The Metamorphosis
变形记
The Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It has been cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is studied in colleges and universities across the Western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Samsa's transformation is never revealed, and Kafka himself never gave an explanation. The rest of Kafka's novella deals with Gregor's attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repulsed by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.
《变形记》是弗兰兹·卡夫卡首次发表于1915年的短篇小说。它被视为20世纪影响深远的作品之一，在西方国家高校学府均受到关注和学习。小说一开始讲的是长年出差的销售员格雷戈尔·山姆萨一觉醒来发现自己变(异)成了一只硕大的、相貌丑陋的昆虫类生物。至于为什么会变形，小说并未透露，卡夫卡本人也从来没有解释过。小说后面讲述的就是格雷戈尔如何适应这种变化，如何不让恶心恐怖的自己变成父母和妹妹的负担。
Beginning with its first sentence, The Metamorphosis deals with an absurd, or wildly irrational, event, which in itself suggests that the story operates in a random, chaotic universe. The responses of the various characters add to this sense of absurdity, specifically because they seem almost as absurd as Gregor's transformation itself. Perhaps the greatest consequence of Gregor's metamorphosis is the psychological distance it creates between Gregor and those around him. Though Gregor's physical change is complete when the story begins, he also undergoes a related change, a psychological transformation as he adapts to his new body. Today, people use the word Kafkaesque to signify senseless and sinister complexity.
《变形记》一开篇便呈现一桩荒诞不经、不可理喻的事件，正暗示了小说的发生背景是这个混乱无序的宇宙。更增添小说荒诞色彩的是各色人物对变形的反应，他们似乎与格雷戈尔的变形同样荒唐可笑。变形给格雷戈尔带来的最坏影响，恐怕就是造成了他与周围人群的心理隔阂。虽然小说一开始格雷戈尔的肉体就已完全变形，但随着他逐渐适应新的躯体，他的心理也相应地慢慢变形。今天人们用Kafkaesque(卡夫卡式)这个词来代表一种荒诞罪恶的复杂状态。
