During the turn of the 19th century (and early 20th century), there emerged a renewed fascination for the “involuntary workings of the mind”. Samuel Butler propounded a theory about the “collective unconscious” (His Erewhon (1872) is a most interesting read), Myers wrote about the “sublimal self”, William James penned much about a concept known as “stream of consciousness”, which had preponderant influence on early 20th century literature.
And of course the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, requires no introduction.
It should therefore come as no surprise that Kafka incorporated Freudian symbology into the inner workings of the Samsa family.
The father possesses both physical and sexual authority, and subverts Gregor’s frivolous attempts at leaving his room (“breaks out”) by throwing apples, kicking him, and others.
At the end of Part II, Gregor’s mother embraces her husband, nearly naked, imploring for him to spare Gregor’s life. And as Ritchie Robertson writes, “his mother uses sex as a
means of cajoling his father into sparing his life”.
There is perhaps too much to expound upon about the confluence of Expressionist and Realist narrative in The Metamorphosis , the many biblical allusions, the “Why did Kafka choose a cockroach?” question. In many tales about repugnant creatures, such as that of Flaubert’s The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier , the leper turned out to be no creature, but Jesus Christ. Kafka could have had Gregor metamorphosed into any other creatures or insects, the distinction made perhaps requires additional thought.
Compendium of Words 