Original subtitles

The Metamorphosis

When Gregor Samsa

awoke one morning from troubled dreams

he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.

What has happened to me?

What if I went back to sleep

and forgot all this nonsense?

It wasn't a dream

There, quietly between the four familiar walls, was his room.

Over the table,

on which an array of cloth samples was spread out,

- Samsa was a travelling salesman -

hung the picture

he had recently clipped from a magazine

and set in an attractive gilt frame.

Oh God, what a strenuous career it is that I've chosen!

On the road, day in, day out.

This getting up early makes one quite stupid.

It was half past six

and the hands were quietly moving forwards

One could see from the bed

that it had been set for four o'clock.

Certainly it must have rung out.

Heavenly Father, my train...

Gregor, it is quarter to seven. Didn't you want to go somewhere?

Gregor, aren't you well? Do you need anything?

Gregor, what's the matter?

Thank you mother, I'm getting up now.

I'm ready, now.

Open up, I beg of you.

One mustn't loaf around in bed.

Someone from work is here!

The chief clerk is here

I know!

The chief clerk has come and wants to know why you didn't leave on the early train.

We don't know what to say to him.

Besides, he wants to talk to you in person.

So please open the door!

He will be good enough to forgive the untidiness of the room.

Something's fallen down in there

Good morning, Mr. Samsa

He's not well.

He isn't well, please believe me.

Why else would Gregor

miss a train?

The boy thinks about nothing but the work.

He never goes out at night, on the contrary

He sits at the table with us,

Reading the newspaper or studies the timetables.

His idea of relaxation is working with his fretsaw.

He spent two evenings

cutting out a little picture frame

It's hanging in his room

You will be amazed how pretty it is.

You will see it presently!

When Gregor opens up

By the way, I am delighted that you have come.

We alone would have never been able to get him to open the door.

He must be unwell.

I am just coming.

I have no other explanation, dear madam

I hope it's nothing serious.

But on the other hand, I must say that we people in commerce

are quite often simply forced to overcome

a slight indisposition.

Can the chief clerk come in to see you now then?

No

Mr. Samsa

What is the matter?

You barricade yourself in your room,

respond only with "Yes" and "No"

Causing serious and unnecessary concern to your parents

and neglect your professional duties

In, as it were,

a monstrous manner!

Certainly, your position is not

the most secure

And your performance

has been dissatisfactory of late

It may not be the season for extraordinary business

but

a season

of doing no business at all

definitely does not exist.

Must not exist

Mr. Chief Clerk, I shall open immediately

A slight indisposition, an attack of dizziness prevented my getting up

I'm in bed again and I've calmed down now.

I am getting out of bed

Just give me a moment, spare my parents

All the accusations you make

have no basis

Perhaps you have not read the latest commissions I sent in

I will depart on the eight o'clock train

These few hours of rest have given me strength

Kindly be so good to send my regards to the director

Did you understand a word of that?

You don't suppose he's pulling our legs, do you?

Oh God!

He could be seriously ill and we're tormenting him

Grete

Mother?

You'll have to go for the doctor immediately

Did you hear Gregor just now?

To send my regards to the director!

The voice of an animal

Anna!

Get a locksmith at once!

Listen

He's turning the key

My dear

You, you

I'll get dressed straight away now, pack up my samples and set off.

Will you only let me go? Sir, you see

I am not stubborn and I enjoy working

Travelling is wearisome but I could not live without it

Where are you going now, sir?

To the office, I suppose. Will you report everything truthfully?

One can be temporarily unable to work

but that is just the right moment

to remember past accomplishments

and to consider that, later, once the difficulty has been removed

he will work with all the more diligence and concentration

I am under a great obligation to the director, you know that very well

On the other hand, I have responsibilities for my parents and my sister.

I am in a jam but I will work my way out of it.

Only don't make it any harder for me than it is already!

Give me your backing at the office.

The traveller is not popular there, I know.

It's thought that he earns sacks of money and just has a good time.

