Manish Vaidya
In “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka employs the literal transformation of Gregor to reflect on his mechanical existence, while in “The Sandman”, E.T.A Hoffmann explores a series of experiences that gradually reduce Nathaniel to an automaton. Both authors explore themes of alienation and identity; however, the literal metaphor of a physical transformation at the onset of the story allows Kafka to explore these traits as they have always existed in Gregor’s life. On the other hand, Hoffmann uses metaphors to delve into Nathaniel’s tormented life and eventual descent into insanity as a self-imagined toy that is spinning out of control. Hoffman’s Nathaniel does not awake as a wound-up toy, nor does Kafka’s Gregor turn into a vermin at the end of the tale. Nathaniel’s transformation ends where Gregor’s begins.
Kafka masterfully uses the image of an insect not being able to turn over as a metaphor for describing Gregor’s daily struggle to get out of bed. Every day of Gregor’s life has been driven by the fear of getting fired from his job due to something that he does not do right. His daily struggles begin with his attempt at just trying to get out of bed. Now in his insect state, this becomes an insurmountable challenge – “No matter how forcefully he attempted to wrench himself over on his right side, he kept rocking back into his supine state” (Neugroschel, 118). Just like each passing day in the past, he tries hundreds of times to get up. In his current state his current physical reality – “wriggling legs” (Neugroschel, 118)- mirrors his typical emotional reality. In life, Gregor has frequently found himself trapped in this emotional state, a reflection of the restrictive environment of the modern workplace and society. These constraints impose limitations on him, preventing him from breaking free or surpassing them.
The metaphor of an insect’s physical struggles is further used to explore Gregor’s daily fears and his attempts in the human form to prevent getting reprimanded at work. Fear of being late terrifies Gregor even more than his currently feeble insect body: “… when the doorbell rang. ‘It’s someone from the office,’ he told himself, almost petrified, while his tiny legs only danced all the more hastily” (Neugroschel, 124). This is a powerful visual to show the effect this dread has on his mind. As an insect, Gregor is weaker and less capable than he was as a human. However, he is still driven by the same sense of duty and responsibility. He knows that he is needed to support his family, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill his obligations. Kafka’s use of the visual of the tiny legs moving frantically emphasizes how suddenly reality has manifested his always present turbulent emotional state.
Kafka very effectively uses the movements of the vermin within the confined space of the room to describe Gregor’s state of alienation in his human form. Just like he did every evening when back from work by locking himself into his room, he seeks dark places to hide from the world. Yet, all along, he longs for a sense of freedom: “…he would shove a chair over … indulging in the same vague freedom he had once found by gazing out the window” (Neugroschel, 151). Gregor has always felt alone in his room and stares out towards the grey skies covering Charlotte Street to imagine a world far away from his deary existence.
Gregor’s entrapment as a human is showcased by the contrasting metaphor of an insect being able to freely crawl in any direction. As the furniture is removed from the room, Gregor feels a state of freedom in moving around in the room in any manner he wishes. The room is “transformed into a lair in which he would certainly be able to crawl freely in any direction” (Neugroschel, 157). In his human form, Gregor is confined to follow the mundane routines of the day. He dutifully does the tasks assigned to him as a traveling salesman. Gregor’s actions are restrained by his inability to remove the social structures and responsibilities surrounding him. He longs to exercise the freedom to pursue his desires without being bound by societal expectations. In his insect form, the room symbolizes the world — a space where he can explore various directions and possibilities, a freedom he lacked in his human form.
The metaphor of insect-like bodies in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” extends beyond Gregor’s character, encompassing other individuals as well. A notable example can be observed in Kafka’s evocative description of the office errand boy: “he was the director’s creature, mindless and spineless” (Neugroschel 120). This portrayal emphasizes the subordinate position of the errand boy, who serves as a mere instrument for the director’s commands. The use of the term “spineless” likens the boy to a non-human creature lacking a backbone, raising questions about his own transformation into an insect-like being. He must carry out the mindless task of reporting the names of those who fail to arrive at the designated time at the station, branding them as incompetent workers incapable of fulfilling this basic task. This depiction of the errand boy as spineless prompts speculation about the erosion of his rationality and independent thinking. It begs the question: Have these individuals, caught in an unending cycle of mindlessly following arbitrary rules, forfeited their humanity? The dehumanization depicted in the narrative extends beyond the individual level, permeating all strata of society. The portrayal of spinelessness and mindlessness highlights a pervasive sense of dehumanization experienced by individuals, reducing them to mere cogs in the machinery of an oppressive and meaningless system.
