Date of Award
Spring 2014
Thesis Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Master of Liberal Studies
Advisor(s)
R. Barry Levis
Second Advisor
Yudit Greenberg
Abstract
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis chronicles the bizarre tale of Gregor Samsa’s transformation into an insect and the despairing isolation and personal quest for a meaningful existence that follows. A masterpiece of modern literature, it explores the universal concerns and struggles of Modernity, but also offers insight into the lives of assimilated Jews living in Prague at the turn-of-the-century. The acquisition of basic civil rights afforded European Jews opportunities in education, employment, and housing. Integration into Western society presented new challenges for the Jews as they carved out their new position in European society. The Jews’ difficult task of adapting to Western culture met further challenges from the ambivalent European society still unsure of integration. The new place for Jews as free citizens in Western society made them vulnerable to the pressures of assimilation. Western, most often interpreted as German, culture assisted as protection from anti-Semitism for the obtainment of European culture, in theory would serve as proof of the Jews’ loyalty to state culture. The literature of this time reflects both the anti-Semitic attitudes in politics and in the media and the Jews’ response to assimilation’s effects on their identity. Franz Kafka’s literature transcends the historical context in which it was written but The Metamorphosis reflects the anxiety that pervaded the psyche of assimilated Jews in turn- of-the-century Prague.
Recommended Citation
Classon, Sarah B., "Kafka’s Identity Crisis: Examining The Metamorphosis as a Response to Anti-Semitism and Assimilation in Turn-of-the-Century Europe" (2014). Master of Liberal Studies Theses. 50.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/50