Grete Samsa

Today in class we discussed Grete and her initial reaction to Gregor's transformation. We agreed that initially she seemed to be the most caring out of Gregor's entire family, but that she cared for him as if he was a pet. However, Grete's attitude toward Gregor quickly changes, and she stops cleaning his room, stops paying attention to his eating habits, and seems completely indifferent to his needs. This seems to me to be the place that his parents are in as well, though his parents do initially react in specific ways: his mother is devastated that her little boy has become a giant bug, and his father tries to be authoritative and tough, but both parents soon unhappily accept the fact that their son has been transformed and move on with their lives. Though it takes Grete longer to do this, she still does it.

In fact, Grete eventually becomes more alienated from Gregor than her parents do. It is she who suggests getting rid of him and letting him die: "It has go to. That's the only answer, Father. You just have to try and get rid of the idea that it's Gregor. Believing it for so long, that is our real misfortune. But how can it be Gregor? If it were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that it isn't possible for human beings to live with such a creature, and he would have gone away of his own free will." When I read this passage, I was astonished at Grete. Initially, I saw her as the most compassionate of all of Gregor's family, as she is the most cared for by Gregor. She has completely dehumanized Gregor, and it's also an indication of how dehumanized he was in her mind before the transformation, because she expects that her self-sacrificing brother would have left his family simply because he was in a predicament that is even more unfortunate for him than it is for his family. Because the insect has not allowed itself to die (ironically, that is what Gregor is doing at the moment), Grete says that he is not self-sacrificing enough and that they should abandon him--that they, who have taken advantage of Gregor for years, should abandon him now that he needs them!

To me, Grete is actually the least sympathetic character. Both Gregor's parents, although they do not take care of him initially the way Grete does, still believe that their son is there. His father, just before Grete's outburst, says, "If he could understand us, then maybe we could come to an agreement with him." Mr. Samsa clearly believes that Gregor is still there, he just doesn't realize that Gregor can understand them (and why should we expect him to realize that a giant insect can understand what his family is saying?). Mrs. Samsa can't help but see Gregor as her dear boy, even though he's an insect. She is the one who, although it is unnecessary, insists upon going in to see Gregor in the beginning. She is the one who, in an effort to avoid dehumanizing Gregor, argues with Grete about removing the furniture from his room. I actually sympathize most with Mrs. Samsa.

Of course, I see where Grete is coming from. It's hard to imagine how difficult it is for her to realize that inside this disgusting giant insect is her brother's consciousness. She does still love her brother. She wants to go on living and honoring Gregor's memory, but the way she sees it, it's impossible to live with Gregor anymore, because he is so dehumanized in her eyes that he's essentially just not there anymore. So I don't dislike Grete. I feel bad for her. I feel bad for her not only because she's lost her brother, but also because in the end, her parents are dehumanizing her in the same way as they did to Gregor. Someone mentioned in class that it sounded like she was being thought of as a farm animal, and I definitely agree. In the way that Gregor has lived and helped his parents as much as he could, but then died because dying helped them too, he reminds me of a pig that is raised to be slaughtered. I worry that the same thing will happen to Grete. She may not turn into a giant cockroach, but her parents are already planning to raise her so that she can benefit them, and if "slaughtering" her will also benefit them, I have no doubt that they will do that. But I feel so much worse for Gregor. He cares so much for his sister, and all he wants to do is show her compassion, and tell her about how he wanted to send her off to school and provide her with everything he could, but his sister cannot move past the fact that he is an insect and show him any affection at all. Even initially when she sees him as an insect, she feeds him as a duty, but is obviously completely repulsed at the same time. As time goes on, her repulsion increases to the point where she sees Gregor as having completely swallowed up by the body and mind of a huge, revolting insect.