WEBVTT 00:00:01.920 --> 00:00:10.630 CHAPTER I. 00:00:10.630 --> 00:00:17.670 One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in 00:00:17.670 --> 00:00:24.010 bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug. 00:00:24.010 --> 00:00:30.810 He lay on his armour-hard back and saw, as he lifted his head up a little, his brown, 00:00:30.810 --> 00:00:37.879 arched abdomen divided up into rigid bow- like sections. 00:00:37.879 --> 00:00:43.659 From this height the blanket, just about ready to slide off completely, could hardly 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:45.920 stay in place. 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:51.370 His numerous legs, pitifully thin in comparison to the rest of his 00:00:51.370 --> 00:00:56.629 circumference, flickered helplessly before his eyes. 00:00:56.629 --> 00:01:00.699 "What's happened to me," he thought. 00:01:00.699 --> 00:01:06.280 It was no dream. His room, a proper room for a human being, 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:12.850 only somewhat too small, lay quietly between the four well-known walls. 00:01:12.850 --> 00:01:18.030 Above the table, on which an unpacked collection of sample cloth goods was spread 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:23.369 out--Samsa was a travelling salesman--hung the picture which he had cut out of an 00:01:23.369 --> 00:01:30.020 illustrated magazine a little while ago and set in a pretty gilt frame. 00:01:30.020 --> 00:01:34.600 It was a picture of a woman with a fur hat and a fur boa. 00:01:34.600 --> 00:01:40.570 She sat erect there, lifting up in the direction of the viewer a solid fur muff 00:01:40.570 --> 00:01:44.429 into which her entire forearm had disappeared. 00:01:44.429 --> 00:01:49.159 Gregor's glance then turned to the window. 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:54.249 The dreary weather--the rain drops were falling audibly down on the metal window 00:01:54.249 --> 00:01:56.840 ledge--made him quite melancholy. 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:03.119 "Why don't I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this 00:02:03.119 --> 00:02:05.329 foolishness," he thought. 00:02:05.329 --> 00:02:12.370 But this was entirely impractical, for he was used to sleeping on his right side, and 00:02:12.370 --> 00:02:17.250 in his present state he couldn't get himself into this position. 00:02:17.250 --> 00:02:22.849 No matter how hard he threw himself onto his right side, he always rolled again onto 00:02:22.849 --> 00:02:24.420 his back. 00:02:24.420 --> 00:02:29.340 He must have tried it a hundred times, closing his eyes so that he would not have 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:35.430 to see the wriggling legs, and gave up only when he began to feel a light, dull pain in 00:02:35.430 --> 00:02:38.819 his side which he had never felt before. 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:45.640 "O God," he thought, "what a demanding job I've chosen! 00:02:45.640 --> 00:02:48.819 Day in, day out, on the road. 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:54.140 The stresses of selling are much greater than the work going on at head office, and, 00:02:54.140 --> 00:02:58.750 in addition to that, I have to cope with the problems of travelling, the worries 00:02:58.750 --> 00:03:02.060 about train connections, irregular bad 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:08.510 food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships, which never come from 00:03:08.510 --> 00:03:13.379 the heart. To hell with it all!" 00:03:13.379 --> 00:03:17.430 He felt a slight itching on the top of his abdomen. 00:03:17.430 --> 00:03:22.819 He slowly pushed himself on his back closer to the bed post so that he could lift his 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:28.849 head more easily, found the itchy part, which was entirely covered with small white 00:03:28.849 --> 00:03:35.180 spots--he did not know what to make of them and wanted to feel the place with a leg. 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:42.180 But he retracted it immediately, for the contact felt like a cold shower all over 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:43.510 him. 00:03:43.510 --> 00:03:46.579 He slid back again into his earlier position. 00:03:46.579 --> 00:03:53.750 "This getting up early," he thought, "makes a man quite idiotic. 00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:56.620 A man must have his sleep. 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:00.989 Other travelling salesmen live like harem women. 00:04:00.989 --> 00:04:05.280 For instance, when I come back to the inn during the course of the morning to write 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:10.760 up the necessary orders, these gentlemen are just sitting down to breakfast. 00:04:10.760 --> 00:04:16.239 If I were to try that with my boss, I'd be thrown out on the spot. 00:04:16.239 --> 00:04:20.480 Still, who knows whether that mightn't be really good for me? 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:25.290 If I didn't hold back for my parents' sake, I'd have quit ages ago. 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:29.850 I would've gone to the boss and told him just what I think from the bottom of my 00:04:29.850 --> 00:04:31.200 heart. 00:04:31.200 --> 00:04:36.820 He would've fallen right off his desk! How weird it is to sit up at that desk and 00:04:36.820 --> 00:04:41.250 talk down to the employee from way up there. 00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:47.660 The boss has trouble hearing, so the employee has to step up quite close to him. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:51.220 Anyway, I haven't completely given up that hope yet. 00:04:51.220 --> 00:04:56.810 Once I've got together the money to pay off my parents' debt to him--that should take 00:04:56.810 --> 00:05:01.860 another five or six years--I'll do it for sure. 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:03.820 Then I'll make the big break. 00:05:03.820 --> 00:05:11.720 In any case, right now I have to get up. My train leaves at five o'clock." 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:16.570 He looked over at the alarm clock ticking away by the chest of drawers. 00:05:16.570 --> 00:05:18.760 "Good God!" he thought. 00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:22.580 It was half past six, and the hands were going quietly on. 00:05:22.580 --> 00:05:28.510 It was past the half hour, already nearly quarter to. 00:05:28.510 --> 00:05:31.190 Could the alarm have failed to ring? 00:05:31.190 --> 00:05:34.690 One saw from the bed that it was properly set for four o'clock. 00:05:34.690 --> 00:05:40.160 Certainly it had rung. Yes, but was it possible to sleep through 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:44.220 that noise which made the furniture shake? 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:51.600 Now, it's true he'd not slept quietly, but evidently he'd slept all the more deeply. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:56.980 Still, what should he do now? The next train left at seven o'clock. 00:05:56.980 --> 00:06:00.940 To catch that one, he would have to go in a mad rush. 00:06:00.940 --> 00:06:05.800 The sample collection wasn't packed up yet, and he really didn't feel particularly 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:07.910 fresh and active. 