On Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Abstract

To revolt, in a political sense, means to rebel against control. According to Karl Marx, the structure of capitalism causes the individual worker to play a minor role in the entire capitalist system.[i] Consequently, the worker feels no true worth or attachment to his work, or the “alien” products of it.[ii] In Kafka’s fable, The Metamorphosis, when Gregor Samsa wakes to discover that he has transformed into a “monstrous insect”, he finds himself “helplessly” struggling to manoeuvre his new form. [iii] It first appears as if his body is behaving contrary to his expectations and is revolting against his control. Prior to his transformation, as a human worker, Gregor represents a cog in the capitalist machine. In his attempt to financially provide for his family Gregor becomes trapped in his role as a travelling salesman, “a mere tool of the chief, spineless and stupid”.[iv] In his original human form, Gregor is a representation of the insect he later becomes, a worker within a capitalist nest. The nineteenth century theories of evolution and degeneration resulted in people being susceptible to the notion of the “animal within” human beings. [v] The idea that people evolved from animals, but could also regress and lose certain capabilities that distinguished them from animals, left mankind appearing closer to nature. As a human, Gregor has a small, unfulfilling job within the larger capitalist system. This illustrates Gregor operating in a similar way to an ant or termite worker, playing a specific, limited role for the benefit of its society. In this respect, Gregor’s body does not revolt; it merely becomes the manifestation of the insect mentality which capitalism forces upon his mind. Gregor represents the reverse of Marxist alienation. This is because his “self” does not remain detached from his labour.[vi] Gregor’s body becomes a representation of the role which his work requires, an insect working for the good of the structure in which he functions. Gregor’s body conforms to the capitalist system he is part of by morphing into the insect he had already mimicked in work. Thus, despite Gregor’s discomfort with his new form,[vii] the novel cannot be easily considered “revolting” because his body does not, in a political sense, revolt.