Insects and Outcasts: Exploring Queerness and Disability in Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka, born in Prague in 1883, is one of the prominent writers of the twentieth century whose works are considered to shed light on marginalisation, societal alienation and dehumanisation of identities that do not conform to the hegemonic orders of the society. At Kafka’s time, Prague was a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and during this period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was increasing medicalisation of the queer and disabled bodies. The galvanisation of these identities as ‘abnormal’ and aberrant made them the targets of stigmatisation and social ostracisation. The binaries of normal/abnormal, abled/disabled, heterosexual/homosexual, created a discourse where the non-conforming identities and bodies began to be viewed as morally inferior and weak. Franz Kafka’s novel The Metamorphosis, which was written during this time, can be seen as a text that actively resists the institutionalised otherness of identities and bodies that do not conform. The narrative opens with Gregor Samsa, one day waking up to find himself transformed into an insect. This event is led by his eventual alienation and ostracisation from family members and society alike, exemplifying the social exclusion faced by people viewed different and aberrant. This paper aims to explore Kafka’s portrayal of Gregor’s experience of seclusion from the lens of queer theory and disability studies. The paper will focus on how the novel utilises Gregor’s transformation into an insect as a metaphor to bring light to the marginalisation and degradation of those who deviate from society’s normativity and dominant orders. My paper aims to critically engage with Kafka’s criticism of normative structures and the widespread fear of the 'other' by analysing "The Metamorphosis" using these intersecting frameworks. By doing so, it seeks to provide a more profound comprehension of the novel's lasting significance in contemporary conversations about identity and inclusivity.

Keywords: Queer, disability, normativity, identity, alienation, marginalisation