Then the chief clerk called "Good morning, Mr. Samsa".
"He isn't well", said his mother to the chief clerk, while
his father continued to speak through the door. "He isn't
well, please believe me. Why else would Gregor have
missed a train! The lad only ever thinks about the
business. It nearly makes me cross the way he never goes
out in the evenings; he's been in town for a week now
but stayed home every evening. He sits with us in the
kitchen and just reads the paper or studies train
timetables. His idea of relaxation is working with his
fretsaw. He's made a little frame, for instance, it only
took him two or three evenings, you'll be amazed how
nice it is; it's hanging up in his room; you'll see it as soon
as Gregor opens the door. Anyway, I'm glad you're here;
we wouldn't have been able to get Gregor to open the
door by ourselves; he's so stubborn; and I'm sure he isn't
well, he said this morning that he is, but he isn't." "I'll be
there in a moment", said Gregor slowly and thoughtfully,
but without moving so that he would not miss any word
of the conversation. "Well I can't think of any other way
of explaining it, Mrs. Samsa", said the chief clerk, "I hope
it's nothing serious. But on the other hand, I must say
that if we people in commerce ever become slightly
unwell then, fortunately or unfortunately as you like, we
simply have to overcome it because of business
considerations." "Can the chief clerk come in to see you
now then?", asked his father impatiently, knocking at the
door again. "No", said Gregor. In the room on his right
there followed a painful silence; in the room on his left
his sister began to cry.
So why did his sister not go and join the others? She
had probably only just got up and had not even begun to
get dressed. And why was she crying? Was it because he had not got up, and had not let the chief clerk in,
because he was in danger of losing his job and if that
happened his boss would once more pursue their parents
with the same demands as before? There was no need to
worry about things like that yet. Gregor was still there
and had not the slightest intention of abandoning his
family. For the time being he just lay there on the carpet,
and no-one who knew the condition he was in would
seriously have expected him to let the chief clerk in. It
was only a minor discourtesy, and a suitable excuse
could easily be found for it later on, it was not something
for which Gregor could be sacked on the spot. And it
seemed to Gregor much more sensible to leave him now
in peace instead of disturbing him with talking at him
and crying. But the others didn't know what was
happening, they were worried, that would excuse their
behaviour.
The chief clerk now raised his voice, "Mr. Samsa", he
called to him, "what is wrong? You barricade yourself in
your room, give us no more than yes or no for an answer,
you are causing serious and unnecessary concern to your
parents and you fail - and I mention this just by the way
- you fail to carry out your business duties in a way that
is quite unheard of. I'm speaking here on behalf of your
parents and of your employer, and really must request a
clear and immediate explanation. I am astonished, quite
astonished. I thought I knew you as a calm and sensible
person, and now you suddenly seem to be showing off
with peculiar whims. This morning, your employer did
suggest a possible reason for your failure to appear, it's
true - it had to do with the money that was recently
entrusted to you - but I came near to giving him my word
of honour that that could not be the right explanation. But now that I see your incomprehensible stubbornness I
no longer feel any wish whatsoever to intercede on your
behalf. And nor is your position all that secure. I had
originally intended to say all this to you in private, but
since you cause me to waste my time here for no good
reason I don't see why your parents should not also learn
of it. Your turnover has been very unsatisfactory of late; I
grant you that it's not the time of year to do especially
good business, we recognise that; but there simply is no
time of year to do no business at all, Mr. Samsa, we
cannot allow there to be."
