International Journal Of Literature And Languages
45
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
45-47
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue06-14
Gregor zamza as a posthumanistic transformation of "the
excessive person"
Pak Galina Yen-Unovna
Senior Lecturer at UBS, Namangan city, Uzbekistan
Received:
12 April 2025;
Accepted:
08 May 2025;
Published:
17 June 2025
Abstract:
This article explores the metamorphosis of the figure of the "superfluous man" in the work of Franz
Kafka, particularly through the character of Gregor Samsa in the novella The Metamorphosis (1915). A
comparative analysis is carried out between Samsa and the classical representatives of the Russian type of
"superfluous man"
—
Onegin, Pechorin, and Chatsky. Special attention is given to the themes of alienation,
silence, non-functionality, and the collapse of the humanist model of the subject. The study combines methods
of hermeneutics, existential philosophy, and literary comparativism.
Keywords: -
Superfluous man, Franz Kafka, existentialism, posthumanism, alienation, subject, modernism, silence.
Introduction:
The figure of the "superfluous person"
occupies a special place in the literary tradition of the
19th century, especially in Russian culture, where it
serves not only as a social and psychological portrait of
the era but also as a philosophical category. In the
works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Griboyedov, this image
reflects the clash of the hero's inner world with a
conservative, repressive society. However, in the 20th
century, this figure undergoes transformation. It takes
on a special form in the work of Franz Kafka, where
"deprivation" acquires an ontological, not just social,
nature. The protagonist of the novella "The
Transformation" (1915) [5], Gregor Samsa, becomes an
icon of modernist alienation and post-humanistic
existence.
The purpose of this article is to conduct
a comparative analysis between the figure of Zamza
and the classical "superfluous person," to identify key
differences in the structure of alienation, the degree of
subjectivity, and the philosophical status of the
characters. The methodology is based on the synthesis
of hermeneutics, existential philosophy, and post-
humanistic criticism.
Main
part
Researchers
interpret Kafka's story as an existential allegory in
which Zamza embodies a modernist era person -
atomized, alienated, having lost connection with div,
labor, language, and the meaning of life [9]. His life
before transformation is no better - he was already a
functional element of the corporate machine, existing
for the benefit of others. Turning into an insect only
makes his inner "deprivation" obvious and undeniable:
"He became an insect - but this is only a manifestation
of the isolation he had felt before"2.
Zamza's
alienation is total: it is not only social, but also physical,
verbal, and communicative. He loses not just his job or
status - he loses his human form of being, transitioning
to a zone of mute and meaninglessness. Loss of speech
becomes a symbol of identity loss: "He wanted to say
something in response, but only a meaningless clang
escaped from his throat" [5]. Zamza is not a protesting
subject, but a silent object deprived even of the
possibility of declaration. His suffering is not
meaningful, but biological; not tragic, but absurd. In
this, he differs sharply from Onegin, Pechorin, and
Chatsky, whose inner conflict is colored by reflection,
moral search, and attempts at dialogue with society.
The figures of Onegin, Pechorin, and Chatsky represent
the earliest variations of the image of the "superfluous
person" in Russian literature, each of which carries a
complex internal conflict imbued with reflection, moral
aspirations, and attempts to establish dialogue with
society. Unlike later representatives of this type, such
as Oblomov or Bazarov, these characters are not so
passive or destructive as to suffer from internal discord
between themselves and the social environment.
International Journal Of Literature And Languages
46
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
Yevgeny Onegin, the hero of Alexander Pushkin's novel
of the same name, experiences deep spiritual apathy
and boredom, which is the result of both excessive
education and the absence of applying his mental
abilities in life. His inability to respond to Tatiana's
feelings and subsequent tragic awareness of missed
opportunity demonstrate the reflexive nature of his
conflict: Onegin not only rejects society but also proves
incapable of genuine interaction with it. Pechorin, the
central figure in Lermontov's novel "The Hero of Our
Time," embodies the next phase in the evolution of the
"superfluous person": he is not just an observer, but
also an active participant, ironically aware of his
destructive power. Pechorin suffers from internal
discord and emptiness, which he himself produces,
experimenting with the feelings of others and at the
same time seeking the meaning of his existence. His
diaries are a true testament to the reflective work of a
mind striving not only to understand its nature but also
its inability to be morally integrity.
Chatsky, the hero of Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from
the Mind," contrasts Moscow's flowery society with his
sincerity, independence, and wit. Its conflict lies in the
clash of new ideas with an archaic system of values.
Unlike Onegin and Pechorin, Chatsky hasn't lost faith in
the possibility of dialogue yet, but his monologues are
reduced to emptiness: the public either doesn't hear
his voice or rejects it. It is precisely in this tragic
impossibility of being understood that lies the depth of
his "deprivation."
