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the metamorphosis franz kafka this ebook is designed and published by planet pdf for more free ebooks visit our web site at http www.planetpdf.com.

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the metamorphosis this text is a translation from the german by ian johnston malaspina universitycollege nanaimo bc it has been prepared for students in the liberal studies and english departments this document is in the public domain released january 1999 2 of 96

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ebook brought to you by the metamorphosis create view and edit pdf download the free trial version i one morning as gregor samsa was waking up from anxious dreams he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug he lay on his armour-hard back and saw as he lifted his head up a little his brown arched abdomen divided up into rigid bowlike sections from this height the blanket just about ready to slide off completely could hardly stay in place his numerous legs pitifully thin in comparison to the rest of his circumference flickered helplessly before his eyes `what s happened to me he thought it was no dream his room a proper room for a human being only somewhat too small lay quietly between the four wellknown walls above the table on which an unpacked collection of sample cloth goods was spread out samsa was a traveling salesman hung the picture which he had cut out of an illustrated magazine a little while ago and set in a pretty gilt frame it was a picture of a woman with a fur hat and a fur boa she sat erect there lifting up in the direction of the viewer a solid fur muff into which her entire forearm disappeared gregor s glance then turned to the window the dreary weather the rain drops were falling audibly down on the 3 of 96

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the metamorphosis metal window ledge made him quite melancholy `why don t i keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness he thought but this was entirely impractical for he was used to sleeping on his right side and in his present state he couldn t get himself into this position no matter how hard he threw himself onto his right side he always rolled again onto his back he must have tried it a hundred times closing his eyes so that he would not have to see the wriggling legs and gave up only when he began to feel a light dull pain in his side which he had never felt before `o god he thought `what a demanding job i ve chosen day in day out on the road the stresses of trade are much greater than the work going on at head office and in addition to that i have to deal with the problems of traveling the worries about train connections irregular bad food temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never come from the heart to hell with it all he felt a slight itching on the top of his abdomen he slowly pushed himself on his back closer to the bed post so that he could lift his head more easily found the itchy part which was entirely covered with small white spots he did not know what to make of them and wanted to feel the place with a leg but he 4 of 96

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the metamorphosis retracted it immediately for the contact felt like a cold shower all over him he slid back again into his earlier position `this getting up early he thought `makes a man quite idiotic a man must have his sleep other traveling salesmen live like harem women for instance when i come back to the inn during the course of the morning to write up the necessary orders these gentlemen are just sitting down to breakfast if i were to try that with my boss i d be thrown out on the spot still who knows whether that mightn t be really good for me if i didn t hold back for my parents sake i would ve quit ages ago i would ve gone to the boss and told him just what i think from the bottom of my heart he would ve fallen right off his desk how weird it is to sit up at the desk and talk down to the employee from way up there the boss has trouble hearing so the employee has to step up quite close to him anyway i haven t completely given up that hope yet once i ve got together the money to pay off the parents debt to him that should take another five or six years i ll do it for sure then i ll make the big break in any case right now i have to get up my train leaves at five o clock and he looked over at the alarm clock ticking away by the chest of drawers `good god he thought it was half 5 of 96

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the metamorphosis past six and the hands were going quietly on it was past the half hour already nearly quarter to could the alarm have failed to ring one saw from the bed that it was properly set for four o clock certainly it had rung yes but was it possible to sleep through this noise that made the furniture shake now it s true he d not slept quietly but evidently he d slept all the more deeply still what should he do now the next train left at seven o clock to catch that one he would have to go in a mad rush the sample collection wasn t packed up yet and he really didn t feel particularly fresh and active and even if he caught the train there was no avoiding a blow up with the boss because the firm s errand boy would ve waited for the five o clock train and reported the news of his absence long ago he was the boss s minion without backbone or intelligence well then what if he reported in sick but that would be extremely embarrassing and suspicious because during his five years service gregor hadn t been sick even once the boss would certainly come with the doctor from the health insurance company and would reproach his parents for their lazy son and cut short all objections with the insurance doctor s comments for him everyone was completely healthy but really lazy about work and besides would the doctor in this case be totally 6 of 96

