PSYCHOLOGICAL REFLECTION OF EXISTENTIAL FEARS, A PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS ON GREOGOR SAMSA

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka is considered one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Although he did not gain great recognition during his lifetime, he became a world-famous name after his death.

In his works, he generally dealt with existential concerns, alienation, loneliness in modern society, and human helplessness in the face of authority. By delving into the depths of the human soul, he skilfully dealt with the emotional and psychological turmoil experienced by the individual in the modern world. He adopted both abstract and symbolic narrative style, which made his works multi-layered and open to different interpretations.

Die Verwandlung (The Transformation)

Gregor Samsa is an ordinary salesman working to support his family. One morning he wakes up transformed into a gigantic insect. With this shocking physical transformation, life changes irrevocably for Gregor and his family.

Alienation and Identity Crisis

Gregor's transformation into an insect symbolises the disconnection of man from his environment and his gradual isolation. At first Gregor is a caregiver for his family, but with the transformation he loses this role and becomes an outcast. This alienation is related to society's evaluation of the individual's productivity rather than his physical appearance.

From a psychological point of view, Gregor's transformation shows that since the individual associates his/her own value and existence only with external expectations such as work, family, responsibilities, he/she feels loss of identity and alienation in case of losing these characteristics. Moreover, Gregor starts to feel alienated not only from his family or society but also from himself. He perceives himself not as a human being but as an insect.

Gregor, who experiences a physical change, is mentally a human being. In other words, he still feels a responsibility towards his family in his inner world. This physical alienation leads to mental and emotional disconnection.

From a psychoanalytic point of view, the conflict between the body and the soul can be read as a metaphor that analyses the psychological effects of physical changes.

Before his transformation, he has both a social and a familial identity as a working individual. However, he loses this identity with the transformation. Not working shakes Gregor's identity and self-confidence. Since he bases himself entirely on his work and family, the loss of these roles leads to an existential crisis.

This loss of identity experienced by Gregor can be related to the famous psychoanalyst Erik Erikson's theory of identity and role confusion. Erikson argues that an individual's identity is closely related to social roles and how these roles are perceived. In a world where Gregor is recognised as a functional individual, he becomes unrecognisable with his transformation and this makes him worthless in the eyes of both his family and himself. 

After his transformation into an insect, he becomes alienated not only from the outside world but also from himself. He experiences a disconnection between his inner world and the outer world. This situation can be associated with the problematic of ‘self’ and ‘essence’, one of the main themes of existential philosophy. Gregor's identity crisis shows how the inner world of human beings is shaped by external conditions and how conflicts with the external world threaten identity. 

Being ostracised by his family and locked in his room is both a physical and psychological isolation.

From a psychoanalytic point of view, it corresponds to an inner feeling of loneliness and not being understood in the unconscious world of the individual. In modern psychology, it is pointed out that isolation causes deep wounds in the individual's search for identity and meaning. Gregor is alienated from both himself and his environment and drifts into a psychological breakdown.

Family Dynamics 

Psychological Shock and Denial: 

Gregor's family is initially shocked by the transformation and initially denies it. The family has difficulty in making sense of Gregor's transformation because it is not possible in their world. We can say that this is a reflection of the tendency to ‘escape from reality’ in psychology.

The family's humiliating and frightening point of view towards Gregor shows that their attachment to Gregor is conditional and their love for him is limited to Gregor's being a functional human being.

The Oppressive Authority of the Father Figure:

Gregor's father is the one who reacts most harshly. The apple that the father throws at Gregor is a symbolic expression of the rejection of his existence rather than a physical attack. Gregor's transformation means that the family has lost control and the father figure shows violence with this anxiety and anger. The father also feels that his own authority is threatened.

Psychologically, the reaction of authority figures to uncontrolled situations is often violent, as this is a defence mechanism to regain lost power.

The Mother and her Protective Instinct:

The mother's reaction is much more complex. She is horrified by the transformation and feels helpless. This puts her in an internal contradiction. On the one hand, she is filled with the desire to restore Gregor to his former self. On the other hand, she is afraid and hesitant to approach him because of his physical condition.

 This reaction of the mother is related to her protective instinct towards her child as a mother, but she is stuck between these two emotions because she also feels fear.

The mother's inability to accept this situation shows a subconscious feeling of failure. Facing such an event that happened to her child is a threat to her parental role. This creates anxiety and guilt in the mother.

Psychologically, it is an example of internal conflict and emotional fragmentation in the face of a traumatic event.

The Reaction of his Sister Grete:

His sister Grete is the one who shows Gregor the most affection. She cleans his room, brings him food, tries to take care of him. This shows that she is an empathetic and understanding person. After Gregor's transformation, she still tries to see his human side. We can say that this attitude reflects his empathy and care orientation. However, this situation does not last long and Grete loses patience with Gregor and sees his existence as a burden.

Grete's gradual distancing from Gregor is an example of the psychological replacement of compassion by boredom and disgust.

