Part I, opening line
Whether Gregor is beetle, cockroach, or unspecified vermin shapes every interpretation. Nabokov argued for a beetle with wings; Kafka insisted on no depiction.
Read in Books4Free →The Ungeziefer Translation Debate
From Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Kafka's German word "ungeheueres Ungeziefer" (monstrous vermin) resists precise translation; he forbade any illustration of the creature, making its exact form a famous critical crux.
Part II
The charwoman calls him "dung beetle" (Mistkafer), the closest the text comes to species identification — and she's the least reliable source.
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