Just completed reading The Metamorphosis. After reading previous posts about the book and it’s ideas from reddit, I began to understand it more deeply and more relatably. While I initially felt content that the family is no longer tied after Samsa’s death, it realised to be bitter sour from Samsa’s perspective.
The family only relies on his income as a traveling salesman, a job to which he is bonded to because of his father’s debt. And he does it so religiously that his first thought on waking up as an insect is how to report back to work on time. His father’s first reaction was not of empathy but to shun him back to his room.
The father who was immobile then found a job as the mother and sister stepped up to support the family as well. If only they had helped to some extent earlier, Gregor may not have felt too pressurized to carry the entire family…
Gregor was provided with the bare minimum. Food and shelter. Grete showed ample care for these two in the beginning but soon neglected providing the best as well. There was no moral support for him. He was not (could not be?) heard and was simply rendered incomprehensible. They took no efforts to bring back the old Gregor whatsoever. This will be my biggest complaint against them! Personally, I felt family support is of great importance to bring someone off a bad mental state (if I comprehend Gregor’s metamorphosis as such)
Gregor’s mom showed initial hopes for him and even objected removing the furnitures. It struck Gregor (and me) only then that removing the furniture implies receding to this lower state even further. This was the best concern Gregor got from his family, although in the end the sister had her way and amplified his condition (albeit with postive intentions)
Towards the end, Gregor was fully neglected and faced humiliation even from external parties like the charwoman.
While I understand that the family has to move forward, I wonder if Gregor’s condition was really irrecoverable for the family to give up on him completely and venture beyond. What do you think was the perspective of the family? How can their actions can be justified? Is it simply human or can they have done better? I’m eager to discuss multiple perspectives!
by theMightyPanda27