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{{Infobox book | {{Infobox book | ||
| name = Metamorphosis | | name = The Metamorphosis | ||
| author = [[Franz Kafka]] | | author = [[Franz Kafka]] | ||
| language = [[German language|German]] | | language = [[German language|German]] | ||
| country = [[ | | country = [[Germany]] | ||
| publisher = [[Kurt Wolff (publisher)|Kurt Wolff]] Verlag, [[Leipzig]] | | publisher = [[Kurt Wolff (publisher)|Kurt Wolff]] Verlag, [[Leipzig]] | ||
| pages = 72<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kafka |first=Franz |url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn=580321991 |title=Die Verwandlung |date=1915 |publisher=K. Wolff |series=Der Jüngste Tag |location=Leipzig}}</ref> | |||
| isbn = | | isbn = | ||
| title_orig = Die Verwandlung | | title_orig = Die Verwandlung | ||
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| caption = Front cover of a 1916 edition | | caption = Front cover of a 1916 edition | ||
| cover_artist = | | cover_artist = | ||
| pub_date = 1915 | |||
| series = | | series = | ||
| | | genre = [[Existentialism]], [[Absurdism]], [[Fiction]] | ||
| native_wikisource = Die Verwandlung (Franz Kafka) | | native_wikisource = Die Verwandlung (Franz Kafka) | ||
| wikisource = The Metamorphosis | | wikisource = The Metamorphosis | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Metamorphosis''''' ({{langx|de|Die Verwandlung}}), also translated as '''''The Transformation''''',<ref> [[Malcolm Pasley]] (tr.), Kafka, Franz, ''The Transformation and Other Stories'', Penguin, 1992; [[Mark Harman (translator)|Mark Harman]] (tr.), Kafka, Franz, ''Selected Stories'', Belknap Press, 2024. | '''''The Metamorphosis''''' ({{langx|de|Die Verwandlung}}), also translated as '''''The Transformation''''',<ref>[[Malcolm Pasley]] (tr.), Kafka, Franz, ''The Transformation and Other Stories'', Penguin Books, 1992; [[Mark Harman (translator)|Mark Harman]] (tr.), Kafka, Franz, ''Selected Stories'', The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2024. In a note on page 235 of his translation, Harman writes, "When the Muirs' remarkably elegant and highly influential translation of this story appeared in London in 1949, it did so under the appropriately plain title 'Transformation.' Unfortunately, however, all subsequent editions of their translation bear the flowery — and stylistically less apt — title 'The Metamorphosis.{{'"}}</ref> is a [[novella]] by [[Franz Kafka]] [[1915 in literature|published in 1915]]. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''The Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect ({{langx|de|[[wikt:ungeheuer|ungeheueres]] [[wikt:Ungeziefer|Ungeziefer]]}}, {{lit.}} "[[wiktionary:monstrous|monstrous]] [[vermin]]") and struggles to adjust to this condition, as does his family. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, who have offered varied interpretations. [[The Metamorphosis in popular culture|In popular culture and adaptations of the novella]], the insect is commonly depicted as a [[cockroach]]. | ||
About 70 printed pages, it is the longest of the stories Kafka considered complete and published during his lifetime. It was first published in 1915 in the October issue of the journal ''[[Die Weißen Blätter|Die weißen Blätter]]'' under the editorship of [[René Schickele]]. The first edition in book form appeared in December 1915 in the series ''Der jüngste Tag'', edited by [[Kurt Wolff (publisher)|Kurt Wolff]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nitschke |first=Claudia |date=January 2008 |title=Peter-André Alt, Franz Kafka. Der ewige Sohn. 2005 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/arbi.2008.032 |journal=Arbitrium |volume=26 |issue=1 |doi=10.1515/arbi.2008.032 |s2cid=162142676 |issn=0723-2977|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | About 70 printed pages, it is the longest of the stories Kafka considered complete and published during his lifetime. It was first published in 1915 in the October issue of the journal ''[[Die Weißen Blätter|Die weißen Blätter]]'' under the editorship of [[René Schickele]]. The first edition in book form appeared in December 1915 in the series ''Der jüngste Tag'', edited by [[Kurt Wolff (publisher)|Kurt Wolff]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nitschke |first=Claudia |date=January 2008 |title=Peter-André Alt, Franz Kafka. Der ewige Sohn. 2005 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/arbi.2008.032 |journal=Arbitrium |volume=26 |issue=1 |doi=10.1515/arbi.2008.032 |s2cid=162142676 |issn=0723-2977|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a "monstrous [[vermin]]". He initially considers the transformation to be temporary and slowly ponders the consequences of his [[metamorphosis]]. Stuck on his back and unable to get up and leave the bed, Gregor reflects on his job as a traveling salesman and cloth merchant, which he characterizes as being | Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a "monstrous [[vermin]]". He initially considers the transformation to be temporary and slowly ponders the consequences of his [[metamorphosis]]. Stuck on his back and unable to get up and leave the bed, Gregor reflects on his job as a traveling salesman and cloth merchant, which he characterizes as being "plagued with ... the always changing, never enduring human exchanges that don't ever become intimate".<ref>[[Mark Harman (translator)|Harman, Mark]], ed. and trans. ''Selected Stories: Franz Kafka''. The Belknap Press of [[Harvard University Press]] (2024), p. 86.</ref> | ||