There is no particular cause to review this prejudice, but you, sir

You have a better overview of affairs

than the rest of the staff

Even, in confidence, than the director himself

Who, as an entrepeneur, too easily errs unfavourably

against the employee

And you also know that the traveller who is away from the office almost the whole year

May all too easily fall victim to gossip and to chance

and to baseless complaints

Against which he has no way of defending himself

since he mostly knows nothing about them

And when he returns exhausted from his travels

And only then suffers in person from their evil consequences

which he can no longer trace back to their original causes.

Chief Clerk, do not leave without

showing me by a word or two

that you at least partly agree with me!

Mother

You want to guzzle my coffee?

Go away, go away, you beast!

Gregor, come

Did you enjoy it?

Did he, did he eat anything?

Look what you've done

I'll never get that out of these trousers again

Is there hot water?

What am I going to wear? I wanted to go out

Heat up some hot water, will you

Yesterday he left it all untouched

But today he enjoyed his meal

Already in the course of that first day

his father set out the family's financial situation and prospects

to his mother and sister.

Now and then he rose from the table

and produced from his till

which he had rescued from the collapse of his business five years earlier

some certificate

or some savings book.

It had even happened that

various family jewels which the mother and sister

used to wear exuberantly at functions and celebrations

had been sold.

Gregor was now informed comprehensively,

since his father repeated his explanations several times

that in spite of all misfortune

an admittedly miniscule capital remained

which, in the meantime, had increased a little

because the dividends had not been touched.

Behind his door,

Gregor nodded eagerly

rejoiced at this unexpected foresight and thrift.

What's he doing now?

Would you like me to get you a beer?

I don't mind fetching it

Or I could ask the janitor's wife

Please let me see Gregor

He is my misfortunate son, after all

Can you not understand

that I must be with him?

No

Come in, Mother. He's nowhere to be seen.

And won't it seem that by removing the furniture

we indicate our giving up any hope of a recovery

and that we're ruthlessly abandoning him

No

Go away

Hello, what...

What has happened?

Mother fainted

But she's better now

Gregor escaped

As I'd expected

I've been telling you, but you women

don't want to listen.

No, stop that

Stop it

Gregor's severe injury

from which he suffered for over a month

- since nobody dared to remove it, the apple remained

lodged in Gregor's flesh as a visible reminder -

apparently had reminded even the father

that Gregor despite his current sad and revolting form

was a member of the family

who could not be treated like an enemy.

Rather, the obligations of family dictated

to swallow one's revulsion

and to endure, just to endure.

And even if Gregor had probably permanently lost his mobility

because of his wound

He gained for the deterioration of his condition

in his opinion,

a completely sufficient compensation,

in the fact that now every evening the living room door was opened.

How long you've been sewing again today

Rendez-vous

avec

vous

Grete, come here

Come

What a life

This is what peace I get in my old age!

No, no

Rendez-vous

No, let go

Go now

Grete, close the door

Away, away!

But even when the sister had become weary of

caring for Gregor as before

this did not mean that the mother would have to replace her

And there would not have been any reason to neglect Gregor

Because now the maid was around

What is this?!

Come here, for God's sake

Yes?

Who did this?

Why? I cleaned up earlier

- Why did you clean the room?

- You're supposed to stay in your room, this is her work! - How can you say this!

I've always said this is her work

Stop that now

Stop your coughing

Calm down

Don't choke

I can no longer stand this

Look at the old dung-beetle!

Come here you dung-beetle

Can't go any further?

It had now become customary

to place into this room such items

that could not be accommodated elsewhere.

And there were now many such items

because one of the apartment's rooms

had been let of late to three gentlement

These earnest men were painfully insistent on tidiness.

Unnecessary

or dirty clutter would not be brooked.

Many items

had become superfluous

which, although they could not be sold,

the family did not wish to discard.

I do feel hungry, but not for these things

How these gentlemen feast while I perish

Is the music disagreeable to the gentlemen?

