Brittany Cook Professor LeBlanc English 242 1 May 2016 Don’t Tread on Me, I Have Daddy Issues: A Feminist and Freudian Analysis on Metamorphosis In Franz Kafka’s short story Metamorphosis, Gregor is a man, who worked and provided for his family. He then wakes up unable to move his body up out of bed. The narrator then draws the reader’s attention to the fact that Gregor has undergone a new transformation. As if taking a trip to the Twilight Zone, Gregor has found himself in the most strangest of circumstances. He is now a giant bug. His life now completely changed Gregor is rendered helpless, with no forms of communication, and his usefulness dwindling. Gregor now has to rely on his father, sister, and mother. By viewing the story form a feminist …show more content…
The answer is quite simple, the woman counterpart. Gregor had to switch roles in order to find his freedom. He wanted the role of the women, so he could focus on his writings, whereas, Grete wanted the male role to work and do what is traditionally a male dominant role. She was able to transcend into a new person. “If Grete is a symbol of anything, it is the irony of Self-liberation in relation to indeterminacy of gender roles” (Straus). Gregor’s life falls apart, where as Grete’s begins to build and progress. Straus then proclaims that this gender ‘scrolling’ is no accident as Kafka had curious interactions with women. This is portrayed by making the man, Gregor become weak, and Grete the women become stronger. This strong connection is seen as a parallel to Kafka’s letters to …show more content…
When the father saw the mother give the son attention, he would see Gregor’s bug like noises and appearance as threating. The father once injured Gregor’s leg when he accidently scared his mother. The leg was wounded badly, however, his others were not injured. This scene can be metaphorically seen as Gregor’s castration by his father. Another form of castration is seen at the end of the story when Gregor’s mother sees him up close and clearly. She screams terrified, and Grete relays the message to the father, who mistook this as the son attacking the mother. As if he committed some violent dangerous act, the father then in a fit of anger and disgust takes a bowl of apples and constantly throws them at his son, this “…symbolically; refers to Gregor’s desire of having a sexual relationship with his mother” (journal). Gregor stood there in fear of his father. “…through two distinct act of aggression toward the son, fulfills the fantasy that is another part of Freud’s phallic stage”