Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis was first published over a hundred years ago, in 1915. In that span of one hundred years, many editions of the book have been printed and have gone on to serve as inspiration for various authors of our contemporary era.

(Waking Lion Press, 2008)
(Waking Lion Press, 2008)

Many works of art (paintings, sculptures, photography) and various films have been created that are based on, or inspired by, this particular piece of writing from Franz Kafka. Thus, The Metamorphosis has entered the world of modern pop culture and solidified its enduring presence as a classic by being accessible to, and enjoyed by, not only academics, but also by readers who belong to the younger demographic.
The work is a novella (a short novel or a long short story, depending on whom you ask) and begins with a line that is sure to be on the list of the most popular opening lines in literature, alongside such works as Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karenina. It reads: “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (trans. Stanley Corngold). That first line of the work is loaded with enough information that, when analyzed, can run for pages. One of the first things it does is it presents us with the intriguing and shocking situation of a man who has been mysteriously transformed, without realizing it, into an insect. The specific kind of insect is unknown, but that is not so important, since Gregor, despite having his physical-self transformed into a giant invertebrate, initially still manages to retain his intellectual faculties and is able to reliably give the reader information about his emotions, his reactions to what has happened and the experience of having been forced to live as an insect.
However, eventually we begin to see Gregor becoming more and more like a “monster” in the way he eats garbage, makes chirping beetle-like sounds instead of talking, and crawls on the walls. Strange occurrences abound in the work, and things become even more unusual when people (such as his parents and sister) discover what Gregor has become. The reactions of Gregor’s family are hostile at first and in the moments when his central character is being attacked and derided by the family he has provided for over the course of many years, Kafka skillfully pulls the emotional strings and makes the reader feel sorry for Gregor, the insect. By doing this, Kafka shows how, despite writing about otherworldly affairs, he ensures the presence of a human component, which is what makes the work truly successful. None of us will ever experience what Gregor has and yet, all of us will sympathize with him.
The premise is unusual, dark even, and certainly disturbing – yet Kafka relates the tale in the most matter-of-fact tone, with bits of humour neatly laced in, as seen in the curt way in which the opening line can be spoken.
Over the hundred years of its existence, many interpretations of the work has been offered. It has been read as a critique of capitalism, as an ode to Absurdism, as a commentary on the treatment of the strange, as dealing with the theme of alienation, etc. It is rich tale and a dark tale. But, most importantly, it is a tale worth reading.

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