Absurdity in Metamorphosis

Kafka writes The Metamorphosis to express his experience about the absurdity of being which
contains anxiety and alienation issue. It is the first written story made by Kafka and it becomes
important to many authors that concern in the same issue in many centuries. Jean-Paul Sartre
recognized him as an existentialist and Albert Camus considered him an absurdist — two
prominent figures of the modernist movement.

To Kafka, the world seemed absurd, a common element for existentialists and absurdists. Kafka
was a disoriented individual who faced a confused world that he could not accept or
understand. When writing, his characters accept their fates and embrace the absurdity of
nature.

Many Marxists critics say postmodernism is the cause of capitalism and the alienation caused by
materialism. Kafka often portrays this in his writing as degradation on the soul. While the
modernist Marxist believed in an eschatological movement where humanity will reach a
utopian society free from government, Kafka does not theorize this. Most of his writings dealt
with a hopeless alienation. He believed that evil is too difficult to distinguish.

“For Kafka, the absurdity of sin and guilt lies not in the indifferent world but rather in the very
indistinguishability of the subjective and the objective.” Existentialism by Robert Solomon, p. 166

In Kafka’s diaries and letter, he considered Gregor Samsa’s alienated fate in “The
Metamorphosis”, to be the fate of anyone. The life of a salesmen and Gregor’s inhabitance in his
one room as a bug are both the same lives of solitude. He believes “the cares we have to
struggle with every day” is emotional torture. William Hubben in his book “Dostoevsky,
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche & Kafka” writes, “It is interesting that Kafka was one of the first to touch
upon the despair of a key figure in the economic system that is now engaged in a life and death
struggle in Europe, the salesmen whose function in free enterprise is that of a missionary.” If
there is one objective viewpoint of Kafka, it would be the absurdness of man’s contemporary placement
in society.

Kafka suffered an internal conflict for the desire of a universal truth and tried to convince
himself that his belief that truth was a lie was not true. In Max Brod’s biography of Kafka he
summed his fundamental outlook on life:

“Kafka’s fundamental outlook may be summarized in some such formula as this: almost
everything is uncertain, but once one has a certain degree of understanding one never loses the
way anymore.”

“Kafka’s fundamental principle: pity for a mankind that finds it so hard a task to do what’s
right. Pity, half-smiling, half-weeping, pity.”
Waking up, Gregor Samsa finds himself to be a gigantic insect. There was no feeling of anxiety
when he saw his condition thus tried to forget thinking that he was just in an ordinary dream.
From the time he realized that he was not in a state of illusion, seeing that he was in his regular
bedroom, he looked outside the window which portrays a gloomy day and wanted to stop
thinking about his constantly struggling legs as he wanted to get up. Then he thought about his
work- how ridiculous it was likely to be a commercial traveler when one could not enjoy any
benefits at all. When he saw the time, he was shocked and hurriedly tried to get up from the
bed. Suddenly, his mother knocked at his door reminding him that he might miss the train and
did not notice anything strange for the moment.

The arrival of the chief clerk gave Gregor more reason to quickly do whatever it is that needs to
be done: one is, opening the door. Soon enough the next man who knocked in his room was his
father, and because the chief clerk humiliated Gregor-on how he was disappointed with his
(Gregor’s) work-Gregor’s father was aroused with irritation. Upon finding out his (Gregor’s)
state, the chief clerk went away leaving the family with a dilemma on how they are to organize
themselves with what has happened.

At first, it was Grete, his sister, or also known as Fraulein Samsa who took responsibility of
feeding and understanding how he has come to be an insect. She would always bring him food,
talk a bit when he would finish his meal or not, clean his room after she has gone from school,
and so on. There was even a time that she decided to move away with the furniture for she felt
that Gregor might have a better environment or might move more freely if there were no such
furnishing that could possibly distract him from crawling around. -Gregor, despite the
situation, missed his mother. - While this was all happening, Gregor only stayed in one place-
under the sofa. Time went on and Grete’s constant bringing in of food for her brother became
more likely a routine and her treatment became less humane.

