Strangely for a writer of the 20th century, Kafka travelled very little, being born in Prague and dying in the comparatively close city of Vienna. Having been born in the ‘Old Town’ region, it is generally thought that the winding, labyrinthine networks of streets were instrumental in influencing Kafka’s presentation of the isolated and lonesome narrator; indeed Kafka’s biographer Klaus Wagenbach did comment how the city "played a crucial part in the subject matter and the style of Kafka's prose". As such there are those who feel the decidedly narrow world of Kafka is reflected in the equally restricted life of Gregor. As readers learn during this opening stage of ‘Metamorphosis’, Gregors’s life is wholly determined by the din of the alarm which was “enough to shatter furniture” and his obligation to take the “5 o’clock train”. The protagonist’s entire life revolves around his futile occupation as a “commercial traveller” as we learn as following Gregor’s transformation, he immediately becomes worried about the implications the metamorphosis has on his job. It is because of this detrimental devotion to his occupation that Gregor is inhibited and isolated from any significant interaction with society. Similarly, on a more literary level, Gregor’s actions are immediately inhibited by his inability to move off his back. Readers see Gregor’s incapability to move as it is described how the protagonist “would have needed arms and hands to raise himself to a sitting position” as his body was “uncommonly broad”. Gregor’s struggle to leave the confines of his bedroom seems reminiscent of Kafka’s attempts to transcend his various ailments and adopt a more satisfactory life. And so it seems that because of these disabilities, both author and protagonist’s lives were distinctly isolated. As well as being temporarily trapped in his bedroom, the little outside world accessible to Gregor has been masked by the weather as the protagonist remarks “seven o’clock already and still such a fog”. During this sequence Kafka implements pathetic fallacy to convey the confusion and isolation Gregor is experiencing as a result of his metamorphosis. The inhibitions present in Gregor’s lacklustre life partially result from the austere mistrust and dependence his family have on him and this is again reminiscent of the life of Kafka.
The opening stages of ‘Metamorphosis’ present readers with a harassingly bleak family relationship which irrefutably is a consequence of Kafka’s deprived family life. Kafka’s dire relationship with his family, in particular his father, is manifested in the published 45-page ‘Letter to His Father’, in which Kafka accuses his father of being “emotionally abusive” and explains how he is “afraid of” the man he should be able to trust. Immediately in the novella, Gregor ponders how he is compelled to maintain his dismal career in order to “pay back what his parents owe” “the chief”. Here we see how the family relationship present in Gregor’s household is motivated by his parent’s viral yearn for finances as opposed to the trust, love and fondness which was absent also in Kafka’s family. Moreover, having found that Gregor is late for work, rather than enquiring about his health, his self-motivated mother instead asks are “you going to catch the train?”, concerned about appropriating more money from her son. It is because of this financial dependence that any loving relationship which may have existed in the family has dissolved, and subsequently Gregor finds himself in a position in which he can invest no trust in his relatives. For example, when at length someone asks whether he is well the protagonist responds “yes, yes thank you”, not having the trust in his family to reveal his transformation. It seems evident from the opening stages of ‘Metamorphosis’ that a fissure has divided the family into two parties; Gregor on one side and his father, mother and sister on the other. Distrust exists on both sides of the division as Gregor cannot reveal his metamorphosis to his family whilst his family clearly do not entirely trust Gregor to continue earning money. It may be interpreted that Gregor’s sister constitutes an exception to this rule as she appears concerned over her brother’s well being, asking “aren’t you well Gregor?” . However, with the progression of the novella this concern wanes; some even interpret the title ‘Metamorphosis’ to be as applicable to her as to the protagonist.
Whilst it is highly convincing that Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ was used as an outlet for the authors own tormenting feelings of isolation and distrust, it seems clear that the presentation of these themes have implications to society as a whole also. Though Gregor’s transformation can be interpreted as being a consequence of Kafka’s questioning of his personhood, it may also be understood as a moral warning to mankind. For a long period and at least “five or six years more”, Gregor has laboured at a meaningless job as he feels he has to conform to the selfish whims of his parents as well as the conventions of society as a whole. Further, Gregor comments how, owing to his occupation, he has no chance of any “warmer, lasting companionship”. It is mainly due to his job that Gregor’s existence ultimately seems so futile and worthless. As such, it can be interpreted that Gregor’s transformation into the insect sprawled on its “shell-like back” is a metaphor warning of the perils which such a meaningless lifestyle can lead to. The metaphor of the insect is used to show that such is the futility of Gregor’s contributions to the world that he is equivalent to a housebound insect. Alternatively, Gregor’s metamorphosis may be understood as Kafka’s highlighting the necessity of freedom and moral choice. Having read the opening stages of the novella readers are often affected by the lack of choice present in Gregor’s life. His occupation, the most defining feature of his life, is only undertaken due to his parent’s demands as Gregor even at one point admits “if I didn’t have to hold back for the sake of my parents I’d have handed in my notice long since”. And so, it may be understood that because of the distinct lack of choice in Gregor’s life, he is comparable to an insect- completely lacking in freedom and determined either by instinct or the desires of others. In any case, as a consequence of the metamorphosis, Gregor finds himself even more isolated and secluded from society. Kafka’s interesting use of the realistic style, for example verisimilitude, augments the idea that the metaphor of the insect is supposed to have implications towards society.
