samsa

October 17, 2013



'As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.'


The Metamorphosis


I would highly recommend having a look through the rest of Tetsuya Ishida's gallery.
His work is rather remarkable.
A modern surrealists and muser of sorts.
I'd come across his work before but the reference to Kafka's, 'The Metamorphosis' roused a forgotten love for the story in question.
Others i've spoken to regarding Gregor Samsa's arthropodal tale have been disturbed and 'creeped out' by the events that unfold in Kafka's unorthodox fable.
And rightfully so.
But i've only ever felt incredibly sad for Gregor Samsa.
Yes, i suppose he's a monster now and has all the 'grotesque' attributes of one but it wasn't a choice for him to transform.
It was a truly unfair twist of otherworldly fate.
At the start of the story, Gregor is described as a young man on his way to work to support his family.
There may be resentment in the act but is that someone who deserves to be outcast in such an extreme form?
Perhaps there's more to Gregor than Kafka lets us in on or perhaps, in my opinion, it was purely a cruel joke played by the 'gods' on a particularly monotonous day.
It could happen to any of us.
And it wouldn't be the first time.

If you haven't read it, i suggest you correct that immediately.
It's incredibly short and is just one example of Kafka's incredibly acute observations of human behaviour.
Get it done.




Ps. To anyone i attended university with, do you remember a guest artist who spoke to us at the DCA who had a painting of The Metamorphosis? His style was very illustrative and the image was split into two rooms, one side with Gregor, the other with his family?
I know i didn't dream it! I just can't remember who he was...
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