The peculiar nature of Gregor Samsa’s
room is one of the most striking features of the first scene of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. As Gregor’s family
discovers that he has not yet left for work, they begin to talk to him through
the doors of the bedroom. Doors. Plural. The only time a bedroom should have
more than one door is when it shares a bathroom with another bedroom and there
is a door to the hall and to the bathroom. I had never heard of a bedroom
having “side doors” before, and the description of side doors in Gregor’s
bedroom was immediately off-putting. The idea of each member of Gregor’s family
talking through a separate door to him is so absurd that it immediately casts
into doubt the status of the world described in the novel, making you wonder whether
Gregor inhabits the same world as we do or not. The scene is almost comical and
seems as if it is out of a cartoon. While comical and cartoon-like, Gregor’s
situation seems positively dystopian and imagining myself in his position, with
family members surrounding me and try to talk through me through three
different doors makes me profoundly uncomfortable. What I find interesting is
that Gregor is in this horrible position by his own choice.
Later in the story it is revealed
that Gregor himself was the one to pick out the apartment. He intentionally
picked out an apartment with such an oppressive floor-plan and was presumably
planning on locating himself in that room from the start. Gregor’s family
calling at him through the various doors in his room and the very fact that he
is surrounded by his family on all sides when in his room are symbols for
Gregor’s lack of individuality and the extent to which Gregor is dominated by
his family. The fact that he picked an apartment with a floor-plan that would
lead to this horrible situation with family members on all sides shows either
that this submission in all aspects of life to the family is by choice or that
it is so complete that Gregor feels like it is his duty to select living arrangements
that exemplify this submission. In this sense, Gregor’s choice of this
particular apartment and to sleep in the room that he does, are the ultimate
example of Gregor’s family dominating his life. He has internalized this
domination to such an extent that he only feels comfortable in an environment that
exacerbates it and constantly reminds him of it.
