Pathologies: Week 5 group work, Franz Kafka, Die Verwandlung
We will analyse the first section of the story in this seminar – the section has
been divided into different segments and apportioned to different groups (some
groups get a bit more work than others; however, you should all be reading the
text in the same detail and thereby all doing the same amount of work). Group 4
(Adam, Bill, Alex and Niall) will read and present the article on Kafka and SacherMasoch:
Anderson, Mark M., “Kafka and Sacher-Masoch” Journal of the Kafka Society of
America 7:2 (1983): 4-19
Group 1
From “Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte...” to
“und hatte sogar einen besonders kräftigen Hunger.”
What do we learn about Gregor Samsa in these opening pages?
Describe his bedroom and the objects in it.
What physical state is he in?
What mental state is he in?
What does he do for a living and how does he feel about it?
What do we learn about his family?
Group 1
From “Als er dies alles in größter Eile überlegte…” to “Das musste aber gewagt
werden.”
How does Gregor’s family react to the fact that he is still in bed?
What do we learn about his family members?
What do we learn about the relationship Gregor has with his family?
What happens when Gregor tries to speak?
How does he feel physically, e.g. how does Kafka describe the task of getting out
of bed?
What about the role of pain in this scene?
Group 2
From “Als Gregor schon zu Hälfte aus dem Bette ragte…” to “ welche die anderen
bedrängte und ihr Benehmen entschuldigte.”
Gregor is still trying to get out of bed. How does he imagine this task becoming
easier?
Who is the Prokurist, and what train of thoughts does his arrival unleash in
Gregor?
What can we decipher about Gregor’s place of work and how he feels about it?
What relationship does the Prokurist appear to have with Gregor’s family?
What do we learn about Gregor through his mother’s account? What does he
spend his evenings doing, for example?
What do we learn about Gregor’s sister? Why is she crying and from whose
perspective is this passage narrated?
Group 3
From “ ‘Herr Samsa’, rief nun der Prokurist…” to “…vielleicht lehnten alle an der
Türe und horchten.”
What does the Prokurist suggest about Gregor as a working person?
How does Gregor defend himself?
What do the mother and Grete think is wrong with Gregor?
Who seems the most powerful in this scene – what is the balance of gender
relations between all of the characters?
The Prokurist says Gregor’s voice is a “Tierstimme” – what is Gregor’s reaction to
this? Can we tell if he is human or animal?
Group 4
From “Gregor schob sich langsam mit dem Sessel…” to “…auf den Beginn der
abwärts führenden Treppe.”
Describe how Gregor finally manages to open the door.
How do the Prokurist and his mother and father react to the sight of him?
What can Gregor see through the window and why is this significant?
Gregor sees a photo of himself on the opposite wall. What does this tell us about
him?
What role does gender play in this excerpt?
Group 5
From “ ‘Nun’, sagte Gregor…” to “…auf den Teppich sich ergoss.”
Gregor holds a kind of monologue. How does he describe the life of the travelling
salesman? What power relations / hierarchy reigns in the company he works
for? What does he suggest is responsible for his current state?
How does the Prokurist react to this speech?
Gregor thinks that he has “Voraussicht” but his parents do not. What does he
mean by this?
What happens to Gregor physically in this scene – what does he discover about
himself?
Again, how does Kafka thematise gender roles in this scene?
Group 3
From “ ‘Mutter, Mutter’, sagte Gregor leise to “…dann war es endlich still.”
What happens in this final scene of section I?
Describe how mother and father relate to one another.
Describe how father relates to son.
In what ways might we describe this scene as masochistic? Once again, think
about gender relations when considering masochism here.