He sees his employer as a [[Despotism|despot]] and would quickly quit his job if he were not his family's sole breadwinner and working off his [[Bankruptcy|bankrupt]] father's debts. While trying to move, Gregor finds that his office manager, the chief clerk, has shown up to check on him, indignant about Gregor's unexcused absence. | He sees his employer as a [[Despotism|despot]] and would quickly quit his job if he were not his family's sole breadwinner and working off his [[Bankruptcy|bankrupt]] father's debts. While trying to move, Gregor finds that his office manager, the chief clerk, has shown up to check on him, indignant about Gregor's unexcused absence. | ||
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One day, the [[charwoman]], who briefly looks in on Gregor each day when she arrives and before she leaves, neglects to close his door fully. Attracted by Grete's violin-playing in the living room, Gregor crawls out and is spotted by the unsuspecting tenants, who complain about the apartment's unhygienic conditions and say they are leaving, will not pay anything for the time they have already stayed, and may take legal action. | One day, the [[charwoman]], who briefly looks in on Gregor each day when she arrives and before she leaves, neglects to close his door fully. Attracted by Grete's violin-playing in the living room, Gregor crawls out and is spotted by the unsuspecting tenants, who complain about the apartment's unhygienic conditions and say they are leaving, will not pay anything for the time they have already stayed, and may take legal action. | ||
Grete, who is tired of taking care of Gregor and realizes the burden his existence puts on each member of the family, tells her parents they must get rid of "it" or they will all be ruined. Gregor, understanding that he is no longer wanted, laboriously makes his way back to his room and dies of starvation before sunrise. His body is discovered by the charwoman, who alerts his family and then disposes of the corpse. | Grete, who is tired of taking care of Gregor and realizes the burden his existence puts on each member of the family, tells her parents that the creature is no longer Gregor and they must get rid of "it" or they will all be ruined. Gregor, understanding that he is no longer wanted, laboriously makes his way back to his room and dies of starvation before sunrise. His body is discovered by the charwoman, who alerts his family and then disposes of the corpse. | ||
The relieved and optimistic father, mother, and sister all take the day off work. They travel by tram into the countryside and make plans to move to a smaller apartment to save money. During the short trip, Mr. and Mrs. Samsa realize that, despite the hardships that have brought some paleness to her face, Grete has grown up into a pretty young lady with a good figure and they think about finding her a husband. | The relieved and optimistic father, mother, and sister all take the day off work. They travel by tram into the countryside and make plans to move to a smaller apartment to save money. During the short trip, Mr. and Mrs. Samsa realize that, despite the hardships that have brought some paleness to her face, Grete has grown up into a pretty young lady with a good figure and they think about finding her a husband. | ||
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===Grete Samsa=== | ===Grete Samsa=== | ||
Grete is Gregor's younger sister, and she becomes his caretaker after his metamorphosis. They initially have a close relationship, but this quickly fades. At first, she volunteers to feed him and clean his room, but she grows increasingly impatient with the burden and begins to leave his room in disarray out of spite. Her initial decision to take care of Gregor may have come from a desire to contribute and be useful to the family, since she becomes angry and upset when the mother cleans his room. It is made clear that Grete is disgusted by Gregor, as she always opens the window upon entering his room to keep from feeling nauseous and leaves without doing anything if Gregor is in plain sight. She plays the violin and dreams of going to the conservatory to study, a dream Gregor had intended to make happen; he had planned on making the announcement on Christmas Day. To help provide an income for the family after Gregor's transformation, she starts working as a salesgirl. Grete is also the first to suggest getting rid of Gregor, which causes Gregor to | Grete is Gregor's younger sister, and she becomes his caretaker after his metamorphosis. They initially have a close relationship, but this quickly fades. At first, she volunteers to feed him and clean his room, but she grows increasingly impatient with the burden and begins to leave his room in disarray out of spite. Her initial decision to take care of Gregor may have come from a desire to contribute and be useful to the family, since she becomes angry and upset when the mother cleans his room. It is made clear that Grete is disgusted by Gregor, as she always opens the window upon entering his room to keep from feeling nauseous and leaves without doing anything if Gregor is in plain sight. She plays the violin and dreams of going to the conservatory to study, a dream Gregor had intended to make happen; he had planned on making the announcement on Christmas Day. To help provide an income for the family after Gregor's transformation, she starts working as a salesgirl. Grete is also the first to suggest getting rid of Gregor, which causes Gregor to give up on life and die. At the end of the story, Grete's parents realize that she has become beautiful and full-figured and decide to consider finding her a husband.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-metamorphosis/characters/grete-samsa|title=The character of Grete Samsa in The Metamorphosis from LitCharts {{!}} The creators of SparkNotes|work=LitCharts|access-date=2017-10-31|language=en}}</ref> | ||
