The Metamorphosis

Kafka Die Verwandlung The Metamorphosis

A story - not very long - about a man, Georg Samsa, who when waking up one morning in his bed finds himself changed into a kind of enormous bug – I always imagine a kind of big May-bug, lying on its back. At first the family cares for him or it, but slowly they lose interest – what shall they do with a bug? – and finally the bug dies from lack of food. When reduced to its simple plot, the story doesn’t seem like a big story, but as always there is more to it than the simple plot. I read somewhere about Nabukov (author of Lolita) that he held classes about this text, analysing the style and the technique of the narration. To most people the story will seem somewhat mysterious. And anybody can interprete such a story as they want. Of course I have my own personal interpretation and dare to present it here. It is known that Kafka had tuberculosis of the lung (doctors found this out in 1917 and at that time it was not curable. Kafka died 7 years later. An author whose destiny is burdened with an incurable disease and who is bound to die at an early point of time may see this as an injustice that fell upon him without his being asked. Normally one would be at odds with one’s destiny – but Kafka transposed his situation of life in highly artistic images or better parables that have an astonishing effect. Only Kafka did not say: Listen I will tell you a parable so that you may understand better what I feel. As I said, this is my own private view and it helps me to understand much of Kafka’s work. But this interpretation has a week point. Much of Kafka work was written before 1917. Of course someone who contracts a disease such as tuberculosis will have a feeling of his illness, but it is not sure that he will know he will die of this sickness at an early time. Nevertheless my interpretation helps me to understand much of Kafka’s stories better.