32

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

THE METAMORPHOSIS

by

Franz Kafka

tr. by Donna FreedBarnes & Noble, New York, 2003

[7] I

As Gregor Samsa awokefrom unsettling dreams onemorning, he found himselftransformed in his bed into amonstrous vermin. (1) He layon his hard armorlike back andwhen he raised his head a littlehe saw his vaulted brown bellydivided into sections by stiffarches from whose height thecoverlet had already slippedand was about to slide offcompletely. His many legs,which were pathetically thincompared to the rest of hisbulk, flickered helplesslybefore his eyes.

“What has happened tome?” he thought. It was nod r e a m . H i s r o o m , aregular human bedroom, ifa l i t t l e sma l l , l ay qu i e tbetween the four familiarwalls. Above the desk, onw h i c h a c o l l e c t i o n o ff a b r i c s a m p l e s w a su n p a c k e d a n d s p r e a dout-Samsa was a travelingsalesman-hung the picturetha t he had recen t ly cu to u t o f a n i l l u s t r a t e dm a g a z i n e a n d p u t i n apretty gi lt frame. It showeda l ady, s i t t ing upr igh t ,dressed in a fur hat and furboa; her entire forearm hadvanishe d into a thi c k f u rmuff wh i c h s h e h e l d o u tt o t h e v i e w e r. (2 )

G r e g o r ’s g a z e t h e nshifted to the window, andthe dreary weather -raindropscould be heard be a t i n gagainst the metal ledge oft h e w i n d o w - m a d e h i mqui te melancholy. “Whati f I w e n t b a c k t o s l e e pfor a while and forgot allt h i s f o o l i s h n e s s , ” h ethought. However, this wastotally impracticable, as he

La metamorfosis

de

Franz Kafka

tr. ¿?Alianza, Madrid, 1986

I

Al despertar Gregorio Samsauna mañana, tras un sueño intranqui-lo, encontróse en su cama converti-do en un monstruoso insecto.Hallábase echado sobre el duro ca-parazón de su espalda, y, al alzar unpoco la cabeza, vio la figura convexade su vientre oscuro, surcado porcurvadas callosidades, cuya promi-nencia apenas si - podía aguantar lacolcha, que estaba visiblemente apunto de escurrirse hasta el suelo.Innumerables patas, lamentablemen-te escuálidas en comparación con elgrosor ordinario de sus piernas, ofre-cían a sus ojos el espectáculo de unaagitación sin consistencia.

—¿Qué me ha sucedido?No soñaba, no. Su habita-

ción, una habitación de verdad,aunque excesivamente reduci-da, [8] aparecía como de or-dinario entre sus cuatro hartoconocidas paredes. Presidien-do la mesa, sobre la cual es-taba esparcido un muestrariode paños -Samsa era viajantede comercio-, colgaba unaestampa ha poco recortada deuna revista ilustrada y puesta enun lindo marco dorado. Repre-sentaba esta estampa una seño-ra tocada con un gorro de pie-les, envuelta en un boa tambiénde pieles, y que, muy erguida,esgrimía contra el espectadorun amplio manguito, asimismode piel, dentro del cual desapa-recía todo su antebrazo.

Gregorio dirigió luegola vista hacia la ventana; eltiempo nublado (sentíanserepiquetear en el cinc delalféizar las gotas de lluvia) infundióleuna gran melancolía.

—Bueno -pensó--; ¿qué pa-saría si yo siguiese durmiendoun rato y me olvidase de todaslas fantasías?-Mas era esto algode todo punto irrealizable, por-que Gregorio tenía la costumbre

LA MÉTAMORPHOSE

de

Frank Kafka

tr. Claude DavidGallimard, Paris, 1990

I

Lorsque Gregor Samsa s’éveilla

un matin au sortir de rêves agités,il se retrouva dans son lit changé

en un énorme cancrelat. Il étaitcouché sur son dos, dur comme

une carapace et, lorsqu’il levaitun peu la tête, il découvrait unventre brun, bombé, partagé par

des indurations en forme d’arc,sur lequel la couverture avait de

la peine à tenir et semblait à toutmoment près de glisser. Ses

nombreuses pattespitoyablement minces quand on

les comparait à l’ensemble de sataille, papillotaient maladroitement

devant ses yeux.

