In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the cloth sheet represents Gregor Samsa’s deep sense of care for his sister. In the famous opening line of the novella, we are told that Gregor has transformed into an enormous insect and is forced to hide in his room. His family is horrified, naturally, and afraid to go into see him. About a month later, Gregor’s sister enters his room, sees him, and then immediately steps back out. Gregor realizes that his sister is afraid of him, but even in his grotesque new form, he feels great love for his sister. So that she can enter his room without being afraid, he carries a bedsheet over to the couch he hides under so that he’ll be completely covered. This is no small feat for an insect with no thumbs—in fact, it takes him four hours to complete the task. Gregor knows this will spare his sister the fright of having to see him, however, and he is glad to do it. The next time his sister enters the room, he can see the gratitude on her face.

The relationship between Gregor and his sister is a close one, as the anecdote of the bedsheet demonstrates. Gregor’s sister is also the one who works hard to find food that he will eat as an insect (he no longer finds human food appetizing).The Metamorphosis also has flashbacks to Gregor’s pre-insect days that highlight this relationship. For instance, his sister loves music and playing the violin, and Gregor had planned to pay for her to go to music school, even though it would have been very expensive.