The Metamorphosis of Grete

A theme that we've seen many times in the works we've read is the journey that people take from innocence  to experience. Gregor's sister Grete, much like Victor Frankenstein or Gulliver, is a prime example of how a person's innocence is often sapped by the grave reality of their situation. She initially takes on the eerie task of caring for Gregor with a sideways optimism, as he later notes she "ultimately had perhaps taken on such a difficult task purely out of childish high spirits" (Kafka 226). Although she is repulsed by him, she is still able to imagine him as Gregor; imagination is often lost on adults, as we see his parents unable to view the bug in the other room as their son. This connection between them is foretelling of her journey; as Gregor was also an innocent person who was obligated through no fault of his own to work off his family's debt, so too is Grete an innocent dragged into a dutiful role. Although she has good intentions by feeding Gregor and moving the chair for him, I think that perhaps it finally dawned on her that not being able to look at Gregor was a symptom of the fact that she was having a harder and harder time seeing him as her brother. This building confrontation erupts when he comes out of his room and scares the household while she plays the violin. The contrast of the peace of the violin set against the following outburst, is indicative of the fragile peace they had been maintaining. She finally breaks down, and I believe she is finally honest with herself, as she laments, "I don't want to speak the name of my brother within the hearing of that monster, and so I will merely say: we have to try to get rid of it.We did as much as humanly possible to try and look after it and tolerate it" (Kafka 237). This moment of honesty is refreshing, as now the remaining human members of the family are able to coalesce and set about resolving their situation. As the family rides in the carriage after Gregor's death, the first mention of warm sunlight is made, and Grete's parents note that she has become a beautiful woman, indicative of the internal change that has taken place, and so as the story closes, she rises up and stretches her arms, much like the wings of a butterfly emerging from her cocoon.