She realises that Gregor's transformation, becoming permanent, causes negative effects on her own freedom. As the burden of caring for Gregor increases, her empathy for him diminishes and she eventually rejects her brother.

This change points to the tendencies of emotional exhaustion and marginalisation that are often seen in human psychology during difficult care processes.

Psychological Escape of the Family 

After a while Gregor's presence becomes a problem and the family wishes to get rid of him. Gregor's death is a source of relief for the family. We can say that the family's refusal of responsibility towards Gregor is an escape mechanism.

 The problems that arise in the family with Gregor's transformation require family members to confront themselves. However, instead of realising this confrontation, they completely exclude Gregor. This is a way for them to escape from both their inner fears and their responsibilities

Psychological Effects of Society and Work Life

As soon as Gregor fails to fulfil his function, he realises that his value is rapidly being destroyed. Gregor's transformation into an insect is in a sense a physical manifestation of these pressures. Unable to do his job after the transformation, Gregor is ostracised from the society as well as his family and becomes a worthless being.

Psychologically, this situation leads to a sense of self-worthlessness as a result of the individual's inability to meet social expectations.

Gregor experiences a mental breakdown with the thought that he is no longer useful and gradually progresses towards self-destruction. We can explain this process as the loss of identity and existential anxiety caused by social pressure.

Gregor Samsa's boss is an important figure in Kafka's The Transformation, symbolising the oppressive and ruthless labour relations of modern capitalist society on the individual and is one of the important triggers of Gregor's physical and psychological transformation.

Capitalist Oppression Represented by the Boss:

The oppressive and unsympathetic behaviour of the boss on Gregor pushes Gregor to work continuously, fearing to lose his job. The boss is part of a system where the individual is evaluated only according to his/her performance and does not have any empathy.

Psychologically, the boss is a constant source of anxiety and stress for Gregor.

Gregor lives not only with the fear of losing his job, but also with a constant sense of inadequacy and worthlessness. This pressure destroys Gregor's mental health, leading him to become dysfunctional and eventually to an identity crisis. The boss's demands create a constant feeling of burnout in Gregor.

The Boss's Distrust and Control Over Gregor:

Gregor's boss is a figure who constantly supervises him and questions his performance. At the beginning of the work, Gregor sends an inspector to his house one morning when he does not go to work. This creates a great pressure on Gregor and prevents him from feeling safe at work.

Psychologically, this constant supervision and insecurity of the boss causes Gregor to have paranoid thoughts and constantly question himself.

The Boss's Callousness:

 For the boss, Gregor's transformation and absence from work is only an event that negatively affects work efficiency. Instead of understanding this difficulty, the boss only evaluates work attendance and performance. Here we can say that in the modern world of work, human ties are severed and the individual becomes only a means of production.

Psychologically, this lack of emotion makes Gregor feel lonely and worthless. The fact that the boss does not show any human emotion damages Gregor's faith and trust in himself and causes him to experience a kind of existential alienation.

Subordination and Pressure on his Boss and Gregor:

Gregor is a figure who constantly submits to his boss and does not oppose his demands. Gregor feels powerless in the face of his boss's oppression and this does not create a sense of rebellion in his inner world. His identity becomes completely dysfunctional.

Psychologically, this relationship of obedience and oppression leads to self-alienation and loss of self-confidence. Crushed under this obedience, Gregor drags himself into a spiritual collapse.

Physical and Psychological Collapse:

After the transformation, Gregor gradually loses his bodily function. When he is completely immobilised, this symbolises not only physical weakness but also psychological exhaustion. Gregor, who is expected by his family and society, experiences a breakdown because he cannot fulfil these expectations.

Here, his inner exhaustion is concretised and becomes his physical weakness.

In psychological terms, Gregor's loss of control over his body is a reflection of his loss of control in his inner world. Physical weakness is a symbolic expression of the helplessness and loss of control he feels spiritually.

Psychological Devastation

Depression:

One of the most prominent psychological processes Gregor experiences after his transformation into an insect is social isolation, hopelessness and a deep sense of loneliness, which are the main symptoms of depression. This isolation causes a deep sense of worthlessness and hopelessness in his inner world.

In psychological terms, Gregor's withdrawal and complete isolation from the world is one of the most common symptoms of depression. The more an individual's ties with his social environment are severed, the lonelier and more worthless he feels. In this process, Gregor experiences an internal breakdown as he feels unloved and unaccepted by his family.

Death Wish:

 Death, an inevitable consequence of depression, brings Gregor to his end. Gregor gradually loses his ties with life and finally decides to leave this world. Especially his family's complete separation from him leads him to think that life has no meaning anymore.

Psychologically, Gregor's situation at this point can be considered as the final stage of depression. In the advanced stages of depression, the individual begins to believe that his life has no purpose and that existence in the world is meaningless. Gregor's physical exhaustion progresses in parallel with his spiritual exhaustion and the desire for death becomes inevitable.