"But Sir", called Gregor, beside himself and forgetting
all else in the excitement, "I'll open up immediately, just
a moment. I'm slightly unwell, an attack of dizziness, I
haven't been able to get up. I'm still in bed now. I'm quite
fresh again now, though. I'm just getting out of bed. Just
a moment. Be patient! It's not quite as easy as I'd
thought. I'm quite alright now, though. It's shocking,
what can suddenly happen to a person! I was quite
alright last night, my parents know about it, perhaps
better than me, I had a small symptom of it last night
already. They must have noticed it. I don't know why I
didn't let you know at work! But you always think you
can get over an illness without staying at home. Please,
don't make my parents suffer! There's no basis for any of
the accusations you're making; nobody's ever said a word
to me about any of these things. Maybe you haven't read
the latest contracts I sent in. I'll set off with the eight
o'clock train, as well, these few hours of rest have given
me strength. You don't need to wait, sir; I'll be in the
office soon after you, and please be so good as to tell that
to the boss and recommend me to him!" And while Gregor gushed out these words, hardly
knowing what he was saying, he made his way over to
the chest of drawers - this was easily done, probably
because of the practise he had already had in bed - where
he now tried to get himself upright. He really did want to
open the door, really did want to let them see him and to
speak with the chief clerk; the others were being so
insistent, and he was curious to learn what they would
say when they caught sight of him. If they were shocked
then it would no longer be Gregor's responsibility and he
could rest. If, however, they took everything calmly he
would still have no reason to be upset, and if he hurried
he really could be at the station for eight o'clock. The
first few times he tried to climb up on the smooth chest
of drawers he just slid down again, but he finally gave
himself one last swing and stood there upright; the lower
part of his body was in serious pain but he no longer
gave any attention to it. Now he let himself fall against
the back of a nearby chair and held tightly to the edges
of it with his little legs. By now he had also calmed
down, and kept quiet so that he could listen to what the
chief clerk was saying.
"Did you understand a word of all that?" the chief
clerk asked his parents, "surely he's not trying to make
fools of us". "Oh, God!" called his mother, who was
already in tears, "he could be seriously ill and we're
making him suffer. Grete! Grete!" she then cried.
"Mother?" his sister called from the other side. They
communicated across Gregor's room. "You'll have to go
for the doctor straight away. Gregor is ill. Quick, get the
doctor. Did you hear the way Gregor spoke just now?"
"That was the voice of an animal", said the chief clerk,
with a calmness that was in contrast with his mother's screams. "Anna! Anna!" his father called into the kitchen
through the entrance hall, clapping his hands, "get a
locksmith here, now!" And the two girls, their skirts
swishing, immediately ran out through the hall,
wrenching open the front door of the flat as they went.
How had his sister managed to get dressed so quickly?
There was no sound of the door banging shut again; they
must have left it open; people often do in homes where
something awful has happened.
Gregor, in contrast, had become much calmer. So they
couldn't understand his words any more, although they
seemed clear enough to him, clearer than before -
perhaps his ears had become used to the sound. They
had realised, though, that there was something wrong
with him, and were ready to help. The first response to
his situation had been confident and wise, and that made
him feel better. He felt that he had been drawn back in
among people, and from the doctor and the locksmith he
expected great and surprising achievements - although he
did not really distinguish one from the other. Whatever
was said next would be crucial, so, in order to make his
voice as clear as possible, he coughed a little, but taking
care to do this not too loudly as even this might well
sound different from the way that a human coughs and
he was no longer sure he could judge this for himself.
Meanwhile, it had become very quiet in the next room.
Perhaps his parents were sat at the table whispering with
the chief clerk, or perhaps they were all pressed against
the door and listening.
Gregor slowly pushed his way over to the door with
the chair. Once there he let go of it and threw himself
onto the door, holding himself upright against it using the adhesive on the tips of his legs. He rested there a
little while to recover from the effort involved and then
set himself to the task of turning the key in the lock with
his mouth. He seemed, unfortunately, to have no proper
teeth - how was he, then, to grasp the key? - but the lack
of teeth was, of course, made up for with a very strong
jaw; using the jaw, he really was able to start the key
turning, ignoring the fact that he must have been causing
some kind of damage as a brown fluid came from his
mouth, flowed over the key and dripped onto the floor.
