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Metamorphosis Grete Character Analysis

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The Transformation of Grete in Frank Kafka’s novella, Metamorphosis
In the novella, Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka elaborates on the protagonist, Gregor, physical transformation. In Kafka’s novella, Gregor’s unexplained transformation into some monstrous vermin affects his whole family, Grete. Grete is Gregor’s sister and a dynamic character in Kafka’s novella. This change leaves the family in turmoil, but also paves a way for Grete’s own transformation in the novella. The pressure of an unexpected transformation forces people to change their lives accordingly. Grete’s transformation caused by the limits of sympathy towards Gregor expressed in Kafka’s novella Metamorphosis. The first section of the novella shows how Grete cared for Gregor before his …show more content…

After an incident with Gregor leaving his room while Grete is playing the violin for their parents and for the boarders, Grete tells her parents, “Things can’t go on like this. Maybe you do not realize it, but I do. I will not pronounce the name of my brother in front of this monster, and so all I say is we must try and get rid of it. We’ve done everything humanly possible to take care of it; I don’t think anyone can blame us at the least” (1187). She continues this conversation and ends up crying, wanting to get rid of Gregor to end this suffering that they have been enduring for way too long. Her outburst shows that she has completely changed in the treatment towards Gregor, and this was the tipping point of Grete’s sympathy and caring of him. In the beginning, she treated him like her brother, but now she treats him like a bug that needs to be gotten rid of. When she finds out that Gregor has passed, it is apparent she is happy to move on with life. She throws out the boarders of the apartment and writes a letter to her employer for a day off. This signifies that Grete is set free when Gregor has passed because they do not have him as burden

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