Female Metamorphosis in Kafkas The Metamorphosis and Sartres The Flies
This 3-page graduate paper considers the changes undergone by the characters Grete in Kafkas The Metamorphosis and Electra in Sartres The Flies. This essay addresses the comparisons between the two characters and discussed the 'metamorphosis' Grete and Electra undergo. This essay concludes that the depictions of feminine metamorphosis juxtaposed with masculine change in both Sartre and Kafka suggest a basically misogynist vision of womens development. Both Grete and Electra are depicted as ultimately self-serving and flighty in their desire to be reintegrated into the home or society, while men are seen as independent and willing to represent justice. Electra is depicted in an even more unsavoury fashion, as she abandons her principles in order to garner protection from the flies or furies. Both women serve as foils to the changes of male protagonists, and both represent the ways that changes are harmful or negative. Grete changes into a modern and uncaring woman seemingly in order to get approval from her family, while Electra becomes a faithless follower, abandoning her earlier visions to escape punishment.
