- Lo Ungeziefer della «Verwandlung» di Kafka nel processo di una nichilistica liberazione dallo Spießertum familiare. Alcune riflessioni: [The Ungeziefer of Kafka’s «Verwandlung» in the process of a nihilistic release from the philistinism of the family. Some considerations]
- Morenghi, Erminio
Description
- This paper problematizes the etymology of the word “Ungeziefer” in Franz Kafka’s Verwandlung, connecting it to the Jewish tradition and Egyptian mythology as well as to the anti-Semitism that flourished from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century in the German and Central European area. Gregor Samsa’s desire for freedom and emancipation embodies a monstrous and tragical metamorphosis, which gives the opportunity to free the protagonist, albeit in a humiliating and nihilistic way, from the yoke of philistinism in the family, paradoxically freeing also his relatives from a stagnant existential condition. Kafka’s “Ungeziefer” thus becomes a symbol of growth, transformation and rebirth.
Date
- 2019-04-06
Type
- info:eu-repo/semantics/article
- info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Format
- application/pdf
- text/html
Identifier
10.13130/1593-2508/11502