00:06:07.910 --> 00:06:13.120 And even if he caught the train, there was no avoiding a blow-up with the boss, 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:17.230 because the firm's errand boy would've waited for the five o'clock train and 00:06:17.230 --> 00:06:21.020 reported the news of his absence long ago. 00:06:21.020 --> 00:06:25.880 He was the boss's minion, without backbone or intelligence. 00:06:25.880 --> 00:06:28.860 Well then, what if he reported in sick? 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:35.410 But that would be extremely embarrassing and suspicious, because during his five 00:06:35.410 --> 00:06:40.450 years' service Gregor hadn't been sick even once. 00:06:40.450 --> 00:06:44.910 The boss would certainly come with the doctor from the health insurance company 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:50.850 and would reproach his parents for their lazy son and cut short all objections with 00:06:50.850 --> 00:06:54.730 the insurance doctor's comments; for him 00:06:54.730 --> 00:07:00.210 everyone was completely healthy but really lazy about work. 00:07:00.210 --> 00:07:05.110 And besides, would the doctor in this case be totally wrong? 00:07:05.110 --> 00:07:10.950 Apart from a really excessive drowsiness after the long sleep, Gregor in fact felt 00:07:10.950 --> 00:07:16.660 quite well and even had a really strong appetite. 00:07:16.660 --> 00:07:22.360 As he was thinking all this over in the greatest haste, without being able to make 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:28.060 the decision to get out of bed--the alarm clock was indicating exactly quarter to 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:33.990 seven--there was a cautious knock on the door by the head of the bed. 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:39.400 "Gregor," a voice called--it was his mother!--"it's quarter to seven. 00:07:39.400 --> 00:07:43.030 Don't you want to be on your way?" 00:07:43.030 --> 00:07:48.040 The soft voice! Gregor was startled when he heard his voice 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:49.380 answering. 00:07:49.380 --> 00:07:56.090 It was clearly and unmistakably his earlier voice, but in it was intermingled, as if 00:07:56.090 --> 00:08:02.870 from below, an irrepressibly painful squeaking, which left the words positively 00:08:02.870 --> 00:08:06.260 distinct only in the first moment and 00:08:06.260 --> 00:08:12.750 distorted them in the reverberation, so that one didn't know if one had heard 00:08:12.750 --> 00:08:13.630 correctly. 00:08:13.630 --> 00:08:18.320 Gregor wanted to answer in detail and explain everything, but in these 00:08:18.320 --> 00:08:24.530 circumstances he confined himself to saying, "Yes, yes, thank you mother. 00:08:24.530 --> 00:08:28.390 I'm getting up right away." 00:08:28.390 --> 00:08:33.250 Because of the wooden door the change in Gregor's voice was not really noticeable 00:08:33.250 --> 00:08:40.500 outside, so his mother calmed down with this explanation and shuffled off. 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:44.720 However, as a result of the short conversation, the other family members 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:50.459 became aware that Gregor was unexpectedly still at home, and already his father was 00:08:50.459 --> 00:08:55.279 knocking on one side door, weakly but with his fist. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:59.439 "Gregor, Gregor," he called out, "what's going on?" 00:08:59.439 --> 00:09:04.410 And, after a short while, he urged him on again in a deeper voice: "Gregor!" 00:09:04.410 --> 00:09:08.279 Gregor!" At the other side door, however, his sister 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:09.959 knocked lightly. 00:09:09.959 --> 00:09:12.329 "Gregor? Are you all right? 00:09:12.329 --> 00:09:18.649 Do you need anything?" Gregor directed answers in both directions, 00:09:18.649 --> 00:09:21.259 "I'll be ready right away." 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:27.199 He made an effort with the most careful articulation and by inserting long pauses 00:09:27.199 --> 00:09:34.790 between the individual words to remove everything remarkable from his voice. 00:09:34.790 --> 00:09:37.560 His father turned back to his breakfast. 00:09:37.560 --> 00:09:44.600 However, the sister whispered, "Gregor, open the door--I beg you." 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:49.160 Gregor had no intention of opening the door, but congratulated himself on his 00:09:49.160 --> 00:09:56.829 precaution, acquired from travelling, of locking all doors during the night, even at 00:09:56.829 --> 00:09:58.110 home. 00:09:58.110 --> 00:10:04.540 First he wanted to stand up quietly and undisturbed, get dressed, above all have 00:10:04.540 --> 00:10:12.639 breakfast, and only then consider further action, for--he noticed this clearly--by 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:18.470 thinking things over in bed he would not reach a reasonable conclusion. 00:10:18.470 --> 00:10:24.749 He remembered that he had already often felt a light pain or other in bed, perhaps 00:10:24.749 --> 00:10:29.589 the result of an awkward lying position, which later turned out to be purely 00:10:29.589 --> 00:10:32.310 imaginary when he stood up, and he was 00:10:32.310 --> 00:10:36.199 eager to see how his present fantasies would gradually dissipate. 00:10:36.199 --> 00:10:43.310 That the change in his voice was nothing other than the onset of a real chill, an 00:10:43.310 --> 00:10:49.069 occupational illness of commercial travellers, of that he had not the 00:10:49.069 --> 00:10:51.870 slightest doubt. 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:54.899 It was very easy to throw aside the blanket. 00:10:54.899 --> 00:11:00.269 He needed only to push himself up a little, and it fell by itself. 00:11:00.269 --> 00:11:06.439 But to continue was difficult, particularly because he was so unusually wide. 00:11:06.439 --> 00:11:11.240 He needed arms and hands to push himself upright. 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:18.329 Instead of these, however, he had only many small limbs which were incessantly moving 00:11:18.329 --> 00:11:26.050 with very different motions and which, in addition, he was unable to control. 00:11:26.050 --> 00:11:32.569 If he wanted to bend one of them, then it was the first to extend itself, and if he 00:11:32.569 --> 00:11:39.209 finally succeeded doing what he wanted with this limb, in the meantime all the others, 00:11:39.209 --> 00:11:45.050 as if left free, moved around in an excessively painful agitation. 00:11:45.050 --> 00:11:51.470 "But I must not stay in bed uselessly," said Gregor to himself. 00:11:51.470 --> 00:12:00.829 At first he wanted to get out of bed with the lower part of his body, but this lower 00:12:00.829 --> 00:12:05.439 part--which, by the way, he had not yet looked at and which he also couldn't 00:12:05.439 --> 00:12:09.829 picture clearly--proved itself too difficult to move. 00:12:09.829 --> 00:12:14.680 The attempt went so slowly. 00:12:14.680 --> 00:12:20.540 When, having become almost frantic, he finally hurled himself forward with all his 00:12:20.540 --> 00:12:27.339 force and without thinking, he chose his direction incorrectly, and he hit the lower 00:12:27.339 --> 00:12:29.399 bedpost hard. 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:35.350 The violent pain he felt revealed to him that the lower part of his body was at the 00:12:35.350 --> 00:12:37.160 moment probably the most sensitive. 