The metaphorical use of the sound of an insect chirp in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” serves as a poignant reflection on Gregor’s own existence and underscores the profound influence of monotonous routines within modernity. It portrays how humans have become enslaved by repetitive and mindless tasks that primarily cater to the demands of the business world. This is evident in the passage where Gregor, upon discovering his voice transformed because of his transformation into a vermin, immediately attributes it to a natural consequence of his profession: “He had no doubt whatsoever that the change in his voice was nothing but the harbinger of a severe cold, an occupational hazard of traveling salesmen” (Neugroschel, 122). As a salesman for a fabric company, Gregor’s daily life revolves around constant travel, residing in dubious hotels alongside similar individuals, and engaging in extensive conversations. Based on these experiences, he hastily assumes that his voice has taken on a hoarse, animal-like quality, attributing it solely to his lifestyle. This occurrence highlights another manifestation of modernity’s impact on Gregor and those in his immediate surroundings. The transformation of Gregor’s voice into an animalistic tone symbolizes the dehumanizing effects of modern life. It suggests that the mundane and repetitive routines of his occupation have not only physically transformed him but have also affected his identity, reducing him to an insect-like creature. Moreover, this transformation extends beyond Gregor alone, encompassing the broader consequences of modernity on individuals within the narrative. It exemplifies how the impersonal mechanisms of modern society, characterized by monotonous routines, gradually permeate, and influence the lives of individuals, shaping their identities and altering their perception of themselves and others.
While Kafka uses a literal metaphor to look back at Gregor’s insect-like existence all his life, E.T.A. Hoffmann uses metaphors to explore human Nathaniel’s eventual transformation into an out-of-control automaton. In Hoffmann’s depiction of Nathaniel’s dehumanization, he draws an intriguing parallel between Nathaniel and a mechanical toy. This comparison is particularly evident in the encounter between Nathaniel and the dreaded Coppelius, who catches Nathaniel observing his experiments. Coppelius forcefully seizes Nathaniel by the arms and issues a chilling threat to gouge out his eyes: “And with that, he seized me so violently that my joints cracked, he unscrewed my hands and feet, and fixed them on again now in this way, now in that” (Hollingdale, 92). Coppelius’s manipulative and sadistic actions resemble a macabre game played with the limbs of a lifeless plaything. Nathaniel’s imagination conjures vivid images of his hands being unscrewed and subsequently reattached in unsettling, contorted positions. This depiction serves as a powerful metaphor for the gradual dehumanization experienced by Nathaniel, as his body and identity are distorted and manipulated like the mechanical parts of a toy. Like the predetermined movements of a wind-up toy, Nathaniel becomes a mere pawn within the cruel intentions of Coppelius. The imagery of his hands being manipulated, twisted, and reattached reflects the control exerted over him, reducing him to a passive object rather than an autonomous human being. This episode not only emphasizes the psychological and physical abuse Nathaniel endures, but also highlights the ways in which external forces strip him of his humanity. It serves as a stage for the dehumanizing effects of manipulation, fear, and control, echoing the themes of powerlessness and the erosion of individual identity that we see evolve through Nathaniel’s life. A similar sense of loss of identity and panic triggered by fear has always existed in Gregor’s life in “The Metamorphosis”. A mere knock on the door by someone from the office sends Gregor into a frantic state to get up and get ready for work. The insect state only heightens this sense of panic as portrayed by Kafka via a description of insect body parts: “…while his tiny legs only danced all the more hastily” (Neugroschel, 124). While he might have appeared calm from the outside, this frantic mental state has always existed in Gregor’s life. The visualization of the frenzied moving of insect legs puts a vivid image on this state of mind. While Gregor has constantly experienced this state since the outset of the narrative, young Nathaniel’s transformation into an automaton has just begun.
