Cooper, 1

Daylon Cooper

Professor Beadle

ENGL 115

2 December, 2019

Even Love Has a Price

Few people can say they have been rejected like Gregor Samsa was. ​The Metamorphosis

is a novella written by Franz Kafka which displays the social issue of unconditional love ​and

conditional love​ in a household. Gregor Samsa proves Michael Rowe’s case that family members

must not feel isolated or rejected, and that such actions can invoke serious mental pain on that

very person. We are introduced to Gregor as a person who works hard to support his family no

matter his personal satisfaction in his job. The main tragic aspect is Gregor’s undying support for

his family. He shows that time and time again by continuing to support them on his own with no

moral support or financial backing from his family members. That all changes when Gregor

transforms into a monstrous vermin. Now the Samsa family’s loyalty and empathy are put to the

test, leaving the reader to watch the Samsas apply for jobs, Gregor being locked in his room, and

the gradual rejection of someone who supported them with an undying spirit. Kafka brings forth

the idea that the term unconditional love does not exist in everyone, ​specifically families​, and is

shown to have a negative effect on those who are being unloved.

For starters, the word unconditional love is defined as love without a price. If someone

loves another unconditionally, that means they will never stop loving them, even in their darkest

hour. Gregor did this undoubtedly, providing for a house of four—including him—expecting
 Cooper, 2

nothing in return. Being a traveling salesman was not his idea of doing his dream job, nor one he

particularly enjoyed. Had it not been for supporting his family he would not be doing a job he

hated so much. Despite this, one of his first thoughts after his transformation is immediately how

he will get to work. His only form of gratification is that he is supporting his parents and his

sister. ​For example, when Gregor’s manager goes to check on his lateness, his sister Grete begins

to cry. When he hears the commotion, he reassuringly says how “...her worries are unnecessary.

[He] is still here and hadn’t the slightest intention of letting the family down” (Kafka 10). Here,

Gregor supposes that Grete is crying over the possibility of him losing his job. He then pushes

these worries aside and--despite his condition--has firm confidence to making it to work, which

shows a strong dedication to his family.

To add on to that, being a traveling salesman comes with, “...worrying about changing

trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that

last…” (Kafka 4). Though the thought of having a job involving traveling and meeting new

people may sound appealing to some, this is a job that is tortuous to Gregor. He talks about how

emotionally draining his hours are, his working conditions, and the lack of connection between

his peers. This can only lead to the connection is with his family to be stronger than the average

person can comprehend. They are all he has. To paint a picture of unconditional love, Gregor has

to have a complete change of his physical body, leaving him completely impotent, have a mental

breakdown, and still have his mind set on returning to his job. That says a lot about Gregor’s

character and his set of values and how far he went to keep his family satisfied, expecting

nothing in return.
 Cooper, 3

On the contrary, ​The Metamorphosis​ also evidently shows how little his family is grateful

for a provider like him. In context, they never repay him for his efforts, struggles, or profits to

keep the family afloat in their financial woes. Unconditional love is shown when the reader

watches as Gregor talks about how he tirelessly works to keep his family comfortable, but this all

comes to an end when he turns into an insect. When his family discovers him, their first concern

is that now they need to get rid of him, as well as arrive to the conclusion that he is now

unemployable and therefore cannot provide for them. Gregor overhears these conversations and

is heartbroken at the unloving reaction they had. As he reflects over this perspective his family

has on his metamorphic state, he concludes that his “...money was received with thanks and

given with pleasure, but no special feeling of warmth went with it anymore” (Kafka 26). Gregor

symbolizes unconditional love as he is determined to find joy in fulfilling the needs of his family

without hesitation. Even in the first pages as he wakes up as an insect, his only concern is not

missing the train for work (Kafka 4). As previously mentioned, his only form of gratification is

that he is supporting his parents and his sister. But in his parent’s eyes, he formerly held the

burden of his family’s finances, and is now deemed worthless and unusable in his new body.

Their negative treatment manifests a sense of loneliness in Gregor, as well as leaving him and

without a purpose​, which is​ the opposite of unconditional love. Instead of caring for their son

despite his inability to solely provide for the family, they grudgingly find jobs on their own and

talk about getting rid of him​, revealing that the only thing the Samsas cared about was Gregor’s

ability to provide for them.​ He receives ​only​ bitterness ​and dissatisfaction​ in turn for all his hard

work he gave to them over the years.

A family must function in a symbiotic relationship or else they will fall apart. Michael

Rowe’s ​article “Metamorphosis: Defending the Human”​ displays many themes, including

Gregor Samsa’s family and their reaction to him turning into a bug. Rowe is an Associate

Clinical Professor of Sociology in the Yale School of Medicine. Written in the fall of 2002,

Rowe asserts that parents, guardians, and other caregivers must not act with their natural

feelings, but treat any ill person like they were anybody else. It is not, however, containing their

negative feelings from the ill person, “...but to keep those negative feelings from provoking acts

of cruelty or neglect” (264). Gregor’s father certainly boasted about his feelings to his son, but

escalated into a violent series of events. For instance, when Mrs. Samsa sees her son in his new

transformed body for the first time, she faints at the very sight of him. Mr. Samsa in response

ferociously pelts Gregor with apples as he fearfully ran for his life (Kafka 37). ​This apple

continues to remain on Gregor until the day he dies, serving as a symbol for his family’s

bitterness for forcing them into working for themselves. Not even his loving sister dares remove

the apple off her brother’s back. ​Gregor in his inhuman body is vulnerable to his family’s abuses.

