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In Rachel Adams’s “Care,” she explains that women often are assigned what she describes as “care work.” Kafka supports this idea in his book “Metamorphosis” by characterizing Gregor’s sister, Grete, as the caregiver of Gregor after he transforms into an insect. Adams describes “care work” as work that “requires patience, restraint, and generosity” (Adams, 20). As a result, women are often put into these positions because they are viewed as nurturing figures that were made to tend to others. However, care work also contains “sorrow, concern, and burden” as well (Adams, 21). Kafka paints Grete embodying all the aspects of care work by having her be the sole tender to insect Gregor. Not only does she care for him by providing nourishment, but she also takes on the role of having to tolerate interacting with Gregor while protecting the rest of the family from having to acknowledge him.

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Stigma in Allan's article has long been associated with culture and societal norms, and in The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s father often urges him to suppress his emotions and continue fighting, even though he is suffering internally. This reflects toxic masculinity, where men are expected to be strong and emotionally distant. Additionally, in the realm of culture, the author emphasises that stigma is historically shaped by cultural factors. Gregor's family appears to be very conservative and unaware of mental health issues. His physical transformation and inability to communicate build the stigma around him. At times, the family grows fearful of him, leading to his isolation because he no longer fits cultural and societal expectations.

Similar themes related to gender and race are discussed in the article "Care." The author explains how caregiving is often delegated to women and people of color. In The Metamorphosis, the duty of caring for Gregor falls to his sister, reflecting the view that women are more empathetic and nurturing. Gregor's family, from a conservative lower-middle-class background, needed greater cultural awareness about the harmful effects of neglecting mental health. At the article's conclusion, the author suggests that the demographics of caregiving can change by not only educating people and implementing policies but also by shifting cultural perspectives on how caregivers are valued.

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To this day, there exists a stigma among men and depression. In Dr. Steven Lamm's article, “Why So Many Men with Depression Go Untreated,” such a fact is proven when informed, “Half as many men report being depressed as women.” Throughout Metamorphosis, it becomes evident that Allen is using Gregor's mental and physical form as a symbol of male depression. Society has shaped men to be sole providers. Gregor is supposed to be “strong,” “aggressive,” and “bold.” When he begins to shift away from this role, Gregor is now “in a pathetic and repulsive shape,” (pg. 85). In the article, Stigma, it is defined by Goffman as “we believe the person with a stigma is not quite human and we knowingly or unknowingly reduce the life chances of those who are stigmatized,” (pg. 194). Here exists a stigma on men with depression not being strong enough to be considered lovable or even men.

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In the essay “Care”, the author writes about the rise of institutions for people with disabilities,and how having a relative in these institutions became shameful and secretive as new understandings for heredity arose. As well as the isolation that these institutions imposed.

In “The Metamorphosis” we can see that Gregor was extremely isolated and he often expresses his worries about being a burden for his family. “He must show patience and the greatest consideration so that his family could bear the unpleasantness that he, in his present state, was forced to impose on them” (page 22)

One of the main events in the novel that proved the shame his family felt towards him, is when Gregor comes out to listen to his sister play the violin, and the guests are disgusted by the idea of living with an insect, while the family is deeply ashamed and upset with Gregor for allowing others to see his condition. From the quote “The main thing holding the family back from their decision of moving was much more to do with their total despair and the thought that they had been struck with a misfortune unlike anything experienced by anyone else”(page 33) We can understand that rather than caring for Gregor and being empathetic, they were more concerned about the repercussions that his condition had on their family.

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In the article stigma, Allan responds by saying, "the health humanities have investigated the problem of disease stigmas to demonstrate the social and cultural processes by which individuals and groups are held accountable and blameworthy from the perspective of disease, the body and social identities. In Metamorphosis, it not clearly expressed, but we can see some aspects of the family pushing him away, even though Gregor did not choose to be in the position that he was in at the moment.

"As a result of disease- related stigmas, people and populations have found themselves subject to prejudice and demoralization, abuse and discrimination, isolation and segregation, as well as harassment and violence." All of this can be reflected to the book, because Gregor was harassed by his dad, when he threw apples at him, he was constantly being pushed back to his room by probing him. He was also seen less of a person because he could not take care of himself and the rest of the family members like he used to. Most of the time, he was isolated and locked in his room because nobody wanted to deal with him so he was kept out of sight.

Though the family might have done this in an unknowingly manner, it still affected Gregor in an harsher way. This shows us that our actions whether done knowingly or not really affects the other person, to whom we are expressing to.

"In this context, fear and anxiety are manipulated to enhance ideas of difference. Xenophobia is utilized to emphasize "us vs. them" a central aspect of the "tribal" stigmas that Goffman pointed to in his early treatise. In metamorphosis Kafka clearly illustrated on how the family members saw Gregor as less of a human.

