The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is a story, about a man who wakes up transformed into a bug and the repercussions it has on his life and the people around him. What does it all mean? It is most probably an autobiography of how Kafka himself experienced early life living with his parents. Kafka describes how he endured his mother and father's financial and emotional exploitation's, to the point of detaching from them and thereby ceasing to be their son (the real metamorphosis). Gregor’s metamorphosis is that of Kafka’s being an obedient son, subserviently paying for his parents’ narcissistic needs with his own life, into being a disobedient one—as if he had become a ‘piece of vermin’. Gregor’s parents possessed a large sum of money which symbolizes the needlessness of Gregor’s exploitation. Thus the parents did not love him for who he was, but for his loyal willingness to undergo this exploitation. Reduced to vermin, Gregor can no longer financially benefit his parents. It is the parents that caused Gregor’s/Kafka’s metamorphosis. The debt Gregor intended to repay his parents symbolizes the emotional debt many adult children continue to feel towards their elderly parents for the love and care they provided.