The metamorphosis as an
existential novel and a reflection about the self.
A
philosophical and psychoanalytical novel
More than a fantastic story, Kafka’s The metamorphosis can be analyzed as a deep reflection on philosophical and psychoanalytical matters. First of all, metamorphosis is a recurring theme in common imagination and literature. This is due to the link between the body and the mind. If the body changes, the mind is influenced by this transformation and must evolve too. In Kafka’s novel, the main character, Gregor Samsa, wakes up one morning and sees he has become a bug. This event is a way to introduce more underlying metaphysical problems about existence and death.
The style of the author and the evolution of
the characters bring to the fore the absurdity of life and our inability to
answer the questions « what is the self ?», and « who is
myself ? ».
Absurdity
In the novel, neither Gregor nor his family wonder about the cause of the metamorphosis. There is no scientific interrogation, nor any kind of explanation. That is the main absurd point, which leads to a funny approach, because of Gregor certainty. Indeed, his only concern is to adapt to his new life, he’s not trying to understand why he has this strange new body. He sees the event as a simple « new situation », despite its tragic aspect.
At the beginning of the text, his only concern is
that he has to go to work. He’s thus thinking about how he could get up and work
given the fact that he is now a bug. He seems more preoccupied by the fact that
he might be late than by the fact he has become an insect. Instead of panicking,
he can only think about moving from his bed in a way that wouldn’t hurt his new
body. That is in fact a very surprising reaction when you wake up one morning
with the body of an enormous insect.
Owing to this perspective, the author
highlights existential questions such as the meaning of life, communication
with others, relations between an individual and his own body and his own mind.
Gregor’s story is used as a pretext to bring up questions about loneliness,
social and familial relationships, and individuality. Behind a short fantastic
novel, Kafka reaches major philosophical concepts.
About self and existence
Gregor doesn’t know
what he looks like. He never sees himself in a mirror and thus has no idea of
his own appearance. I believe this emphasizes the interrogation about the self
that appears in the novel. I would like to show the link between Kafka’s novel
and the thoughts of Kierkegaard.
According to Kierkegaard, the self is built in
opposition to the finite and the infinite. The finite is your determined and
fixed characteristics, whereas the infinite is the possibilities and the
capacity of choice that you possess as a human being. You must find a balance
between the finite and the infinite to build your self. Indeed, if an
individual only explores his infinite part, he will fall in a dark mood of
paralyzing incertitude and anxiety. On
the other hand, if the finite is too important, there is no more freedom, doubt,
or reflection. When you lose yourself in the finite, it means no alternative exists
and it therefore is alienation. I believe Gregor is in that situation: his
possibilities have been widely reduced. He is lost in the finite of his bug’s
body. His own self alienates him. The reader can really feel the oppressing atmosphere
of the story. He’s not even wondering for a minute how he could come back to
his human life.
If Gregor can’t find a balance between the
finite and the infinite, does he still have a self? How could he define himself?
For Kierkegaard, the self « is an act of relating ». This means the
self is the result of a two relations. The first one is the connection between
the body (which is temporal), and the soul (which is eternal). But that is not
enough to build a complete self, there must be a second step which consists in
linking one self to another. According to Kierkegaard’s perception, one can
analyze Gregor’s self. At the beginning, he can’t make the connection between
his mind and his body. He has to adapt his human personality to his bug’s
movements. With time, he builds the first step of his self. Although he achieves
his first purpose, he now has to link himself with his peers. However, his
family doesn’t recognize him and neither do they accept him thus making
impossible for him to fulfill the second step. His self is therefore incomplete,
but he goes on thinking and trying to communicate. He may still has a self and
he may still considerate himself as an individual, the others don’t see him as
a real person and his self is destructed by his family’s perception.
Gregor is locked in his new body and in his
mind. He doesn’t communicate with his family like he used to. He can’t be
understood. Moreover, he doesn’t seem to be really anxious about what is
happening to him. He only thinks about material matters such as money. This
novel has a deep dramatic and suffocating mood.
Kafka thus conveys a universal feeling of
unease and a relevant interrogation about the self.
I’ve been very interested by what you have written in your post. You pointed out the absurdity of Gregor Samsa’s behaviour in the begining of the novel and it made me think of an other absurd charcater who is quite similar to Gregor in many ways : Meursault in The Stranger by Albert Camus.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with i would say that both seem to live without giving any sense to their life. Indeed Gergor only thinks about his job, even when he is home he is thinking about it even though he admits hating his job. Meursault is only concerned by his current feeling (heat, hunger…) and he thinks that life has no value : he even says « everyone knows that life is not worth being lived »
Moreover, both of them seem to have a twisted vision of what matters. Indeed, when Gregor becomes a bug, he does not try to understand it, he does not even try to become a human back. Meanwhile in The Stranger when Meursault’s mother dies, he is only bothered because he thinks that his boss will blame him for missing a day of work. Then later, during his trial, he is bored and he does not show any remorse to avoid the death penalty.
In the end both experience regret, Gregor when his sister is playing music and Meursault right before his execution.
I quite agree with you, except on a point which is the relation between the main characters and their family. Althought Meursault don't seem to be emotionally attached to his mother, Gregor seems to have some feelings about his parents and his sister, even though it is a weird affection. Gregor is more involved in a social life than Meursault. What do you think about that? Do you agree? Do you see the difference I'm talking about?
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