===Mr. Samsa=== | ===Mr. Samsa=== | ||
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===Mrs. Samsa=== | ===Mrs. Samsa=== | ||
Mrs. Samsa is Gregor's mother. She is portrayed as a submissive wife. She suffers from asthma, which is a constant source of concern for Gregor. She is initially shocked at Gregor's transformation, but she still wants to enter his room. However, it proves too much for her and gives rise to a conflict between her maternal impulse and sympathy and her fear and revulsion at Gregor's new form.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-metamorphosis/characters/mother|title=The Metamorphosis: Mother Character Analysis|website=LitCharts}}</ref> | Mrs. Samsa is Gregor's mother. She is portrayed as a submissive wife. She suffers from asthma, which is a constant source of concern for Gregor. She is initially shocked at Gregor's transformation, but she still wants to enter his room because she loves him. However, it proves too much for her and gives rise to a conflict between her maternal impulse and sympathy, on the one hand, and her fear and revulsion at Gregor's new form, on the other.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-metamorphosis/characters/mother|title=The Metamorphosis: Mother Character Analysis|website=LitCharts}}</ref> | ||
===The Charwoman=== | ===The Charwoman=== | ||
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== Interpretations == | == Interpretations == | ||
Like much of Kafka's work, ''The Metamorphosis'' tends to be given a religious ([[Max Brod]]) or psychological interpretation. It has been particularly common to read the story as an expression of Kafka's [[father complex]], as was first done by Charles Neider in his ''The Frozen Sea: A Study of Franz Kafka'' (1948). Besides the [[Psychology|psychological]] approach, interpretations focusing on [[Sociology|sociological]] aspects, which see the Samsa family as a | Like much of Kafka's work, ''The Metamorphosis'' tends to be given a religious ([[Max Brod]]) or psychological interpretation. It has been particularly common to read the story as an expression of Kafka's [[father complex]], as was first done by Charles Neider in his ''The Frozen Sea: A Study of Franz Kafka'' (1948). Besides the [[Psychology|psychological]] approach, interpretations focusing on [[Sociology|sociological]] aspects, which see the Samsa family as representing a typical family of the time and place, have also gained a large following.<ref>Abraham, Ulf. ''Franz Kafka: Die Verwandlung.'' Diesterweg, 1993. {{ISBN|3-425-06172-0}}.</ref> | ||
[[Vladimir Nabokov]] rejected such interpretations, noting that they do not live up to Kafka's art. He instead chose an interpretation guided by the artistic detail but excluded any [[symbol]]ic or [[Allegory|allegoric]] meanings. Arguing against the popular father-complex theory, he observed that it is the sister more than the father who should be considered the cruelest person in the story, since she is the one backstabbing Gregor. In Nabokov's view, the central narrative theme is the artist's struggle for existence in a society replete with narrow-minded people who destroy him step by step. Commenting on Kafka's style, he writes, "The transparency of his style underlines the dark richness of his fantasy world. Contrast and uniformity, style and the depicted, portrayal and fable are seamlessly intertwined".<ref>Nabokov, Vladimir V. ''Die Kunst des Lesens: Meisterwerke der europäischen Literatur. Austen – Dickens – Flaubert – Stevenson – Proust – Kafka – Joyce.'' Fischer Taschenbuch, 1991, pp. 313–52. {{ISBN|3-596-10495-5}}.</ref> | [[Vladimir Nabokov]] rejected such interpretations, noting that they do not live up to Kafka's art. He instead chose an interpretation guided by the artistic detail but excluded any [[symbol]]ic or [[Allegory|allegoric]] meanings. Arguing against the popular father-complex theory, he observed that it is the sister more than the father who should be considered the cruelest person in the story, since she is the one backstabbing Gregor. In Nabokov's view, the central narrative theme is the artist's struggle for existence in a society replete with narrow-minded people who destroy him step by step. Commenting on Kafka's style, he writes, "The transparency of his style underlines the dark richness of his fantasy world. Contrast and uniformity, style and the depicted, portrayal and fable are seamlessly intertwined".<ref>Nabokov, Vladimir V. ''Die Kunst des Lesens: Meisterwerke der europäischen Literatur. Austen – Dickens – Flaubert – Stevenson – Proust – Kafka – Joyce.'' Fischer Taschenbuch, 1991, pp. 313–52. {{ISBN|3-596-10495-5}}.</ref> | ||
