What Role Does Grete Play In Kafka's Metamorphosis
Many reviews have been written about Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”. Mostly all of them focus on the changes the principal character, Gregor Samsa, goes through, and very few critique the other characters that also take their place in the story. “Traditionally, critics of “Metamorphosis” have underplayed the fact that the story is not only about Gregor’s but also his family and, especially, Grete’s metamorphosis” (Straus). Therefore, I will point out the role that Grete takes in the story and the importance of her character which leads to her metamorphosis along with Gregor’s. Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” is the story of a man who wakes up one day to find out he has transformed into a bug. He undergoes a series of events that leads him to alienation
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We learn that she had a strong and intimate relationship with his brother Gregor. The first clue is that she is the only member of the family whose name we know, suggesting she was very close to Gregor prior his transformation and was very loved by him. The second clue is that, since the first day of Gregor’s transformation, she assumes the role of taking care of him by providing him of food and cleaning his room every week, besides, she is very protective of her job: “But now both of them, his father and his mother, often waited outside Gregor’s room while his sister straightened it up, and as soon as she came out she had to tell them in great detail how the room looked, what Gregor had eaten, how he had behaved this time, and whether he had perhaps shown a little improvement” ( Kakfa 29). In addition to being protective, we see that in just a few days after her brother’s transformation she cares for him as if he had been a fragile insect that could not defend itself for his entire life; hence, she makes decisions for him that, at her eyes, could be beneficial for her brother: “Of course it was not only childish defiance and the self-confidence she had recently acquired so unexpectedly and at such cost that led her to make this demand; she had in fact noticed that Gregor needed plenty of room to crawl in; and on the other hand, as best she could tell, he never used the furniture at all”
We learn that she had a strong and intimate relationship with his brother Gregor. The first clue is that she is the only member of the family whose name we know, suggesting she was very close to Gregor prior his transformation and was very loved by him. The second clue is that, since the first day of Gregor’s transformation, she assumes the role of taking care of him by providing him of food and cleaning his room every week, besides, she is very protective of her job: “But now both of them, his father and his mother, often waited outside Gregor’s room while his sister straightened it up, and as soon as she came out she had to tell them in great detail how the room looked, what Gregor had eaten, how he had behaved this time, and whether he had perhaps shown a little improvement” ( Kakfa 29). In addition to being protective, we see that in just a few days after her brother’s transformation she cares for him as if he had been a fragile insect that could not defend itself for his entire life; hence, she makes decisions for him that, at her eyes, could be beneficial for her brother: “Of course it was not only childish defiance and the self-confidence she had recently acquired so unexpectedly and at such cost that led her to make this demand; she had in fact noticed that Gregor needed plenty of room to crawl in; and on the other hand, as best she could tell, he never used the furniture at all”