At
the end of the “Metamorphosis”, as Gregor is dying “his last faint breath ebbed
out of his nostrils” (108). However, insects don’t have nostrils (as we learn
in Bug Bio), instead they breath throughout their body. They have spiracles and
tracheas that let air get in and out of their body. There is no existing insect
that has nostrils. So why did Kafka include this line? For the rest of the book
he was pretty accurate in describing insects. Gregor is a dorsal ventrally
compressed insect without wings and it seems like 6+ legs. Kafka also describes
very vividly the brow liquid (digestive enzymes?) that comes from Gregor’s
mouth when he opens the doors. Kafka has done his research when it comes to
bugs so why would he include this line about nostrils?
I
think that as Gregor is dying he has another semi-metamorphism where he partly
back to a human. He is able to breathe through his nostrils as a human. However,
when he is found dead he is once again an insect. I think that as he died he
shifted to be a human but then became an insect again. That’s almost the
cruelest thing that could happen to Gregor. As he lays dying, intent on releasing
his family from himself, he turns back into a human but then he dies anyway.
Gregor deciding to die was final decision he made for his family. This choice
adds to his “spineless” because he still decided to this for his family. However,
I think his transformation back into a human still speaks of his spineless and parasitic
nature. He is such a parasite that his form doesn’t matter anymore. Fate is
tempting and taunting Gregor by showing that he can be human again but then he
dies anyway.
The
way that Gregor “breathes” again shows that this isn’t Gregor has another metamorphism
where he transforms back to a human. This is Fate tempting him and showing more
of his spineless nature.
When Gregor transformed into a bug, he has a fight internally whether to go to work or sleep in. We can see this as the cause of his metamorphosis. He became a vermin because he defies his father by not going to work. So a probable theory to his "2nd" metamophosis is that he became human again in the eyes of the family when he died and got out of the way of their economic sources. Because when he was an insect, all he did was pushing away economic source for the family.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kafka seems to change Gregor's anatomy completely but his thoughts are human. Kafka does seem to balance the human aspects and the insect aspects. I see what you are saying that when he is dying it is one last human moment with the breath from the nostrils. Maybe it was one last act of pity for Gregor to have a breath as a human.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting take on Gregor's death. If the theory that the scenes after Gregor's death are all Gregor's imaginings is correct, it might even be that Gregor did turn fully back into a human at his death, and we never actually see what comes afterwards. Nhan's point about him regaining his human status as he stops being parasitic also seems really convincing to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a really interesting concept. When I first read through this section I brushed it off as a stylistic element. However, rereading the passage I also noticed that Gregor dies right in the morning. Given that he wakes up transformed, it makes sense he dies transformed in his sleep. By the way 10/10 bug bio skills, Mr. Stone would be proud.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to think that maybe Gregor wasn't a bug throughout the entire book, that before he died he had one final glimpse of himself as a normal human, but the idea of him being spineless is kind of interesting as well. He has already been told to curl up and die, so why should it matter that he's suddenly human again?
ReplyDeleteI laid out my theory in the comment section of another blog, so I won't post it here. Basically, what if he was just half bug/human all along, not just transformed at the end?
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think about that. Holy moly. That makes the ending so much more tragic. If he literally turns back into a human just for the moment he dies, and he dies as a human, but then turns back into his grotesque insect form and no one ever knows... AH.
ReplyDelete