In 1989, Nina Pelikan Straus wrote a feminist interpretation of ''The Metamorphosis'', noting that the story is not only about the metamorphosis of Gregor but also about the metamorphosis of his family and, in particular, his younger sister Grete. Straus suggested that the social and psychoanalytic resonances of the text depend on Grete's role as a woman, daughter, and sister, and that prior interpretations failed to recognize Grete's centrality to the story.<ref>Straus, Nina Pelikan. "Transforming Franz Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'", ''Signs'', 14:3 (Spring 1989), The University of Chicago Press, pp. | In 1989, Nina Pelikan Straus wrote a feminist interpretation of ''The Metamorphosis'', noting that the story is not only about the metamorphosis of Gregor but also about the metamorphosis of his family and, in particular, his younger sister Grete. Straus suggested that the social and psychoanalytic resonances of the text depend on Grete's role as a woman, daughter, and sister, and that prior interpretations failed to recognize Grete's centrality to the story.<ref>Straus, Nina Pelikan. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3174406 "Transforming Franz Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'"], ''Signs'', 14:3 (Spring 1989), The University of Chicago Press, pp. 651–667.</ref> | ||
In 1999, Gerhard Rieck pointed out that Gregor and his sister, Grete, form a pair, which is typical of many of Kafka's texts: it is made up of one passive, rather austere, person and another active, more libidinal, person. The appearance of figures with such almost irreconcilable personalities who form couples in Kafka's works has been evident since he wrote his short story "[[Description of a Struggle]]" (e.g. the narrator/young man and his "acquaintance"). They also appear in "[[The Judgment]]" (Georg and his friend in Russia), in all three of his novels (e.g. Robinson and Delamarche in ''[[Amerika (novel)|Amerika]]'') as well as in his short stories "[[A Country Doctor (short story)|A Country Doctor]]" (the country doctor and the groom) and "[[A Hunger Artist]]" (the hunger artist and the panther). Rieck views these pairs as parts of one single person (hence the similarity between the names Gregor and Grete) and in the final analysis as the two determining components of the author's personality. Not only in Kafka's life but also in his oeuvre does Rieck see the description of a fight between these two parts.<ref>Rieck, Gerhard. ''Kafka konkret – Das Trauma ein Leben. Wiederholungsmotive im Werk als Grundlage einer psychologischen Deutung.'' Königshausen & Neumann, 1999, pp. 104–25. {{ISBN|978-3-8260-1623-3}}.</ref> | In 1999, Gerhard Rieck pointed out that Gregor and his sister, Grete, form a pair, which is typical of many of Kafka's texts: it is made up of one passive, rather austere, person and another active, more libidinal, person. The appearance of figures with such almost irreconcilable personalities who form couples in Kafka's works has been evident since he wrote his short story "[[Description of a Struggle]]" (e.g. the narrator/young man and his "acquaintance"). They also appear in "[[The Judgment]]" (Georg and his friend in Russia), in all three of his novels (e.g. Robinson and Delamarche in ''[[Amerika (novel)|Amerika]]'') as well as in his short stories "[[A Country Doctor (short story)|A Country Doctor]]" (the country doctor and the groom) and "[[A Hunger Artist]]" (the hunger artist and the panther). Rieck views these pairs as parts of one single person (hence the similarity between the names Gregor and Grete) and in the final analysis as the two determining components of the author's personality. Not only in Kafka's life but also in his oeuvre does Rieck see the description of a fight between these two parts.<ref>Rieck, Gerhard. ''Kafka konkret – Das Trauma ein Leben. Wiederholungsmotive im Werk als Grundlage einer psychologischen Deutung.'' Königshausen & Neumann, 1999, pp. 104–25. {{ISBN|978-3-8260-1623-3}}.</ref> | ||
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Volker Drüke (2013) believes that a crucial metamorphosis in the story is that of Grete, and the title of the story may be directed at her as well as Gregor. Gregor's metamorphosis is followed by his languishing and ultimately dying. Grete, by contrast, matures as a result of the new family circumstances and assumes responsibility. In the end – after the brother's death – the parents also notice that their daughter, "who was getting more animated all the time, ... had recently blossomed into a pretty and shapely girl", and they want to look for a partner for her. From this standpoint Grete's metamorphosis from a girl into a woman, is a subtextual theme of the story.<ref>Drüke, Volker. "Neue Pläne Für Grete Samsa". ''Übergangsgeschichten. Von Kafka, Widmer, Kästner, Gass, Ondaatje, Auster Und Anderen Verwandlungskünstlern'', Athena, 2013, pp. 33–43. {{ISBN|978-3-89896-519-4}}.</ref> | Volker Drüke (2013) believes that a crucial metamorphosis in the story is that of Grete, and the title of the story may be directed at her as well as Gregor. Gregor's metamorphosis is followed by his languishing and ultimately dying. Grete, by contrast, matures as a result of the new family circumstances and assumes responsibility. In the end – after the brother's death – the parents also notice that their daughter, "who was getting more animated all the time, ... had recently blossomed into a pretty and shapely girl", and they want to look for a partner for her. From this standpoint Grete's metamorphosis from a girl into a woman, is a subtextual theme of the story.<ref>Drüke, Volker. "Neue Pläne Für Grete Samsa". ''Übergangsgeschichten. Von Kafka, Widmer, Kästner, Gass, Ondaatje, Auster Und Anderen Verwandlungskünstlern'', Athena, 2013, pp. 33–43. {{ISBN|978-3-89896-519-4}}.</ref> | ||