« Que m’est-il arrivé ?»

pensa-t-il. Ce n’était pas unrêve. Sa chambre, une chambre

humaine ordinaire, tout au plusun peu exiguë, était toujours là

entre les quatre cloisons qu’ilconnaissait bien. Audessus de la

table, sur laquelle était déballéeune collection d’échantillons delainages - Samsa était voyageur

de commerce -, était accrochéela gravure qu’il avait

récemment découpée dans unerevue illustrée et qu’il avait

installée dans un joli cadre doré.Elle représentait une dame,

assise tout droit sur une chaise,avec une toque de fourrure et

un boa, qui tendait vers lesgens un lourd manchon, danslequel son ava n t - b r a s

d i spa ra i s sa i t t ou t en t i e r.

Le regard de Gregor sedirigea alors vers la fenêtre et

le temps maussade - onentendait les gouttes de pluie

frapper l ’encadrement demétal - le rendi t toutmélancol ique. « Et s i je

continuais un peu à dormir etoubliais toutes ces bêtises »,

pensa-t-il, mais cela était toutà fait irréalisable, car il avait

coutume de dormir sur le côté

La transformación

de

Franz Kafka

tr. de Juan José del SolarDebolsillo, Barcelona, 2005

[19] I

Cuando, una mañana,Gregor Samsa se despertó deunos sueños agitados, se encon-tró en su cama transformado enun bicho monstruoso. Yacía so-bre su espalda, dura como un ca-parazón, y al levantar un pocola cabeza vio su vientre abombado,pardo, segmentado por induracionesen forma de arco, sobre cuya pro-minencia el cubrecama, a puntoya de deslizarse del todo, ape-nas si podía sostenerse. Sus nu-merosas patas, de una deplorabledelgadez en comparación con lasdimensiones habituales de Gregor, tem-blaban indefensas ante sus ojos.

«¿Qué me ha ocurrido?»,pensó. No era un sueño. Su ha-bitación, en verdad la habita-ción de un ser humano, solo queun tanto pequeña, seguía ahíentre las cuatro paredes desiempre. Por encima de lamesa, sobre la que había unmuestrario de telas desple-gado -Samsa e ra v ia jan tede comerc io- , co lgaba unretrato que él había recortadohacía poco de una revista ilus-trada y puesto en un preciosomarco dorado. Representaba auna dama con un sombrero yuna boa de piel que, bien er-guida en su asiento, alzabahacia el espectador un pe-sado manguito , también depiel, en el que había desapare-cido todo su antebrazo.

[20] La mirada de Gregor sedirigió luego a la ventana, y el tiem-po nublado -se oía el tamborileo delas gotas de lluvia contra la plan-cha me tá l i ca de l al fé izar - l opuso muy melancólico. «¿Ysi durmiera un rato más yme olvidara de todas estastonterías?» , pensó, pero eraalgo totalmente impractica-ble , pues es taba acostum-b r a d o a d o r m i r s o b r e e l

The Metamorphosis

by

Franz Kafka

tr. by Joachim NeugroschelSimon & Schuster, N.Y., 1995

I

One morning, uponawakening from agitateddreams, Gregor Samsa foundhimself, in his bed, transformedinto a monstrous vermin. He layon his hard, armorlike back, andwhen lifting his head slightly, hecould view his brown, vaulted bellypartitioned by arching ridges,w h i l e o n t o p o f i t , t h eb l anket, about to slide o ffa l t oge the r, cou ld ba re lyh o l d . H i s m a n y l e g s ,wretchedly thin comparedw i t h h i s o v e r a l lg i r t h , danced helplesslybefore his eyes.