Now the family needed more income and for that to happen they welcomed three lodgers to
rent a room. The three lodgers seemed to have a high level of significance on how they want to
be treated. The family, on the other hand, made adjustments for them. Once an evening meal for
the lodgers were made, while supper, they heard the playing of the violin and in turn saw Grete
at the living room. The father thought they were preoccupied by the sound, instead they asked
her to continue but upon persistence of the music, they were disappointed. On one side, when
Gregor heard the beautiful cry on the violin, he began to enter an emotional state in which he
misses his sister. The impact of the music made him want to really tell her that he appreciates
the music so much more than anyone in the family could. However, while he was being
absorbed by his state and the sound of the music, the middle lodger was distressed and
disgusted upon Gregor’s sight.

The middle lodger insisted not to pay for the days he spent because of the insanity the family
showed. After this, they went back to his room and the family was dismayed. Because of this,
Grete proposed to get rid of the insect as it was bothering the family and since they have not a
slight of assurance that it was Gregor the one they’ve been taking care of for the past months.
Subsequently, when he reached his room:

“…his head san to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of
his breath.” (Kafka in Glatzer, 1983 p.135)

As the charwoman opened Gregor’s room, she yelled upon his sight. He was dead. The father
felt grateful when he saw the bug’s death, Grete and her mother tried to feel the same. As soon
as the three lodgers woke up, they went straight to the kitchen asking for their breakfast but
Gregor’s father paid them no deference and posed their leave at once. The three were startled
and they did the only choice- they had to leave. The story ended with the family deciding to
have a break. Each member wrote to their respective supervisors for excuse and left the
apartment.

Interpretation of the story

There is no mentioned location and particular date on where the Samsas’ apartment is or when
the event took place. The only description is that there is a hospital across within the view of
Gregor’s window and that the apartment fails to see a busy street. (The Metamorphosis in
Shmoop Beta, 2010) However, the story frequently exposes two major sites: Gregor’s room and
under the couch. Throughout the entire story, Gregor remained only in his room, it is where the
metamorphosis began and ended as he died. Another spot is under the couch, where he often
hides from people to refrain them from seeing him. From this, we can infer that Gregor has an
imprisoned life, following the rule he has to follow; the rule in which he has to stay in his room
or not let anyone see him since people were terrified when they see him.

According to Janis Kenderdine, who wrote an article about Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”,
the story may represent how individuals have been trapped to what the society has imposed
upon them. For example, Gregor Samsa, before he woke up as an insect, he was the only one
making a living for his family. He was held accountable for his family’s expenses. Waking up as
an insect is another figurative language used by the author, which if in reality can be similar to
a person who suddenly becomes unimportant. In addition to that, the three lodgers, the servant
girl, and the other outsiders, were said to be comparable with the Nazi occupation. The Nazis
would come in any house, any time of the day and would act as if the house was theirs,
demanding for things they needed. Some, upon knowing the transformation which happened
to Gregor instead of coming to his aid treated him as if he had not even become a source of
income for the apartment. Kenderdine added that it is generally accepted that the story is
somehow absurd. On the contrary, Alissa Nielsen proposed that the metamorphosis was not
really about the sudden transformation of Gregor into a bug but the transformation on how his
family treated him. Hence to relate it with Kenderdine’s proposition:

“One could also say that the family has also become more animalistic and primitive through
this metamorphosis. Instead of being compassionate and trying to help Gregor, they lock him
away, almost hoping he’ll die… The same could be said about the state of the room in which he
dwells. When he first wakes up as a bug, his room has all the necessities a human would need —
a bed, dresser, desk, sofa, etc. But as he devolve and realizes he doesn’t need these items, and
as his family realizes it, they are removed — essentially removing pieces of Gregor from the
room, and from their memories.” (Kenderdine, 2004)

There are many more interpretations as to why “The Metamorphosis” has evolved to be a topic
of absurdity, but what is absurdity anyway?

A. The meaning of Absurdity

Absurdity comes from the Latin term ‘absurdus’ meaning ‘out of time or foolish’. On one side,
existentialism is the philosophy of finding meaning in life. In order to completely understand
the meaning of absurdity it is necessary to discuss the principles of existentialism, which gave
birth to the absurdity of life. Based from the essay of Matthew Kundert, which primarily
tackled “Absurdity and meaning of Life”, Albert Camus, a well known author, existentialist,
and atheist, proposed three principles in life aligned with human nature: One is that “God is
dead.” Next, is that “Life is absurd.” And last, is that “Life is Meaningless.”

