Folktales, Fables, and The Metamorphosis
Many folktales and fables delve into the theme of transformations or have animals as central characters. How does Kafka's modern story differ form these works? Be sure to give give specific examples that transcend the obvious in your evaluation.
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Kafka’s The Metamorphosis differs from the majority of other stories in which transformations occur because Gregor’s transformation is used metaphorically and portrayed negatively. Because Gregor Samsa was the breadwinner in his family of four, when he awoke from a deep sleep to find that he was not only late for work, but also transformed into a giant beetle-like bug, he was overwhelmed with unfulfilled responsibilities along with an immense sense of guilt, as he felt that through this inexplicable change and sudden inability to go to work, he was letting his needy family down. In many other stories involving transformations or have animals as central characters, the transformation in the story line are typically accompanied by positive consequences, used more literally, and not as metaphorically.
Although Kafka's The Metamorphosis does portray a transformation, the meaning behind the transformation is immensly different than that of most folktales and fables that deal with transformation. Most transformations in stories occur because the main character needs to learn a lesson and this is the author's way of the character doing so. However, Kafka's main character does not transform in order to learn a lesson. He transforms as an effect of how he lives his life, not to change it. Samsa transforms because he is so isolated from society due to his workaholic tendencies that his transformation is the culmanation of his alienation and the extreme limit.
The transformation that occurs in The Metamorphosis is vastly different from the one that happens in a fable such as The Princess and the Frog. The shape shifting that Gregor endures leads him to a painful death, through his physical and mental deterioration. He becomes hated by his family because he is unable to financially provide and he consequently becomes a burden to all. His father even throws an apple at Gregor’s helpless body, in hopes of killing his own son. A scene like this would definitely not occur in a Disney story. He is unsuccessful, but Gregor is severely hurt. Gregor might have been better off dead at this point.
Although the prince in The Princesss and the Frog is a creature, his human feelings are sill respected. The princess listens to his story and transforms the prince back into a human by kissing him. In Gregor’s case, he is completely dehumanized. It becomes apparent that he is no longer viewed as a living thing when his room turns into a storage closet for unnecessary items and trash. He lives with, “anything deemed useless” that is tossed into his room (48). Gregor is associated with nonliving things, and is therefore no longer viewed as a being.
Kaftka’s work is a very dark rendition of a folklore story. There is certainly not a happy ending….
Unlike the use of transformations in many folktales and fables, Kafka uses his transformation of Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis as a means by which to show the monstrous (giant bug-like)characteristics of human beings, not the animal itself. By taking a genorous, pure Gregor and making him a physical monster, Kafka was able to show, through the reactions of his family members, that Gregor didn't need to transform, because humans are already animals to begin with. Kafka even goes as far as to use verbs such as "hissing" when describing, not the actions of Gregor, but rather the actions of his family members. Gregor, not once, "attacks" or tries to harm his family, yet his father attacks and isoltes him on several occasions by chasing him, "hissing"(16), or bombarding him with a downpour of apples. Despite Kafka's physical transformation of Gregor, the true animals of the story are his family, a fact which greatly differs from the usual folktale use of "animals" as the central character.
The greatest difference I noted between The Metamorphosis and a typical folktale is the stark loneliness in Kafka's tale. For Gregor is often alone, "staring out the window, motionless" (21). In folktales and fables, the main character always has some sort of support system whether it is made up of a friend, spouse, sibling, and/or pet. Gregor has no one. His family and everyone he comes in contact with find him "unbearable" (21) and are, as a result "uneasy" (21) in his presence. In folktales there is usually a good side to combat the bad side. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor is the sole figure to make up the good side, while every other single character could be placed on the bad side for their negative thoughts and effects. This loneliness and detachment is a far cry from the average folktale.
-Diana Heriford
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