Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' Resonates 90 Years Later

A traveling salesman wakes up one morning, and as he lies in bed he realizes that instead of his two legs he has many little wriggling legs along his belly along with other bug-like characteristics.

"The Metamorphisis" by Franz Kafka remains a great story. It's a novella published in 1915 that continues to resonate despite technological and societal advances because it pushes us to question how we spend our energy and the dynamics we share with those around us.

The premise is somewhat simple; a traveling salesman wakes up as a bug. The original story never actually says he is a bug. The true translation is along the lines of a "despicable vermin," which is bad enough in itself but what does it really mean? Some people speculate that the salesman did not physically change, but woke up with self-perception as a despicable vermin. It is up to you to make that determination and whether it even matters because perception is reality.

Our hapless traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, has been a devoted employee who supports his dependent family. Even after waking to his new state, his first concern is getting to work on time despite the change. His state of mind remains unchanged, initially.

The family's reaction bears some consideration. Samsa had devoted his life to his family, perhaps we could say he worked like an unconscious bug for his family, and to what end? Following his metamorphosis, we see the reactions from the housekeeper, employer, mother, father and sister. The family also goes through a metamorphosis from dependent, helpless people to more self-sufficient, confident individuals who were no longer dependent on this bug for their well being.

Interestingly, those around Samsa reacted in extreme ways to his change while he accepted it as a mere inconvenience. Samsa's sister, Grete, maintains the greatest ties with her brother who is locked in his bedroom and not allowed to roam the apartment in his vermin-like state. Grete brings him decaying fruits and other tasty morsels that the bug enjoys.

Through the process, the parents go back to work, the family rents out a room to some disrespectful boarders, the sister continues to play music, which brings a sweetness or reminds us of beauty to an otherwise bleak existence, and Samsa continues to contemplate his state of being until his low-key death locked in his bedroom.

"We can thank God for that!" Herr Samsa says this in response to the charwoman's announcement that their son is dead.

Samsa thought he was doing the right thing for his family by working tirelessly, like a bug, but in the end what would have been better for them? To push them to care for themselves, to retain more dignity for himself?

After all of his hard work, it requires some thought to understand why Samsa's family was willing to move forward in their lives in such a contented manner following his death. Perhaps he was a vermin in their eyes prior to the metamorphosis. Even 90 years after publication, Kafka makes us question whether those around us are better or worse of because of our own existence and efforts.

Let us hope better.