Metamorphosis :: Retrospective

Gregory Samsa wakes up to see himself turned into an insect. Illustration by Richard Johnson.

It's my routine: I go to sleep, prepared to repeat the same old daily routine or work. But, when I open my eyes, I cannot seem to get up. As I look down, my arms and legs are turned into a bug’s. Even my body has become hard and resembles that of a beetle/centipede. Now, what do I freak on about first? My body that doesn't look human anymore? The fact that my body hurts and cannot move? Or my work and the morning train that I have surely missed? Gregory worries about the latter and the consequences that will follow if he misses this day or even dares to show up late. It takes a unique level of conditioning where one discards their own wellbeing for work. Written in 1912, I am not sure if Kafka’s time had corporate toxic work culture but he was able to accurately predict and satirise a way of living which would be the norm 100 years later. 

Myself, my peers and even my seniors have embodied a living that Greg was going through, and go on knowing the fact that the loss of their physical self that would prevent them from working and destroy them and their families. That's why Greg’s unfortunate situation hits too close to home. A more realistic parallel would be comparable to a disease or physical deformity that makes someone unemployable. Will I be able to provide? Will my family resent me for it? Kafka gives us a grim viewpoint of that. A connection of a person’s value gets equaled to how they provide for their family. Gregory’s family gets fed up with him because of their poverty. Gregory was respected when he was the breadwinner and when he couldn't anymore, his family members had to chip in which made them resent him. Although Kafka does not intend to paint his family as the antagonists of the novel, it feels that way because any reader sees themselves as Greg. A few select groups can relate themselves to Greg's family, who have had the first hand experience of taking care of people who are helpless. It sounds and feels inhumane to see them turn into what they become in the end. But, a part of myself felt happy that it was over as the situation was hurtful to everyone. It wasn't a happy end no matter how the events would have turned out, and it was written that way. 

Gregory saw himself being alienated by his family with every passing day, and made peace with the fact that he would be locked in his room. Image credit to Illustrator.

Throughout the book, the reader experiences all of Greg’s thoughts. From the horror of waking up to his transformation, to the reaction of his family, their descent and then the confrontation. Greg is painted as a simple man, who was forced to work and provide for his family. His father once the breadwinner was now retired and that meant Greg had to be the one to take this responsibility. Greg’s mother is quiet, emotional and conservative. She is shown as someone who can only be a housewife and displays all qualities a reserved mother would have. Greg knowing this makes sure that his mother never sees him in this situation, knowing how her faint heart will react seeing him as a monster. Greg finds comfort in his sister, someone who was drawn to him and naturally took a liking to him regardless of how he looked. Greg had connection with his sister beforehand, as we get to know that he encouraged her to take up violin and even wanted to support her education. Throughout the book, we see Greg’s mind remaining stagnant, his life for his family the way he thinks about each one of them stays till the bitter end. A comment can be made that although Greg had a physical metamorphosis into something he wasn't, for his family it was their mental state. 

At first, the family, although surprised to discover Greg in this state, continue to provide for him and keep him hidden. They try their hardest to support Greg and themselves in their financial state. With Greg’s sister taking up the most responsibility for him, since she could stomach his appearance. As the days continued, the pressure on the Samsa family kept on increasing and they saw themselves delving deep into poverty supporting a lifestyle they cannot uphold. This is where their bitterness grew and the final escalation happens with Greg’s father hitting him, that eventually is his end. If Greg found a way to turn back into a human then it goes back to him working himself to death to support his family. The other end is what Kafka showed us, although grim it was an escalation of a conflict that was looming on the family even before the conversion that Greg went through. Kafka knew that Greg couldn't stay an insect forever and the family couldn't go on like this forever. The end is grotesque as it shows how we as people start to view one another as means of survival. A direct comparison to Gregory’s family is a family taking care of their mentally/ physically incapable family member. Although in most cases, the family takes every step into taking care of their relative without expecting anything in return. In some cases people do turn bitter towards these family members and it leads to many altercations, similar to those mentioned in Metamorphosis. Although the Kafka shows us the latter, it is not meant as the absolute truth, it is the human condition to act in love or hatred. In either of the cases, Kafka highlights how it affects the person in front of them, whether they can speak or act out their feelings. 

Gregory Samsa's end was heartbreaking and it showed how his family had turned into something that Greg wouldn't have thought of them. Image credit to illustrator

Kafka although wrote a lot about the grim reality of life and showed parts of the human psyche that got twisted due to hardships, he was never shy to show raw human emotion that causes or reacts to it. In the mechanisation of society, where responses are expected as they are meant to be, Kafka highlights how a person is unique to themselves, the battles they fight and the means they take on to achieve their goals. Although Kafka couldn't bring himself out the world he found himself in, the characters he wrote about also never escape. Taking that as the sole learning from metamorphosis discredits the notion of the good that Kafka saw in people. Society can be harsh as much as it can be idealistic. A man can be born into hardship, but it is the same man's duty to rise out of it.