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“And doesn’t it look,” his mother concluded very softly-in fact she had been almost whispering the whole
time, as if she wanted to avoid letting Gregor, whose exact whereabouts she did not know, hear even the sound of her voice,
for she was convinced that he did not understand the words-“and doesn’t it look as if by removing his furniture
we were showing him that we have given up all hope of his getting better and are leaving him to his own devices without any
consideration? I think the best thing would be to try to keep the room exactly the way it was before, so that when Gregor
comes back to us again, he’ll find everything unchanged and can forget all the more easily what’s happened in
the meantime.” (p.31)
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In this passage, the reader is given some insight into Mrs. Samsa’s character. Mrs. Samsa seems convinced that despite
Gregor’s current situation, he will be returning to his human state at some point. She is hopeful that he will return
and that when he does, she and her family should be prepared. She sounds eager to put all of this behind her.
This passage is significant because Mrs. Samsa sounds like the only one in the family that is hopeful about Gregor’s
return. She feels badly for him and unlike her husband and her daughter, she jumps at the chance when she finally gets to
see him. Unlike her family, Mrs. Samsa feels for Gregor. Which expresses that motherly character she has about her. Despite
the fact that her son is no longer human, she still expresses love for him, and she still seems to care about what happens
to him. In this particular quote, she’s concerned that Gregor will think his family has given up on expecting him to
return to being a human by changing his room to become more suitable for his current state. She doesn’t want him to
think she has forgotten about him or that she doesn’t care about him anymore. And because she wants to keep the room
as is, Mrs. Samsa shows how she’s determined for things to go back to the way they were. It’s as though she thinks
keeping the room the same will somehow encourage Gregor to become a human again. It’s also interesting that Gregor’s
mother is the one reminding him to hang on to his human self. Her hope encourages Gregor to hope.
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When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning
from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin...
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