abstract: Gregor Samsa's metamorphosis in The Metamorphosis (1915) continues to inspire novel interpretations and analyses to this day. The critical reception of his metamorphosis, however, contrasts sharply with the way in which it is received by the novella's protagonists, who are not puzzled in the slightest by this event. Building off of textual evidence supporting a literal reading of the metamorphosis, I will bring Hegel's analysis of the gradual obsolescence of metamorphoses to bear on Kafka's novella in order to explain the characters' apathetic response. At the same time, I will show how the novella challenges Hegel's teleological progression of Spirit .
Lars Boomsma (Fri,) studied this question.