The Metamorphosis is a novella by Austrian writer Franz Kafka. It was first published in 1915 in the author’s native German as Die Verwandlung.
The Metamorphosis is Kafka’s most famous work, renowned for its first sentence which blandly states that the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakes one morning to find himself transformed into a giant bug-like creature. This creature is frequently depicted in pop culture to resemble a cockroach. The absurdist novella follows Gregor as he adapts to this new reality, while reporting his innermost thoughts and feelings to the reader.
Kafka is believed to have blended several autobiographical elements into The Metamorphosis, such as his own relationship with his family, in particular his father. The book is also typical of the rest of Kafka’s work: it uses a bizarre situation to depict realities of alienation, cruelty, fear, and an absurd existence. Some of his other well-known works include In the Penal Colony, The Trial, and The Castle.
Table of Contents
Summary of The Metamorphosis
Part 1
Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, wakes up one morning and finds that he has been transformed into a giant insect. Everything else in his room, however, remains unchanged. The fabric samples he uses to conduct his sales are as he left them, as is the picture of a woman in furs. He’d torn the picture out of a magazine, framed it, and hung it up.
Gregor does not seem to be particularly concerned about his altered condition. Instead, he tries to turn over and go back to sleep. However, he is lying on his back and this position in his new form does not allow easy movement. He starts to feel sore.
Even though salesman Gregor Samsa wakes to find himself transformed into a giant insect, he remains relatively unbothered by it.
Unable to get comfortable, Gregor ruminates on his job. He finds it a difficult one, requiring a lot of travel. This prevents him from having a social life. However, it is a necessary job, as his wages allow him to pay off his parents’ debt.
At this point, Gregor Samsa realizes that he is running late for work, without any just excuse. He tries to get up, but that too proves difficult. His mother and his sister, Grete, knock on his door to tell him that he is getting late for his train and that he needs to get up now. When he answers them, his voice is significantly changed and they wonder if he is sick.
As Gregor rocks harder on the bed to try to get off it, the doorbell rings. When it is answered, he hears the sound of his boss’s voice. He has come to find out about Gregor’s tardiness.
Gregor’s family and his boss gather outside his door. His mother pleads with the boss, saying that Gregor is a good worker. His boss wants to know what is going on—why Gregor is late. He seems to be annoyed about Gregor’s recent performance at work. Rumors are also rife at the office claiming that Gregor has stolen some money. In light of this, his current lateness is especially suspicious.
As he falls to the ground, Gregor tries to appease his employer and asks him not to worry his parents. Unable to understand what he is saying, the altered sound of Gregor’s voice causes greater concern and Grete rushes out to fetch a doctor.
Gregor is more concerned about appeasing his boss than about his own physical state.
Gregor finally makes it to the door and, after a few attempts, manages to unlock and open it with his mouth. His new form horrifies everyone. His father cries out, while his mother faints. His boss flees from the house even as Gregor tries to follow him, asking to be forgiven for being late.
His father picks up a rolled newspaper and chases Gregor back into his room, shutting the door and locking it behind him. In the rush, Gregor gets hurt but this does not worry his father.
Part 2
Gregor wakes up in the evening and sees that someone, most likely Grete, has left a bowl of bread and milk for him in the room. He is excited for the meal, as he loves milk. However, he finds that he cannot stand the taste of it now.
Gregor finds that his tastes in food have drastically changed.
The rest of the apartment is quiet, and Gregor wonders about his family. It was his income that had supported them so far, and he worries about what they will do now. He falls asleep under the sofa, thinking about how he can be less of a burden to them in his new state.
The next morning, Grete cautiously enters his room and takes away the untouched bowl of milk. Seeing that he hasn’t eaten anything, she brings in a variety of different items, from fresh food to leftovers and kitchen scraps, and leaves them for him to try on his own. Out of everything offered, Gregor finds that he enjoys the most rotten things the best. Grete returns after a while and takes everything else away.
As the days pass, the routine becomes established: Grete alone brings in his food and then cleans up after he is done. Gregor is left alone at all other times. He finds out about how the family is doing by listening hard for conversations that take place among them.
Gregor frequently feels pride when they talk about the remainder of his income, at having been able to provide for them. The family had managed to save some over the years, and that was serving them well now. However, the money would run out, they needed another source of income. One or more of them would have to take up some form of employment. This idea embarrasses Gregor. He had been very close with Grete and had wanted to send her to a music school to study the violin.
Gregor's long hours alone are spent contemplating the role he used to play in his family and the aspirations he had for them.
Alone, Gregor explores his room, climbing up the walls and ceiling. Grete alone continues to feed him. But she seems afraid of him, so Gregor hides whenever she comes into his room.
However, Grete does notice that Gregor enjoys crawling on the walls and decides that removing the furniture from his room would make it easier for him. One day, when his father is out, Gregor’s mother and Grete start to remove the furniture. His mother worries that this might be disrespectful to Gregor, but Grete overrules her, believing that she knows her brother best.
But the change is, in fact, unnerving Gregor. Easier though it makes things for him, the loss of his possessions comes as a blow. He rushes up the wall and covers the picture of the woman to prevent them from taking that away as well. When she spots him, Gregor’s mother shrieks and faints. Grete tries to attend to her.
Even in his new state, which doesn't allow him to enjoy them, Gregor is upset about losing his possessions. It feels like losing one more link to his humanity.
