In s
, the cloth sheet represents Gregor Samsas deep sense of care for his
sister. In the famous opening line of the novella, we are told that Gregor has transformed into
an enormous insect and is forced to hide in his room. His family is horrified, naturally, and
afraid to go into see him. About a month later, Gregors sister enters his room, sees him, and
then immediately steps back out. Gregor realizes that his sister is afraid of him, but even in
his grotesque new form, he feels great love for his sister. So that she can enter his room
without being afraid, he carries a bedsheet over to the couch he hides under so that hell be
completely covered. This is no small feat for an insect with no thumbsin fact, it takes him four
hours to complete the task. Gregor knows this will spare his sister the fright of having to see
him, however, and he is glad to do it. The next time his sister enters the room, he can see the
gratitude on her face.
The relationship between Gregor and his sister is a
close one, as the anecdote of the bedsheet demonstrates. Gregors sister is also the one who
works hard to find food that he will eat as an insect (he no longer finds human food
appetizing).The Metamorphosis also has flashbacks to Gregors pre-insect
days that highlight this relationship. For instance, his sister loves music and playing the
violin, and Gregor had planned to pay for her to go to music school, even though it would have
been very expensive.
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