Franz Kafka’s Classic: Metamorphosis (Annotated) characters

Appears from the start

A traveling salesman who supports his parents and younger sister. He wakes one morning to find that his body has changed into a giant insect-like form, yet his first concerns are his missed train, his demanding employer, and the income on which his family relies.

Also known as Grete

Appears from the start

Gregor's seventeen-year-old sister. She lives with their parents and is the family member most attentive to Gregor when his unexplained absence from work first alarms the household.

Appears from the start

Gregor and Grete's father, who has not worked for years and depends on Gregor's earnings. He responds to the crisis in Gregor's locked room with alarm, frustration, and an urgent desire to restore order.

Appears from the start

Gregor and Grete's mother. Frail and distressed by her son's failure to leave for work, she tries to understand what is happening behind his locked bedroom door.

Also known as The Office Manager

Appears from the start

A senior employee from Gregor's firm who comes to the apartment as soon as Gregor misses his morning train. Suspicious and severe, he demands an explanation and warns that Gregor's standing at work is already in doubt.

First appears in chapter 3

An older cleaning woman employed by the Samsas after their household has been reduced. Unlike the family, she approaches Gregor without delicacy and treats his transformed state with blunt curiosity.

First appears in chapter 3

Three serious, demanding men who rent a room from the Samsas after the family needs additional income. Their presence requires the household to keep its strange private circumstances carefully hidden.