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Daylon Cooper

Professor Beadle

ENGL 115

16 October, 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 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, 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
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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. 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.

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
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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. This 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. He receives bitterness 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 journal ​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
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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). 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.

It comes as no surprise that Gregor prefers staying locked in his own room. This portrays his

sense of loneliness that he got in return from his act of labor. Since their sole provider is not just

unsuitable, but unable to fulfill his previous title. 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. 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. 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
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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, representing the point in which

Gregor gives up on hope. The Samsas never gave him the same 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.

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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. 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

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.
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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​.