ong ago. Upon hearing this though Gregor, still wanting to take care of his family, is not upset but rather glad his father had the foresight. The current situation also led to the members of the family to gaining employment to make ends meet. Seeing the father returning from work, dressed in his work clothes, Gregor wonders if it was really the same man who once had lain wearily in bed when Gregor had been leaving on his journeys (Kafka 64). Not only has the father found employment, but the mother and daughter as well. Though they are a seamstress and sales clerk respectively, they are forced to partake of the daily grind to ensure the success of the family. While the family maintains their existence, they are no better off than they were when Gregor was at the helm.The tragedy of the situation is that the family comes full circle, enduring exactly what Gregor had for years. After observing a family who lived on the fruits of someone else is labor, we are shown a family exhausted and depressed from laboring at menial jobs - messenger, seamstress, salesgirl. They live much as Gregor did before his metamorphosis (Eggenschwiler 209). Finally, they are forced to work and earn their own keep. Gregor had slaved for them right up until the metamorphosis and now it was their turn to do for themselves. We watch this petty bourgeois family that once had its own business as it falls in to the laboring class, where its strength, pride and independence are lost (Eggenschwiler 210). They must begin, yet again, working their way back to economic freedom with no help from Gregor. After the nightmare of Gregors transformation passes they look to the future, longing for normalcy and the possibility of marriage for their daughter. In the Metamorphosis, we tend to believe that Gregors change into a cockroach is the main purpose, but after further consideration we see that the true metamorphosis was in that of his family. Gregors reality nev...