While Hoffman skillfully plots Nathaniel’s journey into dehumanization through powerful metaphors for his mental anguish, Kafka uses the insect body to focus on mental pain that has always existed in Gregor’s life. Nathaniel imagines Coppelius touching Clara’s eyes, “which sprang out like blood-red sparks, singing and burning, on to Nathaniel’s breast” (Hollingdale, 105). The image of eyes being pulled out continues to haunt him and renders as physical pain on his body. These images and feelings reflect back to his torment as a child at the hands of Coppelius when he felt the singing pain of ambers from the fireplace. This sensation returns when he confronts rays reflecting from sunglasses laid out on his table by the salesman : “…flaming glances leaped more and more wildly together and directed their blood-red beams into Nathaniel’s breast” (Hollingdale, 110). Each of the glasses looks like a pair of eyes to Nathaniel, each with flaming glances. The rays from these are not just any rays, but blood-red beams that tear his heart apart. Nathaniel’s response to the salesman’s visit mirrors Gregor’s perpetual sense of unease in his daily life. Kafka employs insect-like actions to accentuate the constant presence of pain: “…he gathered his energy and lunged forward, devoid of inhibition, in the wrong direction, colliding with the lower bedpost; the searing pain that coursed through his body.” Gregor’s knee-jerk reactions to external constraints have consistently resulted in enduring mental pain throughout his life. The physical pain he experiences as an insect bring out this experience in a stark and powerful way.
A powerful metaphor of missing eyes highlights a pivotal point in Nathaniel’s journey into alienation. He is shocked to discover the reality about Olympia – “…where the eyes should have been, there were only pits – she was a lifeless doll!” (Hollingdale, 120). Eyes being ripped out are once again at the center of Nathaniel’s agony. His very human memory of Olympia is suddenly jarred by the vision of her lifeless, broken apart mechanical body. This brings back his torment at the hands of Coppelius and the memory of feeling like a mechanical toy with body parts being removed and put back in contorted ways. This pushes Nathaniel further down into his journey of despair. Similar pivotal moment occurs for Kafka’s Gregor when his sister abandons her support for his insect form. They abandon him knowing that now in an insect form, he is certainly not capable of providing for them the things he could have provided as a dutiful office worker. Gregor reconciles with a sense of alienation that has always existed in his life. He realizes that all along his family has valued him for what he brings to their lives, and not as a living being.
Kafka opens his narrative with the transformation of Gregor Samsa into an insect, while E.T.A. Hoffmann ends his exploration of Nathaniel’s dehumanization journey as he is completely losing control over his actions and turning into an automaton. A terrifying moment captures this transformation through the metaphor of a wound-up toy, as exemplified in the phrase: “‘Spin, puppet, spin!’ (Hollingdale, 123). Nathaniel has no control over his actions. He almost pushes Clara, the love of his life, off the ledge, before plummeting down to his death. Triggered by an innocuous event of merely touching a telescope, Nathaniel turns into an inhuman toy intent on destroying everything in its path. This dehumanized end-state echoes Gregor’s initial condition: “…transformed into a monstrous vermin…his many legs… danced helplessly before his eyes” (Neugroschel, 117). A sense of helplessness that has always permeated his life has now taken on a physical meaning for Gregor. Throughout his adult life, he has grappled with challenges and struggles in performing even the most basic tasks, accentuating his profound sense of frustration. His perseverance in fulfilling societal expectations, despite these frustrations, has reduced him to a mechanized being, akin to an automaton.
Kafka and Hoffmann explore themes of alienation, isolation, and the darker elements of the human psyche through metaphors. Kafka’s metaphor of the insect is more literal, portraying the physical and external manifestation of alienation. Hoffmann’s metaphors are psychological, delving into the depths of fear and its influence on an individual’s actions. Gregor’s sudden conversion into a vermin allows Kafka to explore the lifelessness of his life until that point. Alienation and dehumanization have always existed in his life, and the body of the insect helps to address these feelings in a powerful way. Hoffman ends Nathaniel’s journey with him being dehumanized to the point of feeling like a wound-up toy with his actions not under his control. Both works continue to be relevant today, as they speak to the critical human experiences of fear and alienation, along with the darker side of the human mind.
Works Cited
- Kafka, Franz. The Great Short Works of Kafka. Translated by Joachim Neugroschel. Scribner, 2009.
- Hoffmann, ETA. Tales of Hoffman. Translated by Michael Hollingdale. Penguin Classics, 2004.