Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Biographical Criticism

The Man Who Believed He Was a Bug

Interpretations are flexible depending on what filter the audience uses to read with. Biographical criticism is used to analyze reading material with the author’s life in mind. These aspects of the author’s life are their unique experiences that are written into their literary works. A famous example of literary filters is Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The novella can have a variety of interpretations depending on what literary criticism is applied. Kafka’s novella is about a travelling salesman named Gregor who experiences being transformed into an insect (physically or mentally is debatable). Through the lens of biographical criticism, Franz Kafka’s novel The Metamorphosis, Gregor shares similarities with the author in terms of feeling like a useless burden to the family.

Franz Kafka was an outsider growing up. Mauro Nervi, author of an online Franz Kafka biography article, states that Kafka was raised in Prague, Czech Republic as middle-class Jew. However, despite Kafka’s Czech Republic origins, the author spoke German due to his mother’s German roots (Nervi). It was a tough beginning that helped to shape Kafka’s writing from

the following rival groups. Czech Republicans were not fond of Germans and the Germans were not fond of the Jews in 1833. Either way Kafka was an outsider but aside from his background, the author’s father was a major influencer to his literary work. Kafka’s father was a man by the name of Hermann Kafka. He was a salesman before becoming a store owner, Hermann had wished for his eldest son, Franz Kafka, to take over the family business once he had retired. Much to Hermann’s disappointment and anger, Kafka had no interest nor passion in his father’s line of profession. Instead, Kafka wished to pursue a literary career as an author. In his disapproval Kafka’s father abused his son both physically and psychologically. Kafka’s mother did not intervene with her husband and son’s affairs because of her weak resolution (The School of Life).
Kafka wrote a 47-page letter titled, Letters to My Father, once he was an adult. The author of The Metamorphosis wrote these letters to explain how during Kafka’s childhood that he was intimidated by his father and suffered from his abuse. In the letters, Kafka explains and answers to his father how he has made him, Franz, afraid of his own father. The letters describe a psychologically abusive memory when Kafka was little:
One night I kept on whimpering for water, not, I am certain, because I was thirsty, but probably partly to be annoying, partly to amuse myself. After several vigorous threats had failed to have any effect, you took me out of bed, carried me out onto the pavlatche, and left me there alone for a while in my nightshirt, outside the shut door. I am not going to say that this was wrong—perhaps there was really no other way of getting peace and quiet that night—but I mention it as typical of your methods of bringing up a child and their effect on me. I dare say I was quite obedient afterward at that period, but it did me inner harm (Letter to His Father)
In this paragraph from Franz Kafka’s Letters to His Father Kafka is explaining how as a child he had annoyed his father for entertainment by asking for water. When his father noticed that his threats were not getting through to his son Hermann took Kafka to the balcony and left him there in the rain. The author states Hermann Kafka has used extreme methods, such as this example, to get Franz to become more obedient at the expense of his son’s psychological wellbeing. Kafka gave the letters to his mother, who Kafka hoped would give them to his father. However, Kafka’s mother kept the letters for a short period before returning them to son afraid that the letters would only upset her husband. Kafka was saddened by the fact that his father had not seen them (The School of Life). Kafka’s unique relationship with his father had caused himself a great deal of “emotional abuse, disorienting double standards, and constant disapprobation that branded his childhood” (Popova) and into his career as an author.
When Franz Kafka wrote The Metamorphosis, the audience can see a part of Gregor and his father’s relationship as Kafka and Hermann through the biographical criticism lens. Gregor Samsa is debatably transformed into a disgusting insect that everyone, including Gregor’s father slowly begins to detest. The parallels between the author and his creation, Gregor Samsa, can be seen through a small part of the Marxist Criticism, a lens that can focus on economic aspects of a capitalist system through a novel. Gregor Samsa had lost his job after his ‘transformation’ and was confined to his room as to not upset the other members of his family who were living in the house. Since Gregor was confined to his room he did not help around the house, he could not go out and get another job to support his family, and was essentially a burden for the family. Gregor was the worker of the family, his family loved and appreciated him because he had a productive role. After his transformation Gregor took up space, ate their food, and did nothing to contribute to any housekeeping issues. As a result, the family had picked up extra jobs to support themselves. It is never stated what the father does, but Gregor’s mother sewed lingerie while Grete, Gregor’s sister, “had taken a job as a salesgirl, was learning shorthand and French in the evenings to attain a better position sometime in the future” (Kafka).
Since Gregor no longer provided for his family and combined with his current transformation, he was beaten by his father.
Near the end of chapter 2, Gregor’s father reaches his limit. He’s filled with frustration at his son’s state and in his fit of anger attacks Gregor. He begins by raising his foot to simply squash Gregor, but it fails when Gregor scurries away from in both fright. However, Gregor had already expected this behavior from his father. Gregor “had known from the first day of his new life that his father considered only the strictest treatment called for when dealing with him” (Kafka). Gregor was used to his father’s abusive attitude just as Franz Kafka had been towards Hermann Kafka. The section of the quote “his father considered only the strictest treatment called for’” can refer to Gregor and Kafka’s similarity with abusive fathers as well as refer that the physical abuse is nothing new to Gregor Samsa. Continuing with the scene from this chapter, Gregor manages to dodge his father’s stomping until Gregor’s father started throwing apples at him.
One apple, thrown weakly, grazed Gregor’s back and slid off harmlessly. But the very next one that came flying after it literally forced its way into Gregor’s back; Gregor tried to drag himself away, as if the startling unbelievable pain might disappear with a change of pace; but he felt nailed to the spot and stretched out his body in complete confusion of all his senses (Kafka)
This incident was not accidental, Mr.

Samsa made multiple attacks on his son. It made Gregor incapacitated of any movement and there is also the shock of the attack to consider. Gregor stated that it was only a matter of time before his father’s frustration at the situation snap. What he wasn’t counting on was for his father to lose himself in his emotions to the point of killing his own son. Gregor’s father had been experiencing this frustration due to his family financial situation now that Gregor couldn’t pay off the family debt. By taking his frustration out on his son Mr. Samsa threatening Gregor to get his priorities in order and stop being a burden to his family. Similarly, in the way Hermann Kafka used his abuse to make Franz Kafka an obedient child and to discourage him from becoming an

author.
Literary lens help influence what is being perceived by the members of the audience. They help to have in depth understanding through certain literary analysis. Through the lens of Biographical criticism, the audience can see the parallels in the experiences of Gregor Samsa and Mr. Samsa’s relationship with Franz Kafka and Hermann Kafka’s father-son relationship. The two sons were abused by their fathers because they were both not conforming to their father’s ideals. Gregor Samsa could not provide for income to pay of the family debt and Franz Kafka did not want to become the successor to his father’s business. From a biographical criticism stand point, the audience can see that in Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis the travelling salesman Gregor Samsa is like the author because of their shared feelings of feeling like a useless burden to their respective families.

Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. “Franz Kafka- Letter to His Father.” Schocken Books Inc., 26 Mar. 2018.
Kafka, Franz. Metamorphosis. New York: Modern Library, 2013. Print.
Nervi, Mauro. “Kafka's Life (1883-1924).” The Kafka Project: Kafka's Biography, The Kafka
Project, 8 Jan. 2011, www.kafka.org/index.php?biography.
Popova, Maria. “Kafka's Remarkable Letter to His Abusive and Narcissistic Father.” Brain
Pickings, Brain Pickings, 18 Sept. 2015, www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/05/franz-kafka-
letter-father/.
The School of Life, director. LITERATURE: Franz Kafka. LITERATURE: Franz Kafka,
Youtube, 22 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4LyzhkDNBM.