Allan Beveridge (2009) believes that the story shows the isolating effects of being different from others around you. He | Allan Beveridge (2009) believes that the story shows the isolating effects of being different from others around you. He states that the story "shows how easy it is for carers and psychiatric staff to be unintentionally cruel to sufferers."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beveridge |first=Allan |date=November 2009 |title=Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/metamorphosis-by-franz-kafka/39FDF4BEB32897BD86DB6D842A9FC0D3 |journal=Advances in Psychiatric Treatment |language=en |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=459–461 |doi=10.1192/apt.bp.109.007146 |issn=1355-5146|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The reaction of the family to Gregor's suffering can be viewed as a metaphor for the presence of a disabled individual in the family and the challenges that come along with it, not only to the individual but to the family itself. | ||
[[ | == Translations of the opening sentence == | ||
{{anchor|translation}}''The Metamorphosis'' has been translated into English more than twenty times.<ref>In addition to the translations listed in the text below, [[Eugene Jolas]] translated ''The Metamorphosis'' in the literary magazine [[Transition (literary magazine)|''transition'']] in installments between 1936 and 1938. [https://faberfinds.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/the-shape-of-kafkas-metamorphosis/ ''The Place for Lost Books'']. See also {{cite book | |||
| last = Hruska | |||
| first = Maïa | |||
| title = Kafkaesque: From [[Jorge Luis Borges]] to [[Primo Levi]], Ten Writers Who Translated Kafka and Transformed Twentieth-Century Literature | |||
| year = 2026 | |||
| publisher = HarperCollins | |||
| location = New York and Dublin, Ireland | |||
| page=32 | |||
| isbn = 978-0-06-348624-9 | |||
}}</ref> In Kafka's original, the opening sentence is "{{langx|de|Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt|label=none}}". In their 1933 translation of the story – the first into English – [[Willa Muir]] and [[Edwin Muir]] rendered it as "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect". In [[Middle High German]], ''Ungeziefer'' literally means "unclean animal not suitable for sacrifice"<ref>{{cite book|title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen|year=1993|publisher=Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag|location=Munich|isbn=3423325119|page=1486}}</ref> and is sometimes used colloquially to mean "bug", with the connotation of "dirty, nasty bug". It can also be translated as "[[vermin]]".<ref name=sube/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barker |first=Andrew |date=July 2021 |title=Giant Bug or Monstrous Vermin? Translating Kafka's Die Verwandlung in its Cultural, Social, and Biological Contexts |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/tal.2021.0463 |journal=Translation and Literature |language=en |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=198–208 |doi=10.3366/tal.2021.0463 |issn=0968-1361|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | |||
In a note in his translation of the story, Mark Harman writes: {{blockquote|The compact phrase, "ungeheueres Ungeziefer, with its resonant double "un," defies translation and makes it hard to determine precisely what kind of creature Gregor has become. The possible meanings of ''ungeheuer''—the opposite of ''geheuer'' (familiar)—range from "monstrous" to "huge." Etymologically complex, ''Ungeziefer'' could denote a number of small verminous creatures that can be either mammals or insects. While the indeterminacy of this term seems quite deliberate, Kafka is somewhat more precise in an April 1913 letter to [[Kurt Wolff (publisher)|Kurt Wolff]] in which he calls Gregor Samsa an "insect" (''Insekt'').<ref>Harman, Mark, in Kafka, Franz, ''Selected Stories''. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2024, p. 236 n.2.</ref>}} | |||
{{ | |||
The phrase | The phrase ''ungeheueren Ungeziefer'', describing the creature into which Gregor Samsa transforms, has been translated in at least sixteen different ways.<ref name="wbg">{{Cite news |last=Gooderham |first=WB |date=13 May 2015 |title=Kafka's Metamorphosis and its mutations in translation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/may/13/kafka-metamorphosis-translations |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="sube">{{Cite magazine |last=Bernofsky |first=Susan |date=2014-01-14 |title=On Translating Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/on-translating-kafkas-the-metamorphosis |access-date=2024-05-16 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> These include the following: | ||
* "gigantic insect" (Willa and Edwin Muir, 1933) | * "gigantic insect" (Willa and Edwin Muir, 1933) | ||
* "monstrous kind of vermin" ([[A. L. Lloyd]], 1946) | * "some monstrous kind of vermin" ([[A. L. Lloyd]], London: The Parton Press, 1937; New York: The Vanguard Press, as ''Metamorphosis'', 1946) | ||
* "monstrous vermin" ([[Stanley Corngold]], 1972; [[Joachim Neugroschel]], 1993; Donna Freed, 1996) | * "monstrous vermin" ([[Stanley Corngold]], 1972; [[Joachim Neugroschel]], 1993; Donna Freed, 1996) | ||
* "giant bug" (J. A. Underwood, 1981) | * "giant bug" (J. A. Underwood, 1981) | ||
* "monstrous insect" ([[Malcolm Pasley]], 1992; Richard Stokes, 2002; [https://books.google.com/books?id=InJ7AQAACAAJ&q=the+metamorphosis+Katja+Pelzer Katja Pelzer, 2017]; [[Mark Harman (translator)|Mark Harman]], 2024<ref>[[Karen Leeder|Leeder, Karen]], [https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/franz-kafka-100-years-reiner-stach-andreas-kilcher-selected-stories-book-review-karen-leeder/ "An unsettling vision: Franz Kafka reconsidered, 100 years after his death"], ''TLS'', May 31, 2024.</ref>) | * "monstrous insect" ([[Malcolm Pasley]], 1992; Richard Stokes, 2002; [https://books.google.com/books?id=InJ7AQAACAAJ&q=the+metamorphosis+Katja+Pelzer Katja Pelzer, 2017]; [[Mark Harman (translator)|Mark Harman]], 2024<ref>[[Karen Leeder|Leeder, Karen]], [https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/franz-kafka-100-years-reiner-stach-andreas-kilcher-selected-stories-book-review-karen-leeder/ "An unsettling vision: Franz Kafka reconsidered, 100 years after his death"], ''TLS'', May 31, 2024.</ref>) | ||
