Gender Dynamics and Alienation: A Comparative Study of Stereotypes in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

Abstract

To represent how gender stereotypes and dynamics are portrayed in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, this thesis essays a quantitative study of the dialogue distribution of the different plays, the character’s actions, their familial roles, and the narrative tone. However, the paper found that male characters account for 62 percent of the dialogue as well as having the lion’s share of authoritative (63.2 percent) and trans formative actions (71.4 percent). Nearly 82.4% of the care giving roles are relegated to female characters, with some heading towards role evolution as Grete moves to decision making, contesting long established gender norms. Sentiment analysis demonstrates that the narrative about male-female relationships (40% neutral and 40% negative) is a concert of tension and alienation. A comparative analysis places Kafka’s text within the modernist texts Virginia Woolf's, Mrs. Dalloway and James Joyce's Ulysses but highlights Kafka’s specific interest in alienation and power within the context of a gendered world. This study highlights the way Kafka criticizes the intransigence of social structure and of early 20th century patriarchal structure. Moreover, it finds research gaps in the investigation of the intersection between gender and class, ethnicity and Kafka’s Jewish heritage, and suggests new venues for literary and gender studies.