“ W h a t ’s h a p p e n e d t om e ? ” h e w o n d e r e d . I twas no d ream. His room,a n o r m a l i f s o m e w h a tt i n y h u m a n r o o m , l a yqu ie t ly be tween the fou rfamil iar wal ls . Above thet ab le , on wh ich a l i ne o ff abric samples had beenunpacked and spread out(Samsa was a t rave l ingsalesman), hung the picturethat he had recently clippedfrom an illustrated magazineand inserted in a pretty giltframe. The picture showed alady sitting there upright,bedizened in a fur hat and fur boa,with her entire forearm vanishinginside a heavy fur muf f t h a ts h e h e l d o u t t o w a r d t h ev i e w e r. [ 1 1 7 ]

Gregor ’s eyes thenfocused on the window, andthe dismal weather-raindropscould be heard splattering onthe metal ledge-made himfeel quite melancholy.

“What if I slept a littlemore and forgot all about thisnonsense,” he thought. But hisidea was impossible to carryout, for while he wasaccustomed to sleeping on his

Metamorphosis

de

Franz Kafka

tr. de Richard StokesHesperus Classics, London, 2004

I

When Gregor Samsa wokeone morning from uneasydreams he found himselftransformed in his bed into amonstrous insect. He waslying on his hard shell-likeback, and when he lifted hishead a little he could see hisdome-shaped brown body,banded with reinforcing arches,on top of which the blanket,ready to sl ip r ight off ,maintained its precarious hold.His numerous legs, pitifullythin in relation to the rest ofhis bulk, danced ineffectuallybefore his eyes.

‘What has happened tome?’ he thought. It was nota d r e a m . H i s r o o m , anormal though rather toos m a l l h u m a n r o o m , l a yp e a c e f u l l y b e t w e e n t h efour familiar walls. Abovethe table , on which acollection of cloth sampleshad been unpacked and laidout - Samsa was a travellingsalesman - hung the picturethat he had recently cut outof a magazine and mountedin a pre t ty g i l t f rame. I tshowed a lady in a fur hata n d b o a s i t t i n g u ps t ra igh t and holding ou tto the v i e w e r a h e a v yf u r m u f f i n t o w h i c hh e r e n t i r e f o r e a r m sh a d v a n i s h e d .

Gregor ’s eyes thenfocused on the window, andthe gloomy weather -youcould hear raindrops beatingon the metal window-sill -made him f e e l q u i t em e l a n c h o l y. ‘ S u p p o s e Iwent back to s leep for awhile and forgot al l thisnonsense,’ he thought, butthat was quite, impossible,f o r h e w a s u s e d t o

LA MÉTAMORPHOSE

de

Frank Kafka

tr. de Alexandre VialatteGallimard, Paris, 1955

[7] I

UN matin, au sortir d’un rêveagité, Grégoire Sains, s’éveillatransformé dans son lit en unevéritable vermine. Il était couchésur le dos, un dos dur comme unecuirasse, et, en levant un peu latête il s’aperçut qu’il avait unventre brun en forme de voûtedivisé par des nervuresarquées. La couverture, à peineretenue par le sommet de cetédifice était près de tomberco m p l è t e m e n t , e t l e spa t t e s de Grégoire,pitoyablement minces pour songros corps , papillotaientdevant ses yeux.

«Que m’est-il arrivé?»pensa-t-il. Ce n’était pourtant pasun rêve : sa chambre, une vraiechambre d’homme, quoique unpeu petite à vrai dire, se tenaitbien sage entre ses quatre murshabituels. Au-dessus de la tableoù s’étalait sa collectiond’échantillons de tissus -Grégoire était voyageur [8] decommerce - on pouvait toujoursvoir la gravure qu’il avaitdécoupée récemment dans unmagazine et entourée d’un jolicadre doré. Cette imagereprésentait une dame assise biendroit, avec une toque et un tourde cou en fourrure : elle offraitaux regards des amateurs un lourdmanchon dans lequel sonbras s’engouffrait jusqu’aucoude.

