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.
I agree that there seems to be a strong psychological subtext to the bizarre apartment floor-plan. We get the sense that, rather than a private sanctuary or retreat from the world, Gregor's bedroom--with three locked doors--is a reflection of his tormented psychology, the sense that he's literally surrounded by prying voices that swoop down and interrogate him the very moment anything out of the ordinary happens. It feels very dreamlike, even nightmarish, as he has this crazy new problem to deal with, and he must deal with it even as he attempts to mutter excuses and explanations to three (eventually four) separate people who are all interrogating him at the same time. It's an uncanny combination of privacy and surveillance, and it is indeed "Kafkaesque."
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about his room with the fact that he chose the apartment like you pointed out! That makes it seem that Gregor is somehow torturing himself with his sense of duty and lifestyle. However, maybe there is more to the story than gregor choosing that room himself. In class we often said the dad was taking advantage of gregor, so maybe he actually chose or at least influenced which apartment they lived in. They did explicitly say gregor chose it, but I'm not sure I wholeheartedly believe that given the unusual reactions to gregors death and weird kafka ending.
ReplyDeleteI think the room floor plan is certainly indicative of some deeper message about Gregor's life. I think it's also interesting to consider that scene when Gregor is under the couch and he freaks out because of all of the action that is going on around him. It seems to mirror that first scene where his whole family is taking to him through different doors.
ReplyDeleteIt's like the room is a representation of Gregor's relationship with his family. They are so co-dependent for each other and the rooms and floor plan show that. Gregor feels an extreme need to please his family while the family wants to be sustained by Gregor. Gregor's room is surrounded by his family, they are literally living around him. It's like the parasites are around the host as they feed on him. Gregor is never really alone because he is constantly surrounded by his parasitic family.
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