00:12:37.160 --> 00:12:45.240 Thus, he tried to get his upper body out of the bed first and turned his head carefully 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:47.660 toward the edge of the bed. 00:12:47.660 --> 00:12:54.040 He managed to do this easily, and in spite of its width and weight his body mass at 00:12:54.040 --> 00:12:58.430 last slowly followed the turning of his head. 00:12:58.430 --> 00:13:04.240 But as he finally raised his head outside the bed in the open air, he became anxious 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:09.100 about moving forward any further in this manner, for if he allowed himself 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:11.870 eventually to fall by this process, it 00:13:11.870 --> 00:13:15.889 would take a miracle to prevent his head from getting injured. 00:13:15.889 --> 00:13:20.930 And at all costs he must not lose consciousness right now. 00:13:20.930 --> 00:13:25.069 He preferred to remain in bed. 00:13:25.069 --> 00:13:31.209 However, after a similar effort, while he lay there again, sighing as before, and 00:13:31.209 --> 00:13:38.249 once again saw his small limbs fighting one another, if anything worse than earlier, 00:13:38.249 --> 00:13:41.329 and didn't see any chance of imposing quiet 00:13:41.329 --> 00:13:46.749 and order on this arbitrary movement, he told himself again that he couldn't 00:13:46.749 --> 00:13:52.529 possibly remain in bed and that it might be the most reasonable thing to sacrifice 00:13:52.529 --> 00:13:55.170 everything if there was even the slightest 00:13:55.170 --> 00:13:58.379 hope of getting himself out of bed in the process. 00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:05.720 At the same moment, however, he didn't forget to remind himself from time to time 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:12.430 of the fact that calm--indeed the calmest-- reflection might be better than the most 00:14:12.430 --> 00:14:15.720 confused decisions. 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:22.459 At such moments, he directed his gaze as precisely as he could toward the window, 00:14:22.459 --> 00:14:27.980 but unfortunately there was little confident cheer to be had from a glance at 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:33.069 the morning mist, which concealed even the other side of the narrow street. 00:14:33.069 --> 00:14:40.430 "It's already seven o'clock," he told himself at the latest striking of the alarm 00:14:40.430 --> 00:14:46.329 clock, "already seven o'clock and still such a fog." 00:14:46.329 --> 00:14:52.110 And for a little while longer he lay quietly with weak breathing, as if perhaps 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:58.439 waiting for normal and natural conditions to re-emerge out of the complete stillness. 00:14:58.439 --> 00:15:06.110 But then he said to himself, "Before it strikes a quarter past seven, whatever 00:15:06.110 --> 00:15:09.369 happens I must be completely out of bed. 00:15:09.369 --> 00:15:14.809 Besides, by then someone from the office will arrive to inquire about me, because 00:15:14.809 --> 00:15:18.779 the office will open before seven o'clock." 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:23.809 And he made an effort then to rock his entire body length out of the bed with a 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:26.600 uniform motion. 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:32.119 If he let himself fall out of the bed in this way, his head, which in the course of 00:15:32.119 --> 00:15:38.519 the fall he intended to lift up sharply, would probably remain uninjured. 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:44.939 His back seemed to be hard; nothing would really happen to that as a result of the 00:15:44.939 --> 00:15:45.899 fall. 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:51.749 His greatest reservation was a worry about the loud noise which the fall must create 00:15:51.749 --> 00:15:58.029 and which presumably would arouse, if not fright, then at least concern on the other 00:15:58.029 --> 00:16:00.569 side of all the doors. 00:16:00.569 --> 00:16:04.420 However, it had to be tried. 00:16:04.420 --> 00:16:09.899 As Gregor was in the process of lifting himself half out of bed--the new method was 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:16.550 more of a game than an effort; he needed only to rock with a constant rhythm--it 00:16:16.550 --> 00:16:22.059 struck him how easy all this would be if someone were to come to his aid. 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:27.959 Two strong people--he thought of his father and the servant girl--would have been quite 00:16:27.959 --> 00:16:29.309 sufficient. 00:16:29.309 --> 00:16:34.420 They would have only had to push their arms under his arched back to get him out of the 00:16:34.420 --> 00:16:40.990 bed, to bend down with their load, and then merely to exercise patience and care that 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:44.449 he completed the flip onto the floor, where 00:16:44.449 --> 00:16:50.040 his diminutive legs would then, he hoped, acquire a purpose. 00:16:50.040 --> 00:16:55.420 Now, quite apart from the fact that the doors were locked, should he really call 00:16:55.420 --> 00:16:57.399 out for help? 00:16:57.399 --> 00:17:04.890 In spite of all his distress, he was unable to suppress a smile at this idea. 00:17:04.890 --> 00:17:10.209 He had already got to the point where, by rocking more strongly, he maintained his 00:17:10.209 --> 00:17:16.839 equilibrium with difficulty, and very soon he would finally have to decide, for in 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:20.010 five minutes it would be a quarter past seven. 00:17:20.010 --> 00:17:23.870 Then there was a ring at the door of the apartment. 00:17:23.870 --> 00:17:28.720 "That's someone from the office," he told himself, and he almost froze while his 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:32.760 small limbs only danced around all the faster. 00:17:32.760 --> 00:17:35.780 For one moment everything remained still. 00:17:35.780 --> 00:17:42.020 "They aren't opening," Gregor said to himself, caught up in some absurd hope. 00:17:42.020 --> 00:17:49.890 But of course then, as usual, the servant girl with her firm tread went to the door 00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:52.190 and opened it. 00:17:52.190 --> 00:17:56.900 Gregor needed to hear only the first word of the visitor's greeting to recognize 00:17:56.900 --> 00:18:02.070 immediately who it was, the manager himself. 00:18:02.070 --> 00:18:08.020 Why was Gregor the only one condemned to work in a firm where, at the slightest 00:18:08.020 --> 00:18:13.280 lapse, someone immediately attracted the greatest suspicion? 00:18:13.280 --> 00:18:18.590 Were all the employees then collectively, one and all, scoundrels? 00:18:18.590 --> 00:18:24.980 Among them was there then no truly devoted person who, if he failed to use just a 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:29.990 couple of hours in the morning for office work, would become abnormal from pangs of 00:18:29.990 --> 00:18:35.010 conscience and really be in no state to get out of bed? 00:18:35.010 --> 00:18:39.400 Was it really not enough to let an apprentice make inquiries, if such 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:42.010 questioning was even necessary? 