"Listen", said the chief clerk in the next room, "he's
turning the key." Gregor was greatly encouraged by this;
but they all should have been calling to him, his father
and his mother too: "Well done, Gregor", they should
have cried, "keep at it, keep hold of the lock!" And with
the idea that they were all excitedly following his efforts,
he bit on the key with all his strength, paying no
attention to the pain he was causing himself. As the key
turned round he turned around the lock with it, only
holding himself upright with his mouth, and hung onto
the key or pushed it down again with the whole weight of
his body as needed. The clear sound of the lock as it
snapped back was Gregor's sign that he could break his
concentration, and as he regained his breath he said to
himself: "So, I didn't need the locksmith after all". Then
he lay his head on the handle of the door to open it
completely.
Because he had to open the door in this way, it was
already wide open before he could be seen. He had first
to slowly turn himself around one of the double doors,
and he had to do it very carefully if he did not want to
fall flat on his back before entering the room. He was still
occupied with this difficult movement, unable to pay attention to anything else, when he heard the chief clerk
exclaim a loud "Oh!", which sounded like the soughing of
the wind. Now he also saw him - he was the nearest to
the door - his hand pressed against his open mouth and
slowly retreating as if driven by a steady and invisible
force. Gregor's mother, her hair still dishevelled from bed
despite the chief clerk's being there, looked at his father.
Then she unfolded her arms, took two steps forward
towards Gregor and sank down onto the floor into her
skirts that spread themselves out around her as her head
disappeared down onto her breast. His father looked
hostile, and clenched his fists as if wanting to knock
Gregor back into his room. Then he looked uncertainly
round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands
and wept so that his powerful chest shook.
So Gregor did not go into the room, but leant against
the inside of the other door which was still held bolted in
place. In this way only half of his body could be seen,
along with his head above it which he leant over to one
side as he peered out at the others. Meanwhile the day
had become much lighter; part of the endless, grey-black
building on the other side of the street - which was a
hospital - could be seen quite clearly with the austere and
regular line of windows piercing its façade; the rain was
still falling, now throwing down large, individual droplets
which hit the ground one at a time. The washing up from
breakfast lay on the table; there was so much of it
because, for Gregor's father, breakfast was the most
important meal of the day and he would stretch it out for
several hours as he sat reading a number of different
newspapers. On the wall exactly opposite there was
photograph of Gregor when he was a lieutenant in the
army, his sword in his hand and a carefree smile on his face as he called forth respect for his uniform and
bearing. The door to the entrance hall was open and as
the front door of the flat was also open he could see onto
the landing and the stairs where they began their way
down below.
"Now, then", said Gregor, well aware that he was the
only one to have kept calm, "I'll get dressed straight away
now, pack up my samples and set off. Will you please
just let me leave? You can see", he said to the chief clerk,
"that I'm not stubborn and like I like to do my job; being
a commercial traveller is arduous but without travelling I
couldn't earn my living. So where are you going, in to the
office? Yes? Will you report everything accurately, then?
It's quite possible for someone to be temporarily unable
to work, but that's just the right time to remember what's
been achieved in the past and consider that later on,
once the difficulty has been removed, he will certainly
work with all the more diligence and concentration.
You're well aware that I'm seriously in debt to our
employer as well as having to look after my parents and
my sister, so that I'm trapped in a difficult situation, but
I will work my way out of it again. Please don't make
things any harder for me than they are already, and don't
take sides against me at the office. I know that nobody
likes the travellers. They think we earn an enormous
wage as well as having a soft time of it. That's just
prejudice but they have no particular reason to think
better it. But you, sir, you have a better overview than
the rest of the staff, in fact, if I can say this in
confidence, a better overview than the boss himself - it's
very easy for a businessman like him to make mistakes
about his employees and judge them more harshly than
he should. And you're also well aware that we travellers spend almost the whole year away from the office, so
that we can very easily fall victim to gossip and chance
and groundless complaints, and it's almost impossible to
defend yourself from that sort of thing, we don't usually
even hear about them, or if at all it's when we arrive back
home exhausted from a trip, and that's when we feel the
harmful effects of what's been going on without even
knowing what caused them. Please, don't go away, at
least first say something to show that you grant that I'm
at least partly right!"
