Faiz Ahmad Faiz said: Dil Pe Jo Guzarti Hai Rakm Karte Rahain Ge (We will continue to note down what befalls our heart). Much earlier, the world of literature witnessed a great novelist Franz Kafka who recorded everything he encountered, observed, and felt in his life.
In my previous column published by KR (23 May 2024 https://kashmirreader.com/2024/05/23/kafkaesque-and-the-man-behind-it/), I attempted to dig into the life of Franz Kafka. I presented the overview of Kafka’s worldview — accurately Kafkaesque, to make the kernel of his works discernible. Among his notable works through which Kafka ventilated his pain, an allegoric novella Metamorphosis is considered his best-known. A short story spread over almost 60 pages was written by Franz Kafka in 1912 but it was after his departure that Metamorphosis came into public notice and was a hit. Like his other stories, Metamorphosis exemplifies Kafka’s dark world, which deals with an absurd, or wildly irrational, event, suggesting that the story operates in a random, chaotic universe. It takes on supernatural significance as it is beyond the boundaries of a natural occurrence.
The story begins with Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman, who wakes up to discover that he has turned into a giant insect. While in bed, unable to move, the first thought that strikes Gregor’s mind is of the workplace. As the sole breadwinner of his family, his inability to attend office panics him. Soon his door is knocked by family members — Father Samsa, then by his mother, and sister only to wake him up to be in the office on time. In the meantime, the office clerk joins Gregor’s family to castigate him for being late. Initially, he disallows his family to see his terrifying condition, but eventually, allows them in. Gregor’s transformation affects his family.
Mother fails to come to terms. She faints on seeing her son’s helplessness. Sister courageously serves him, cares about him, and arranges food for him regularly, but father’s attitude towards him worsens constantly. However, soon sister’s approach undergoes an unexpected shift. Her habit of regular visits changes to occasional. Gregor’s somewhat erratic behaviour comes heavily to all. In anger, Father throws an apple at him, leaving him wounded. To meet the two ends all other three members of the family start working. As time passes they fail to attend Gregor. An insignificant member he becomes. There comes a time when the furniture of his room is moved out. His room is rented out to cope with financial crises. Despite engaging in congenial connection with his family, particularly his sister, tenants too leave on the pretext of Gregor without paying. Gregor finds himself in the firing line. His formerly compassionate sister upbraids him. She calls her monster, a cause of torture, an animal, and a source of misery. She declares we need to get rid of him. The abuse from all around and self-imposed starvation eventually leads to Gregor’s death. The family mourns for a few days but everything returns to normal thereafter.
There are many concepts in the story and different readers can deduce different lessons. The story is multi-layered and it depends upon the ability of readers how they can peel them off to interpret it. But speaking plainly, Franz Kafka warns us that capitalism harbours inevitable changes that elicit forlornness and trepidation. Kafka alarms us about industrialism by using the themes of work, buying power, and dehumanization through exacting labour. Franz Kafka underlines the difficulties that modernized society is fraught with and the struggle of people to make themselves acceptable in a state of perplexity.
Using characters like father, mother, sister, and clerk, Kafka focuses light on awful aspects of human nature like; how people change. How hypocritical they are? How self-centrism works in the human race. How psychological metamorphosis happens when the requirements of people are not accomplished. It is a grim reminder that in existing societies our role in family, community, and society determines our worth. An incapable, unfit, and indolent person may end up as a nonentity — even being among advanced creatures.
The book, actually written in the German language, has been translated by David Wyllie into limpid English. It may not arouse the interest of all but bookaholics will have something bonzer to learn, infer, and act on.
The writer is a student, educator, columnist, blogger and co-author of book #55-Stories. He can be reached at [email protected]

Zeeshan Rasool Khan