Metamorfoses do corpo em Kafka

Abstract

Franz Kafka's literature presents bodies in metamorphosis. The aim of this article is to analyze, in three works, the enigmatic transformation of bodies that are subjected to a greater force, regarding their degree of resistance and acceptance of an inevitable process. In the novel The Metamorphosis, the worker Gregor Samsa wakes up transformed into a monstrous insect, and much of the narrative shows us the discovery of a new body, with its limitations and improbable power. The novel The Trial brings bodies deformed by inhospitable life in attics that are notary offices and archives, starting with the physical arrest of Josef K. and ending with his annihilation. In short, In the Penal Colony, the accusation and sentence for a crime are recorded on the body of the accused at the same time as its execution is carried out, thanks to a technique of writing in the flesh. Here, more explicitly, the body suffers the effects of language.