My father is rereading a short story collection by Kafka. We remembered the time I had read 'The Metamorphosis' when I was in standard IX. My father had advised against it, 'Wait for a couple of years.' I went ahead anyway, thinking, what could a novella do? I had nightmares the night I read it. And developed an irrational fear that I would turn into a cockroach (my translation of a monstrous vermin)
Maybe we should just enjoy the story in its absurd realm. But to draw parallels, I think we fear to become irrelevant to our loved ones. The most absurd thing probably was how indifferent his family was about his transformation. But I thought of it this way- what if a man met with an accident, became invalid and a prisoner in his own body? Wouldn't he be in the same predicament as Gregor Samsa?
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