The Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka in 1915. It is one of the authors most popular works and tells the story of Gregor Samsa, a young man who wakes up one morning transformed into an enormous insect. The novella focuses on the effects of this transformation on the life of Gregor and that of his immediate family made up of his mother, father, and sister, Grete. While on the surface, the novella seems, aside from the obviously strange premise, to be relatively straightforward and perhaps even boring, it has captivated many and stood the test of time.
***Spoilers Below***
The Metamorphosis explores many themes related to work and how people define their lives and duties. As to be expected, various interpretations have been offered as to the central point or message of the piece. One particular element that stood out to me was the effect of Gregor’s transformation and eventual death on his families own self-actualization. At the start of the novel, Gregor describes his family as largely incapable of providing for themselves. His parents are seemingly old and decrepit while his sister is too young and childlike to be exposed to the callous world of business. However, once Gregor becomes an insect and is no longer able to work, we see the family defy these boundaries as the parents become “young again” finding new purpose in their jobs and Grete herself takes on a position as a saleswoman. A strain of tragedy can be found in the fact that Gregor, thinking himself noble and sacrificial in working very hard to support the entire family, actually hindered their development. A reversal of expectations occurs when we see that instead of Gregor’s new status dooming the family to destitution, it allows them to become the best versions of themselves. This message can be easily applied to many of the problems and solutions of the modern world. Take for example, the idea of universal basic income which mandates that everyone receive a certain amount of money for simply existing. Many have posited that this measure alone will all but solve poverty, but we must take into account not only the problems that may be solved, but what new problems may arise. Could this new universal basic income cause people to neglect to better themselves or act a barrier to self-actualization? Every solution must be carefully constructed so as to address the root problem and not create additional detrimental ramifications.
Another fascinating part of the book is Gregor’s psychological attachment to his job and the effect of him losing the ability to work has on his psyche. From the beginning of the novella, it is clear that Gregor finds purpose in his ability to provide for his family. His job and the money he can earn from it are almost all he thinks about, though he is not fond of the work itself. Gregor feeds off of his family’s dependence on him, wanting his parents to feel proud and his sister to be happy thanks to his work. He is almost self-centered and prideful in the way that he refuses to let the rest of his family “suffer” and earn money reserving this sacrifice to himself. When Gregor wakes up as an insect, he loses his job and is left with nothing to do except crawl around in his room. Without his job, Gregor completely loses his purpose and initiative to do anything. This is evident when his sister Grete comes to remove the last remnants of his previous profession, his writing desk from his room. Gregor imagines himself clinging to this as a last vestige of his previous dignity and purpose even though as an insect, he has no use for it. In the end, Gregor is unable to accept his new condition, viewing his life as essentially meaningless if he cannot directly provide for his family and he eventually takes this stance to the grave. While it is impossible to know what exactly Kafka was trying to say by this, I believe that it is a critique on the narrow-minded view that providing for someone is an end unto itself and that there are much more important endeavors such as art and the joy of companionship which do not have anything to do with the material gains of work.