00:18:42.010 --> 00:18:47.770 Must the manager himself come, and in the process must it be demonstrated to the 00:18:47.770 --> 00:18:52.340 entire innocent family that the investigation of this suspicious 00:18:52.340 --> 00:18:58.190 circumstance could be entrusted only to the intelligence of the manager? 00:18:58.190 --> 00:19:03.760 And more as a consequence of the excited state in which this idea put Gregor than as 00:19:03.760 --> 00:19:11.370 a result of an actual decision, he swung himself with all his might out of the bed. 00:19:11.370 --> 00:19:15.540 There was a loud thud, but not a real crash. 00:19:15.540 --> 00:19:21.870 The fall was absorbed somewhat by the carpet and, in addition, his back was more 00:19:21.870 --> 00:19:25.400 elastic than Gregor had thought. 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:30.750 For that reason the dull noise was not quite so conspicuous. 00:19:30.750 --> 00:19:36.060 But he had not held his head up with sufficient care and had hit it. 00:19:36.060 --> 00:19:43.180 He turned his head, irritated and in pain, and rubbed it on the carpet. 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:47.950 "Something has fallen in there," said the manager in the next room on the left. 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:53.200 Gregor tried to imagine to himself whether anything similar to what was happening to 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:57.410 him today could have also happened at some point to the manager. 00:19:57.410 --> 00:20:02.870 At least one had to concede the possibility of such a thing. 00:20:02.870 --> 00:20:09.010 However, as if to give a rough answer to this question, the manager now, with a 00:20:09.010 --> 00:20:15.310 squeak of his polished boots, took a few determined steps in the next room. 00:20:15.310 --> 00:20:19.960 From the neighbouring room on the right the sister was whispering to inform Gregor: 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:26.680 "Gregor, the manager is here." "I know," said Gregor to himself. 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:32.820 But he did not dare make his voice loud enough so that his sister could hear. 00:20:32.820 --> 00:20:38.110 "Gregor," his father now said from the neighbouring room on the left, "Mr. Manager 00:20:38.110 --> 00:20:42.590 has come and is asking why you have not left on the early train. 00:20:42.590 --> 00:20:45.530 We don't know what we should tell him. 00:20:45.530 --> 00:20:49.880 Besides, he also wants to speak to you personally. 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:54.010 So please open the door. He will be good enough to forgive the mess 00:20:54.010 --> 00:20:56.320 in your room." 00:20:56.320 --> 00:21:00.900 In the middle of all this, the manager called out in a friendly way, "Good 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:02.010 morning, Mr. Samsa." 00:21:02.010 --> 00:21:08.280 "He is not well," said his mother to the manager, while his father was still talking 00:21:08.280 --> 00:21:12.590 at the door, "He is not well, believe me, Mr. Manager. 00:21:12.590 --> 00:21:16.150 Otherwise how would Gregor miss a train? 00:21:16.150 --> 00:21:19.680 The young man has nothing in his head except business. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:23.160 I'm almost angry that he never goes out at night. 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:29.050 Right now he's been in the city eight days, but he's been at home every evening. 00:21:29.050 --> 00:21:35.380 He sits here with us at the table and reads the newspaper quietly or studies his travel 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:36.770 schedules. 00:21:36.770 --> 00:21:40.860 It's a quite a diversion for him to busy himself with fretwork. 00:21:40.860 --> 00:21:46.870 For instance, he cut out a small frame over the course of two or three evenings. 00:21:46.870 --> 00:21:49.250 You'd be amazed how pretty it is. 00:21:49.250 --> 00:21:53.470 It's hanging right inside the room. You'll see it immediately, as soon as 00:21:53.470 --> 00:21:57.950 Gregor opens the door. Anyway, I'm happy that you're here, Mr. 00:21:57.950 --> 00:21:58.550 Manager. 00:21:58.550 --> 00:22:02.780 By ourselves, we would never have made Gregor open the door. 00:22:02.780 --> 00:22:07.940 He's so stubborn, and he's certainly not well, although he denied that this 00:22:07.940 --> 00:22:09.970 morning." 00:22:09.970 --> 00:22:17.990 "I'm coming right away," said Gregor slowly and deliberately and didn't move, so as not 00:22:17.990 --> 00:22:21.130 to lose one word of the conversation. 00:22:21.130 --> 00:22:26.960 "My dear lady, I cannot explain it to myself in any other way," said the manager; 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.170 "I hope it is nothing serious. 00:22:29.170 --> 00:22:34.860 On the other hand, I must also say that we business people, luckily or unluckily, 00:22:34.860 --> 00:22:41.350 however one looks at it, very often simply have to overcome a slight indisposition for 00:22:41.350 --> 00:22:43.540 business reasons." 00:22:43.540 --> 00:22:48.910 "So can Mr. Manager come in to see you now?" asked his father impatiently and 00:22:48.910 --> 00:22:53.880 knocked once again on the door. "No," said Gregor. 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:59.030 In the neighbouring room on the left a painful stillness descended. 00:22:59.030 --> 00:23:05.510 In the neighbouring room on the right the sister began to sob. 00:23:05.510 --> 00:23:08.810 Why didn't his sister go to the others? 00:23:08.810 --> 00:23:13.470 She'd probably just gotten up out of bed now and hadn't even started to get dressed 00:23:13.470 --> 00:23:16.710 yet. Then why was she crying? 00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:21.900 Because he wasn't getting up and wasn't letting the manager in, because he was in 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:27.710 danger of losing his position, and because then his boss would badger his parents once 00:23:27.710 --> 00:23:29.720 again with the old demands? 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:34.650 Those were probably unnecessary worries right now. 00:23:34.650 --> 00:23:39.990 Gregor was still here and wasn't thinking at all about abandoning his family. 00:23:39.990 --> 00:23:46.390 At the moment he was lying right there on the carpet, and no one who knew about his 00:23:46.390 --> 00:23:51.230 condition would've seriously demanded that he let the manager in. 00:23:51.230 --> 00:23:56.750 But Gregor wouldn't be casually dismissed right way because of this small 00:23:56.750 --> 00:24:03.470 discourtesy, for which he would find an easy and suitable excuse later on. 00:24:03.470 --> 00:24:08.390 It seemed to Gregor that it might be far more reasonable to leave him in peace at 00:24:08.390 --> 00:24:13.340 the moment, instead of disturbing him with crying and conversation. 00:24:13.340 --> 00:24:19.710 But it was the very uncertainty which distressed the others and excused their 00:24:19.710 --> 00:24:25.120 behaviour. "Mr. Samsa," the manager was now shouting, 00:24:25.120 --> 00:24:28.300 his voice raised, "what's the matter? 00:24:28.300 --> 00:24:34.320 You are barricading yourself in your room, answer with only a yes and a no, are making 00:24:34.320 --> 00:24:40.890 serious and unnecessary troubles for your parents, and neglecting (I mention this 00:24:40.890 --> 00:24:46.680 only incidentally) your commercial duties in a truly unheard of manner. 