Franz Kafka: Metamorphosis

I believe that her sister’s transformation might be considered as the other metamorphosis in the novel.  The metamorphosis of Gregor sheds lights onto the metamorphosis of Grete. I believe that there is some kind of brother-sister affection between both but the minute Gregor’s alienation begins, her sister’s transformations comes up. In other words, at the end of the novel, Gregor’s sister becomes a woman after the death of Gregor. This cannot be a coincidence. The presence of Gregor might hold back Grete’s state of being a woman. After his death, she feels free. In addition, Grete’s metamorphosis might shed light onto the theme of alienation in the rest of the novel. Maybe, one of the major results is that Gregor’s alienation is the psychological distance between around him just like his sister Grete. Gregor’s alteration results in total separation from his family. At first, he and her sister have a great relationship but as the transformation continues Grete starts to think his humanistic side is dead.  Therefore, he eventually becomes isolated from people who love his mother and Grete. The alienation begins with Grete’s pursue in seeking a husband. After she is married, her alienation process begins and loses the relationship of her family. I think Grete’s marriage can be represented as a total alienation as well just like in the case of Gregor.  It can be analyzed that Grete’s marriage may some sort of indication of beginning to the new process where it can be ended with death or total alienation in another way. 

Also, another alienation can be found in the norms of modern slavery. I think that Franz Kafka’s aim is to emphasize the similarities between working in the modern world(at his timeline, of course) and being a bug.  They are significantly related to each other from the perspective of the relationships or theme that is suggested. His job as a salesman does not allow him to socialize with other people as he states, he does not have long term friends because of temporary allocations all the time.  This context can be discovered while he is a bug. His main metamorphosis also contains some sort of alienation from society. His jobs make him filthy bug even though he always tries to be beneficial to his family. Alienation cannot be avoided either in a bug form or in human form. I think Franz Kafka tries to draw attention to the harsh conditions that are changed in the society through time and to state that the desperation of modernity can be indicated as a bug’s life. Therefore, alienation originated by Gregor's metamorphosis can be seen as a renewal of the alienation that he already feels as a person.

The other event that can be considered as metamorphosis is that the limits of sympathy may cause to disrupt his relationships. Throughout the novel, his transformations are somehow changing the attitude towards Gregor by his family. The reason mostly comes from the lack of sympathy which can be evaluated as one of the main themes. As Gregor loses his identity as a human, his family starts to think he is simply not a human. He does not drink milk which was his favorite, he does not eat what he used to eat. By these indications combined with the absence of sympathy and since he cannot explain or defend himself, every behavior and even his physical properties annoy his family. Therefore, his metamorphosis is an indication of the metamorphosis of relations of his family from the perspective of lack of sympathy. This may emphasize the inadequacy of language as the modernity persists.

The other them that I find interested is that the absurdity of life. While Gregor is a good person within his capabilities such as how he helps Grete for a conservatory. Transformation happens although his good habits. The reason why Franz Kafka represents this occasion could be the reason that life is not fair and linear. It is more likely to be chaotic and indirect. I believe that the complexity of the modernity of Franz Kafka’s lifetime might be the reason why he is obsessed with chaos and unpredictable events. His timeline along with the modernity, justice cannot be seen. Maybe, he tries to reflect some portion of his timeline as the events on Gregor. Gregor was innocent but the complexity of modernity takes place and change the sequence of events out of nowhere. Timeline of Franz Kafka’s transformation to the modernity can be considered as another metamorphosis, which can shed lights onto the main event by depicting the chaos on Gregor’s life.