* "enormous bug" (Stanley Appelbaum, 1996) | * "enormous bug" (Stanley Appelbaum, 1996) | ||
* "gargantuan pest" (M. A. Roberts, 2005)<ref> Roberts states, [https:// | * "gargantuan pest" (M. A. Roberts, 2005; revised 2008)<ref>Roberts states, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1_BxUHJbK-8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Metamorphosis:+Literary+Touchstone&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTzaGAz-KQAxW7FlkFHVxoMqYQuwV6BAgGEAg#v=onepage&q=The%20Metamorphosis%3A%20Literary%20Touchstone&f=false "Pest ''could also be'' vermin"], p. 13, n.2.</ref> | ||
* "monstrous cockroach" ([[Michael Hofmann]], 2007) | * "monstrous cockroach" ([[Michael Hofmann]], 2007) | ||
* [https://www.kafka-online.info/the-metamorphosis.html | * "monstrous verminous bug" ([https://www.kafka-online.info/the-metamorphosis.html Ian Johnston, 2007)] | ||
* "a vile insect, one of gigantic proportions" (Philip Lundberg, 2007) | * "a vile insect, one of gigantic proportions" (Philip Lundberg, 2007) | ||
* "some kind of monstrous vermin" (Joyce Crick, 2009) | * "some kind of monstrous vermin" ([[Joyce Crick]], 2009) | ||
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm | * "horrible vermin" ([https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm David Wyllie, 2011]; [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Metamorphosis/uDXhEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=kafka+the+metamorphosis+karen+reppin&printsec=frontcover Karen Reppin, 2023]<ref>The Reppin translation is also used in ''Metamorphosis and The Trial'', Page Publications, 2023, {{ISBN|978-1-64833-704-8}}, and [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Metamorphosis_and_The_Trial_Collins_Clas/GiVOBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=metamorphosis+and+the+trial+franz+kafka&printsec=frontcover William Collins, 2023], {{ISBN|9780008110567}}</ref>) | ||
* "some sort of monstrous insect" ([[Susan Bernofsky]], 2014) | * "some sort of monstrous insect" ([[Susan Bernofsky]], 2014)<ref>In the afterword to her translation, Bernofsky writes that she added "some sort of" "to blur the borders of the somewhat too specific 'insect'; I think Kafka wanted us to see Gregor's new body and condition with the same hazy focus with which Gregor himself discovers them". Kafka, Franz. ''The Metamorphosis'' (Susan Bernofsky, tr.). New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014, p. 122.</ref> | ||
* "some kind of monstrous bedbug" (Christopher Moncrieff, 2014) | * "some kind of monstrous bedbug" (Christopher Moncrieff, 2014) | ||
* "huge verminous insect" (John R. Williams, 2014)<ref> | * "huge verminous insect" (John R. Williams, 2014)<ref>Gooderham, WB (13 May 2015). [https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/may/13/kafka-metamorphosis-translations "Kafka's Metamorphosis and its mutations in translation"]. ''[[The Guardian]]'', errs in stating that John R. Williams translates "ungeheuren Ungeziefer" as "large verminous insect". [https://books.google.com/books?id=ifxruQAACAAJ&q=the+metamorphosis+john+williams ''Metamorphosis and Other Stories'']</ref> | ||
* "a kind of giant bug" (William Aaltonen, 2023) | * "a kind of giant bug" (William Aaltonen, 2023) | ||
What kind of bug or vermin Kafka envisaged remains a debated mystery.<ref name=wbg/><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, The Entomology of Gregor Samsa |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05tbh5k |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Csaba |last=Onder |url=http://americanaejournal.hu/vol14no1/onder |title=THE LAYOUT: NABOKOV AND FRANZ KAFKA'S "THE METAMORPHOSIS" |journal=Americana |volume=XIV |issue=1 |year=2018 |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422003338/http://americanaejournal.hu/vol14no1/onder |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kafka had no intention of labeling Gregor as any specific thing, but instead was trying to convey Gregor's disgust at his transformation. In his letter to his publisher of 25 October 1915, in which he discusses his concern about the cover illustration for the first edition, Kafka does use the term ''Insekt'', though, saying "The insect itself is not to be drawn. It is not even to be seen from a distance."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.literature.at/elib/www/wiki/index.php/Briefe_und_Tageb%C3%BCcher_1915_%28Franz_Kafka%29#1915-10-11.2C_Prag:_An_den_Kurt_Wolff_Verlag_.28G.H.Meyer.29|title=Briefe und Tagebücher 1915 (Franz Kafka) – ELibraryAustria|access-date=30 October 2006|archive-date=12 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112040753/http://www.literature.at/elib/www/wiki/index.php/Briefe_und_Tageb%C3%BCcher_1915_(Franz_Kafka)#1915-10-11.2C_Prag:_An_den_Kurt_Wolff_Verlag_.28G.H.Meyer.29|url-status=dead}}</ref> Indeed, a "conspicuous lack of naming is a characteristic of Kafka's writing, and its aim is arguably far more ingenious than to inspire readers to speculate on species classification.... To seek to locate the animal in the encyclopedia is, in many ways, antithetical to the way Kafka's stories are constructed and incorporate ambiguity."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Warodell |first=Johan Adam |date=2023 |title=The Absence of Animals in Kafka's Fiction |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/917913 |journal=MLN |volume=138 |issue=3 |pages=1121, 1122 |via=Project MUSE}}</ref> | |||
