Summary
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka opens with a startling image: Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into a giant insect. He lies on his back, staring at dozens of legs flailing in confusion. As he struggles to make sense of his new body, he worries more about missing work than about what’s happening to him. His room, once familiar, turns strange and threatening.
Gregor’s family grows uneasy when he fails to answer the door for his manager. His sister, Grete, and his parents hear muffled sounds behind the locked door. The manager grows impatient and threatens to involve the police. Grete finally rattles the doorknob, causing Gregor to push it open with his new body. They recoil in horror at the sight of him.
Despite the shock, Gregor hears his father’s voice quiver. He tries to speak, but only strange noises emerge. His mother faints at the doorway. Grete steps forward to guide Gregor back into his room. Meanwhile, the manager flees, leaving the family alone with their bewilderment and fear.
Once Gregor is confined, the family locks the door and hesitantly peers inside. They see him scuttling across the floor, trying to adjust. His mother presses a handkerchief to her lips, tears welling up. Grete, torn between pity and disgust, leaves the room to let him settle.
Alone at last, Gregor contemplates his predicament. He recalls the long hours at the traveling sales job he loathes. Deep down, he had always viewed his work as a burden, though it provided for his family. Now, as an insect, that responsibility feels impossible and distant.
Grete takes on the task of caring for Gregor. She lays out scraps of food—cheese, milk, bits of bread—hoping he’ll eat. Gregor tastes them, only to spit most away. He finds rotten leftovers more appealing. This upsets Grete, but she quietly replaces the offerings each morning.
Their mother, still shaken, insists Gregor must be coaxed back to human shape. She begs him to show his head. He considers revealing himself but fears scaring her further. Instead, he retreats deeper into the shadows of his room.
Days pass and the family grows restless. Their savings dwindle as Gregor’s father returns to work. He slams the front door each evening, exhausted and cross. Gregor trembles at the noise, realizing how fragile their support has become.
Gregor’s father, now driven by anger, shoves him back into his room. An apple thrown in frustration lodges into Gregor’s back. The wound festers over time, causing Gregor constant pain. He tries to hide the injury, sensing his family’s pity turning to resentment.
Grete, still the only one showing him kindness, begins to change the room. She removes furniture to give him space to crawl. A sofa, a table, and framed pictures vanish. Gregor watches each piece go missing, mourning the loss of his human past and the comforts of his old life.
With the room nearly bare, Gregor feels more at home among empty walls. He clings to fragments of memory—his sister’s violin melodies, his mother’s gentle hand. Yet isolation deepens. He no longer recognizes the form he once inhabited.
To make ends meet, the family rents rooms to three lodgers. These strangers sit in their parlor, demanding calm and respect. They gossip about the family’s poverty. When they hear a strange scratching, they assume rats have invaded the house.
Grete volunteers to play the violin for the lodgers, hoping to distract them and earn a bit more rent. As she draws the bow, Gregor emerges to listen. The lodgers shriek at the sight of his insect form. They stamp their feet, hurl insults, and threaten to leave without paying.
Hearing the uproar, Gregor scuttles back into his room. His sister collapses in tears, and the lodgers cancel their stay. The family faces fresh humiliation and financial strain. In that moment, they decide that Gregor must go.
One morning, Gregor lies still on the floor. Grete peers in and gasps at his lifeless body. The apple wound has finally killed him. Relief and sorrow mix on her face as she calls her parents. Without speaking, they agree to dispose of what remains of the insect.
With Gregor gone, the Samsas find new hope. They move to a smaller apartment and breathe freely for the first time in months. Grete, now blossoming into a young woman, draws the family’s admiration. They set out on a Sunday drive, leaving the oppressive memory of Gregor’s fate behind. His death clears the way for their uncertain, yet hopeful, future.
Detailed Summary
Plot Summary
1. Gregor’s Awakening and Alienation
Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. He lies on his back, unable to move his new legs properly, and struggles to process this sudden change. His first concern, oddly enough, is not his condition but the fact that he’s late for work. He frets over missing the early train and the reaction of his boss, the chief clerk.
He eventually manages to open his door, startling his family and the maid. His father forces the door shut while the room’s observer—the chief clerk—laments Gregor’s unreliability. Though Gregor tries to reassure him, only insect noises emerge. The clerk storms off in disgust, leaving Gregor shaken and ashamed.
