Book Club Guide

The Metamorphosis

by Franz Kafka · 1915 · Classics

Key themes

Transformation as alienation — the self that becomes unrecognisable to those who loved it
The family's accommodation and then disposal of its burden
The parable that refuses to be decoded

About this book

Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect. His family's response — practical, embarrassed, increasingly resentful — is the subject of Kafka's most celebrated novella, a parable of alienation, family obligation and the irreversibility of certain transformations.

Published in German in 1915, The Metamorphosis is Kafka's most-read work. He reportedly read it to friends and they all found it very funny. It was not translated into English until 1937.

Discussion questions

Gregor's transformation is never explained and never questioned. What does this formal refusal of explanation achieve — and what does it say about the nature of alienation?
The family's response moves from shock to accommodation to resentment to relief at Gregor's death. How does Kafka develop this arc — and what is he saying about family obligation?
Grete is initially Gregor's most sympathetic family member. How does her change over the course of the story function — and what does her final declaration say?
The story has been read as autobiography (Kafka's relationship with his father), as allegory for the Jewish condition, and as an existentialist parable. Which reading do you find most productive — and does committing to one close off the others?
The Metamorphosis is one of the most assigned texts in world literature. What does it give readers in 30 pages that most novels cannot — and what does the brevity achieve?