Source: The Metamorphosis (1915)
Quotes from book
The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
Original title
Die Verwandlung
(German, 1915)
The Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect , subsequently struggling to adjust to this new condition. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered.
“Calm —indeed the calmest— reflection might be better than the most confused decisions”
Source: The Metamorphosis
“the blend of absurd, surreal and mundane which gave rise to the adjective "kafkaesque”
Source: The Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis (1915)
“What if I slept a little more and forgot about all this nonsense.”
Variant: How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense.
Source: The Metamorphosis (1915)
Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.
First lines
Variant translation (by David Wyllie): One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.
Source: The Metamorphosis (1915)
The Metamorphosis (1915)
Context: What a fate: to be condemned to work for a firm where the slightest negligence at once gave rise to the gravest suspicion! Were all the employees nothing but a bunch of scoundrels, was there not among them one single loyal devoted man who, had he wasted only an hour or so of the firm's time in the morning, was so tormented by conscience as to be driven out of his mind and actually incapable of leaving his bed?
