Die Verwandlung

by Franz Kafka

Ein junger Mann, Gregor, wohnt noch in seinem Elternhaus und arbeitet im Geschäft seines Vaters. Zu seiner Überraschung wird Gregor von seiner Familie allmählich als Ungeziefer betrachtet. Allerdings mündet die Überraschung in Verständnis, da die Veränderung von Gregors Gestalt auch für ihn selber unverkennbar ist. Immerhin kümmert sich seine geliebte Schwester rührend um ihn, indem sie ihm regelmäßig einen Teller mit Küchenabfällen vor sein Zimmer stellt. Gregor darf sein Zimmer zwar nicht mehr verlassen, aber auch das dient dem Wohl der Familie. Die Elemente Einsamkeit, (Un)Verständnis und Abhängigkeit(en) werden durch das Groteske gebündelt und wirken in das Reale.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, School, German Literature, Audiobook, Literature, Fantasy

Paperback

About the author

Franz Kafka was a German-speaking writer from Prague whose work became one of the foundations of modern literature, even though he published only a small part of his writing during his lifetime. Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka grew up amid German, Czech, and Jewish cultural influences that shaped his sense of displacement and linguistic precision. His difficult relationship with his authoritarian father left a lasting mark, fostering feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inadequacy that became central themes in his fiction and personal writings.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.

Reviews

[Leoni]

Bei der Familie, hätte ich mich auch in eine Kakerlake verwandelt.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would you still love me if i was a bug?

[vannel · Rating 5 out of 5]

die daddy issues kicken

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich glaube Kafka war eine Süßmaus. Aber eine gebrochene.
Fand das Buch ganz interessant aber es war auch nicht so, dass ich gesagt hätte "Boah das lese ich jetzt aber gern!". Ich glaube fairerweise, dass das auch nicht die Absicht hinter diesem Buch sein soll.
Sollte jeder mal gelesen haben! It's a classiccc

[Benjamin]

Würdest du mich noch lieben wenn ich ein Käfer wäre👉👈

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

gregor asked "would you love me if i were a bug?" and his family said "FUCK NO"

[Torsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen
Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem
Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.“

Mit diesem ersten Satz ist der Leser in der Geschichte, ein sachlicher, schnörkelloser Ton trifft auf die Ungeheuerlichkeit des Geschehens. Diese Gegensätzlichkeit ist ein Kernelement von Kafkas Erzählung.

Nach „Betrachtung“ ist dies mein zweites Kafka-Werk. Gut, dass ich weitergelesen habe. „Die Verwandlung“ ist ganz berechtigt so legendär, steckt doch so viel drin in diesem kurzen Text. So zahlreich auch die Interpretationen. Geht es um Entfremdung, Vereinsamung, Aufopferung? Ist die pathologische Vater-Sohn-Beziehung das Kernthema? Wieviel Autobiographie steckt in dem Text?

Da kann trefflich gestritten werden und es ist interessant, sich mit den unterschiedlichen Ansichten zu beschäftigen. Gut finde ich dafür den YouTube-Kanal „Literatur und Whisky“, den ich gefunden habe. Hier werden u.a. Kafka-Themen besprochen, und es gibt eine Sendung zu „Die Verwandlung“.

Der Text wirkt bei mir nach. Ich hänge noch an dem Aspekt, dass nicht nur Gregor eine Verwandlung durchläuft, sondern auch die Familie. Nicht nur zum Schlechten. Hat sich Gregor am Ende gar für nichts so sehr aufgeopfert?

Absolute Leseempfehlung! 5 von 5 Sternen.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es wor net so brutal scheiße und i glab do konn man viel einiinterpretiern, ober de gschichte wor so random und wtf, i hons net gfühlt. Di Familie fum Samsa sein orschlecher und der Samsa isch jo übelst lost

[RJ The Gay · Rating 4 out of 5]

finally reread it again (kinda have to for school- lahn mich in rueh Literaturprüefig aaaahhhh).
still love it. still iconic. period. point. out.

[Philip Morr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starker Anfang mit leider sehr schwachem Ende, was Kafka aber selbst bewusst war

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wie einsam der Mensch wird, wenn er aufhört zu funktionieren und das System sich still weiter dreht - "Der Anblick der leeren, weißen Wände schien ihn geradezu freundlich zu begrüßen"

[Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

was auch immer er beim schreiben des Buches geraucht hat, ich will es auch.

[Corneel Minne · Rating 4 out of 5]

clown gregor 🤡🪳

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

unterhaltsam und crashout zugleich

[Jenny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schade, dass gerade dieses Werk so häufig in den Schulen besprochen wird. Was Kafka wirklich kann, kommt in seinen anderen Erzählungen besser zum Ausdruck, finde ich.

[laurenalesemaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

muss erst richtig darüber nachdenken im nachhinein um zu wissen wie ichs fand

[No_Eyebrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sagt niemals Franz Kafka ohne die F's 🫣

[Bobo Jelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

gregor my poor little guy who was turned into an ungeziefer by his family...

[Louis Pourier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Montagmorgen, nur mit mehr Beinen.

[Deraaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zu Beginn war es schwer für mich die Handlung des Geschehens zu interpretieren, bis ich ein wenig recherchiert habe. 'Die Verwandlung' von Franz Kafka ist ziemlich komplex, aber im Grunde ist die Metapher der Geschichte wunderbar und gut durchdacht. Der Fakt, dass viele ,die die Geschichte nicht genau interpretieren, denken, dass Gregor in Realität wirklich zu einem Ungeziefer/Käfer verwandelt wurde, zeigt im Endeffekt, wie verpackt das Ganze ist. Die 'Verwandlung' in ein Ungeziefer war die Metapher für die Lebensumstände, in welchen er Leben musste. Ungeziefer werden sofort mit negativen Ansichten assoziiert. Die Menschen um ihn herum änderten sich, sobald er sich nicht mehr um sie Kümmern konnte und ließen ihn alleine und isoliert von der Gesellschaft in seinem traurigen Zimmer sterben.

Nun, ich würde das Buch auf jeden Fall weiter empfehlen, da es einen wirklich lehrt und zeigt wie toxisch Menschen werden können, wenn man ihnen nichts mehr nützt

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, das ist so absurd. Liebe das sehr.

[Dania · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Tanya Vahedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broke my heart…

[esmaeyildiz 👒 · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.“

Wir haben das im Theaterunterricht so lange behandelt, bis ich keinen Bock mehr darauf hatte, deshalb nur 3 🌟

[Anna Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bin überraschenderweise echt begeistert.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this for literal decades but have been intimidated. Mostly because I wanted to read it in German, but also because it’s such a well-respected Classic, I thought it must be challenging. Well it is challenging, but not in the respect I had thought it would be. It is short and written in German that I could easily understand.

I listened to Sven Görtz’ narration after sampling Sven Regener and abandoning him (he was too robotic in his inflection and frankly put me to sleep). Görtz, on the other hand, was an excellent narrator.

I did expect there to be more discussion as to why Gregor went through the Metamorphosis, but in the end it didn’t matter. The main thrust of the book was not about that, but rather about how the rest of the world treated him after he changed. Heartbreaking and a call to empathy and compassion to all forms of otherness.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

hät ni denkt dasi so invested wirde si i sone weirdi gschicht, aber ha ds henne gern glost o wenis huere tragisch gfunge ha aues. Gregor Samsa poor man:(

[Vincent Schmuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Einer von Familie Samsa verwandelt sich einfach in ein Käfer, ich denke damit er Arbeitsbefreiung bekommt.

[Hugo Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's short, generally readable in a day. The transformation of the main character - Gregor Samsa - into a massive vermin (ungeheueres Ungeziefer) is hilarious and absurd. Initially he seems not to want to believe his transformation, does not notice its severity, and insists that he can keep working as a traveling salesman. The reaction of his family on the short and long term is what makes this book the social critique that I see in it. His family, moments after the discovery of his transformation, starts worrying about their livelihood, the loss of an income, the payment of the rent. There is no curiosity why it might have happened, no attempt or ambition to revert the process, no doctor is called, especially curious for the fact that the city hospital is across the street. In fact, the hospital is the only thing that Gregor gets to see from the window of his room.
Instead of self-pity or anger, Gregor is mostly ashamed. He puts a tarp over himself when his sister or mother comes in to feed him food scraps. He loves his family and feels disgusted by his appearance and inability to provide for them. Would it have been different if he had not been the exception? Would he have thrived in a society composed of beautiful insects instead of 'Ungeziefer'? He is still a social being and devastated that he is now the exception, having worked so hard to meet the norm.

The 'kleinbürgerliche' attitude of the family, the narrow-minded, self-centered and materialistic reaction to Gregor's predicament manifests itself with increasing severity towards the end of the story. When Gregor shows himself in the living room, his father throws an apple at him, wounding Gregor for months. Anger presides, the father chases Gregor through the living room as punishment for leaving his room (or prison), for attempting to be a human. At some point, his sister pleads that 'something should be done about Gregor', not out of love for her brother, but about a kind of utilitarianism towards her family.
Gregor grows weaker, he dies while expressing his love for his family, they go out for a lovely day to the park, feeling relieved and thinking about their future. To them, Gregor had already been dead.

'Kafkaesque' is generally seen as a word describing a societal power structure, like a legal or governmental body, that is complex, irrational, of which only limited knowledge can be obtained, and that wields uncomfortable power over its subjects. In the Trial (Der Prozeß), Kafka's longest work and my favorite book by him, the main character is indeed entangled in a legal trial over which he has no power. It's this lack of control and the subjection to power that can be seen as well in 'Die Verwandlung'. In the case of this short story however, this power comes from society and family. Arguably even scarier, since Gregor Samsa has full knowledge of their hate for him after his transformation. There is no obfuscation, no mystery - yet still a real Kafkaesque description of irrational power. It reflects the potential horror of social pressure, it is a warning against the 'tyranny of the majority' as described by JS Mill.

I definitely recommend reading it for its social critique and vivid storytelling. Additionally, I recommend to read 'der Prozeß', as both stories complement each other.

[Chelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gregor Samsa wacht eines morgens auf und hat sich in ein Ungeziefer verwandelt und das erste worüber er sich Gedanken macht ist, dass er zu spät zur Arbeit kommt. Typical Alman behaviour. Anstatt ihm irgendwie zu helfen fuckt sich seine Familie nur darüber ab, dass sie jetzt selber arbeiten gehen müssen.
„Wenn es Gregor wäre, er hätte längst eingesehen, daß ein Zusammenleben mit einem solchen Tier nicht möglich ist, und wäre freiwillig fortgegangen.“
Girl… wie soll der bitte fortgehen, wenn ihr den in seinem Zimmer einsperrt und jedes mal wenn er sich auch nur ansatzweise bewegt ausrastet?!
Naja am Ende ist Gregor tot und sie gehen erstmal spazieren.