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:51.990 I am speaking here in the name of your parents and your employer, and I am 00:24:51.990 --> 00:24:58.860 requesting you in all seriousness for an immediate and clear explanation. 00:24:58.860 --> 00:24:59.910 I am amazed. 00:24:59.910 --> 00:25:05.340 I am amazed. I thought I knew you as a calm, reasonable 00:25:05.340 --> 00:25:11.830 person, and now you appear suddenly to want to start parading around in weird moods. 00:25:11.830 --> 00:25:18.500 The Chief indicated to me earlier this very day a possible explanation for your 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:22.820 neglect--it concerned the collection of cash entrusted to you a short while ago-- 00:25:22.820 --> 00:25:26.580 but in truth I almost gave him my word of 00:25:26.580 --> 00:25:30.530 honour that this explanation could not be correct. 00:25:30.530 --> 00:25:36.930 However, now I see here your unimaginable pig headedness, and I am totally losing any 00:25:36.930 --> 00:25:39.680 desire to speak up for you in the slightest. 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:44.470 And your position is not at all the most secure. 00:25:44.470 --> 00:25:48.710 Originally I intended to mention all this to you privately, but since you are letting 00:25:48.710 --> 00:25:53.430 me waste my time here uselessly, I don't know why the matter shouldn't come to the 00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:54.700 attention of your parents. 00:25:54.700 --> 00:26:01.170 Your productivity has also been very unsatisfactory recently. 00:26:01.170 --> 00:26:06.080 Of course, it's not the time of year to conduct exceptional business, we recognize 00:26:06.080 --> 00:26:12.170 that, but a time of year for conducting no business, there is no such thing at all, 00:26:12.170 --> 00:26:15.790 Mr. Samsa, and such a thing must never be." 00:26:15.790 --> 00:26:22.620 "But Mr. Manager," called Gregor, beside himself and, in his agitation, forgetting 00:26:22.620 --> 00:26:27.880 everything else, "I'm opening the door immediately, this very moment. 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:32.920 A slight indisposition, a dizzy spell, has prevented me from getting up. 00:26:32.920 --> 00:26:37.990 I'm still lying in bed right now. But I'm quite refreshed once again. 00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:41.410 I'm in the midst of getting out of bed. 00:26:41.410 --> 00:26:46.560 Just have patience for a short moment! Things are not going as well as I thought. 00:26:46.560 --> 00:26:52.000 But things are all right. How suddenly this can overcome someone! 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.660 Only yesterday evening everything was fine with me. 00:26:54.660 --> 00:26:58.830 My parents certainly know that. Actually just yesterday evening I had a 00:26:58.830 --> 00:27:00.540 small premonition. 00:27:00.540 --> 00:27:06.710 People must have seen that in me. Why have I not reported that to the office? 00:27:06.710 --> 00:27:11.290 But people always think that they'll get over sickness without having to stay at 00:27:11.290 --> 00:27:12.480 home. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:16.150 Mr. Manager! Take it easy on my parents! 00:27:16.150 --> 00:27:20.930 There is really no basis for the criticisms which you're now making against me, and 00:27:20.930 --> 00:27:24.510 really nobody has said a word to me about that. 00:27:24.510 --> 00:27:28.440 Perhaps you have not read the latest orders which I shipped. 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:34.850 Besides, now I'm setting out on my trip on the eight o'clock train; the few hours' 00:27:34.850 --> 00:27:37.160 rest have made me stronger. 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:42.000 Mr. Manager, do not stay. I will be at the office in person right 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:46.290 away. Please have the goodness to say that and to 00:27:46.290 --> 00:27:50.180 convey my respects to the Chief." 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:55.690 While Gregor was quickly blurting all this out, hardly aware of what he was saying, he 00:27:55.690 --> 00:28:01.030 had moved close to the chest of drawers without effort, probably as a result of the 00:28:01.030 --> 00:28:03.860 practice he had already had in bed, and now 00:28:03.860 --> 00:28:10.220 he was trying to raise himself up on it. Actually, he wanted to open the door. 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:16.270 He really wanted to let himself be seen by and to speak with the manager. 00:28:16.270 --> 00:28:21.460 He was keen to witness what the others now asking about him would say when they saw 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:25.400 him. If they were startled, then Gregor had no 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:28.690 more responsibility and could be calm. 00:28:28.690 --> 00:28:35.270 But if they accepted everything quietly, then he would have no reason to get excited 00:28:35.270 --> 00:28:40.380 and, if he got a move on, could really be at the station around eight o'clock. 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:46.780 At first he slid down a few times on the smooth chest of drawers. 00:28:46.780 --> 00:28:52.480 But at last he gave himself a final swing and stood upright there. 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:57.840 He was no longer at all aware of the pains in his lower body, no matter how they might 00:28:57.840 --> 00:29:00.140 still sting. 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:05.120 Now he let himself fall against the back of a nearby chair, on the edge of which he 00:29:05.120 --> 00:29:08.300 braced himself with his thin limbs. 00:29:08.300 --> 00:29:14.080 By doing this he gained control over himself and kept quiet, for he could now 00:29:14.080 --> 00:29:16.650 hear the manager. 00:29:16.650 --> 00:29:22.950 "Did you understood a single word?" the manager asked the parents, "Is he playing 00:29:22.950 --> 00:29:23.920 the fool with us?" 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:30.020 "For God's sake," cried the mother already in tears, "perhaps he's very ill and we're 00:29:30.020 --> 00:29:31.960 upsetting him. Grete! 00:29:31.960 --> 00:29:34.940 Grete!" she yelled at that point. 00:29:34.940 --> 00:29:38.320 "Mother?" called the sister from the other side. 00:29:38.320 --> 00:29:42.250 They were making themselves understood through Gregor's room. 00:29:42.250 --> 00:29:44.270 "You must go to the doctor right away. 00:29:44.270 --> 00:29:46.830 Gregor is sick. Hurry to the doctor. 00:29:46.830 --> 00:29:50.530 Have you heard Gregor speak yet?" 00:29:50.530 --> 00:29:56.500 "That was an animal's voice," said the manager, remarkably quietly in comparison 00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:59.340 to the mother's cries. "Anna! 00:29:59.340 --> 00:30:04.120 Anna!' yelled the father through the hall into the kitchen, clapping his hands, 00:30:04.120 --> 00:30:06.860 "fetch a locksmith right away!" 00:30:06.860 --> 00:30:11.970 The two young women were already running through the hall with swishing skirts--how 00:30:11.970 --> 00:30:16.250 had his sister dressed herself so quickly?- -and yanked open the doors of the 00:30:16.250 --> 00:30:17.520 apartment. 00:30:17.520 --> 00:30:22.150 One couldn't hear the doors closing at all. They probably had left them open, as is 00:30:22.150 --> 00:30:28.530 customary in an apartment where a huge misfortune has taken place. 