Loneliness

“The Metamorphosis” is partly a story about a man crying for attention. Gregor has given up his own dreams to provide for his family, but no one seems to care. He “bears the expenses of the entire family,” and then some, yet his parents and his sister act unimpressed. Meanwhile, no one attempts to contribute, even though as we see later all three family members are highly capable and obtain successful careers; His father goes from “exhausted and buried in bed…in a sleeping gown,” “incapable of standing up” to a proud man in a smart suit.

Gregor certainly desires personal attention, to be repaid, in sorts, for his dedication to the family. This longing is presented clearest at the end of his life, when his sister plays violin to the three lodgers. Gregor fantasizes of a life where his sister would stay in his room for “as long as he lived:” The two would “confide” in each other, he would make her dreams come true by sending her to the conservatory (although how she can stay with him forever and also attend the conservatory is unclear), they would comfort each other. Gregor’s realization that this fantasy is “the way to the unknown nourishment he craved” substantiates this claim since he finally realizes that what he really hungers for is companionship. His hunger throughout the story symbolizes this; while he never has a shortage of food, he gradually becomes hungrier as his sister first stops cleaning his room and rearranging his furniture, then stops entering it altogether.

Of course, instead of being nurtured he is physically abused on multiple occasions by his father, and repulsed by his mother and gradually unnoticed by his sister. However, because Gregor retains human consciousness, as well as emotions, the reader doesn’t necessarily see him as a bug. What is therefore particularly haunting about this short story is not just that Gregor is trapped inside an alien body, but that he – and the reader – is painfully aware of this dreadful mistreatment. This awareness serves to exacerbate his feelings of loneliness throughout the story.