Left alone, Gregor contemplates his position as sole breadwinner. He recalls his family’s debts and how he labors day and night to support them. Now, he feels torn between relief at escaping work and horror at his grotesque body.
2. Isolation Behind Closed Doors
Gregor’s family locks him in his room to hide his insect form. At first, they push food in and out without looking directly at him. Gregor timidly explores his unfamiliar space, crawling along walls and ceiling. He becomes fixated on a framed portrait of a lady in furs and on peeling wallpaper.
As days pass, Gregor grows more withdrawn. He avoids speaking with his sister, Grete, who cleans his room and feeds him. He notices her pity and hears her quietly sobbing while carrying away debris. Despite this tender care, an unbridgeable barrier emerges: he no longer shares human concerns.
His physical needs shift. He recoils from fresh bread and meat, instead craving rotten scraps. He scavenges bits behind furniture, disgusted at himself but driven by instinct. His habitat becomes increasingly filthy, mirroring his sense of alienation.
3. Family’s Financial Strain
With Gregor unable to work, the family faces ruin. His father, once dependent, reenters the workforce as a bank messenger. His mother takes sewing by hand. Grete finds a job at a music store to pay rent. Each member reshapes their identity around survival.
The parents turn the apartment’s living room into a small lodging house. They rent rooms to three lodgers who pay weekly. Their presence adds unease: Gregor overhears them whispering about strange noises behind closed doors. They resent the clutter and the family’s odd habits.
As money starts coming in, the family stops depending on Gregor entirely. He feels a pang of guilt but also relief: at least they manage without him. Yet each coin they earn dims the memory of his former role as provider.
4. Gregor’s Inner Reflections
Confined to his room, Gregor wrestles with memory and identity. He recalls his job’s drudgery, how he never chose his fate but accepted responsibility for his family. He pities himself for suffering this absurd metamorphosis just when he yearned to quit his position and travel.
He thinks about Grete’s violin playing, remembering musical evenings in happier times. The strains of her practice drift through the wall and reassure him briefly. Music tugs at his fading humanity and fills him with longing for family connection.
Yet reflection brings despair. He asks himself whether he remains human inside or has become the vermin his family now sees. He fears he will die unloved and forgotten, his dreams and sacrifices wiped away by this transformation.
5. Tensions with Lodgers and Family
The lodgers become openly hostile to the persistent scratching and scuttling sounds Gregor makes. They threaten to leave if the disturbance doesn’t stop. Their rent is crucial to the family’s finances, so Grete pleads with her parents to resolve the issue.
One evening, Grete enters Gregor’s room with a broom, urging him to hide beneath the sofa. She acts with decisive cruelty, shoving him away when he lingers near her violin. Her gentle care gives way to resentment as she views him more as a pest than a brother.
Gregor panics and rushes into the living room. The lodgers shriek and flee. His father pelts him with apple cores until one lodger faints. Injured and bleeding, Gregor retreats to his room. The father locks the door behind him, leaving him to bleed overnight.
6. Final Decline and Death
Gregor’s wound festers, sapping his already fragile strength. He scarcely eats. Grete no longer visits or leaves food. Even the maid, once startled, now avoids the room. The family discusses Gregor’s fate in hushed, urgent tones.
One night, Gregor overhears Grete declare that they must get rid of the insect for their own good. Interpreting this as consent to his death, he quietly lets his life slip away. At dawn, the maid discovers his body. The family feels relief rather than grief.
They carry his shell-like husk out and discard it. As spring arrives, the parents and Grete take a tram ride into the countryside. They feel lighter, imagining a fresh start. Grete, once a caretaker, blooms with new energy and potential.
Characters
1. Gregor Samsa (Protagonist)
“Oh God,” he thought, “what a strenuous career it is that I’ve chosen!”
Gregor awakens as an insect yet clings to his human concerns. He worries about work, responsibilities, and his family’s welfare despite his new form. Over time, his thoughts mellow from obligation to despair. He recalls past ambitions—traveling and art—but recognizes he never truly pursued them.
