How Kafka’s Metamorphosis Meets The Criteria Of Magical Realism

Are you a person whose physical reality has changed but not your mental one? ? Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, tells the story of a man who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into an insect. Franz Kafka takes?The Transformation Of Arachne Into A Spider? and transforms it into a metamorphosis. This meets the criteria of magical realist. Minerva, a Greek goddess of the arts, approaches Arachne (her rival in weaving). Minerva, furious at Arachne’s weaving skills, begins to beat Minerva. Arachne hangs herself. Minerva then transforms Arachne into a Spider. The Metamorphosis tells the story of Gregor Samsa who is a traveling salesman and wakes up to discover that he has become a huge insect. His family is furious at him. Gregor ultimately dies because he feels like a burden to the family. His transformation becomes a reality. Pallas transforms Arachne from a goddess into a spider in Ovid’s “The Transformation Of Arachne into A Spider”. Arachne shouts, “Let’s her battle with me.” There is no thing that I could not conquer, and so Arachne boasts, “Let her contend with me.” The Metamorphosis sees Gregor Samsa, who awakens and is “transformed into a terrible vermin” (a roach) in his bed. Although Gregor’s metamorphosis has no clear cause, his feelings regarding his boss and work are clearly shown. “I would have gone to the boss if I didn’t have to think about my parents. Tell him what you think, what you think, what you feel, and what your feelings are. He’d just fall off his desk!” Arachne’s hair, which had been touched by the noxious substance, fell off and along with it her nose, ears and legs. This is a brief description of Arachne’s metamorphosis, but it does not explain her current life or how this affects her character. Kafka shows Gregor’s vermin life in vivid detail. As Gregor pushes himself over the door to discover his new body, Kafka describes his honest reaction and how it impacts his family. Grete, Gregor’s sister, becomes apathetic and then hates the new life she has been living. We can’t work as hard as possible and then be sent home to suffer such torture, it’s not worth it. Her parents finally allow her to admit that she cannot bear the pain any longer. Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is magical realism. He draws from Ovid and transforms “The Transformation of Arachne in a Spider” but Kafka goes beyond Ovid to show the struggle and the joys of living with this magical metamorphosis. This is a good example magical realism because it shows the rational, pragmatic depiction of the absurd.