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In Kafka's The Metamorphosis, the image of Gregor's transformation into an insect symbolizes the profound isolation and dehumanization that can be a result of stigma. This closely relates to Brandt's ideas in his essay Stigma, where individuals are marginalized due to perceived differences from societal norms. Gregor's physical change renders him "other" in the eyes if his family who are unable to accept his new form, and progressively withdraw their care and compassion. His insect form becomes a visible marker of his stigmatization causing shame, rejection, and further emotional distress. In Goffman's theory, Gregor's humanity is overshadowed by his "deformity" leading to his social and emotional death before the physical death. Kafka's portrayal of Gregor's alienation vividly captures the emotional toll that stigmatization imposes on individuals, illustrating the tragic consequences of being perceived as different or less than.

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How the concept of 'Xenophobia' from "Stigma" relates to Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

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How the concept of 'Xenophobia' from "Stigma" relates to Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

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Brandt introduces the idea of "othering" where 2 parties are present---the stigmatized and the stigmatized. Similarly in Kafka's novella, our protagonist Gregor Samsa is "othered" by his own family after his sudden transformation into a bug. This enhances the concept of xenophobia in reference to stigmatization wherein Gregor experiences xenophobia at the hands of his own mother, father and eventually sister.

It is well established in the story that Samsa is a travelling salesman and is only able to spend time at home for brief periods. Moreover, he is also the breadwinner of the Samsa household since the family has fallen into debt. When Gregor metamorphoses into a bug one fine morning, not only is he unrecognizable to his family but he is also defenseless and vulnerable. Now a stranger, he is also unable to speak for himself. Thus begins the case of xenophobia within the novella---his family members refer to him as "it" and promptly lock him in his bedroom.

The linguistic barrier between them, Frau Samsa's inability to look at her son without suffering from a mental relapse, Herr Samsa's violent throwing of objects at Gregor in repulsion etc. create a breeding ground of misunderstanding and dissent in their apartment. It is almost as if Gregor is now a foreigner in the Samsa household and his inability to speak his mother tongue, or speak at all, coupled with his insect-like appearance contribute to his alienation at the hands of his parents and sisters. He is "othered" and this stigmatization gradually increases the buildup of shame, guilt and resentment within him.

One could argue that since he's defenseless and considered repulsive, he easily becomes a punching bag for the family's emotions now that their financial worries grow. The paragraph where Herr Samsa lodges an apple into Gregor's back as well as his sister Grete's staunch decision to kill him near the end of the novella, clarify how the family came to view him as a burden as the story progressed; a stark irony to the flashbacks elucidating Gregor saving money to eventually send Grete to music school plus how he stays in an unhappy job just to pay off his family debt and provide for the Samsas.

In conclusion, the Samsa's xenophobia towards Gregor, a culmination of their frustrations and fears, perpetuate the cycle of stigma internally and externally. Perhaps his metamorphosis into a bug serves as a metaphor for mental illness or physical disability or an umbrella term for feeling misunderstood. Nevertheless, his "othering" by his own family depicts how stigma isn't just a collective societal action, but can be seen even in the vicinity of one's home.

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While both the "Care" essay written by Rachel Adams, and the "Stigma" essay written by Alan Brandt relate to the novela "The metamorphosis" because of their central themes around how patients feel because of external factors, one stood out more than the other.

In the novela, Gregor, the main character is locked away in his room, isolated from the rest of the world because of what has happened to him. Although not specified, we know that it has caused his family to treat him differently.

In the "Stigma" article, I found it almost coincidental that Brandt referenced a quote from Erving Hoffman that writes " By definition... we believe that the person with a stigma is not quite human." " As a result we "normals" knowingly or unknowingly reduce the life chances of those who are stigmatized.( Hoffman 1963, 6)

This is a direct correlation to the novela, "The Metamorphosis" not only because Gregor was physically changed into a insect, but because he was dehumanized by his own parents, treating him like he was not one of them.

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When comparing Allan M. Brandt's Stigma to Kafka's novella, there are countless similarities.

In The Metamorphosis, Gregor, the protagonist, goes through physical changes turning him into an insect. He is ostracized by society and the rest of his family, forcing him into his room. In Stigma, Brandt highlights the stigmas around disease and illness created by society.

In the article, Brandt explains, "Stigma materializes the impact of biases, which often ascribe disease to personal responsibility, the result of an essential moral failing" (194). Similarly, Gregor feels a moral obligation to uphold his family as the main provider in his household. He essentially feels "moral failing" when he cannot come to work in the early parts of the novella. In another example, Brandt says, "There can be no stigma without two parties, the stigmatized and the stigmatizer" (194). This quote exemplifies the dynamic existing between Gregor and his family. He is the other of these "two parties," while his family can remain normal and he is no longer one of them.