original text vs. film

Carlos Atane V.S. Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka's original text of the metamorphosis demonstrates patriarchy after Gregor, the provider of the family, transforms into this insect, and is unable to work. The father is then forced to get a job to provide for his family and ensure that they survive. Not only did the patriarchal system have an effect on Gregor and his father, but from a feminist point of view it also had an impact on Grete and the mother. Whereas, Carlos Antane’s film of the metamorphosis manages to show the repression structure of how Gregor is treated and left unnoticed by his family because of his half human and half insect body. From a psychoanalytic point of view, Gregor Samsa starts to feel alienated from his family and humanity.

Patriarchy is a social system in which the male acts as the primary authority figure central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination (Wikipedia). The Samsa's family shows a great deal of patriarchy. Gregor, the provider of the household has transformed into this unusual insect which restrains him from going to work and bringing home a paycheck. He shows no concern about his transformation, but he worries more about his job because without his job, his family is unstable. Gregor's father could've easily gotten a job before his son's metamorphosis, but instead he waits until Gregor is unable to work to find a job. “His father was a healthy, but old man, who had not worked now for five years…” (Kafka, 345).This is a great example that show how long Gregor’s father been depending on his son to provide for the family and how he is obligated to pay off his father’s debts. Gregor then realizes that his father was using him to pay bills for the household, but he also had money stashed away. Assuming his father used that extra money to pay off the debt he owed his director, so Gregor could quit his job, but that wasn’t the case. As you can see, Gregor did not like his job but he continued to still work because he was enslaved by his family. This is where Gregor notice how vicious is family is.

From a feminist point of view, the patriarchal system had an effect on Grete and the mother because as females they are suppose to be submissive to men, but in this case they are independent individuals. The men in this story are not forcing them to get a job to help provide for the family. Instead they decide to get a job on their own. Even though the mother, who suffered asthma, and his sister who is only seventeen, was still a child, manages to help around the house and get things done. They both had to do the cooking and cleaning around the house since they had to let the maid go. The impact of patriarchy was recognized when the women of the Samsa’s family succeeded in taking over positions of the men.

Atane’s film make out the bitterness Gregor’s family showed towards him. Grete’s ability to take care of him starts to decrease and she starts to get the impression that this insect is not her brother. She gets tired of taking care of her brother and the family feels the need to get rid of him. In the film, it was more of the father who showed a great deed of repression. He threw apples at Gregor, trying to kill him instead of scaring him back to his room. The father was angry throughout the entire film because Gregor was unable to provide for the family and he had to become the “man” of the house and find income. The repression continues after Gregor’s death. The family shows no type of grief once they saw his body laying their on the library floor. 

Repression of the bug v.s. human

Patriarchy imposes different feminine characteristics and stereotypes in the society today. This strengthens the wicked power relations between men and women. Grete and the mother relation to Gregor and the father went opposite directions in the film and the original text. Most men would’ve switched positions with Grete and the mother, and this shows the difference in the patriarchal system. Oppression is then built up in these women because of the lack of help from the men. The patriarchal system as a whole in Atane’s film and Kafka’s original text encourage men to do all of the work and the women to settle for what comes their way.

Works Cited

The Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka. Dir. Atanes, Carlos. 1992. film

Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” Literature Fiction: Craft & Voice. Ed. Delbanco, Nicholas. New York, NY. 2010. (335-356). Print

Lupton, Greg. “The Metemorphosis.” Homepage. 29 May 2012. web

Sing, Rienna Lee. “Oppression in Kafka’s, “The Metamorphosis”. Universal Journal. web. 29 May 2012.