The three boarders who
the Samsa family has taken in to make some extra money have asked to hear Grete, Gregor's
sister, play the violin. They treat her rather rudely, standing directly behind her and much too
close to her, which must be bothersome, as though they are watching her music to see what
mistakes she might make. She plays beautifully, however, which does not allow them to feel
superior, so they drift away to the window.
For [Gregor]
it was as if the way to the unknown nourishment he craved was revealing itself to him.
Gregor has lacked human connection and has clearly been deprived of
spiritual and emotional nourishment since his transformation, and maybe even longer than that.
We know that his life prior to changing into an insect was hardly fulfilling in terms of
relationshipsromantic or otherwise. He actually keeps a picture of a woman from a magazine in a
frame because he has no one else's picture to cherish. He dreams, now, of Grete choosing to
enter his room and remain with him voluntarily, to play for him often, because her music makes
him feel almost human again. It is the emotional quality of her playing that makes him feel
nourished for the first time in a long time, and he hopes even to make eye contact with her now,
to let her know somehow that he'd wanted to pay to send her to the musical conservatory before
his metamorphosis took place.
No comments:
Post a Comment