In order to understand how different characters treat Gregor in The Metamorphosis, we must first look at they treat him prior to their knowledge that he had transformed. His mother is concerned that he is sleeping in too late, using what the narrator refers to as a “soft voice.” His father and sister (Grete) express similar concern. His boss insists that Gregor is an unreliable employee, making it no surprise that his natural inclination upon seeing the transformed Gregor is great fear. The Charwoman seems to be Gregor’s sole ally, which helps us make sense of the fact that she is the only one who is not completely terrorized by this metamorphosis.

It could be argued that Grete is also hospitable to Gregor, as she feeds him (and adjusts the food according to his appetites), sweeps up the uneaten food, and also moves furniture to accommodate his newfound need for moving space. However, she eventually grows weary of caring for Gregor, screams at him, and encourages the rest of the family to accept that Gregor is no longer himself and must be removed from the house: “You must try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we have believed for so long, that is truly our real misfortune.”

Gregor’s parents do not make the efforts that Grete does— his mother does not wish to look at him, and his father swats and throws apples at him. They are angered that Gregor is not only unable to provide any income for the family, but also is further damaging their livelihood by running off the apartment tenants. The cleaning woman, upon discovering Gregor’s corpse, expresses no sorrow and even refers to him as “it,” poking the body with a broom upon showing it to his parents: “Come and look! It’s kicked the bucket. It’s lying there, totally snuffed.”

After Gregor’s death, we can really see how his family has let go of him and make sense of their treatment of him. They go for a train ride in which “they talked to each other, leaning back comfortably in their seats, about future prospects, and they discovered that on closer observation these were not at all bad…” They had mistreated him after his transformation because he proved to be too much of a burden, stressing them out and encouraging such treatment to escalate over time.