His father, mother, and sister, the people who should accept him unconditionally in accordance

to basic family values, are those who abuse him the most. Not only is physical abuse toward

Gregor apparent, but Mrs. Samsa fainting leaves Gregor to be more self conscious at how

hideous his new body really is. Whether verbally or physically, a parent cannot be abusive or

emotionally unstable without having these effects on their children. ​This only leads Gregor to

solidify the conclusion that he can no longer provide any service to his family anymore in his

current inhuman state, along with their love and affection.

Not everyone is against Gregor initially. ​Gregor only turns into a monstrous creature

when he chooses to stop working. His transformation is a criticism of how society can view

someone like an insect for giving up and treat him less than a human.​The reader is introduced to

some hope for some sign of appreciation or comfort, that his family can pull through this rough

patch or that they are all adjusting to having a new creature around. One such example is

Gregor’s younger sister, Grete. Gregor gaining Grete’s love and appreciation is what he believes

to be an award for his suffering. At the darkest parts in the story, she is shown to be his only

motivation to keep on living. At one point, she stops by his room, and slides some food from

leftover dinners. But not just some scraps at the bottom of their trash can, but “To find out his

likes and dislikes, she brought him a wide assortment of things…” (Kafka 23). Understandably,

some may argue this scene as an instance of unconditional love. Grete thoughtfully figures out

what Gregor likes to eat in his new body, not to mention cleaning his grotesque room on a daily

basis. Gregor is thankful for his sister’s attention, otherwise the rest of his family might have left

him to die. Though she is certainly providing for her brother expecting nothing in return, but

these acts of endearment are only temporary. For example, that does not prevent his parents from

constantly berating him, such as: devaluing him based on his inhuman state, his inability to

provide service for them, and that he must be gotten rid of. When Gregor overhears them, he

loses hope in rekindling with his family. Throughout the novel, however, Grete’s attachment to

her brother weakens and she loses the connection between her insect brother, denoting him as a

burden to the family. He dies shortly after Grete agrees with her parents ​to abandon him for

good, since she had “...gotten fed up with taking care of Gregor as she used to” (Kafka 42). This

represents​ the point in which Gregor gives up on hope. The Samsas never gave him the same
 Cooper, 6

love he gave them in return. In fact, there is evidence that Kafka might have been inspired for the

last name Samsa. Michael P. Ryan, an author from the University of Arizona, writes in his

journal article ​Samsa and Samsara: Suffering, Death, and Rebirth in "The Metamorphosis”

about the possible origins and similarities of the surname “Samsa”. In Hinduism and Buddhism,

the word “Samsara” is a key principle, representing a world of craving, suffering, death, and

rebirth (133). The similarity between Samsara and Samsa are almost uncanny, and throughout

the entire book, Gregor is adjusting to his current state, but describes himself as more content

than comfortable. That means there is not one moment of tranquility Gregor reaches. He is

constantly suffering from not being able to work for his family, which triggers them to talk

negatively behind his back. In reflection, not one utterance or act of thankfulness or care is given

to our protagonist beyond Grete saving a few scraps of their leftovers.

In the end, Franz Kafka’s ​The Metamorphosis​ is a constructive assessment of the

traditional family dynamic. Gregor is a representation of unconditional love, his family being the

contrary. Understanding that treating of family members with the same unconditional love goes

raises them in an environment to grow to their full potential comfortably. If these standards are

consistent—or in the Samsa family’s case, deliberate—they will inevitably make their children

like they are not enough. Kafka’s usage of setting and character development support his claim

of why there is no such thing as unconditional love. The importance of having Gregor being the

caregiver to his ungrateful family solidifies their standards never being satisfied. ​As a man and as

an insect, Gregor accepts the respective consequences without complaint.​ The symbolism of

Gregor being uncared for in his metamorphic state only emphasizes this point: they refuse to care

for their that was once their sonson, despite him being the only on paying for the family’s
 Cooper, 7

expenses. Gregor’s commitment to his family is one he takes with great ​The Metamorphosis​ tells

us that love without a price does indeed exist, but like Gregor, there is no guarantee that we will

receive it in return.
 Cooper, 8

Works Cited

Kafka, Franz, and Stanley Corngold.​ “The Metamorphosis”. Bantam Books, 2004.

Rowe, Michael.​ "Metamorphosis : Defending the Human." Literature and Medicine, vol. 21

no. 2, 2002, pp. 264-280. Project MUSE, ​doi:10.1353/lm.2002.0024​.

Ryan, Michael P.​ “Samsa and Samsara: Suffering, Death, and Rebirth in ‘The Metamorphosis.’”

The German Quarterly, vol. 72, no. 2, 1999, pp. 133–152. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/408369​.