What kind of bug or vermin Kafka envisaged remains a debated mystery.<ref name=wbg/><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, The Entomology of Gregor Samsa |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05tbh5k |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Csaba |last=Onder |url=http://americanaejournal.hu/vol14no1/onder |title=THE LAYOUT: NABOKOV AND FRANZ KAFKA'S "THE METAMORPHOSIS" |journal=Americana |volume=XIV |issue=1 |year=2018 |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422003338/http://americanaejournal.hu/vol14no1/onder |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kafka had no intention of labeling Gregor as any specific thing, but instead was trying to convey Gregor's disgust at his transformation. In his letter to his publisher of 25 October 1915, in which he discusses his concern about the cover illustration for the first edition, Kafka does use the term ''Insekt'', though, saying "The insect itself is not to be drawn. It is not even to be seen from a distance."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.literature.at/elib/www/wiki/index.php/Briefe_und_Tageb%C3%BCcher_1915_%28Franz_Kafka%29#1915-10-11.2C_Prag:_An_den_Kurt_Wolff_Verlag_.28G.H.Meyer.29|title=Briefe und Tagebücher 1915 (Franz Kafka) – ELibraryAustria|access-date=30 October 2006|archive-date=12 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112040753/http://www.literature.at/elib/www/wiki/index.php/Briefe_und_Tageb%C3%BCcher_1915_(Franz_Kafka)#1915-10-11.2C_Prag:_An_den_Kurt_Wolff_Verlag_.28G.H.Meyer.29|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
[[Vladimir Nabokov]], who was a [[lepidopterist]] as well as a writer and literary critic, concluded from details in the text that Gregor was not a [[cockroach]], but a beetle with wings under his shell, and capable of flight. Nabokov left a sketch annotated "just over three feet long" on the opening page of his English teaching copy. In his accompanying lecture notes, he discusses the type of insect Gregor has been transformed into. Noting that the cleaning lady addressed Gregor as "[[dung beetle]]" ([[wikt:Mistkäfer|''Mistkäfer'']]), e.g., "Come here for a bit, old dung beetle!" or "Hey, look at the old dung beetle!", Nabokov remarks that this was just her friendly way of addressing him, and that Gregor "is not, technically, a dung beetle. He is merely a big beetle."<ref>{{cite book | last = Nabokov | first = Vladimir | author-link = Vladimir Nabokov | title = Lectures on Literature | publisher = Harvest | year = 1980 | location = New York, New York | pages = 260}}</ref> | [[Vladimir Nabokov]], who was a [[lepidopterist]] as well as a writer and literary critic, concluded from details in the text that Gregor was not a [[cockroach]], but a beetle with wings under his shell, and capable of flight. Nabokov left a sketch annotated "just over three feet long" on the opening page of his English teaching copy. In his accompanying lecture notes, he discusses the type of insect Gregor has been transformed into. Noting that the cleaning lady addressed Gregor as "[[dung beetle]]" ([[wikt:Mistkäfer|''Mistkäfer'']]), e.g., "Come here for a bit, old dung beetle!" or "Hey, look at the old dung beetle!", Nabokov remarks that this was just her friendly way of addressing him, and that Gregor "is not, technically, a dung beetle. He is merely a big beetle."<ref>{{cite book | last = Nabokov | first = Vladimir | author-link = Vladimir Nabokov | title = Lectures on Literature | publisher = Harvest | year = 1980 | location = New York, New York | pages = 260}}</ref> | ||
| Line 119: | Line 128: | ||
| first = Paul | | first = Paul | ||
| title = The Kafka Challenge: Translating the Inimitable | | title = The Kafka Challenge: Translating the Inimitable | ||
| | | date = Summer 2025 | ||
| location = Charlottesville, Virginia | | location = Charlottesville, Virginia | ||
| journal = [[The Hedgehog Review]] | | journal = [[The Hedgehog Review]] | ||
| volume = 27 | | volume = 27 | ||
| issue = 2 | | issue = 2 | ||
| pages = | | pages = 54–63 | ||
| url=https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/lessons-of-babel/articles/the-kafka-challenge | | url=https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/lessons-of-babel/articles/the-kafka-challenge | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref> | ||
== Translation of the title == | |||
The Translation Website states: {{blockquote|The German title, ''Die Verwandlung'', can be translated as either ''The Transformation'' or ''The Metamorphosis''. The most frequent choice is ''metamorphosis'', but this word has the disadvantage of being more "literary" and less commonly used in English than ''verwandlung'' is in German. The appearance of this word in the title perhaps too quickly alerts the reader to the strangeness of the story to follow; it doesn't really fit with the much more "ordinary" tone in which the story is narrated. Another problem is that those readers familiar with the word may know it primarily as a biological term referring to a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly, not at all the type of transformation that the story describes. But despite these disadvantages, most contemporary translations use ''The Metamorphosis'' as the title of the story — mainly because it's the title that was most often used in earlier translations and therefore the one most familiar to English-language readers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120118062416/http://www.nvcc.edu/home/vpoulakis/Translation/kafkatr1.htm Translation: What Difference Does it Make?: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka]</ref>}} | |||
