3 thoughts on “The Metamorphosis and other stories (A New Translation)”
462nd interpretation of the Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is one of the most famous works in 20th C literature, and possibly has the most memorable opening lines in the history of story telling, – ‘As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning after disturbing dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into an enormous insect’. The standard interpretation of this allegorical tale is that Gregor’s transformation from hard working travelling salesman, providing for his family, to a grotesque useless insect that provokes disgust and pity and ultimately rejection by his family, represents physical disability, and society’s treatment of it. I can see this in the story, but I read Kafka as essentially portraying his nightmare of the barrier between the public and personal inner world being removed. The private mental life, with its sensitive and raw secrets, its ugly and embarrasing little features, the desires and instincts that we strive to keep hidden, and/or are forced to repress. The bug is the embodiment of the ugly and raw inside turned out, exposed for all the world to see. Particularly nightmarish for Gregor (kafka) is the fact that those who see are those he loves and whose rejecton he fears most of all – his family.
his definitive work of genius It is rare to read a story that marks an age, but this is certainly one of them. It is a defining work of modernism, that freakish period of creativity that ended before totalitariansism dominated Europe in midCentury, representing something, some presentiment, that Kafka had the genius to perceive and express. Kafka’s metaphor – of au unhappy and exploited young man waking up and finding (or thinking) that he has become a giant insect – is so rich and bizarre that it will live forever. The Angst is unbearable, as is the detail of his vision. It can be read on innumerable levels, which I have explored with each re-reading.He was so proud and ambivalent about this story that, when breaking off his engagement, Kafka is reported to have sent it as an explanation to his bewildered former future father in law, saying simply, “would you want your daughter to marry the person who wrote this?”Another thing about this story is that it is one of the few longer works that Kafka intended to publish. All of the novels were drafts or exercises. THis one was finished, and if only it survived, Kafka’s reputation for greatness would be secure.
A metaphorical metamorphosis. This was a surprise for me. I had never read Kafka even though it was recommended to me a lot of times, so I didn’t know what to expect. Now I’m looking forward to reading his other works. This book is a little gem of insight into human behaviour, presented in a metaphor of alienation, like a darker version of one of Aesop’s Fables.One man wakes up one day and discovers he has turned into an insect. At first he can’t quite come to terms with his new condition, and tries to ignore it and live his life the way he always has. Inevitably, the circumstances force him to change the way he acts, and unsure of how to react towards himself and his condition, he turns to his family, to whom he dedicates his life, for a reaction.And this is where it becomes interesting. Their reactions seem, at the surface, understandable, even justified, but later reveal themselves to be selfish, self-centered and extremely cruel and unfair. It’s easy to create a parallel between Gregor Samsa and anyone who has found him or herself alienated from society – be it a homeless person, or an old person confined to the bed by an illness… All the little actions, like talking without bothering to see if the “alien” understands it or not, the ill-disguised disgust, the forgetting of everything that person might have done for others, the wallowing in self-pity because they have to put up with that person, are perceived in all their cruelty.It was also interesting to see how it was Gregor’s transformation that turned his family, previously completely dependent upon him and unable to think of themselves as capable of providing for their own survival, into pro-active beings full of plans for the future. An ironic, and utterly sad metamorphosis indeed.This is how I experienced the book, but it’s open to interpretation, of course (I love it when books do that). I’m pretty sure my understanding of this book will change when I learn more about Kafka. Suffice to say it’s a great little book and definitely worth the read.
462nd interpretation of the Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is one of the most famous works in 20th C literature, and possibly has the most memorable opening lines in the history of story telling, – ‘As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning after disturbing dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into an enormous insect’. The standard interpretation of this allegorical tale is that Gregor’s transformation from hard working travelling salesman, providing for his family, to a grotesque useless insect that provokes disgust and pity and ultimately rejection by his family, represents physical disability, and society’s treatment of it. I can see this in the story, but I read Kafka as essentially portraying his nightmare of the barrier between the public and personal inner world being removed. The private mental life, with its sensitive and raw secrets, its ugly and embarrasing little features, the desires and instincts that we strive to keep hidden, and/or are forced to repress. The bug is the embodiment of the ugly and raw inside turned out, exposed for all the world to see. Particularly nightmarish for Gregor (kafka) is the fact that those who see are those he loves and whose rejecton he fears most of all – his family.
his definitive work of genius It is rare to read a story that marks an age, but this is certainly one of them. It is a defining work of modernism, that freakish period of creativity that ended before totalitariansism dominated Europe in midCentury, representing something, some presentiment, that Kafka had the genius to perceive and express. Kafka’s metaphor – of au unhappy and exploited young man waking up and finding (or thinking) that he has become a giant insect – is so rich and bizarre that it will live forever. The Angst is unbearable, as is the detail of his vision. It can be read on innumerable levels, which I have explored with each re-reading.He was so proud and ambivalent about this story that, when breaking off his engagement, Kafka is reported to have sent it as an explanation to his bewildered former future father in law, saying simply, “would you want your daughter to marry the person who wrote this?”Another thing about this story is that it is one of the few longer works that Kafka intended to publish. All of the novels were drafts or exercises. THis one was finished, and if only it survived, Kafka’s reputation for greatness would be secure.
A metaphorical metamorphosis. This was a surprise for me. I had never read Kafka even though it was recommended to me a lot of times, so I didn’t know what to expect. Now I’m looking forward to reading his other works. This book is a little gem of insight into human behaviour, presented in a metaphor of alienation, like a darker version of one of Aesop’s Fables.One man wakes up one day and discovers he has turned into an insect. At first he can’t quite come to terms with his new condition, and tries to ignore it and live his life the way he always has. Inevitably, the circumstances force him to change the way he acts, and unsure of how to react towards himself and his condition, he turns to his family, to whom he dedicates his life, for a reaction.And this is where it becomes interesting. Their reactions seem, at the surface, understandable, even justified, but later reveal themselves to be selfish, self-centered and extremely cruel and unfair. It’s easy to create a parallel between Gregor Samsa and anyone who has found him or herself alienated from society – be it a homeless person, or an old person confined to the bed by an illness… All the little actions, like talking without bothering to see if the “alien” understands it or not, the ill-disguised disgust, the forgetting of everything that person might have done for others, the wallowing in self-pity because they have to put up with that person, are perceived in all their cruelty.It was also interesting to see how it was Gregor’s transformation that turned his family, previously completely dependent upon him and unable to think of themselves as capable of providing for their own survival, into pro-active beings full of plans for the future. An ironic, and utterly sad metamorphosis indeed.This is how I experienced the book, but it’s open to interpretation, of course (I love it when books do that). I’m pretty sure my understanding of this book will change when I learn more about Kafka. Suffice to say it’s a great little book and definitely worth the read.