00:30:28.530 --> 00:30:32.360 However, Gregor had become much calmer. 00:30:32.360 --> 00:30:37.540 All right, people did not understand his words any more, although they seemed clear 00:30:37.540 --> 00:30:43.450 enough to him, clearer than previously, perhaps because his ears had gotten used to 00:30:43.450 --> 00:30:44.450 them. 00:30:44.450 --> 00:30:49.190 But at least people now thought that things were not all right with him and were 00:30:49.190 --> 00:30:51.430 prepared to help him. 00:30:51.430 --> 00:30:56.700 The confidence and assurance with which the first arrangements had been carried out 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:58.630 made him feel good. 00:30:58.630 --> 00:31:05.070 He felt himself included once again in the circle of humanity and was expecting from 00:31:05.070 --> 00:31:10.740 both the doctor and the locksmith, without differentiating between them with any real 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:15.530 precision, splendid and surprising results. 00:31:15.530 --> 00:31:20.630 In order to get as clear a voice as possible for the critical conversation 00:31:20.630 --> 00:31:25.890 which was imminent, he coughed a little, and certainly took the trouble to do this 00:31:25.890 --> 00:31:28.950 in a really subdued way, since it was 00:31:28.950 --> 00:31:35.220 possible that even this noise sounded like something different from a human cough. 00:31:35.220 --> 00:31:39.450 He no longer trusted himself to decide any more. 00:31:39.450 --> 00:31:43.230 Meanwhile in the next room it had become really quiet. 00:31:43.230 --> 00:31:48.460 Perhaps his parents were sitting with the manager at the table whispering; perhaps 00:31:48.460 --> 00:31:52.940 they were all leaning against the door listening. 00:31:52.940 --> 00:31:59.080 Gregor pushed himself slowly towards the door, with the help of the easy chair, let 00:31:59.080 --> 00:32:05.900 go of it there, threw himself against the door, held himself upright against it--the 00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:09.200 balls of his tiny limbs had a little sticky 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:14.870 stuff on them--and rested there momentarily from his exertion. 00:32:14.870 --> 00:32:20.100 Then he made an effort to turn the key in the lock with his mouth. 00:32:20.100 --> 00:32:24.690 Unfortunately it seemed that he had no real teeth. 00:32:24.690 --> 00:32:28.070 How then was he to grab hold of the key? 00:32:28.070 --> 00:32:34.070 But to make up for that his jaws were naturally very strong; with their help he 00:32:34.070 --> 00:32:37.160 managed to get the key really moving. 00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:42.150 He didn't notice that he was obviously inflicting some damage on himself, for a 00:32:42.150 --> 00:32:50.560 brown fluid came out of his mouth, flowed over the key, and dripped onto the floor. 00:32:50.560 --> 00:32:54.230 "Just listen for a moment," said the manager in the next room; "he's turning the 00:32:54.230 --> 00:32:59.530 key." For Gregor that was a great encouragement. 00:32:59.530 --> 00:33:03.970 But they all should've called out to him, including his father and mother, "Come on, 00:33:03.970 --> 00:33:10.100 Gregor," they should've shouted; "keep going, keep working on the lock." 00:33:10.100 --> 00:33:15.150 Imagining that all his efforts were being followed with suspense, he bit down 00:33:15.150 --> 00:33:19.720 frantically on the key with all the force he could muster. 00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:24.190 As the key turned more, he danced around the lock. 00:33:24.190 --> 00:33:30.380 Now he was holding himself upright only with his mouth, and he had to hang onto the 00:33:30.380 --> 00:33:36.060 key or then press it down again with the whole weight of his body, as necessary. 00:33:36.060 --> 00:33:43.370 The quite distinct click of the lock as it finally snapped really woke Gregor up. 00:33:43.370 --> 00:33:50.190 Breathing heavily he said to himself, "So I didn't need the locksmith," and he set his 00:33:50.190 --> 00:33:55.870 head against the door handle to open the door completely. 00:33:55.870 --> 00:34:01.650 Because he had to open the door in this way, it was already open very wide without 00:34:01.650 --> 00:34:04.310 him yet being really visible. 00:34:04.310 --> 00:34:09.950 He first had to turn himself slowly around the edge of the door, very carefully, of 00:34:09.950 --> 00:34:14.849 course, if he didn't want to fall awkwardly on his back right at the entrance into the 00:34:14.849 --> 00:34:16.240 room. 00:34:16.240 --> 00:34:21.369 He was still preoccupied with this difficult movement and had no time to pay 00:34:21.369 --> 00:34:26.609 attention to anything else, when he heard the manager exclaim a loud "Oh!"--it 00:34:26.609 --> 00:34:30.269 sounded like the wind whistling--and now he 00:34:30.269 --> 00:34:35.990 saw him, nearest to the door, pressing his hand against his open mouth and moving 00:34:35.990 --> 00:34:42.329 slowly back, as if an invisible constant force was pushing him away. 00:34:42.329 --> 00:34:48.480 His mother--in spite of the presence of the manager she was standing here with her hair 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:53.409 sticking up on end, still a mess from the night--was looking at his father with her 00:34:53.409 --> 00:34:55.609 hands clasped. 00:34:55.609 --> 00:35:01.049 She then went two steps towards Gregor and collapsed right in the middle of her 00:35:01.049 --> 00:35:06.960 skirts, which were spread out all around her, her face sunk on her breast, 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.329 completely concealed. 00:35:09.329 --> 00:35:15.640 His father clenched his fist with a hostile expression, as if he wished to push Gregor 00:35:15.640 --> 00:35:21.150 back into his room, then looked uncertainly around the living room, covered his eyes 00:35:21.150 --> 00:35:27.990 with his hands, and cried so that his mighty breast shook. 00:35:27.990 --> 00:35:33.999 At this point Gregor did not take one step into the room, but leaned his body from the 00:35:33.999 --> 00:35:40.680 inside against the firmly bolted wing of the door, so that only half his body was 00:35:40.680 --> 00:35:43.470 visible, as well as his head, tilted 00:35:43.470 --> 00:35:48.109 sideways, with which he peeped over at the others. 00:35:48.109 --> 00:35:50.880 Meanwhile it had become much brighter. 00:35:50.880 --> 00:35:56.400 Standing out clearly from the other side of the street was a part of the endless grey- 00:35:56.400 --> 00:36:03.190 black house situated opposite--it was a hospital--with its severe regular windows 00:36:03.190 --> 00:36:05.480 breaking up the facade. 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:12.799 The rain was still coming down, but only in large individual drops visibly and firmly 00:36:12.799 --> 00:36:17.749 thrown down one by one onto the ground. 00:36:17.749 --> 00:36:23.240 The breakfast dishes were standing piled around on the table, because for his father 00:36:23.240 --> 00:36:28.910 breakfast was the most important meal time in the day, which he prolonged for hours by 00:36:28.910 --> 00:36:32.650 reading various newspapers. 00:36:32.650 --> 00:36:37.680 Directly across on the opposite wall hung a photograph of Gregor from the time of his 00:36:37.680 --> 00:36:43.950 military service; it was a picture of him as a lieutenant, as he, smiling and worry 00:36:43.950 --> 00:36:51.920 free, with his hand on his sword, demanded respect for his bearing and uniform. 