I have to admit that I was really sad with the ending to this book, but the more I reflect on it, the more I wonder if it really happens at all. Yes, the whole story's realism comes into question many times, but even if we accept those strange dreamlike qualities I feel that the final section operates outside the "reality" of the rest of the story.
When reading the narration of the final section, it is almost unmistakably Gregor speaking. This and the almost ridiculous whimsy and perfection exhibited in the ending makes me suspicious of whether or not the events actually happened.
I don't mean to call the whole plot into question, but I want to propose an alternate reason for the whimsically strange ending. I view it as the final sad hope of the dying Gregor that he can bring happiness to his family. He pictures that, in death, he is able to improve their lives in every way. This is the only way that he can justify his death, because as we've seen, he never has truly cared about his own well being, but instead what his family wanted. This makes the ending all the more sad, as it transforms from a family strangely joyous at the death of a son, to the son himself, hoping that his family finds joy in his death.
1 comment:
Yeah, calling the entire plot into question is kind of a zero-sum game. (And also absurd, in that, of course, NONE of this "actually happened.") But I definitely agree that Gregor's self-deprecating point of view is so palpable in that ending, and the over-the-top joyfulness of it is so in keeping with his own demolished self-image at this point (not only would they not *mourn* my death, they'd go out for a picnic and celebrate!).
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