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