![]() ![]() ![]() “Oh God, he thought, what an exhausting job I’ve picked on! Traveling about day in, day out. By bringing the alienation theme, Kafka offers his views on the troubles of the Modern Age. The transformation only amplified Gregor’s separation from the world. To sum up all of the above, in the greater context, Gregor’s character has always been condemned to be lonely, as Kafka made sure of that. In the end, Gregor’s remains are thrown out like some trash by the charwoman. Nevertheless, in the last chapter, Gregor realizes that he does not miss anyone from the outside world. Returning to the book, throughout most of the story, Gregor still cares for his family and wishes to help them. Pragmatism and efficiency took over spiritualism. This type of alienation has been consistent since the beginning of the Modern Age, when capitalist ideas started to influence people’s minds and hearts. Gregor’s altruism played a twisted joke on him, making the poor soul a simple “ money bag” for the Samsas. Moreover, Gregor was doomed with emotional isolation from the start, as his family members always took his existence for granted. This type of correspondence takes a greater amount of time to reach its addressee than modern-day instant texting and calling through the mobile network. As Kafka mentions in The Metamorphosis, the only contact between Gregor and his family occurred through letters. The reader has to imagine how hard it was to travel and work in the past with limited means of communication. It restrained him from having any close relationships outside of his family circle.Įven nowadays, people who travel a lot due to the nature of their jobs experience general feelings of loneliness and, sometimes, even depression. He worked as a traveling salesman, a job synonymous with constant moving and personal isolation. Gregor Samsa was lonely and desperate before the events of the book. The irony of Gregor’s alienation in Metamorphosis stretches way beyond his initial transformation and its consequences. ![]() Yet, there is a reason why Franz Kafka is considered a genius of psychological literature. This mutism constrained Gregor from communicating not only with his family but with the whole of humankind. Despite his metamorphosis, he remained conscious but couldn’t explain all his emotional and psychological conflicts, which added to his loneliness and desperation. The inability to communicate heavily impacted Gregor’s relationship with his parents and his sister Grete in particular as she tried to understand him the most. Slowly but surely, the family grew tired of this new version of Gregor. His new routine came to staying in his room day and night, where he explored his condition, contemplated anxieties, and occasionally watched his family through a crack in the bedroom door. He lost his ability to speak the human language, making screeching sounds instead. He gained a new body, which made him an alien to the human world. The literal isolation started when Gregor woke up one morning only to find himself turned into a monstrous vermin-like creature. Among them, the theme of alienation and isolation plays a significant role in the novel. The Metamorphosis themes are undoubtedly worthy of a separate discussion.
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