But the chief clerk had turned away as soon as Gregor
had started to speak, and, with protruding lips, only
stared back at him over his trembling shoulders as he
left. He did not keep still for a moment while Gregor was
speaking, but moved steadily towards the door without
taking his eyes off him. He moved very gradually, as if
there had been some secret prohibition on leaving the
room. It was only when he had reached the entrance hall
that he made a sudden movement, drew his foot from the
living room, and rushed forward in a panic. In the hall,
he stretched his right hand far out towards the stairway
as if out there, there were some supernatural force
waiting to save him.
Gregor realised that it was out of the question to let
the chief clerk go away in this mood if his position in the
firm was not to be put into extreme danger. That was
something his parents did not understand very well; over
the years, they had become convinced that this job would
provide for Gregor for his entire life, and besides, they
had so much to worry about at present that they had lost
sight of any thought for the future. Gregor, though, did
think about the future. The chief clerk had to be held back, calmed down, convinced and finally won over; the
future of Gregor and his family depended on it! If only
his sister were here! She was clever; she was already in
tears while Gregor was still lying peacefully on his back.
And the chief clerk was a lover of women, surely she
could persuade him; she would close the front door in
the entrance hall and talk him out of his shocked state.
But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to do the
job himself. And without considering that he still was not
familiar with how well he could move about in his
present state, or that his speech still might not - or
probably would not - be understood, he let go of the
door; pushed himself through the opening; tried to reach
the chief clerk on the landing who, ridiculously, was
holding on to the banister with both hands; but Gregor
fell immediately over and, with a little scream as he
sought something to hold onto, landed on his numerous
little legs. Hardly had that happened than, for the first
time that day, he began to feel alright with his body; the
little legs had the solid ground under them; to his
pleasure, they did exactly as he told them; they were
even making the effort to carry him where he wanted to
go; and he was soon believing that all his sorrows would
soon be finally at an end. He held back the urge to move
but swayed from side to side as he crouched there on the
floor. His mother was not far away in front of him and
seemed, at first, quite engrossed in herself, but then she
suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and her
fingers spread shouting: "Help, for pity's sake, Help!" The
way she held her head suggested she wanted to see
Gregor better, but the unthinking way she was hurrying
backwards showed that she did not; she had forgotten
that the table was behind her with all the breakfast
things on it; when she reached the table she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing; without
even seeming to notice that the coffee pot had been
knocked over and a gush of coffee was pouring down
onto the carpet.
"Mother, mother", said Gregor gently, looking up at
her. He had completely forgotten the chief clerk for the
moment, but could not help himself snapping in the air
with his jaws at the sight of the flow of coffee. That set
his mother screaming anew, she fled from the table and
into the arms of his father as he rushed towards her.
Gregor, though, had no time to spare for his parents
now; the chief clerk had already reached the stairs; with
his chin on the banister, he looked back for the last time.
Gregor made a run for him; he wanted to be sure of
reaching him; the chief clerk must have expected
something, as he leapt down several steps at once and
disappeared; his shouts resounding all around the
staircase. The flight of the chief clerk seemed,
unfortunately, to put Gregor's father into a panic as well.
Until then he had been relatively self controlled, but
now, instead of running after the chief clerk himself, or
at least not impeding Gregor as he ran after him, Gregor's
father seized the chief clerk's stick in his right hand (the
chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his
hat and overcoat), picked up a large newspaper from the
table with his left, and used them to drive Gregor back
into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went.
Gregor's appeals to his father were of no help, his
appeals were simply not understood, however much he
humbly turned his head his father merely stamped his
foot all the harder. Across the room, despite the chilly
weather, Gregor's mother had pulled open a window,
leant far out of it and pressed her hands to her face. A