The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka

1946年1月 · The Complete Works of Franz Kafka 第 14 冊 · Continental Press

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關於這本電子書

One morning in 1912, Kafka sat down and wrote the first sentence that would become Die Verwandlung: "Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte..." By December 1914, he finished what would become his most emblematic work - a Gogolesch, Surrealist novella about a traveling salesman who wakes up transformed into a giant insect. First published in Leipzig by Kurt Wolff Verlag in 1915, the story initially appeared in the October issue of Die Weißen Blätter, a leading expressionist journal, before being released as a standalone book that cemented Kafka's reputation in German literary circles. The narrative adopts the matter-of-fact tone that became Kafka's hallmark - Gregor's bizarre transformation is treated with the same bureaucratic detachment as his concerns about missing work. This intersection of the fantastic and mundane creates cognitive dissonance that pulls readers into Gregor's disoriented perspective. Like the protagonist, we find ourselves trapped between acceptance and horror, between the urge to normalize the absurd and the creeping recognition that normality itself might be the true absurdity. The text never specifies what kind of creature Gregor becomes - the German "ungeheueres Ungeziefer" suggests something between a beetle and a cockroach - forcing readers to grapple with the same uncertainty that plagues the Samsa family. The story's premise serves as a dark lens focused on family dynamics, social alienation, and the dehumanizing effects of modern capitalism. As Gregor's family shifts from horror to neglect to calculated cruelty, the text reveals how quickly the bonds of kinship dissolve when confronted with radical otherness. His sister Grete's transformation from devoted caretaker to pragmatic executioner mirrors society's treatment of those who can no longer participate in productive labor. Vladimir Nabokov, who taught the text at Cornell, argued that the true metamorphosis occurs not in Gregor but in his family - their gradual hardening into efficient, unfeeling members of the bourgeoisie represents the real horror at the heart of the tale. Kafka's genius lies in making us feel this horror while maintaining the cool, almost clinical tone that would influence generations of writers grappling with the absurdity of modern existence. This modern translation from the original German is a fresh, accessible and beautifully rendered text that brings to life Kafka's great literary work. This edition contains extra amplifying material including an illuminating afterword, a timeline of Kafka's life and works alongside of the historical events which shaped his art, and a short biography, to place this work in its socio-historical context.

關於作者

A Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, Kafka's work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. His writings, such as "The Metamorphosis" and "The Trial," explore themes of alienation, existential anxiety, and guilt, and are influential in modernist literature.