Nostrils
In Kafka's The Metamorphosis, protagonist Gregor finds himself "transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect". Rather than this transformation being more metaphorical in nature, it appears that Gregor is genuinely transformed into an insect. However, in act three, Gregor refers to himself breathing through his nostrils. As discussed in class, insects don't have nostrils-- thus perhaps Kafka is attempting to humanize Gregor by giving him human traits, or to show that he's not completely an insect.
However, what if something much more horrifying is actually transpiring? Could Gregor actually be some grotesque combination of man and insect? Perhaps some of his human anatomy still exists within his chitinous exoskeleton. Would that change how Gregor is viewed by the reader? Would it affect his relationship with his family?
One final note-- if his human anatomy exists within the bug shell, what if the shell was actually a cocoon? Could the title not refer to the instantaneous transformation Gregor goes through, but rather a much more gradual change, much closer to real life metamorphosis. Maybe Gregory's shell was light not because he starved himself, but because he shed it to become something different?
However, what if something much more horrifying is actually transpiring? Could Gregor actually be some grotesque combination of man and insect? Perhaps some of his human anatomy still exists within his chitinous exoskeleton. Would that change how Gregor is viewed by the reader? Would it affect his relationship with his family?
One final note-- if his human anatomy exists within the bug shell, what if the shell was actually a cocoon? Could the title not refer to the instantaneous transformation Gregor goes through, but rather a much more gradual change, much closer to real life metamorphosis. Maybe Gregory's shell was light not because he starved himself, but because he shed it to become something different?
This detail confuses me, and I really liked the theories in your post. In particular the cocoon theory intrigues me, and would make sense. The way Gregor gradually thinks more like a bug would support this.
ReplyDeleteOr, Kafka could have messed up. There are other parts of the story that don't make sense. For example, he calls Gregor a cockroach at the start of the story, but the details about Gregor's body often don't apply to a cockroach at all.
Interesting theory. If Gregor were an insect-man who retained some human features (though tbh I don't think this is the case in the novel) he would probably have been treated more or less fairly depending on what these features were (how recognizably 'gregor' they made him) and also whether or not he was still able to work.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think, Jack! Yeah what is with Gregor sighing? Is it just that he like, meant to sigh and so did? He exercised the thought of sigh? Did he expect gas from his shell? The idea of Gregor being a strange half man half insect creature is also horrifying, and kind of funny. I like the juxtaposition there.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! Is Kafka just sensationalizing insect anatomy for the purposes of the story, or is he trying to imply something further about Gregor? Your cocoon theory really intrigues me: it's awesomely creepy and has interesting implications regarding how his family treats him.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is really cool, especially because you picked up on such a small detail that I definitely missed. Gregor still has a human conscious, so maybe he is breathing out through some insect appendage (I have no idea how insects breathe sorry) and he just assumes it's his nostrils?
ReplyDeleteWoah I like those ideas a lot! We were very set on the interpretation that Gregor was a human in cockroach form, but what if he really was shedding from a cocoon? It would make the title of this short story clearer. Plus, as Kat mentioned above, Gregor still has a human conscience and maybe he's really bad at bug bio so he doesn't exactly know what he is even when he looks into a mirror?
ReplyDeleteThese are some really cool ideas, especially the cocoon theory and the idea about a gradual transformation. I think that the gradual transformation definitely holds at least some ground as Gregor gradually loses his human thoughts and desires throughout the novel. Although physically the transformation seems close to instantaneous in the first scene, Gregor probably couldn't see his entire body and so it definitely could have been a gradual change.
ReplyDelete