Notes on Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Physical Transformation of Gregor Samsa

• Initial Discovery: Gregor Samsa awakes from "troubled dreams" to find himself transformed into a "horrible vermin" (referred to by the charwoman later as a "dung-beetle").

• Physical Description of the New Form:

  • He lies on an "armour-like back."

  • His belly is brown, "slightly domed," and divided by arches into "stiff sections."

  • He possesses numerous "pitifully thin" legs that wave helplessly.

  • His skin is covered in "lots of little white spots" on his belly that cause a "cold shudder" when touched.

  • He produces a "brown fluid" from his mouth when turning the key in his door.

  • His voice undergoes a "painful and uncontrollable squeaking" or "animal" quality, making his speech increasingly difficult for humans to recognize as words.

• Environment: His room is a typical human room, containing a table with textile samples (revealing his profession as a travelling salesman) and a framed picture from a magazine showing a lady in a fur hat, fur boa, and fur muff.

Professional Obligations and Philosophical Reflections

• Career as a Travelling Salesman: Gregor reflects on the strenuous nature of his job, citing:

  • Constant travel and the "curse" of making train connections.

  • Bad and irregular food.

  • The inability to form lasting friendships due to constant movement.

• Corporate Conflict:

  • Gregor identifies his boss as a man who sits at a high desk to "talk down" to subordinates, complicated by the fact the boss is hard of hearing.

  • Financial Debt: Gregor remains at the job only to pay off his parents' debt to the boss, estimating it will take another $5$ to $6$ years.

  • Reliability Record: In $15$ years of service, Gregor has never been ill.

• The Alarm Clock Incident:

  • Gregor set his alarm for $4:00\,\text{AM}$.

  • He wakes to see the clock at "half past six" and then "quarter to seven."

  • The first train left at $5:00\,\text{AM}$; the next is at $7:00\,\text{AM}$.

The Morning Crisis and Family Interaction

• The Family Roles:

  • His Mother: Speaks with a "gentle voice," expressing concern about the time.

  • His Father: Knocks at the side door with his fist, his voice taking on a "warning deepness."

  • His Sister (Grete): Speaks plaintively, asking if he needs anything; she later begs him to open the door.

• Arrival of the Chief Clerk:

  • The firm sends the chief clerk to investigate Gregor's absence at the the $5:00\,\text{AM}$ train.

  • The clerk represents the company's high level of suspicion and accuses Gregor of having "bad and unsatisfactory" turnover lately.

  • The clerk hints that Gregor's performance is linked to the "money that was recently entrusted" to him.

• The Climax of Part I: Gregor manages to unlock his door using his jaw/mouth (lacking teeth). Upon seeing him, the chief clerk retreats in terror, the mother faints, and the father weeps before aggressively driving Gregor back into his room with a stick and a newspaper, causing Gregor to bleed after getting stuck in the narrow doorway.

Domestic Adjustments and Sustenance

• Dietary Shifts:

  • Initially, Grete provides sweetened milk with bread, but Gregor finds it repulsive despite it being his previous favorite.

  • Grete eventually provides a variety of "scraps" on a newspaper: half-rotten vegetables, bones with hardened white sauce, raisins, almonds, cheese, and dry bread.

  • Gregor prefers the strongest-smelling, most decayed items, eating with "watering eyes."

• Living Conditions:

  • Gregor retreats under a couch for comfort, though he is too broad to fit completely.

  • He covers himself with a bedsheet to spare his sister the sight of him.

  • He develops the habit of crawling on the walls and ceiling, leaving adhesive traces from his feet.

• Family Financials:

  • Gregor’s father reveals that some money remains from his collapsed business from $5$ years ago, plus surplus interest from Gregor’s earnings.

  • This money is intended for emergencies and could last the family $1$ to $2$ years.

  • Employment Changes: All family members must take jobs. The father becomes a bank messenger (wearing a blue uniform with gold buttons); the mother sews lingerie for a fashion shop; Grete works as a salesgirl and studies shorthand and French.

Conflict and the "Apple" Injury

• Room Denudation: Grete and the mother decide to remove Gregor's furniture (the chest of drawers and writing desk) to give him more room to crawl. Gregor resists by clinging to the picture of the lady in furs.

• The Apple Attack: Upon finding Gregor out of his room and the mother fainted, the father, in his bank uniform, bombards Gregor with apples from a fruit bowl.

  • One apple "hit squarely and lodged" in Gregor’s back, remaining there for over a month and causing a serious, permanent injury/inflamed area.

  • The mother begs for Gregor's life while embracing the father.

The Lodgers and the Final Decline

• The Three Gentlemen: The family rents a room to three bearded, serious men who demand extreme tidiness. Gregor’s room becomes a "junk room" for unwanted items (dustbins, ash, superfluous furniture).

• Social Isolation: The family becomes silent and overworked. They dismiss the maid, replacing her with a "thick-boned charwoman" with white hair.

• The Violin Incident:

  • Grete plays the violin for the lodgers. Gregor, drawn by the music, crawls into the living room.

  • He fantasizes about sending Grete to the "conservatory" (a plan he had for Christmas).

  • The lodgers discover Gregor and immediately give notice, refusing to pay for their stay due to the "repugnant conditions."

• The Family's Verdict: Grete declares to her parents, "we have to try and get rid of it," arguing that the creature is no longer Gregor and is "persecuting" them.

The Death and Resolution

• The End of Gregor: Gregor returns to his room, unable to move. He feels a sense of "empty and peaceful rumination" and love for his family. He dies at $3:00\,\text{AM}$.

• The Aftermath:

  • The charwoman finds the body "stone dead."

  • The Samsas dismiss the lodgers and eventually decide to fire the charwoman after she disposes of the body.

  • Final Transition: The family takes a tram ride to the country in the warmth of late March. They discuss moving to a smaller, cheaper, and better-located flat (the current one in Charlottenstrasse was chosen by Gregor). They notice Grete has blossomed into a "beautiful young lady," and they decide it is time to find her a husband.

Questions & Discussion

• The Chief Clerk: "Did you understand a word of all that? Surely he's not trying to make fools of us."

• The Mother (to Gregor): "Gregor, it's quarter to seven. Didn't you want to go somewhere?"

• The Father (during the chase): He makes "hissing noises" and stamps his feet, refusing to understand Gregor's attempts to communicate through head movements.

• The Middle Lodger: "Is the playing perhaps unpleasant for the gentlemen?" (Father) → "On the contrary, would the young lady not like to come in and play for us here?"

• Grete's Final Verdict: "If it were Gregor he would have seen long ago that it's not possible for human beings to live with an animal like that and he would have gone of his own free will."