Physically, he adapts to his insect body, learning to scuttle on walls and ceilings. Emotionally, however, he drifts further from humanity. He yearns for connection—especially with Grete—but his appearance hinders any intimacy. In death, he finds release from isolation and self-loathing.
2. Grete Samsa (Key Supporting Character)
“We have to try to get rid of it,” Grete said without raising her eyes.
Grete transforms from a timid sister into the family’s decisive caretaker. She feeds Gregor, tidies his room, and tries to humanize him with music. At first, she addresses him with gentle pity and hope for recovery.
Over weeks, her compassion wanes. She speaks of Gregor as a burden that imperils the family’s well-being. Her shift marks both survival instinct and loss of her brother’s humanity in her eyes. By the end, she champions his removal.
3. Mr. Samsa (Father)
“Are you still among us?”
Formerly dependent on Gregor’s salary, Mr. Samsa shrinks from work until forced by crisis. He resumes employment as a bank messenger, regaining dignity through labor. His initial hopelessness turns into stern resolve when the lodgers complain of noises.
He becomes rigid and authoritarian toward Gregor. Armed with apples, he drives his son back into the room. This violence shows his anger and shame at Gregor’s transformation. Yet it also underscores his need to protect the family’s fragile stability.
4. Mrs. Samsa (Mother)
“It’s my fault,” she murmured, covering her eyes.
Gentle and fragile, Mrs. Samsa falls ill when Gregor first appears. She hovers between pity and horror, unable to confront her son’s new form. She tears up at the sight of him yet struggles to help Grete care for him.
Her maternal instincts battle shame and fear. She embodies the conflict between unconditional love and self-preservation. In the end, she retreats from the emotional toll, leaving decisions to her husband and daughter.
5. The Chief Clerk (Antagonistic Authority)
“So this is how you treat your job?”
The chief clerk arrives to check on Gregor’s tardiness. He equates punctuality with loyalty and views Gregor’s insect state as the height of irresponsibility. His stern reprimand and disgust leave Gregor humiliated.
Although he never meets Gregor’s eyes, his presence catalyzes the family’s decision to isolate him. He symbolizes the inflexible demands of capitalism—valuing output over individual well-being.
Themes Analysis
1. Alienation and Identity
Kafka explores how physical change can sever one’s social bonds. Gregor’s transformation isolates him from family and society. His insect form magnifies the emotional distance he already felt as a weary salesman.
The novella asks whether identity lies in the body or the mind. Gregor retains human thoughts, yet no one acknowledges them. His death suggests that complete alienation can only end with oblivion.
2. Family Duty and Self-Interest
Gregor sacrifices his own desires to support his family. His worth becomes tied to economic function. Once he loses that role, his family discards him.
Grete and her parents shift from gratitude to resentment. Their transition highlights the fragility of familial love when weighed against survival. Kafka critiques social bonds based solely on utility rather than unconditional care.
3. Absurdity of Existence
The inexplicable metamorphosis underscores life’s unpredictability. Gregor never questions how it happened—only how to cope. His pragmatic nature clashes with the surreal disaster.
Kafka suggests that individuals must face absurd circumstances without grand explanations. Gregor’s calm acceptance and slow decline reflect the human condition: overwhelmed by forces beyond understanding.
Key Plot Devices
1. Gregor’s Insect Form
His grotesque transformation drives every conflict in the story. It forces the family to reevaluate roles and exposes hidden resentments. Gregor’s body becomes a barrier to communication, symbolizing social exclusion.
The shocking premise also prompts philosophical questions about identity. By turning human concerns into insect instincts, Kafka challenges readers to empathize with the marginalized.
2. Locked Doors
Doors function as literal and metaphoric barriers. Gregor’s room becomes a prison that separates him from humanity. His family locks him away to preserve normalcy and protect their guests.
Each attempt to open or close doors heightens tension. The barrier also underscores Gregor’s lack of agency: he depends on others to grant or deny access. Kafka uses this device to explore isolation.
3. The Lodgers
The three tenants represent impersonal society. Their rent allows the family to survive but at the cost of Gregor’s humanity. Their looming departure pressures Grete to act ruthlessly.
They never meet Gregor face-to-face, yet their demands shape the novella’s climax. Kafka shows how economic necessity can erode compassion when personal suffering conflicts with collective comfort.