal problem is analyzed, giving a specific example.
Identity
Identity crisis is another issue that modern humans face. In modern society, identity is based up to a greater extent on financial questions. Our financial matters decide our class, social interactions, and identification. If one is stable, he is easily accepted, if it is not, so rejection is the fate that is faced everywhere. Thus through this novella, the author asks for the reconsideration of standards of identity to decide a bug or human.
Tone
The tone of the narrator is dispassionate. He doesn’t utter a single word of sympathy for Gregor or against his family. He relates all this as a scientist describes the steps of a lab procedure. He doesn’t let the reader know about how he feels for Gregor or show any sympathy for him. The story is absurd, and the feeling of one to whom it happens is horrible even in imagination. But the narrator speaks of it as if Gregor was working on a food recipe and ended up giving a tasteless food. He doesn’t express his loathing even for the incident that took place.
Point of View
The story is narrated from the third person, limited omniscient point of view. All that happened is told from Gregor’s perspective, while matters after his death are discussed by the narrator from his own side. It establishes the narrator’s credibility about the incidents that took place. Because if it were from Gregor as the first-person point of view, the readers would have thought it like some mad idea that has occupied the narrator.
Setting of the Novella
The setting of this story is Samsas’ apartment, where the majority of the events take place, and except after his death, his family moves out of it, but it isn’t clearly described or named. There is no clear temporal or geographical setting described. This apartment is the hell where all these hideous happenings take place. This apartment is located on a busy street in a city; there is a hospital in front of it. The apartment is a middle-class residence where the residents live in a congested manner, and their rooms are close to each other.
Magic Realism
It is a piece of magic realism, in which events that are not possible in the world are described as if they are real. This affirms its modernist value as a piece that excellently portrays the human miseries and nonsense nature of the world. This story employs the stream of consciousness technique to tell the readers about how Gregor felt at this incident. It juxtaposes the realist setting with the fictional happening and forms a masterpiece modernist work.
Significance of Title
The original title of this novella in German is Die Verwandlung, which means transformation. But this is translated into The Metamorphosis as it is used more formally, and has literary connotations. It is often compared to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which tells the stories of punishments of mythical characters that were penalized for their sexual offences. Thus it relates this work both to ancient and modern literature opening ways for many connotative meanings. Though there is nothing told of Gregor’s crimes, rather, all he has done is good. This title smells a bit ironic!
Significance of Ending
In stark contrast to the opening, the end of the novella is utterly undramatic, and the reader is disappointed. Even the author himself was not satisfied with the ending. He dies normally, without any violence involved, and this shows the understatement. It again reinforces the feeling of the absurdity of the world and happenings that take place in it. And the strange thing that happens after Gregor’s death is that his family has a feeling of respite after long. This also helps in realizing the irony of life.
Symbolism in the Novella
This story is an allegory which tells the reader about the transformation that took place. The transformation is a symbolic one rather than a real happening. Vermin is a symbol that carries many connotations. It may have the connotations of a psychological transformation. Vermin may have the meaning of being a parasite who feeds on his family and has freed himself from the responsibilities.
Gregor is called a bug, and the word used for it in German is Ungeziefer, which was used for Jews by Nazis and had connotations of loathing. This signifies the meaning through the use of religious imagery because this word is taken from Jewish mysticism. Thus it may also be seen from a Jewish point of view.
Allusions
There are historical references to Jakob Wasserman’s The Story of Young Renate Fuchs and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s Venus in Furs. The latter is the portrait described in the story.