Disgust Podcast

Unraveling Literature is a podcast discussing classical novels. In this episode, they focus on Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis." The theme of disgust is explored through Gregor's transformation into a giant insect. Both Gregor and his family feel repelled by his new form. The state of Gregor's room reflects his declining condition and the family's disgust. The story also examines how society treats those who are different. Gregor's death symbolizes the dehumanization and lack of sympathy towards him. Kafka's novella forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about human nature and social bonds. Unrivaling literature, the podcast where we dip our feet into classical novels and explore the themes that revolve around them. I'm Jackson, and I'm Kian. Today we're talking about one of Franz Kafka's most famous works, Metamorphosis. It's a novella that has fascinated readers for over a century. Kafka's story of Gregor Samson, who wakes up one morning transformed into a giant insect, is rich with themes all over the entire story. But today we're going to focus on one of them in particular, Disgust. Disgust is a powerful and key theme in Metamorphosis. It's there from around the very beginning when Gregor realizes his transformation. I mean, can you imagine waking up as a giant bug? Yeah, just imagine the shock you would see upon first glance in the mirror. Kafka also doesn't hold back in describing Gregor's new form in all its twisted details. The novella explains it using, and I quote, "...he lay on his armor-hard back and saw, as he lifted his head up a little, his brown-arched abdomen divided into stiff, arched segments." The description really puts an image in your head, doesn't it? And it's not just Gregor who feels the disgust with his new form either. His family's reactions are a necessary detail to understanding the theme of the story, as is the description of his image. When his mother first sees him, she faints. His father acts all aggressive, and his sister, who initially tries to take care of him, can't even look at him for a while. Exactly! The whole family reaction has a mixture of shock and horror. His father's response is to drive Gregor back into his room. The aggressive acts by his father, like you mentioned, really show the true disgust of Gregor's form. Yeah, that sounds about right. Like, it really shows Gregor's transformation affects the family's relationship, and exposes their true feelings instead of, like, all the fake expression of care, and especially from his sister. Even her disgust grows so large, she becomes almost hostile to Gregor. That shift in tone is understandable, though, even knowing that it was her brother earlier. I wouldn't resist being hostile towards you, Jackson, even though you're not a bug. Okay, buddy! I agree, though. I would hit you because I can. If this were to actually happen to one of my family members, though, I wouldn't neglect them, like the story, or treat them like garbage. Yeah, but, like, how do you even know it's a family member and that weird bug? Like, you can't truly know that's your family, and who's to say the bug didn't just eat your sibling? I mean, a large bug is odd enough, so who's to deny the fact that maybe the bug has some sort of, like, consciousness between its eyes? Also, don't forget the state of Gregor's room. A telltale sign I would use would be at least keeping some of your humanity by having a clean room. Yeah, but as Gregor's condition declines, so does his room. If he was able to clean his room, it would have been done. However, he was hurt and confused, so his family took up the job in doing so. It becomes cluttered and dirty, showing the family's disgust with Gregor's growing over time. It's almost like a physical way to express their true feelings towards him. The environment also reflects the inner confusion of the characters, and as Gregor becomes more insect-like in behavior, the human elements of his room and relationship with his family crumble away. His isolation is deepened by his family's collective disgust. He's repelled by his family's rejection, and they are repelled by his new form. Yeah, but there's also a deeper, more detailed disgust at play. Like, Gregor's transformation could be seen as, like, a metaphor for how society treats those who are different or unable to contribute to its collective as much as the average person, whether it be socially or even economically. Before his transformation, Gregor was the main moneymaker of his family, but once he's a bug, he's thrown away like litter. Yeah, absolutely. And Kafka uses Gregor's issue to get his standpoint on social norms and the nature of family love and cooperation. The disgust his family feels is not just physical, but also symbolic of their hatred they feel towards him. It's a powerful story, and Kafka doesn't let us forget the tragedy of Gregor's situation. His final moments are filled with a sense of rejection and self-disgust. Like, he stars himself, which is both a result of his family's neglect and his own loss of will to live, which is just extremely saddening at its core. This is the case for people nowadays, even without having the transformation. Gregor's death is a combination of all the disgust and neglect he's been subjected to. In the end, his family feels a strange sense of relief at his passing. It's a chilling expression of how dehumanization leads to the family having zero sympathy for him, with the death feeling more like a death of a farm animal than an actual human. Yeah, metamorphosis of the shock of disgust and its depressing in many ways involve physical, emotional, and societal. Kafka forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about our human nature and the weak structure of our social bonds between each other. And with that, we conclude our episode for today. We hope you gained a deeper understanding of the theme of disgust in Kafka's metamorphosis.