In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the family. The father who can’t work due to his age and has crippling debt yet enjoys languish breakfasts. The mother who, besides being one of the more sympathetic characters, actually doesn’t do too much besides feel stress over Gregor’s new state. And finally, Gregor's sister, Grete, a girl who loves her brother but is introduced as someone that is relatively frail and shy. Now, after multiple discussions in class and readings, we can identify that Gregor’s family heavily relied on Gregor for money. Even Gregor believed himself to be the only solution to absolve his family’s debt. With this in mind, let’s look back at the first scene.
At the beginning of the story, as the family began to recognize that something is wrong with Gregor, they surrounded his room and began badgering him about his work. When they finally realize that something has happened to Gregor, the mother immediately sends for a doctor.
“You must go to the doctor right away. Gregor is sick. Hurry to the doctor. Have you heard Gregor speak yet?” (20)
Yet, once Gregor emerges, he is quickly forced back into his room and left alone. Never once does it occur to the family to find someone to help Gregor after this incident. They seemingly accept that Gregor is a bug (or dead) and that they can do nothing to change the situation. Much like earlier, when Gregor believed himself to be the sole solution, the family believes that there is nothing to be done about their ~new~ roommate. What is really astonishing to me about this scene is that the family does absolutely nothing in response to Gregor’s new body. You could draw the comparison between Gregor’s non reaction to his new form and the family’s acceptance of the bug, but that’s not what I want to focus on. Instead, this lack of acknowledgement suggests that the family, now rid of their only source of income, do not want to go to the effort of figuring out the mystery of the bug. Their new goal is find another stable source of cash and latch their parasitic claws onto that.
But, wait, doesn’t the family end up having to work to provide for themselves? In a perfect world, that could mean they’re finally realizing the true value of all that Gregor did for them. Yet, that wouldn’t explain the parents new fascination with Grete at the end of the book. Throughout the story, Grete is the one who begins to become the financial provider of the family. While the father definitely contributes to this role, let’s be honest he won’t last nearly as long as Grete could. The final paragraph of The Metamorphosis especially highlights the moment the family begins to recognize Grete as not only a woman but as someone capable of being successful. This realization immediately changes the focus of the story from Gregor’s struggle with his humanity to Grete’s transformation in the story. All of Gregor’s labors are forgotten and the family moves on.
Gregor, throughout this entire process, is torn between appreciation for his family’s (very little) effort to accommodate him and anger at not being able to work and provide for the family. While it is kind of noble for Gregor to think so kindly of his family, it is a little unjustified. All Gregor did was work and provide for the family, but when times get rough, his family deserts him. I think Gregor was never really in it for the money or getting rid of his father’s debt. Instead, all Gregor really needed was some appreciation for what he did. After all the years he put in for his family and only to be rewarded by abandonment must have hurt. Being acknowledged for his dedication would have prevented a lot of the guilt that plagued him by the end of the story, and possibly, could have prevented his death. Ultimately, a little appreciation may have gone a long way in the life of Gregor but his family wasn’t able to view Gregor as anything other than a bug, and as a result, treated him like one.
Kafka, Franz, and A. L. Lloyd. Metamorphosis. New York: Vanguard, 1946. Print.
Throughout the novel I felt very sympathetic towards Gregor because, like you said, it's evident that his family was using him to a certain extent. He's seems like the victim, very selfless and focused when it comes to caring for his family, but his family just tosses him away when he can't help them. I do agree that he should have received some sort of thanks from his family for everything he did for them or at least some sort of acknowledgment, but just by the way they had been treating him as the novel progressed, that probably wouldn't be something that would've happened.
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