It can be halted at once

On the contrary

would the young lady not like to come in and play here in the room

where it is, after all, much more cosy and comfortable?

Oh yes

Was he an animal if music could captivate him so?

It seemed to him he was being shown the way to the unknown nourishment he had been yearning for.

He was determined to make his way forward to his sister

and thereby to indicate to her that

he'd had the serious intention

to send her to the conservatory.

Mr. Samsa

Away with you!

Please, gentlemen, withdraw to your room

Please

Take care of him!

I declare here and now

that with regard to the repugnant conditions

that prevail in this flat

I give immediate notice on my room.

For the days that I have been living here I will, of course, pay nothing at all, on the contrary!

I will have to consider thoroughly whether to sue for damages

and it would be very easy to set out the grounds for such an action.

I am giving notice, too!

I am giving notice, too

This is intolerable, we will not submit to this

Dear parents, this cannot continue!

Maybe you can't see it, but I do

This beast does not

deserve my brother's name

This is why I say

We have to try to get rid off it.

We have tried everything humanly possible

to tolerate it and to care for it

I believe

we are beyond reproach

She is quite right

We have to try to get rid off it

It is going to be the death of the both of you

I can see it coming. We can't all work as hard as we have to

and at home endure this endless torture

We simply have to get rid off it.

I can no longer stand it either!

But child, what can we do?

If only he understood us

It has to go, that's the only way, father!

You only have to abandon your belief

that it is Gregor

If it was Gregor

he would have understood already

that one cannot live together with such an animal

and he would have left voluntarily

And he would not torment us incessantly

We'd no longer have a brother

but we could continue living

And honour his memory

As it is this animal pursues us

drives out the gentlemen

And apparently seeks to occupy the entire apartment

While we have to sleep in the streets

See father, there it goes again

But Gregor had never intended in the least

to inspire fear in anyone

certainly not in his sister

He had simply begun

to turn around

in order to return to his room

This was rather conspicuous

since, due to his suffering,

he had to employ his head

during the difficult about turns

Although he felt pain throughout his body

he felt as if

it was gradually weakening

And would dissipate entirely, at last

He could already hardly feel

the decayed apple in his back or the inflamed area around it.

He thought back of his family

with emotion and love.

His view concerning his necessary disappearance

was possibly even more determined

than his sister's.

He remained in this state of

empty and peaceful rumination

until the clock tower struck three in the morning.

Then, without his willing it, his head sank down completely,

And his last breath flowed weakly from his nostrils

Now look, it's dead

just lying there, totally dead.

Dead?

I'll say

Now then, let's give thanks to God

Look how thin he was

He has not eaten in two days

Grete, come in our room for a while

Come here

you dung-beetle

Where's our breakfast?

Leave my apartment at once!

What is the meaning of this?

Exactly how I said it!

Well

in that case, we are leaving

I'm going

Now?

What do you want?

Well, concerning the disposal of the stuff

in the other room

you needn't have any concerns

It is taken care of

Cheerio then

Tonight she will be sacked

Let's forget about all that old stuff. Come and give me a bit of attention

They decided to make use of the remainder

of the day for resting and for a promenade

They sat down at the table and wrote three letters of apology.

Mr. Samsa to his directorate,

Mrs. Samsa to her employer

and Grete to her principal.

Then they left the apartment together

something they had not done for months

they discussed their future prospects

They now wanted to rent a smaller and less expensive

but better situated

and altogether more practical apartment

than the current one which had been chosen by Gregor.

While they conversed

Mr. and Mrs. Samsa noticed, while their daughter was becoming livlier,

how she

- in spite of all the recent worries that had turned her cheeks pale -

was blossoming into a beautiful and voluptuous girl.

They considered

that it would soon be time

to find a good husband for her.

And, as if in confirmation of their new dreams

and good intentions

as soon as they reached their destination their daughter was the first to rise

and stretch out her young body.

Subtitles by stefflbw (2010)