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:57.410 The door to the hall was ajar, and since the door to the apartment was also open, 00:36:57.410 --> 00:37:02.809 one could see out into the landing of the apartment and the start of the staircase 00:37:02.809 --> 00:37:05.440 going down. 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:10.579 "Now," said Gregor, well aware that he was the only one who had kept his composure. 00:37:10.579 --> 00:37:17.730 "I'll get dressed right away, pack up the collection of samples, and set off. 00:37:17.730 --> 00:37:20.890 You'll allow me to set out on my way, will you not? 00:37:20.890 --> 00:37:26.599 You see, Mr. Manager, I am not pig-headed, and I am happy to work. 00:37:26.599 --> 00:37:30.859 Travelling is exhausting, but I couldn't live without it. 00:37:30.859 --> 00:37:33.480 Where are you going, Mr. Manager? To the office? 00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:34.220 Really? 00:37:34.220 --> 00:37:36.140 Will you report everything truthfully? 00:37:36.140 --> 00:37:42.779 A person can be incapable of work momentarily, but that's precisely the best 00:37:42.779 --> 00:37:48.329 time to remember the earlier achievements and to consider that later, after the 00:37:48.329 --> 00:37:51.109 obstacles have been shoved aside, the 00:37:51.109 --> 00:37:54.299 person will work all the more eagerly and intensely. 00:37:54.299 --> 00:38:00.359 I am really so indebted to Mr. Chief--you know that perfectly well. 00:38:00.359 --> 00:38:05.079 On the other hand, I am concerned about my parents and my sister. 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:09.309 I'm in a fix, but I'll work myself out of it again. 00:38:09.309 --> 00:38:13.640 Don't make things more difficult for me than they already are. 00:38:13.640 --> 00:38:18.999 Speak up on my behalf in the office! People don't like travelling salesmen. 00:38:18.999 --> 00:38:20.519 I know that. 00:38:20.519 --> 00:38:25.240 People think they earn pots of money and thus lead a fine life. 00:38:25.240 --> 00:38:28.680 People don't even have any special reason to think through this judgment more 00:38:28.680 --> 00:38:29.130 clearly. 00:38:29.130 --> 00:38:35.819 But you, Mr. Manager, you have a better perspective on what's involved than other 00:38:35.819 --> 00:38:39.970 people, even, I tell you in total confidence, a better perspective than Mr. 00:38:39.970 --> 00:38:42.900 Chairman himself, who in his capacity as 00:38:42.900 --> 00:38:48.690 the employer may let his judgment make casual mistakes at the expense of an 00:38:48.690 --> 00:38:50.049 employee. 00:38:50.049 --> 00:38:55.049 You also know well enough that the travelling salesman who is outside the 00:38:55.049 --> 00:39:02.809 office almost the entire year can become so easily a victim of gossip, coincidences, 00:39:02.809 --> 00:39:05.579 and groundless complaints, against which 00:39:05.579 --> 00:39:10.660 it's impossible for him to defend himself, since for the most part he doesn't hear 00:39:10.660 --> 00:39:16.990 about them at all and only then when he's exhausted after finishing a trip and at 00:39:16.990 --> 00:39:21.150 home gets to feel in his own body the nasty 00:39:21.150 --> 00:39:25.890 consequences, which can't be thoroughly explored back to their origins. 00:39:25.890 --> 00:39:30.900 Mr. Manager, don't leave without speaking a word telling me that you'll at least 00:39:30.900 --> 00:39:33.049 concede that I'm a little in the right!" 00:39:33.049 --> 00:39:41.400 But at Gregor's first words the manager had already turned away, and now he looked back 00:39:41.400 --> 00:39:46.680 at Gregor over his twitching shoulders with pursed lips. 00:39:46.680 --> 00:39:52.819 During Gregor's speech he was not still for a moment but kept moving away towards the 00:39:52.819 --> 00:39:58.680 door, without taking his eyes off Gregor, but really gradually, as if there was a 00:39:58.680 --> 00:40:01.749 secret ban on leaving the room. 00:40:01.749 --> 00:40:06.680 He was already in the hall, and given the sudden movement with which he finally 00:40:06.680 --> 00:40:11.049 pulled his foot out of the living room, one could have believed that he had just burned 00:40:11.049 --> 00:40:13.359 the sole of his foot. 00:40:13.359 --> 00:40:18.660 In the hall, however, he stretched his right hand out away from his body towards 00:40:18.660 --> 00:40:24.140 the staircase, as if some truly supernatural relief was waiting for him 00:40:24.140 --> 00:40:27.079 there. 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:33.759 Gregor realized that he must not under any circumstances allow the manager to go away 00:40:33.759 --> 00:40:39.150 in this frame of mind, especially if his position in the firm was not to be placed 00:40:39.150 --> 00:40:41.789 in the greatest danger. 00:40:41.789 --> 00:40:44.690 His parents did not understand all this very well. 00:40:44.690 --> 00:40:50.359 Over the long years, they had developed the conviction that Gregor was set up for life 00:40:50.359 --> 00:40:56.200 in his firm and, in addition, they had so much to do nowadays with their present 00:40:56.200 --> 00:41:00.249 troubles that all foresight was foreign to them. 00:41:00.249 --> 00:41:06.019 But Gregor had this foresight. The manager must be held back, calmed down, 00:41:06.019 --> 00:41:09.390 convinced, and finally won over. 00:41:09.390 --> 00:41:13.630 The future of Gregor and his family really depended on it! 00:41:13.630 --> 00:41:17.430 If only the sister had been there! She was clever. 00:41:17.430 --> 00:41:22.509 She had already cried while Gregor was still lying quietly on his back. 00:41:22.509 --> 00:41:27.989 And the manager, this friend of the ladies, would certainly let himself be guided by 00:41:27.989 --> 00:41:29.009 her. 00:41:29.009 --> 00:41:33.880 She would have closed the door to the apartment and talked him out of his fright 00:41:33.880 --> 00:41:38.099 in the hall. But the sister was not even there. 00:41:38.099 --> 00:41:42.509 Gregor must deal with it himself. 00:41:42.509 --> 00:41:48.170 Without thinking that as yet he didn't know anything about his present ability to move 00:41:48.170 --> 00:41:54.039 and that his speech possibly--indeed probably--had once again not been 00:41:54.039 --> 00:41:56.700 understood, he left the wing of the door, 00:41:56.700 --> 00:42:01.680 pushed himself through the opening, and wanted to go over to the manager, who was 00:42:01.680 --> 00:42:06.599 already holding tight onto the handrail with both hands on the landing in a 00:42:06.599 --> 00:42:08.329 ridiculous way. 00:42:08.329 --> 00:42:14.150 But as he looked for something to hold onto, with a small scream Gregor 00:42:14.150 --> 00:42:17.650 immediately fell down onto his numerous little legs. 00:42:17.650 --> 00:42:23.099 Scarcely had this happened, when he felt for the first time that morning a general 00:42:23.099 --> 00:42:25.450 physical well being. 00:42:25.450 --> 00:42:32.259 The small limbs had firm floor under them; they obeyed perfectly, as he noticed to his 00:42:32.259 --> 00:42:37.710 joy, and strove to carry him forward in the direction he wanted. 