Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa is invoked as an example of Kafka’s metamorphosed subject: he changes into an insect and becomes an object the subject cannot get rid of. The reference gives his transformation an interpretive role in the book’s account of Kafka’s inhuman figures, rather than recounting the full course of his story.

Identity and Metamorphosis

The discussion places Gregor among Kafka’s heroes who become ridiculous, inhuman objects through metamorphosis. His specific transformation is into an insect. The point is not merely that his appearance changes, but that the subject is figured as something alien and enduring, resistant to removal.

Narrative and Thematic Significance

Gregor serves as an example of one side of the Kafkaesque Thing: unlike an elusive authority that remains beyond reach, this figure is an object into which the subject has been transformed and which cannot be escaped. His example helps clarify a central contrast in the discussion: the disturbing remainder may be impossible to attain or impossible to get rid of.