G r é g o i r e r e g a r d ap a r l a f e n ê t r e ; o ne n t e n d a i t d e sg o u t t e s d e p l u i e s u rl e _________ z i n c ; c et e m p s b r o u i l l é l e r e n d i tt ou t mélancol ique : «Si jeme rendormais encore un peupour oublier toutes ces bêtises», pensa-t-il , mais c’étaitabsolument impossible : ilavait l’habitude de dormir sur

Metamorphosis

by

Franz Kafka

Translated by David WyllieProject Gutenberg

I

One morning, when GregorSamsa woke from troubleddreams, he found himselftransformed in his bed into ahorrible vermin. He lay on hisarmour-like back, and if he liftedhis head a little he could see hisbrown belly, slightly domed anddivided by arches into stiff sections.The beddin g w a s h a r d l ya b l e t o c o v e r i t a n ds e e m e d r e a d y t o s l i d eo f f a n y m o m e n t . H i sm a n y l e g s , p i t i f u l l yt h i n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h es i ze of the rest of him, wavedabout helplessly as he looked.

“What’s happened to me?”he thought. It wasn’t a dream.His room, a proper humanroom although a little toos m a l l , l a y p e a c e f u l l ybetween i ts four familiarw a l l s . A c o l l e c t i o n o ftextile samples lay spreadout on the table - Samsawas a travell ing salesman- and above i t there hunga p i c t u r e t h a t h e h a dr e c e n t l y c u t o u t o f a ni l lus t ra ted magazine andhoused in a n ice , g i ldedframe. I t s h o w e d a l a d yf i t t e d o u t w i t h a f u r h a ta n d f u r b o a w h o s a tu p r i g h t , r a i s i n g a h e a v yf u r m u f f that covered thewho le o f he r l ower a rmtowards the viewer.

Gregor then tu rned tol o o k o u t t h e w i n d o w a tt he du l l wea the r. Dropso f r a i n c o u l d b e h e a r dh i t t i ng the pane , wh ichmade h im fee l qu i te sad .“How about i f I s l eep ali t t le bit longer and forgeta l l t h i s n o n s e n s e ” , h et h o u g h t , b u t t h a t w a ssometh ing he was unable todo because he was used to

54

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

habitually slept on his rightside, a posit ion he couldnot get into in his presents t a t e ; n o m a t t e r h o wf o r c e f u l l y h e h e a v e dh imse l f t o t he r i gh t , herocked onto his back again.He mus t have t r i ed i t ahundred times, closing hiseyes so as not to see histwi tchi n g l e g s , a n dstopped only when he fel ta fa in t , dul l ache start inhis side, a pain which he hadnever experienced before.

“Oh God,” he thought,“what a grueling professionI picked! Traveling day in,day out. It is much moreaggravating work than theactual business done at thehome office, and then witht h e s t r a i n o f c o n s t a n ttravel as well : the worryover train connections, thebad and i r regular meals ,the steady stream of facesw h o n e v e r b e c o m e [ 8 ]a n y t h i n g c l o s e r t h a nacquaintances . The Devi lt a k e i t a l l ! ” H e f e l t as l igh t i t ch ing up on h i sbe l ly and inched on h i sb a c k c l o s e r t o t h ebedpos t to be t te r l i f t h i sh e a d . H e l o c a t e d t h ei tching spot , which wassurrounded by many tiny whitedots that were incomprehensible tohim, and tried to probe thearea with one of his legs butimmediately drew it back, forthe touch sent an icy shiverthrough him.

