Metamorphosis Quiz Thursday
gregor
"A slight indisposition, a dizzy spell, have prevented me from getting up. I'm still lying in bed. But now I feel quite lively again. I am just now climbing out of bed."
cleaning woman
"Come on over here, old dung beetle."
gregor
"Getting up early like this makes you totally idiotic. People must have their sleep."
gregor's mother
"Gregor, it's six forty-five. Didn't you intend to make a trip?"
grete
"He really liked it today.
gregor's father
"I expected it... I always told you so, but you women won't listen."
logers
"I hereby announce that in view of the disgusting conditions prevailing in this apartment and family, I am giving up my room as of tomorrow morning. Naturally, I won't pay a thing for the days that I've lived here either."
gregor's mother
"I think it would be best if we tried to keep the room in exactly the same condition as before, so that when Gregor comes back to us again, he'll find everything unchanged and it will be easier for him to forget what happened in between."
grete
"It's got to go; that's the only remedy... All you have to do is try to shake off the idea that that's Gregor."
cleaning woman
"Just look at the old dung beetle!"
grete
"Just wait, Gregor!"
gregor's father
"Leave my home at once! I mean exactly what I say."
gregor's mother
"Let me in to Gregor; after all, he's my poor son! Don't you understand I must go to him?"
chief clerk
"Mr. Samsa, what's going on? You're barricading yourself in your room, giving just 'yes' and 'no' answers, causing your parents big, needless worries and—to mention this just incidentally—neglecting your business duties in a truly unheard-of fashion."
gregor
"My God, what a strenuous profession I've chosen! Travelling day in and day out. The turmoil of business is much greater than in the home office, and on top of that I'm subjected to this torment of traveling, to the worries about train connections, the bad meals at irregular hours, an intercourse with people that constantly changes, never lasts, never becomes cordial."
gregor
"Now, I'll get dressed right away, pack the sample case and catch the train. Is it all right, is it all right with you if I make the trip? Now, sir, you see that I'm not stubborn and I'm glad to do my job; traveling is a nuisance, but without the traveling I couldn't live."
Gregor Samsa
A traveling salesman and the protagonist of the story. He hates his job but keeps it because of the obligations he feels to pay off his father's debt and care for his family. He has transformed into a large bug and spends the rest of his life in that state. Although hideous and unrecognizable to others, he retains his some of his inner life and struggles to reconcile his lingering humanity with his physical condition.
the maid
The Samsas' original maid. She is terrified by Gregor and begs the family to fire her.
the boarders
Three temporary boarders in the Samsas' house. The boarders greatly value order and cleanliness, and thus become horrified when they discover Gregor.
gregor's mother
"The boy has no head for anything but business. I'm almost upset, as it is, that he never goes out at night; he's been in town for eight days this time, but has stayed at home every night. He sits with us at the table and reads the paper quietly or studies timetables."
gregor's father
"This is living! This is the repose of my old age!"
grete
"This time he didn't touch anything again."
chief clerk
"To be sure, early this morning our employer, when speaking to me, hinted at a possible explanation for your negligence—it concerned the cash receipts that were recently entrusted to you—but, honestly, I all but gave him my word of honor that that explanation couldn't be the true one. Now, however, I see your incomprehensible stubbornness here and I am losing all willingness to say a good word for you in the slightest way."
grete
"We can't go on like this. If you perhaps don't realize it, I do. In front of this monstrous creature, I refuse to pronounce my brother's name, and therefore I merely say: we have to try to get rid of it."
chief clerk
"Well, then, your performance recently has been most unsatisfactory; true, this isn't the season for doing especially good business, we acknowledge that; but a season for doing no business at all just doesn't exist, Mr. Samsa, it can't be allowed to exist."
lodgers
"Wouldn't the young lady like to come in here with us and play in this room, which is much more comfortable and cozy?"
gregor
"Yes, yes; thanks, Mother; I'm getting up now."
cleaning woman
"You don't have to worry your heads about how to clear out that trash next door. It's all taken care of."
gregor
"what if i went back to sleep for another while and forgot all this foolishness?"
charwoman
An elderly widow and the Samsa family's cleaning lady. Taken on by the Samsas after their regular maid quits because of Gregor, she is a blunt, honest woman who faces the reality of Gregor's state without fear or disgust.
the office manager
Gregor's boss. Distrustful and overbearing, the office manager insinuates that Gregor has been doing a poor job at work. He flees in terror upon seeing Gregor.
Mr. Samsa
Gregor's father. The failure of his business has left him exhausted and emotionally broken, and he is forced to return to work again after Gregor's metamorphosis. Despite the beneficial effects his new employment has on him, he expresses considerable hostility toward Gregor.
Mrs. Samsa
Gregor's mother. Frail and distressed, the mother is torn between her love for Gregor and her horror at Gregor's new state. Grete and Gregor's father seek to protect her from the full reality of her son's transformation.
Grete Samsa
Gregor's sister. She is a young woman on the cusp of adulthood. She initially shows great concern for Gregor, but her compassion gives way to possessiveness and resentment as the effects of Gregor's transformation on her life slowly take their toll.
