Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Transformation of a Family

When Gregor Samsa wakes up as a cockroach in Franz Kafka’s short story, Metamorphosis, the reader is left wondering how and why such a thing occurred. The characters themselves, however, seem to have little concern about how the change happened and instead focus solely on how to respond.

Gregor seems to accept his new lot in life. Despite his physical transformation, Gregor’s character remains mostly unchanged throughout his circumstances. He continues to be thoughtful toward his family, trying to put their convenience before his needs, just as he did when he was human. His change in appearance doesn’t change the core of his being.

The real metamorphosis is not Gregor’s physcial change, but rather the transformation of the family and the family’s structure.

When he becomes a cockroach, Gregor goes from being the sole provider for his loved ones to being a dependent. This forces the family to make drastic changes in their lifestyle. Not only must they adjust to living with a giant cockroach, but they must each take on financial responsibility to help support the household.

Gregor’s sister, Grete, begins caring for her brother’s needs. She shows incredible thoughtfulness despite her repulsion toward him, at least at first.  Grete gives him a variety of foods to see what he likes, she moves his chair to the window when she realizes he likes looking out, and she attempts to clear away furniture to allow him more space to crawl.

But these acts of compassion fade out as the story progresses. The family swings back and forth between viewing this cockroach as Gregor, their poor son, for whom they open the door at night so he can be apart of their talks, to viewing him as a monster and a burden. Three times, Gregor leaves his room, and three times, his father drives him back in with threats and force. Where they once saw a member of their family, who cared for their needs, the family now sees a hated inconvenience.

Gregor’s presence in their life leads the family to despair.

They appear over-exhausted, and both the family and Gregor attribute this exhaustion to being overworked. But in reality, their work seems to produce positive results. Gregor observes on one occasion, “could this indeed be his father still? The same man who used to lie wearily sunk in bed…who was actually hardly capable of getting to his feet…Now, on the other hand, he cut a fine, upright figure” (pg 107). His father has gone from being tired and weak to being a figure of strength and respect. Later, we find out that each member of the family is actually quite content with their jobs . Their exhaustion, then, is less from their work and more from the hopelessness that they have allowed to take hold (pg 111).

Though Gregor finds ways to make the best of his situation, the family is unwilling to accept their circumstance as anything other than a tragedy. They feel trapped in an apartment too large for their means, even though Gregor admits that they easily move to a more manageable residence by placing him in a box with air holes. Grete allows his room to become filthy with dust and food, refusing to let anyone else clean it when she can’t, even though their new cleaning woman is undisturbed by Gregor’s form and easily could. As challenging as their circumstances are, they only make their situation worse by refusing to see any hope.

They believe that the only way they can live a better life is if Gregor were gone.

When he dies shortly after, the family, though momentarily sobered by his starved form and pitiful appearance, appears lighthearted for the first time throughout the tale. The story ends on an oddly hopeful note. The family leaves the apartment together, enjoying the day. They discuss their jobs and hopes for the future, and Grete stretches her limbs in a motion of freedom.

They have gone from a family of four to a family of three; shifted from a group which relies on a single member to a family where each contributes. With despair removed, they have allowed themselves to stop staring solely at the present and to look to the future. Even so, there is some question as to whether they have grown significantly in the process.  At the end, the parents look at their daughter and are pleased to realize that it may be time to start looking for a husband for her (125-126). This makes me wonder whether they intend this as a means of securing her happiness, or whether they hope that a son-in-law would care for them as Gregor had. Are they more concerned about their child or about their own well-being?

In Gregor’s metamorphosis, we see how tragedy can transform a family. I wonder, is their metamorphosis one which changed their core being? Or is it like Gregor’s, a physical change with little effect on the character of the people involved?

–Kafka, Franz. “Metamorphosis.” The Transformation (‘Metamorphosis’) and Other Stories, Penguin Books, 1992, 76-126.