When Gregor’s father comes home from his job as a bank attendant, Grete tells him about what happened. He misunderstands, thinking that Gregor attacked his mother. In a rage, he chases Gregor around the room, throwing fruit at him; an apple gets stuck in his back.
Upon hearing the commotion, Gregor’s mother comes out of the room and tries to calm the father by telling him that Gregor did not attack her. Hurt and in pain, Gregor hurries back into his room.
Part 3
The injury has affected Gregor’s movement. Out of pity, his family leaves the door of his room open, allowing him to see them.
Both Grete and his mother have also taken up employment: his mother sews, while Grete works as a sales clerk. She studies French and shorthand, hoping that these skills will bring her a promotion. Even though he is told to go to bed early every night, Gregor’s father frequently stays up late, dozing in his chair or grumbling about his current life. His previously clean and cared-for uniform has grown crumpled and dirty.
The family’s financial situation, however, does not appear to have stabilized. They have sold some of their jewelry and replaced their usual maid with an older cleaning woman.
Gregor believes that his family feels trapped by him. He frets and worries about how they will manage, and stops eating and sleeping. Sometimes, he also feels angry at their neglect of him. By this time, Grete’s concern for him has diminished and she has grown indifferent instead. She doesn’t feed him or clean after him.
However, the cleaning woman is fascinated by him and frequently sneaks into his room to stare at Gregor. Her scrutiny frustrates Gregor, and he attacks her one time to try to stop her. She threatens him with a chair instead, and he doesn’t try again.
To earn some more money, the family rents out some of the rooms in the apartment. To make space for the boarders, they dump the extra furniture and several other items in Gregor’s room.
One evening, the cleaning woman forgets to close the door to Gregor’s room. As the lodgers eat their dinner in the dining room, they ask Grete to play the violin for them. She obliges them and begins to play. The music mesmerizes Gregor, and he creeps out to hear it better. He very badly wants to take Grete away and tell her about his plans to send her to music school.
Just then, one of the lodgers sees Gregor and yells. The lodgers are disgusted and they refuse to pay the rent. Gregor’s father ushers them out of the room, trying to appease them. When he returns, Grete exclaims that they need to understand that Gregor is an insect now, and that no trace of her brother exists in it anymore. They all make it clear that they want him to leave.
Gregor crawls back into his room. He feels horrible about what his family had said and decides that he must leave. However, he dies at dawn.
It is the cleaning woman who discovers him. The family stands around his corpse and examines it. Gregor had grown very thin by the time he died.
Gregor’s father gets rid of the lodgers, and all three of them decide to take the day off from work. By the time each of them has written to their respective employers, the cleaning woman has gotten rid of Gregor’s body. When she informs them of this, they fire her.
The family decides to go out for a walk and then takes the trolley to the countryside. As they discuss money, they realize that they actually have more of it than they had previously thought. They decide to move and take up a smaller house in a better place. The father and mother realize that Grete has grown into a very attractive young woman, and they think that it is time to look for a husband for her.
Analysis of The Metamorphosis
When Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect, this absurd occurrence turns out to be one of the most natural things that could happen to him. Throughout the novella, the reader is given several clues about the kind of life Gregor had led before that morning.
Absurdist literature uses bizarre events to comment on real life happenings and status quos.
His job as a traveling salesman was deeply unsatisfying and difficult in more ways than one. The environment and culture at the office did not foster growth; rather, suspicion was at the forefront as rumors of Gregor having stolen money flew around, and his boss turned up at his doorstep to investigate why his employee was a few hours (maybe, even minutes) late to work. Competition, too, appears to be at an unhealthily high level.
The travel aspect of his post compounded matters as, besides being physically and mentally taxing, it prevented him from building any meaningful relationships. He had several acquaintances and no actual friends. The demands it made on his time also likely degraded the already existing relationships in his life, as he grew more and more distant from his family.
Gregor already lived a mechanical existence, denuded of all emotional depth and joy. He worried constantly about his status at work and finances with nothing to balance out the stress.
The absence of emotion stretches to the transformation itself; this extremely concerning event does not perturb Gregor as much as his job and his realization of being late does. His external body has metamorphosed to reflect the state of his inner self.
However, it is after the transformation that the reader begins to see Gregor have more human reactions to things around him. His worries about his job and money persist, but maybe for the first time, he is able to take pride in being able to provide for his family while working. At the same time, this enjoyment is brief and too late.
The change implied by the title 'The Metamorphosis' doesn't apply only to Gregor's alteration. It also indicates the changes taking place within his family.
On the other hand, his family gradually begins to undergo a change themselves, especially in their attitudes toward him. Over time, the sympathy Grete had for Gregor erodes and she is impatient to be rid of him. As they all begin to earn for themselves, they are more willing to see Gregor as a burden, dismissing the thought that any part of his human self remains.
The story works as a comment on modern society, where fear, especially with regards to finance, is a predominating emotion and driver. The Industrial Revolution and its aftermath put capital at the forefront of human attention. More and more society arranged itself around the mechanical process of production and the various other industries that derived themselves from it. Meanwhile, relationships among people took the backseat, resulting in increasing isolation of individuals. Without a social net, fears grew outsized, occupying more and more space in the mind. The thoughts that swirl constantly in Gregor Samsa’s mind, and his relationship with his family are a reflection of the society as Franz Kafka saw it during the early 20th century.
