The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Before starting this review of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, there are a couple of things I would like to warn potential readers about. This fictional work contains a constant through‑line of abuse, including physical, emotional, and financial abuse, as well as suicidal themes. If you are uncomfortable with, or find these themes triggering, I strongly suggest not reading this book.

Now to the review proper.

The Metamorphosis is one of Franz Kafka’s most famous stories and is heavily embedded in our cultural consciousness. I originally had no interest in reading this work because I believed I already knew the plot through cultural osmosis.

Before reading it, my opinion of the book was that it was an existential or psychological horror story. After reading it, I can say that my preconceived ideas about the story were wrong. The plot does begin as I expected, with the main character, Gregor Samsa, waking up one day to discover that he has been transformed into a cockroach, bug, or vermin (depending on the translation). He then spends the opening moments of the book worrying about how he is going to get to work. I will not give any more details of the plot from this point onwards, as the story is not very long.

Another point I want to make is that, in the works I have read by Kafka, the general rule of thumb is that the humour, comedy and absurdity outweigh the darkness. I find The Metamorphosis to be the exception to this rule. The story is, in fact, deeply sad. This is not to say there is no humour, there are parts that are very funny, but while I did not cry when reading Kafka’s other works, I did cry while reading The Metamorphosis.

The final point I want to mention is that the strangeness of the plot has obscured the story’s actual meaning in the public consciousness. At its core, it is a fairly blatant allegory about a man who becomes injured at work, finds himself unable to continue working, and faces the consequences of how his family views and treats him as a result. Kafka famously had a very poor view of himself, and this is abundantly clear in this story.

Ultimately, I believe this is a fantastic work, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is comfortable reading a story that includes the themes mentioned above.

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Matthew O