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the metamorphosis wrong apart from a really excessive drowsiness after the long sleep gregor in fact felt quite well and even had a really strong appetite as he was thinking all this over in the greatest haste without being able to make the decision to get out of bed the alarm clock was indicating exactly quarter to seven there was a cautious knock on the door by the head of the bed `gregor a voice called it was his mother `it s quarter to seven don t you want to be on your way the soft voice gregor was startled when he heard his voice answering it was clearly and unmistakably his earlier voice but in it was intermingled as if from below an irrepressibly painful squeaking which left the words positively distinct only in the first moment and distorted them in the reverberation so that one didn t know if one had heard correctly gregor wanted to answer in detail and explain everything but in these circumstances he confined himself to saying `yes yes thank you mother i m getting up right away because of the wooden door the change in gregor s voice was not really noticeable outside so his mother calmed down with this explanation and shuffled off however as a result of the short conversation the other family members became aware of 7 of 96

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the metamorphosis the fact that gregor was unexpectedly still at home and already his father was knocking on one side door weakly but with his fist `gregor gregor he called out `what s going on and after a short while he urged him on again in a deeper voice `gregor gregor at the other side door however his sister knocked lightly `gregor are you all right do you need anything gregor directed answers in both directions `i ll be ready right away he made an effort with the most careful articulation and by inserting long pauses between the individual words to remove everything remarkable from his voice his father turned back to his breakfast however the sister whispered `gregor open the door i beg you gregor had no intention of opening the door but congratulated himself on his precaution acquired from traveling of locking all doors during the night even at home first he wanted to stand up quietly and undisturbed get dressed above all have breakfast and only then consider further action for he noticed this clearly by thinking things over in bed he would not reach a reasonable conclusion he remembered that he had already often felt a light pain or other in bed perhaps the result of an awkward lying position which later turned out to be purely imaginary when he stood up and he was eager to 8 of 96

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the metamorphosis see how his present fantasies would gradually dissipate that the change in his voice was nothing other than the onset of a real chill an occupational illness of commercial travelers of that he had not the slightest doubt it was very easy to throw aside the blanket he needed only to push himself up a little and it fell by itself but to continue was difficult particularly because he was so unusually wide he needed arms and hands to push himself upright instead of these however he had only many small limbs which were incessantly moving with very different motions and which in addition he was unable to control if he wanted to bend one of them then it was the first to extend itself and if he finally succeeded doing with this limb what he wanted in the meantime all the others as if left free moved around in an excessively painful agitation `but i must not stay in bed uselessly said gregor to himself at first he wanted to get of the bed with the lower part of his body but this lower part which he incidentally had not yet looked at and which he also couldn t picture clearly proved itself too difficult to move the attempt went so slowly when having become almost frantic he finally hurled himself forward with all his force and without thinking he chose his direction incorrectly and 9 of 96

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the metamorphosis he hit the lower bedpost hard the violent pain he felt revealed to him that the lower part of his body was at the moment probably the most sensitive thus he tried to get his upper body out of the bed first and turned his head carefully toward the edge of the bed he managed to do this easily and in spite of its width and weight his body mass at last slowly followed the turning of his head but as he finally raised his head outside the bed in the open air he became anxious about moving forward any further in this manner for if he allowed himself eventually to fall by this process it would take a miracle to prevent his head from getting injured and at all costs he must not lose consciousness right now he preferred to remain in bed however after a similar effort while he lay there again sighing as before and once again saw his small limbs fighting one another if anything worse than before and didn t see any chance of imposing quiet and order on this arbitrary movement he told himself again that he couldn t possibly remain in bed and that it might be the most reasonable thing to sacrifice everything if there was even the slightest hope of getting himself out of bed in the process at the same moment however he didn t forget to remind himself from time to time of the fact that calm 10 of 96

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the metamorphosis indeed the calmest reflection might be better than the most confused decisions at such moments he directed his gaze as precisely as he could toward the window but unfortunately there was little confident cheer to be had from a glance at the morning mist which concealed even the other side of the narrow street `it s already seven o clock he told himself at the latest striking of the alarm clock `already seven o clock and still such a fog and for a little while longer he lay quietly with weak breathing as if perhaps waiting for normal and natural conditions to reemerge out of the complete stillness but then he said to himself `before it strikes a quarter past seven whatever happens i must be completely out of bed besides by then someone from the office will arrive to inquire about me because the office will open before seven o clock and he made an effort then to rock his entire body length out of the bed with a uniform motion if he let himself fall out of the bed in this way his head which in the course of the fall he intended to lift up sharply would probably remain uninjured his back seemed to be hard nothing would really happen to that as a result of the fall his greatest reservation was a worry about the loud noise which the fall must create and which presumably would arouse if not fright then at least 11 of 96