00:42:37.710 --> 00:42:43.069 Right away he believed that the final amelioration of all his suffering was 00:42:43.069 --> 00:42:44.349 immediately at hand. 00:42:44.349 --> 00:42:51.329 But at the very moment when he lay on the floor rocking in a restrained manner quite 00:42:51.329 --> 00:42:56.599 close and directly across from his mother, who had apparently totally sunk into 00:42:56.599 --> 00:42:59.869 herself, she suddenly sprang right up with 00:42:59.869 --> 00:43:06.819 her arms spread far apart and her fingers extended and cried out, "Help, for God's 00:43:06.819 --> 00:43:08.839 sake, help!" 00:43:08.839 --> 00:43:14.460 She held her head bowed down, as if she wanted to view Gregor better, but ran 00:43:14.460 --> 00:43:19.720 senselessly back, contradicting that gesture, forgetting that behind her stood 00:43:19.720 --> 00:43:22.109 the table with all the dishes on it. 00:43:22.109 --> 00:43:27.839 When she reached the table, she sat down heavily on it, as if absent-mindedly, and 00:43:27.839 --> 00:43:33.369 did not appear to notice at all that next to her coffee was pouring out onto the 00:43:33.369 --> 00:43:37.980 carpet in a full stream from the large overturned container. 00:43:37.980 --> 00:43:45.579 "Mother, mother," said Gregor quietly, and looked over towards her. 00:43:45.579 --> 00:43:49.970 The manager momentarily had disappeared completely from his mind. 00:43:49.970 --> 00:43:56.420 At the sight of the flowing coffee Gregor couldn't stop himself snapping his jaws in 00:43:56.420 --> 00:43:57.660 the air a few times . 00:43:57.660 --> 00:44:05.369 At that his mother screamed all over again, hurried from the table, and collapsed into 00:44:05.369 --> 00:44:09.539 the arms of his father, who was rushing towards her. 00:44:09.539 --> 00:44:14.619 But Gregor had no time right now for his parents--the manager was already on the 00:44:14.619 --> 00:44:18.920 staircase. His chin level with the banister, the 00:44:18.920 --> 00:44:22.259 manager looked back for the last time. 00:44:22.259 --> 00:44:26.039 Gregor took an initial movement to catch up to him if possible. 00:44:26.039 --> 00:44:30.730 But the manager must have suspected something, because he made a leap down over 00:44:30.730 --> 00:44:35.319 a few stairs and disappeared, still shouting "Huh!" 00:44:35.319 --> 00:44:40.440 The sound echoed throughout the entire stairwell. 00:44:40.440 --> 00:44:46.130 Now, unfortunately this flight of the manager also seemed to bewilder his father 00:44:46.130 --> 00:44:46.789 completely. 00:44:46.789 --> 00:44:52.420 Earlier he had been relatively calm, for instead of running after the manager 00:44:52.420 --> 00:44:58.069 himself or at least not hindering Gregor from his pursuit, with his right hand he 00:44:58.069 --> 00:45:00.960 grabbed hold of the manager's cane, which 00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:05.079 he had left behind with his hat and overcoat on a chair. 00:45:05.079 --> 00:45:09.599 With his left hand, his father picked up a large newspaper from the table and, 00:45:09.599 --> 00:45:15.619 stamping his feet on the floor, he set out to drive Gregor back into his room by 00:45:15.619 --> 00:45:18.829 waving the cane and the newspaper. 00:45:18.829 --> 00:45:25.079 No request of Gregor's was of any use; no request would even be understood. 00:45:25.079 --> 00:45:30.739 No matter how willing he was to turn his head respectfully, his father just stomped 00:45:30.739 --> 00:45:33.880 all the harder with his feet. 00:45:33.880 --> 00:45:38.730 Across the room from him his mother had pulled open a window, in spite of the cool 00:45:38.730 --> 00:45:44.980 weather, and leaning out with her hands on her cheeks, she pushed her face far outside 00:45:44.980 --> 00:45:46.920 the window. 00:45:46.920 --> 00:45:51.749 Between the alley and the stairwell a strong draught came up, the curtains on the 00:45:51.749 --> 00:45:57.829 window flew around, the newspapers on the table swished, and individual sheets 00:45:57.829 --> 00:46:00.460 fluttered down over the floor. 00:46:00.460 --> 00:46:07.420 The father relentlessly pressed forward, pushing out sibilants, like a wild man. 00:46:07.420 --> 00:46:13.970 Now, Gregor had no practice at all in going backwards--it was really very slow going. 00:46:13.970 --> 00:46:18.339 If Gregor only had been allowed to turn himself around, he would have been in his 00:46:18.339 --> 00:46:23.710 room right away, but he was afraid to make his father impatient by the time-consuming 00:46:23.710 --> 00:46:26.920 process of turning around, and each moment 00:46:26.920 --> 00:46:32.460 he faced the threat of a mortal blow on his back or his head from the cane in his 00:46:32.460 --> 00:46:34.039 father's hand. 00:46:34.039 --> 00:46:39.819 Finally Gregor had no other option, for he noticed with horror that he did not 00:46:39.819 --> 00:46:44.970 understand yet how to maintain his direction going backwards. 00:46:44.970 --> 00:46:51.799 And so he began, amid constantly anxious sideways glances in his father's direction, 00:46:51.799 --> 00:46:57.029 to turn himself around as quickly as possible, although in truth this was only 00:46:57.029 --> 00:46:57.809 done very slowly. 00:46:57.809 --> 00:47:04.359 Perhaps his father noticed his good intentions, for he did not disrupt Gregor 00:47:04.359 --> 00:47:09.970 in this motion, but with the tip of the cane from a distance he even directed 00:47:09.970 --> 00:47:13.650 Gregor's rotating movement here and there. 00:47:13.650 --> 00:47:18.809 If only his father had not hissed so unbearably! 00:47:18.809 --> 00:47:23.119 Because of that Gregor totally lost his head. 00:47:23.119 --> 00:47:28.349 He was already almost totally turned around, when, always with this hissing in 00:47:28.349 --> 00:47:33.609 his ear, he just made a mistake and turned himself back a little. 00:47:33.609 --> 00:47:38.239 But when he finally was successful in getting his head in front of the door 00:47:38.239 --> 00:47:43.729 opening, it became clear that his body was too wide to go through any further. 00:47:43.729 --> 00:47:50.839 Naturally his father, in his present mental state, had no idea of opening the other 00:47:50.839 --> 00:47:56.229 wing of the door a bit to create a suitable passage for Gregor to get through. 00:47:56.229 --> 00:48:02.069 His single fixed thought was that Gregor must get into his room as quickly as 00:48:02.069 --> 00:48:02.869 possible. 00:48:02.869 --> 00:48:08.160 He would never have allowed the elaborate preparations that Gregor required to orient 00:48:08.160 --> 00:48:11.779 himself and thus perhaps get through the door. 00:48:11.779 --> 00:48:16.950 On the contrary, as if there were no obstacle and with a peculiar noise, he now 00:48:16.950 --> 00:48:19.749 drove Gregor forwards. 00:48:19.749 --> 00:48:24.729 Behind Gregor the sound at this point was no longer like the voice of only a single 00:48:24.729 --> 00:48:25.819 father. 00:48:25.819 --> 00:48:31.599 Now it was really no longer a joke, and Gregor forced himself, come what might, 00:48:31.599 --> 00:48:36.289 into the door. One side of his body was lifted up. 00:48:36.289 --> 00:48:39.089 He lay at an angle in the door opening. 00:48:39.089 --> 00:48:46.829 His one flank was sore with the scraping. On the white door ugly blotches were left. 00:48:46.829 --> 00:48:52.529 Soon he was stuck fast and would have not been able to move any more on his own. 00:48:52.529 --> 00:48:58.710 The tiny legs on one side hung twitching in the air above, and the ones on the other 00:48:58.710 --> 00:49:01.630 side were pushed painfully into the floor. 00:49:01.630 --> 00:49:08.369 Then his father gave him one really strong liberating push from behind, and he 00:49:08.369 --> 00:49:14.339 scurried, bleeding severely, far into the interior of his room. 00:49:14.339 --> 99:59:59.999 The door was slammed shut with the cane, and finally it was quiet.