The role of money in “The Metamprphosis”

Essay

The role of money in “The Metamprphosis”

“The Metamorphosis” is a novel written by Franz Kafka in the beginning of 20^th century. It is considered to be an autobiographical work. Moreover, Kafka even chose a similar surname for the main hero Gregor Samsa. The situation which is described in the novel represents Kafka’s real life: relationship with other members of the family, attitude towards work, his emotional state and the role of money in all of the things listed before. The role of money in the Kafka’s novel is very significant as well and affects the plot considerably.

If we were to go back to the plot of the novel, we would certainly remember that Gregor’s first problem was his inner conflict. It was a conflict between living the way he wanted to, quitting his present job on the one side and earning money for family, sacrificing his own wants on the other. The Samsas were wealthy not a long before the story starts. The reader learns that about five years ago Gregor’s father lost his business, got into debts and did not work at all after that. Nobody except Gregor actually did, therefore he was the only one who took the burden of earning money for living and for paying off father’s debts. In the beginning it seemed to be pleasant for him to be so important to his family. Although, as time passed by the family did not appreciate his efforts anymore and it hurt Gregor very much. The boring job of salesman made him feel even more miserable. Another point is family’s attitude towards Gregor’s job. On the day he turned into a vermin, father and mother came to Gregor’s door to ask, basically, whether he was going to job or not. The parents were not interested in whether he needed some help. That showed that the family was used to Gregor earning money for their splendid life. By the way, the family lived in a big apartment located in the town and for some period of time they even had a maid. For reader it does not look like they were in need of money. What is even better, after Gergor turned into a vermin, the father told the rest of the family that they had some saving and they could survive for a year or even more. Why would not he just say it to Gregor earlier and clear the air is the question which is hard to answer. The relationships of the Samsa family were too complicated to answer it for sure.

The importance of money in the Kafka’s novel reminds of the novel by Henrik Ibsen “A doll’s house”. From the very beginning money goes throughout the whole novel. Debts, seeking for a better job, savings, everything is there in “A doll’s house” and it all composes into a tragical story of one family. Whether the two novels’ plots are similar at some points or not, the fact is that the money affected both the plot and the relationships between the main characters.