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the metamorphosis concern on the other side of all the doors however it had to be tried as gregor was in the process of lifting himself half out of bed the new method was more of a game than an effort he needed only to rock with a constant rhythm it struck him how easy all this would be if someone were to come to his aid two strong people he thought of his father and the servant girl would have been quite sufficient they would have only had to push their arms under his arched back to get him out of the bed to bend down with their load and then merely to exercise patience and care that he completed the flip onto the floor where his diminutive legs would then he hoped acquire a purpose now quite apart from the fact that the doors were locked should he really call out for help in spite of all his distress he was unable to suppress a smile at this idea he had already got to the point where with a stronger rocking he maintained his equilibrium with difficulty and very soon he would finally have to decide for in five minutes it would be a quarter past seven then there was a ring at the door of the apartment `that s someone from the office he told himself and he almost froze while his small limbs only danced around all the faster for one 12 of 96

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the metamorphosis moment everything remained still `they aren t opening gregor said to himself caught up in some absurd hope but of course then as usual the servant girl with her firm tread went to the door and opened it gregor needed to hear only the visitor s first word of greeting to recognize immediately who it was the manager himself why was gregor the only one condemned to work in a firm where at the slightest lapse someone immediately attracted the greatest suspicion were all the employees then collectively one and all scoundrels was there then among them no truly devoted person who if he failed to use just a couple of hours in the morning for office work would become abnormal from pangs of conscience and really be in no state to get out of bed was it really not enough to let an apprentice make inquiries if such questioning was even necessary must the manager himself come and in the process must it be demonstrated to the entire innocent family that the investigation of this suspicious circumstance could only be entrusted to the intelligence of the manager and more as a consequence of the excited state in which this idea put gregor than as a result of an actual decision he swung himself with all his might out of the bed there was a loud thud but not a real crash the fall was absorbed somewhat by the carpet 13 of 96

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the metamorphosis and in addition his back was more elastic than gregor had thought for that reason the dull noise was not quite so conspicuous but he had not held his head up with sufficient care and had hit it he turned his head irritated and in pain and rubbed it on the carpet `something has fallen in there said the manager in the next room on the left gregor tried to imagine to himself whether anything similar to what was happening to him today could have also happened at some point to the manager at least one had to concede the possibility of such a thing however as if to give a rough answer to this question the manager now took a few determined steps in the next room with a squeak of his polished boots from the neighbouring room on the right the sister was whispering to inform gregor `gregor the manager is here `i know said gregor to himself but he did not dare make his voice loud enough so that his sister could hear `gregor his father now said from the neighbouring room on the left `mr manager has come and is asking why you have not left on the early train we don t know what we should tell him besides he also wants to speak to you personally so please open the door he will good enough to forgive the mess in your room 14 of 96

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ebook brought to you by the metamorphosis create view and edit pdf download the free trial version in the middle of all this the manager called out in a friendly way `good morning mr samsa `he is not well said his mother to the manager while his father was still talking at the door `he is not well believe me mr manager otherwise how would gregor miss a train the young man has nothing in his head except business i m almost angry that he never goes out at night right now he s been in the city eight days but he s been at home every evening he sits there with us at the table and reads the newspaper quietly or studies his travel schedules it s a quite a diversion for him if he busies himself with fretwork for instance he cut out a small frame over the course of two or three evenings you d be amazed how pretty it is it s hanging right inside the room you ll see it immediately as soon as gregor opens the door anyway i m happy that you re here mr manager by ourselves we would never have made gregor open the door he s so stubborn and he s certainly not well although he denied that this morning `i m coming right away said gregor slowly and deliberately and didn t move so as not to lose one word of the conversation `my dear lady i cannot explain it to myself in any other way said the manager `i hope it is nothing serious on the other hand i must also say that 15 of 96

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