The theme of transformation or change in The Metamorphosis

“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” (Kafka, 12)

This jolting narration begins The Metamorphosis which tells the story of  Gregor Samsa’s  transformation into a vermin……………. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novel with many levels of meaning.

The very title of the novel “Metamorphosis” focuses Kafka’s attention to the theme of transformation or change. Metamorphoses or transformations in the novel occur on several levels. Gregor, the main character, changes mentally, physically and emotionally and attitude to him changes accordingly. First of all there is a physical change to Gregor which is indicated at the very opening of the novel.

Transformation occurs to everything and everybody in the novel. After physical change, transformation passes to higher level and changes mental structures of Gregor. In the beginning of story Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, appears as a young and energetic man who dedicated his life to his parents and sister. For many times he wanted to quit his work but each time he said to himself,

“Besides, I have to provide for my parents and my sister.”(Kafka, 84)

But, metamorphosis turns him into insect and this event reveals real attitude to him. As a result, his family, once so loving and caring, very soon becomes indifferent to a bug, which cannot earn money to support them and which was simply used by them. Such attitude transforms Gregor into surprisingly  indifferent to their opinion.

“It hardly surprised him that he was showing so little consideration for the others; once such consideration had been his greatest pride.” (Kafka, 24)

Kafka uses this unreal subject of “metamorphosis” or transformation only to attract people’s attention to the problem of alienation. It seems that the attitude of relatives and colleagues to Gregor changes significantly after his metamorphosis. But in reality this attitude is static, here only uncovered by the transformation. This happens every day to millions of people but we simply do not notice that until it happens to us. The beetle, Gregor has turned to, symbolizes everything rejected by the society.

Changes, which occur to Gregor only reflect his inner feelings, pain and fears. Kafka believed, that these feelings are presented in each of individuals, who have to live in the society (Smith, 1997)

Thus Kafka explores in the novel the existentialist theme of alienation.

Kafka also shows the result of alienation which is caused by the transformation. Considering himself a burden for his family, Samsa feels alienated not only from the society but also from himself and chooses to stop such a miserable existence. Thus Kafka shows that people loose their identity in the chase for money, popularity, and wish to correspond to the expectations of others. This chase can never make them happy rather leads to the realization of the uselessness of their existence. For such realization Gregor commits suicide and does a last favor to his family. However,

 “The Metamorphosis” can also be seen as a reaction against bourgeois society and its demands. … He had been imprisoned by social and economic demands: “Just don’t stay in bed being useless.” (Bloom, 98)

Therefore, it is right to say that Kafka was interested in the problem of social stratification and dedicated a lot of time to the study of social structrue.

Furthermore, Kafka represents the themes of power and subordination in The Metamorphosis reflected in each family member’s physical or emotional transformations. Following Gregor’s metamorphosis and the subsequent loss of his job, the power in the story is shifted to the other members of his family, and Gregor becomes subordinate and inferior to them and has to rely on their care and ability to earn money. Even, Grete was displaying power over her parents, who were incapable of dealing with their son. She declares to her parents,

“It has to go, It’s the only way, Father. You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking it’s Gregory.

         

Gregor’s transformation causes his loss of patriarch status to the father which can be seen as a loss of masculinity, and thus a degeneration into femininity. This value is seen in Sartre's idea of men described as a being for itself, because they embody activity, progression, power, and transcendence. Gregor's degeneration into femininity is confirmed by identifying himself with the woman in furs. Gregor's dehumanization is the cause of his abjection, and results in

"his family gradually [turning] his room into a dumping grounds for all sorts of refuse" (Santner 195)

Therefore, whose is the real metamorphosis? Gregor’s change is superficial, since he resists adapting to his new physical identity as a “vermin” which implies a useless and parasitic nature that clashes with his personality. On the other hand, Gregor’s “disappearance” forces his parents and sister out of their own parasitic existence, leading them to a much deeper transformation at the end. They have themselves metamorphosed: they regain a youthful vigor as they begin to work, take trips to the countryside, and eventually sell the apartment they had shared with Gregor.

“[T]hey discussed their prospects for the time to come, and it seemed on closer examination that these weren’t bad at all”

The concluding sentence of The Metamorphosis bears “a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions”.

Conclusion

The Metamorphosis is one of greatest examples of the existentialist thought, which reflects the mood of the people in the beginning of the twentieth century. Full of symbolism, this novel shows difficult relations between an individual and the society and alienation, which slowly transforms the lives of people and make them beasts, detested by others.

Works Cited:

Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis: Critical Interpretations Ed. Harold Bloom, Chelsea House, 1988

Smith, Barry, Brentano and Kafka. Axiomathes, 8, 1997, 83–104.

Bloom, Harold. Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. New York: Chelsea House, 1988.

Santner, Eric. "Kafka's Metamorphosis and the Writing of Abjection." The Metamorphosis: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Stanley Corngold. New York: Norton, 1996. 195 - 210.