Zamza's physical metamorphosis has not only symbolic
but also philosophical meaning. The div becomes an
arena for the deconstruction of identity: it doesn't
simply feel like a stranger, it becomes physically
different. This uniqueness turns him into an object of
disgust, fear, and violence, which intensifies the feeling
of not just alienation, but complete desubjectivization.
Post-humanistic interpretations emphasize that Kafka's
mutation breaks the fundamental boundaries between
humans and non-living nature, between subject and
object. As R. Esposito writes, "Kafka undermines the
very idea of an autonomous human subject by placing
it in a div that has lost its human status" [10]. Unlike
the "superfluous people" of the manual tradition,
whose div remains a place of freedom, desire, or at
least pain, Zamza's div loses its significance - it
becomes a functional barrier and a symbol of the
impossibility of communication.
Kafka radically
reframes the familiar topologies of the subject. The
space in the room where Zamza is found becomes a
metaphor of ontological exile. This is not just prison
isolation, but isolation within the framework of
inhuman existence. The family is not a place of support,
but an instrument of alienation. He wasn't expelled
from society - he had never truly joined it.
The space does not open up for escape or salvation. As
Benjamin notes, in the Kafka world "there are no doors
leading outside - only corridors leading deeper
inside"[1]. Such a transient sense of helplessness
radically contrasts with the fates of Onegin or Pechorin,
whose "deprivation" implies movement, choice, even
death as a result of an act of will. Zamza has no will -
only the process of dying.
One of the central
elements of Zamza's alienation is his silence. It's not
that he can't speak - he loses access to the sign system
as such. This is not a simple absence of speech, but a
testament to the collapse of the logos that in the
humanistic tradition defined a person. Zamza's silence
symbolizes the end of intersubjectivity. It becomes an
untranslatable, uninterpretable, mute sign of
difference.
Onegin, Pechorin, and Chatsky are not
just "superfluous people," but also bearers of
intellectual and moral anxiety, which questions the
boundaries between individual freedom and social
duty. Their internal conflict is not limited to existential
dissatisfaction, but includes an active attempt to
comprehend and express their own difference - the
way, and with a tragic outcome.
"Excess people," despite their tragic nature, are always
engaged in dialogue - with society, with women, with
themselves. Their words - meaningless and ironic,
desperate or futile - are still included in the structure of
the meaning [6]. Zamza, however, loses not only its
language, but also its ability to be understood, which
means to be.
Comparing Gregor Zamza with the
classical representatives of the "superfluous person"
tradition - Onegin, Pechorin, and Chatsky - reveals a
fundamental difference not only in the motivation and
fate of the heroes but also in the very ontology of their
existence. A "superfluous person" is a subject who has
entered into conflict with social reality, but retains
internal integrity and reflexive capacity. It is a product
of the cultural system, a path, and its marginal element.
He suffers within the framework of this system, realizes
his "deprivation" as a tragedy, and is capable of
expressing protest, even if passive or ironic. Its conflict
is ethical and historical-cultural, and it is rooted in a
humanistic tradition.
Kafka's hero is
fundamentally of a different kind. Gregor Samsa does
not engage in dialogue with the public - he is excluded
from it before the beginning of the narrative, even in
anthropological terms. His transformation into an
insect merely visualizes the ontological alienation he
had previously possessed. He is not deprived of
something external - power, love, meaning; he is
excluded from the possibility of being human. His
"deprivation" has no cause, and this makes it absurd
and extreme.
International Journal Of Literature And Languages
47
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
Zamza's alienation is not social or moral, but
ontological. He is not banished because he is bad, and
not even because he conflicts with the system - he is a
stranger in the fact that he exists. Even the closest
relatives who perceive it before metamorphosis solely
as a source of income do not experience genuine horror
or pity when it "falls" from human status. His exclusion
from home proceeds with cold-blooded pragmatism,
indicating the destruction not only of the family but
also of the anthropocentric myth about man as a value.
CONCLUSION
Thus, in the figure of Zamza, a radical deconstruction of
the humanistic foundations of Western culture begins -
work, family, identity lose their sacred status. This
allows us to speak of Kafka as a preacher of post-
humanistic consciousness, where man is no longer the
center of the world, and his "deprivation" becomes a
norm, not an exception. Zamza is not excluded, but
impossible. He is radically different - outside of culture,
outside of language, outside of the div. If Onegin and
Pechorin can still speak, suffer, and love, then Zamza is
deprived even of these forms of connection with the
world. Its existence is a testament not to the rejection
of humanity, but to the collapse of its very possibilities.
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