Mr. Samsa's Attitude Towards his Son
In The Metamorphasis, Gregor's father highly despises his son. Not only does he detest Gregor, but again and again he says things that suggest he wants Gregor to prove he is harmful or perhaps even evil.
The most convincing evidence for this claim is shown on pages 92 and 93. Gregor startles his mother and sister by being on full display in his room, and his mother passes out. Grete tells her father what happened, and in response, Gregor's father says this: "Just what I expected, just what I kept telling you, but you women won't listen." Here, Gregor's father is saying that he thinks Gregor will hurt the family, and blames Grete and his wife for not taking him seriously. The tone of this sentence is key, and suggests Herr Samsa is not sad that this happened, but rather satisfied in a away. This is because the sentence carries a "I told you so" kind of tone, as he says "but you women won't listen". Had he been sad that Gregor made his mother pass out, he would have said something along the lines of "I feared this would happen".
Furthermore, Gregor's thoughts afterward emphasize that Gregor's father wanted something bad to happen: "It was clear to Gregor that his father had put the worst interpretation on Grete's all too brief account and assumed that Gregor was guilty of some act of violence." Before his father had even learned the full story and all the details, he jumped to the conclusion that what happened was all Gregor's fault.
The claim that Herr Samsa wants to see Gregor hurt someone is basically proven on page 93. He enters Gregor's room with an "Ah!" in a tone that Gregor describes as "enraged and exultant at the same time." Exultant is defined as "triumphantly happy". I believe that he was happy because he finally had a valid reason to get rid of Gregor, and because he previously said that he "expected" this to happen, I think it is reasonable to assume he had wanted Gregor gone for a long time now.
What could explain Herr Samsa's hateful attitude towards his son? No other character despises Gregor as much as his father- a father hating his son more than an associate from work is quite strange.
A possible answer to this question could lie in the scene where Gregor's state is first revealed. When the father sees Gregor's bug form for the very first time, he immediately "clenched a fist with a menacing expression, as if he meant to beat Gregor back into his own room." However, he then "looked uncertainly round the living room" then "covered his eyes with his hands and fell into a sobbing that shook his mighty chest". Here, I believe the father's immediate reaction is responding Gregor's insect body, not towards Gregor himself. This suggests that the father has a fear, or perhaps a bad history with insects. Also, the fact that he looks around the room before sobbing is interesting- I think this is because he realizes that he shouldn't be angry. Or perhaps he wants to hide his reason for hating bugs.
Another possible reason for Mr. Samsa's reaction to his son's insect form is that he will have to work again. Previously, him and his wife were able to rely on Gregor for their financial needs, but that can't continue because Gregory is an insect. However, the only evidence that supports this is the passage explaining how Gregor's income went to his family. Nothing the father said suggested this theory.
Why do you think Gregor's father hates his son?
The most convincing evidence for this claim is shown on pages 92 and 93. Gregor startles his mother and sister by being on full display in his room, and his mother passes out. Grete tells her father what happened, and in response, Gregor's father says this: "Just what I expected, just what I kept telling you, but you women won't listen." Here, Gregor's father is saying that he thinks Gregor will hurt the family, and blames Grete and his wife for not taking him seriously. The tone of this sentence is key, and suggests Herr Samsa is not sad that this happened, but rather satisfied in a away. This is because the sentence carries a "I told you so" kind of tone, as he says "but you women won't listen". Had he been sad that Gregor made his mother pass out, he would have said something along the lines of "I feared this would happen".
Furthermore, Gregor's thoughts afterward emphasize that Gregor's father wanted something bad to happen: "It was clear to Gregor that his father had put the worst interpretation on Grete's all too brief account and assumed that Gregor was guilty of some act of violence." Before his father had even learned the full story and all the details, he jumped to the conclusion that what happened was all Gregor's fault.
The claim that Herr Samsa wants to see Gregor hurt someone is basically proven on page 93. He enters Gregor's room with an "Ah!" in a tone that Gregor describes as "enraged and exultant at the same time." Exultant is defined as "triumphantly happy". I believe that he was happy because he finally had a valid reason to get rid of Gregor, and because he previously said that he "expected" this to happen, I think it is reasonable to assume he had wanted Gregor gone for a long time now.
What could explain Herr Samsa's hateful attitude towards his son? No other character despises Gregor as much as his father- a father hating his son more than an associate from work is quite strange.
A possible answer to this question could lie in the scene where Gregor's state is first revealed. When the father sees Gregor's bug form for the very first time, he immediately "clenched a fist with a menacing expression, as if he meant to beat Gregor back into his own room." However, he then "looked uncertainly round the living room" then "covered his eyes with his hands and fell into a sobbing that shook his mighty chest". Here, I believe the father's immediate reaction is responding Gregor's insect body, not towards Gregor himself. This suggests that the father has a fear, or perhaps a bad history with insects. Also, the fact that he looks around the room before sobbing is interesting- I think this is because he realizes that he shouldn't be angry. Or perhaps he wants to hide his reason for hating bugs.
Another possible reason for Mr. Samsa's reaction to his son's insect form is that he will have to work again. Previously, him and his wife were able to rely on Gregor for their financial needs, but that can't continue because Gregory is an insect. However, the only evidence that supports this is the passage explaining how Gregor's income went to his family. Nothing the father said suggested this theory.
Why do you think Gregor's father hates his son?
I think that Herr Samsa had some small resentment that his son was off working to clear his father's debts. He may have felt in the back of his mind that he should be the one to be out working for the livelihood of his family. He might not enjoy working either, which is a condition now forced upon him by Gregor's new form. Either or both of these could contribute to Herr Samsa's hatred towards his son.
ReplyDeleteI see your point. There were times (if not all) where Mr. Samsa was more aggressive than he should've been. There is an argument to be made that he killed Gregor because he is the one that got the apple stuck in Gregor's back. But looking at the bigger picture, I think Mr. Samsa was particularly critical and harsh because he truly cares for Gregor. He is so disappointed in the fact that Gregor is a bug and his anger for Gregor not coming back stirs his emotions.
ReplyDeleteI think Herr Samsa probably felt replaced by Gregor. I imagine he used to be the breadwinner for the family and when Gregor took his place, while he was probably thankful, he was also probably insecure about no longer being the man of the house in a certain way.
ReplyDelete