Mark Harman explains why he chose the title ''The Transformation'' for his translation of the story: {{blockquote|Although that story is commonly known as "The Metamorphosis," Kafka, who had as a schoolboy not only read [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', that classic tale of "forms changed into new bodies," but also translated a portion of it from the Latin, could have entitled his story ''Die Metamorphose'', but he did not do so. His decision to call the story "Die Verwandlung" certainly deserves to be respected in translation....<ref>Kafka, Franz (2024). ''Selected Stories'', translated and edited by Mark Harman. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, p. 34. {{ISBN|978-0674737983}}.</ref>}} | |||
Although M. A. Roberts titled his 2005 translation ''The Metamorphosis'', he notes that "''Kafka's title actually translates as'' The Transformation".<ref>Kafka, Franz, ''The Metamorphosis'' (M. A. Roberts, tr.). Clayton, Delaware: Prestwick House, 2005, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1_BxUHJbK-8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Metamorphosis:+Literary+Touchstone&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTzaGAz-KQAxW7FlkFHVxoMqYQuwV6BAgGEAg#v=onepage&q=The%20Metamorphosis%3A%20Literary%20Touchstone&f=false p. 13, n.1]</ref> | |||
In the afterword to her translation, Susan Bernofsky defends her choice of ''The Metamorphosis'' for the title: {{blockquote|Unlike the English "metamorphosis," the German word ''Verwandlung'' does not suggest a natural change of state associated with the animal kingdom such as the change from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Instead, it is a word from fairytales used to describe the transformation, say, of a girl's seven brothers into swans. But the word "metamorphosis" refers to this, too; its first definition in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is "The action or process of changing in form, shape, or substance; esp. transformation by supernatural means." This is the sense in which it's used, for instance, in translations of [[Metamorphoses|Ovid]]. As a title for this rich, complex story, it strikes me as the most luminous, suggestive choice.<ref>Kafka, Franz. ''The Metamorphosis'' (Susan Bernofsky, tr.). New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014, p. 126.</ref>}} | |||
==In popular culture== | ==In popular culture== | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{ | {{Wikisource|de|Die Verwandlung (Franz Kafka)|''Die Verwandlung'' (Franz Kafka)}} | ||
{{Wikisource|The Metamorphosis|''The Metamorphosis''}} | {{Wikisource|The Metamorphosis|''The Metamorphosis''}} | ||
{{Commons category|Kafka Die Verwandlung}} | {{Commons category|Kafka Die Verwandlung}} | ||
'''Online editions''' | '''Online editions''' | ||
* [http://www.digbib.org/Franz_Kafka_1883/Die_Verwandlung ''Die Verwandlung''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307224711/http://www.digbib.org/Franz_Kafka_1883/Die_Verwandlung |date=7 March 2012 | * [http://www.digbib.org/Franz_Kafka_1883/Die_Verwandlung ''Die Verwandlung''] at DigBib.org (text, pdf, HTML) {{in lang|de}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307224711/http://www.digbib.org/Franz_Kafka_1883/Die_Verwandlung |date=7 March 2012 }} | ||
* [http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/metamorphosis.htm ''The Metamorphosis''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416052510/http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/metamorphosis.htm |date=16 April 2016 }} | * [http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/metamorphosis.htm ''The Metamorphosis''], translated 2009 by Ian Johnston {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416052510/http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/metamorphosis.htm |date=16 April 2016 }} | ||
* [http://www.kafka.org/index.php?aid=170 ''The Metamorphosis''] at The Kafka project, translated by Ian Johnston released to public domain | * [http://www.kafka.org/index.php?aid=170 ''The Metamorphosis''] at The Kafka project, translated by Ian Johnston released to public domain | ||
* | * {{Gutenberg book|5200}}, translated by David Wyllie | ||
* {{Gutenberg| | * {{Gutenberg book|22367|Die Verwandlung}} | ||
* {{librivox book | title=The Metamorphosis | author=Franz KAFKA}} | * {{librivox book | title=The Metamorphosis | author=Franz KAFKA}} | ||
* [http://www.kafka.org/index.php?id=191,209,0,0,1,0 Lecture on ''The Metamorphosis'' by Vladimir Nabokov] | * [http://www.kafka.org/index.php?id=191,209,0,0,1,0 Lecture on ''The Metamorphosis'' by Vladimir Nabokov] | ||
{{Kafka}} | {{Kafka}} | ||
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[[Category:Works about cockroaches]] | [[Category:Works about cockroaches]] | ||
[[Category:Austrian novels adapted into films]] | [[Category:Austrian novels adapted into films]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Fantasy short stories]] | ||
[[Category:Novellas adapted into films]] | |||
[[Category:1915 Austrian novels]] | [[Category:1915 Austrian novels]] | ||
[[Category:Novels about insects]] | [[Category:Novels about insects]] | ||
[[Category:Works about salespeople]] | [[Category:Works about salespeople]] | ||
[[Category:1910s novellas]] | |||