“Rising, streetcar, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, streetcar, four hours of work,
meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday according to the
same rhythm—this path is easily follow most of the time. But one day the “why” arises and
everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement.”(Camus in Kundert, n.d.)

Camus developed the second principle through emphasizing that life is merely a routine done
by people. Furthermore, he stated that the universe is not the one absurd nor are the people, it’s
the unity of both which generates absurdity. Not only that, but also finding reason in the world
is absurd and that following rules given by nature is absurd. Hence, the three sources of
absurdity is the unison of man and world, the search of reason for living, and the application of
rules. Alongside the discussion, Jean Paul Sartre, a well known author, existentialist, and
atheist as well has the same philosophy with Camus, stating that absurdity happens when we
try to find meaning in life, the universe does not care at all and since there is no God who is
alive so there is no point in living too. (Cline, 2010)

B. Finding Absurdity in the Setting

Why is the story and setting of the Metamorphosis absurd? One obvious picture of absurdity is
encountered at the very first line of the book:

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himseld transformed in his
bed into a gigantic insect.”(Kafka in Glatzer, 1983, p.89) For the simple reason that nobody in
the world wakes up finding himself transformed into a beetle (one of many depictions of
absurdity in the story). Now, as for the setting, as mentioned earlier, there are two frequent
places where Gregor is usually found and that is most of the time stated in the book: Gregor’s
room and under his couch; where in we can find absurdity for two major reasons according to
Camus’ principles. One, the unity of man with the world creates absurdity; in this case Gregor
is the human and his room is his world. As an insect, Gregor got attached to his room. Absurd
for the reason that instead of pondering solutions as to how he came to be in that way, instead
of making a way to make his family wholly believe that he is Gregor, the human, who can ask
for help, he just stayed in his room for days, weeks, months, until his death. Another is the next
two sources of absurdity: finding meaning in life results to absurdity, and obliging oneself to
follow the rules imposed by the society. Gregor got accustomed to the rule of not showing
himself to anyone for the main reason that he terrifies them, he just accepted his fate-being in a
futile state, hence, hiding himself under the couch. Under the couch, we expect two things, dust
particles and darkness. Whenever Gregor manages to crawl around his room, one can presume
that he is trying to find meaning in life (which according to both Sartre and Camus is absurd).
Absurdity in the rule, on the other hand, can be determined from the time when he decided not
to show himself to anyone that is why he always returns under the couch when someone would
enter his room.

C. Commentary

“This is what Kierkegaard termed a “leap of faith” — it’s an irrational choice, but
ultimately a necessary one if a person is to lead a full, authentic human existence. The
absurdity of our lives is never actually overcome, but it is embraced in the hope that by
making the best choices one will finally achieve a union with the infinite, absolute
God...We must be willing to live in spite of death, create meaning in spite of objective
meaninglessness, and find value in spite of the tragic, even comic, absurdity of what
goes on around us.”(Cline, 2010)

Kundert believes that there is an alternative to the routine which people are used to.
Moreover, clearly, Cline (2010) has a certain stand as to how life should be. Personally, I agree
with them. I believe that how we deal with life-the decisions we make is the main determinant
whether or not we should think the possibility of living an absurd life. We are all given a choice.
A choice to decide where we want to live, what we want to happen- life is a gift, no matter what
the situation is. And making the right choices solidifies our relationship with ourselves and our
existence-and that what makes life worth living despite the presence of absurdity. Absurdity,
although categorizes futility as its main core, is not at all useless in our midst. It is present
anywhere in this life and depends on how we take it in our lives. If Gregor believes that his life
is comparable with an insect’s life, then that is absurdity; however, if he turned his point of
view into a better one, he could have probably lived a better life. Taking absurdity as a
challenge and or a source of motivation to prove himself absolutely functional.

Conclusion

Prior to Gregor Samsa becoming an insect, he was already living in an absurd world in which
he happens to do the routine compelled by the society and all the while he was an insect, by
holding himself captivated by the world he moves in and around -his room and under the
couch. This shows the absurdity of the setting, how a human being can live his life in just two
places. He stays in the room-remaining worthless, being absorbed by the absurdity of his
transformation and unknowingly absorbed by his own efforts of creating absurdness. The
critiques highlighted that there is a certain solution to life with absurdity. The alternatives are
shortened by making the reader realize that each person in this life has his own choice as to
what he wants it to be.