dead, dystopia, surreal, realistic, understanding, detached, soft, dusty, fallen, older, plump, frill, doily, dark wood, porcelain, asbestos, whisper/whimper, small
Metropia’s visuals are dark and exaggerated, which is just how I pictured the events that unfolded in Metamorphosis.
This clip from the movie ‘The Bothersome Man’ came to my mind while I read Metamorphosis because of both share a theme of emotional numbness in product and prestige obsessed worlds. Its also a very bewildering scene because of the lack of reaction that the woman has to information that the Bothersome man tells her, which should in a normal world, cause her to be devastated and distraught- not concerned about guests who were invited for tea on Saturday.
This tea set in a Viennese café is very classically Austrian because of the porcelain saucer, glass of water, and silver tray. Austrian society is said to be cold yet extremely polite- just like the parents and sister in Metamorphosis.
This is a picture of the Bothersome man being lonely and eating tasteless food yet not realizing how sad his
predicament is because of habit.
This is a Gustav Klimt painting of an elegant, contemplating woman. I pictured Grete as this type of woman because while Grete is intelligent and a central power figure in the book, she is also quite intent on getting her own desires fulfilled which is why she tosses Gregor to the side once he gets in the way of her marriage/wealth prospects. Also, I feel like the tone and color scheme of the painting fits the color scheme in the book- mostly neutral with bursts of pink and dark wood.
All these bearded men are Sigmeund Freud. I think the bearded men in the book both resembled Freud and had a fondness for drugs.
This is an image that reminds of Gregor because of how Gregor was constantly forced to be under the bed and in the dark.
This squeaky sound is what best resembles what Gregor must have heard when awakening as a bug for the first time.
This is what Gregor’s floors must have look like after everyone stopped taking notice of him.
The song ‘Mr. Cellophane’ from Chicago reminds me of Gregor because both character’s story’s have to do with being providers who are dumped the second they become unable to provide.
This movie, ‘Delicatessen’ shares the violent and deadly tone that I had in my head every time Gregor’s father came into the story.
Gregor’s view, in my mind, became greatly reduced to just feet.
Although this gif doesn’t precisely mirror my feelings, it does provide a good picture of what Grete and possibly the maid must have looked like when they started to vouch for exiling Gregor.
The apple rotting next to the plastic water bottle is a kind of metaphor for me of how Gregor rotted day after day, while his family largely kept their life constant.
The vortex here represents the dark, confusing, bleak nature of the book and its focus character.
I also felt like their reaction was that GIF of the slimy freaks, but that only goes for his mother. I think his father was more in shock and couldn’t even think of a way to react. You mentioned that it doesn’t mirror what you felt, but, realistically, thats only because you read the entire story and know the true meaning behind it (I could be wrong, just my opinion and own personal reaction)
Relaying back to the tea set in the cafe; Kafka suffered a lot in his lifetime with on and off depression. A cafe symbolizes quiet contemplation which I think shows Kafka’s life. He was very lonely and suffered to himself.
I also want to elaborate upon the vortex. I felt that the theme of the book was dark and had a lot of connotation to confusion in many characters, but I believe that the vortex can portray Gregor. Almost like a spiral, his life seems to be in constant turmoil where he must get to work, make a living, and provide. The lack of concise emotions in each of the characters can also be represented by the vortex because many of the characters felt indifferent to the entire situation.