illustration of a giant insect with the outline of a man in a suit standing within the confines of the insect

The Metamorphosis

by Franz Kafka

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Student Question

In The Metamorphosis, why does Gregor move the chair?

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Gregor moves the chair to the window in "The Metamorphosis" to connect with his past sense of freedom and comfort, despite his transformation into an insect. This action highlights his struggle to adapt to his new body and situation, as he realizes his former self-soothing habits no longer provide relief. His sister's response to this need and their family's differing views on adjusting his environment underscore the story's themes of change and clinging to humanity.

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After transforming unexpectedly and without explanation into a giant insect, much of Gregor Samsa’s activity early in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is reorienting himself to his new body and its relationship to the space of his room. His choice to move his chair to the window, while small, is one of several adjustments that shows the reader his changing relationship to his new body and situation.

Whereas before the transformation, Gregor was a salesman and the family’s primary financial support, Gregor’s new body prevents him from engaging with the world and, for the most part, with his own family. He remains sequestered in his room, soon becoming weary of the hours he spends there. From time to time he pushes his chair to the window so that he can stare out, an action that does not necessarily bring immediate relief but which reminds him of the self-soothing choices that once worked...

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during his human days:

He had used to feel a great sense of freedom from doing this, but doing it now was obviously something more remembered than experienced, as what he actually saw in this way was becoming less distinct every day, even things that were quite near [. . .] His observant sister only needed to notice the chair twice before she would always push it back to its exact position by the window after she had tidied up the room, and even left the inner pane of the window open from then on.

Gregor begins to slowly realize that the actions that would have brought relief, like looking out a window, no longer work to make him feel better due to the changes in his body. Here, his insect vision prevents him from even enjoying the view.

The sister’s choice to move the chair herself in response to his perceived need is connected to a developing turn in the story’s plot. When his sister later suggests that some of the furniture be removed from Gregor’s room so that his insect body can more freely crawl along the walls, she is met with opposition by his mother, who sees virtue in keeping his room the same to remind him of his previous life. These conflicts over furniture arrangement, though small now, will contribute to a major question in this story: should Gregor admit that he has changed and adjust accordingly, or should he hang on to those habits which, even if physically useless now, remind him of his humanity?

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