Analysis
Point of View in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
This strange and troubling story The Metamorphosis is told entirely through the consciousness of GregorSamsa, a young salesman who awakens one morning to find himself trapped in the body of a large insect. The narrative never goes inside the heads of any of the other characters; whatever we learn of them must come from Gregor’s observation. The only character fully revealed by the limited omniscient point of view of the story is Gregor, although there is a brief scene at the end of the story that is told from the omniscient point of view.
Knowing Gregor’s interior life—his thoughts, his hopes, his fears—invites readers to empathize with him, while at the same time experiencing a sense of shock and unreality at the sudden changes the young man faces. The responses of other characters to Gregor’s change lead us to see what may be the central tragedy of his life: While he has supported his entire family, they seem to have no real understanding of the sacrifices he has made. This disjunction may be symbolized by the fact that although Gregor tries to speak, and although he does produce sounds, no one can understand what he is saying. In fact, the harder he tries to communicate, the more alienated and frightened his family becomes.
At first, his sister, Grete, tries to minister to him. For instance, she leaves various foods for him to try so that she can learn what he likes. As time progresses, however, Grete is forced to work to help support the family and as she becomes more and more exhausted by her job and by caring for her horribly changed brother, she, too turns against him. In the end, Gregor apparently starves himself when he has been forced to recognize that he is only a hateful burden to his family, and one that even his sister can no longer call “brother.”
In the final paragraphs of the story, the point of view becomes omniscient. Because Gregor has died, we are no longer looking at the world through his eyes. The family appears to be renewed, yet in the final scene, as both parents contemplate finding a husband for Grete, it seems that they might, in fact, be looking for a replacement of Gregor before his metamorphosis. Perhaps they are seeking a son-in-law to support and care for them in place of the son who no longer serves that function.