Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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The bond between a brother and a sister is inseparable and the love between them is infinite. This concept of everlasting love is further reinforced in the novel, The Metamorphosis in which Franz Kafka molds two polar opposite brother and sister in order to intertwine the themes of alienation and confinement in an irrational world. However, the character Grete illuminates the novel achieving the standards of existentialism and playing a pivotal role in pinpointing Gregor’s flaws. Family functions in the novel primarily serve to illuminate Gregor’s character as a failure through the eyes of an existentialist. While Gregor is confined to the decisions his family makes for him as seen through Gregor’s occupation, Grete never confines to the…show more content…
Grete’s effect on the novel is a result of Gregor’s own lack of self-confidence. In the novel, Grete is a full bodied representation of how Gregor wants to live his life. This is demonstrated throughout the novel and first seen when Gregor becomes a vermin. Gregor’s transformation into a beetle results in continuous hardships due to overbearing parents and obligations that eventually lead to his own death. However, Grete’s transformation portrays the rebirth of a new person as seen in the quote “their daughter got up first and stretched her young body” (Kafka 55). Grete’s characterization is seen as a sheltered, dependent girl is transformed by the end of the novel into an independent woman. The metamorphosis of Grete crafts the novel and highlights Gregor’s own transformation by exemplifying the aspects that Gregor failed to achieve in his life. In the beginning of the novel, Grete took care of Gregor as though it were an obligation, a moral duty a sibling is bound to. However, Grete’s decision to get rid of Gregor was her own and is the first step of her transformation. In this sense, the relationship between Gregor and Grete at this moment deteriorates. The idea to use a family relationship fortifies Gregor’s death by implying that even loved ones can betray in order to put themselves above
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