The Metamorphosis

by franz kafka

The role of mythical criticism AS PRESENTED IN THE NOVEL

Itara Moore, Stella Khezri, Hendrik Lam, Katarina Villaverde

what is mythical criticism?

The mythological approach has to do with the recurrent universal patterns and archetypes in a piece of literature. It is used as a strategy for understanding how human beings try to account for their lives symbolically.

What is an archetype?

A typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.

time and place in the novel

Itara Moore

author's life

• Born July 3, 1883 in Prague, Czech Republic
• Died June 3, 1924 in Klosterneuburg, Austria 
• Family
  • Middle class, German-speaking Jewish
  • Eldest of 6 children
  • German as first language, almost fluent on Czech
  • Strained father-son relationship
    • Attended law school
  • Government workers insurance office

Geography

• Unspecified time period
  • Assumed to be during the late-nineteenth, early twentieth century
  • Believed to take place in the Czech Republic
  • Unknown location makes story more universal
  • All action takes place in Samsas' apartment
    • Ironic that Samsas are so central without attracting attention over giant bug
    • By confining all action to apartment, shows how isolated Gregor is

Economics

• Capitalist society 
• Dependence on one person to provide for the whole family
• Rapid economic shifts and changes
  • Austo-Hungarian economy changed dramatically during Dual Monarchy

political

• Traditional aristocracy and land-based gentry
• The urban middle and upper class tended to seek their own power and supported progressive movements
  • Described as "leftist liberals"
  • Influence of liberals in Austria weakened

Social

• Ethnic Relations
  • The nationalism of German speakers prevalent in the Empire
  • Germans were traditionally bureaucratic, capitalist, and cultural elite
    • Germans had difficulty in accepting Slavic languages as equal to their own

Easy & Difficult

Stella Khezri

Difficult to understand

• Emotion - Gregor's reaction to being turned into a giant bug
  • ​His main concern is losing his job and not being able to support his family.
• Money - Gregor's family's focus on money rather than their son's well being
  • The father tries to kill Gregor twice, and cries when he realizes his son is now a bug that cannot bring in revenue. 
• Consciousness - Gregor's humanity (or lack thereof)
  • It is debatable whether Gregor was a human or not after his transformation. Mentally, he might have been. Physically, he was not.
• ​Mind vs. Appearance - The huge gap between mind and appearance
  • ​Gregor's mental state and appearance are two opposites.

Easy to understand

• Sympathy - Grete's consideration for Gregor's condition
  • Grete takes good care of him, despite feeling uncomfortable looking at him. She brings food and tries to accomodate his habits.
• Isolation - The family's feeling of being trapped by Gregor
  • Although the family is concerned to an extent, they feel limited by his strange condition.
• Money - Gregor's family's concern about money
  • Despite their lack of compassion towards their son, it is easy to understand why they seek comfort in financial security.
• Metamorphosis - The family's metamorphosis
  • The family's metamorphosis is simple. The order in their lives was restored through Gregor's sacrifice.

• Cultural Comparison

• Hendrik Lam

• Gregor's inability to comprehend his change into a bug
• Gregor's inability to understand that he is a bug
• Family issue of lack of money

• issues

• Roles of a chinese family

• Role of a Chinese family that is poor, depending on son's age, controls how a family acts
• If the son is the eldest, he will immediately start working to help support family
• If son is beneath any other sibling then other siblings work for money to get the son the best education to work and bring money
• Chinese believed in Therianthropy, coming from the Greek ther ion, meaning "wild animal" and "anthropos" meaning human being
• Chinese believed in shape shifting

• Interesting Aspects

• Katarina Villaverde

• archetypes

• Gregor goes through whole journey with different stages of metamorphosis
• Can see the changes
• "He had much better control of his body than before" (Kafka, 1098).
• Extended Metaphor
• ​Metamorphosis describes change
• Important worker to useless vermin

• the journey

• Gregor wakes up and realizes he has changed into a bug.
• "It was no dream" (Kafka, 1084).

• The Fall

• Image of a savior
• Those who sacrifice all do so for the greater good - Gregor works to provide for his family
• Those who exemplify forgiveness in the face of rejection - Gregor was the one who needed help, but would accommodate himself for the family's sake
• Those who suffer and/or die for betterment of humanity - The family became closer due to Gregor's death.
• Religious Imagery
• German word "Ungeziefer" - Nazi's label for Jewish people
• "He crossed himself, and the three women followed his example" (Kafka, 1109). The family acts relieved to  have gotten rid of Gregor, and thanks God.

• Christ

• "Monstrous vermin" (Kafka, 1084)- Something people do not want 
• Family is afraid
• "The door was slammed shut with the cane, then at last everything was quiet" (Kafka, 1092).
• The family starts to isolate Gregor.
• Symbolism
• The window - Symbolizes the lack of knowledge for Gregor's future, the fog makes for confusion
• Allegory
• Hidden meaning of human isolation
• Metamorphosis allegorizes Gregor's relationship to his profession

• The parasite - outcast

• The metamorphosis changes Gregor physically, but not all mentally
• Still dies a "thing"
• Irony
• Treatment of Gregor from his own family
• The apple injury, "from which he suffered for over a month" (Kafka, 1101).

• Unhealable Wound

• "The rain was still coming down" (Kafka, 1090).
• Shows gloomy atmosphere after Gregor is transformed
• "Into a desert where the gray sky and the gray Earth were indistinguishably fused" (Kafka, 1097).

• Weather - Contrasting Atmospheres

• Metamorphosis for the whole family
• Gregor dies, but the family sees a new, bright future
• Symbolism - Gregor
• Symbol of martyrdom (Martyr- a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any principle)
• The family benefits from Gregor's death.
• Now, the family has to work harder for their hopeful future

• Death and Rebirth