He s l id back in to h i sf o r m e r p o s i t i o n . “ T h i sge t t ing up so ea r ly,” het h o u g h t , “ m a k e s y o utotally stupid. A man needss l e e p . O t h e r t r a v e l i n gsalesmen l ive l ike haremwomen. For example, whenI come back to the hotellate in the morning to writeup the new orders , thesem e n a r e s t i l l s i t t i n g a tbreakfast. I should try thatwith my boss. I would beth rown ou t on the spo t .Who knows, however, i ftha t wouldn’ t be for thebest. If I were not holdingb a c k b e c a u s e o f m y

de dormir sobre el lado derecho,y su actual estado no le permi-tía adoptar esta postura. Aun-que se empeñaba en permane-cer sobre el lado derecho,forzosamente volvía a caer deespaldas. Mil veces intentóen vano esta operación; cerrólos ojos para no tener que veraquel rebullicio de las piernas,que no cesó hasta que [9] undolor leve y punzante al mismotiempo, un dolor jamás sentido has-ta aquel momento, comenzó aaquejarle en el costado.

— ¡Ay, Dios! -díjose entonces-.¡Qué cansada es la profesión que heelegido! Un día sí y otro tambiénde viaje. La preocupación de los ne-gocios es mucho mayor cuando setrabaja fuera que cuando se trabajaen el mismo almacén, y no hable-mos de esta plaga de los viajes: cui-darse de los enlaces de los trenes;la comida mala, irregular; relacio-nes que cambian de continuo, queno duran nunca, que no llegan nun-ca a ser verdaderamente cordiales,y en que el corazón nunca puedetener parte. ¡Al diablo con todo!

Sintió en el vientre una li-gera picazón. Lentamente, seestiró sobre la espalda, alar-gándose en dirección a la ca-becera, a fin de poder alzarmejor la cabeza. Vio que el si-tio que le escocía estaba cu-bierto de unos puntitos blan-cos, que no supo explicarse.Quiso aliviarse tocando el lu-gar del escozor con una pier-na; pero hubo de retirar ésta in-mediatamente, pues el roce leproducía escalofríos.

— E s t o s m a d r u g o n e s-d í jose - l e en ton tecen auno por completo. El hom-bre necesita dormir lo jus-to . Hay via jantes que se[ 1 0 ] d a n u n a v i d a d éodaliscas. Cuando a mediamañana regreso a la fondapara anotar los pedidos ,me los encuentro muy sen-tados, tomándose el desa-yuno. Si yo, con el jefe quetengo , qu i s iese hacer lomismo, me vería en el actode pat i tas en la ca l le . Y¿quién sabe si esto no se-ría para mí lo más conve-niente? Si no fuese por mispadres, ya hace tiempo que

lado de recho y su e s t adoactua l le impedía adoptaresa postura. Por mucho quese esforzara en gi rarse dellado derecho, volvía a ba-lancearse hasta quedar otrave z d e e s p a l d a s . L o i n -t e n t ó u n c e n t e n a r d e v e -c e s , c e r r a n d o l o s o j o sp a r a n o v e r l a s p a t a sq u e s e a g i t a b a n , y s o l odes i s t i ó cuando empezó asentir en el costado un dolorlevé y s o r d o q u e n u n c ah a b í a s e n t i d o antes .

« ¡D ios mío !» , p e n s ó .« ¡Qué p ro fe s ión t anagotadora he elegido! De via-je un día sí y otro también.Las tensiones que producenlos negocios son mucho másgrandes fuera que cuando setrabaja en casa, y para colmome ha caído encima esta plagade los viajes; la preocupaciónpor los enlaces de los trenes,la comida mala e irregular, untrato con la gente siemprecambiante y nunca duradero,que jamás llega a ser cordial.¡Al diablo con todo esto!» Sin-tió un ligero picor en el vien-tre; lentamente, se deslizósobre la espalda hacia la ca-becera de la cama para poderlevantar mejor la cabeza yvio que la zona que le picabaestaba cubierta de numerosospuntitos blancos cuya pre-sencia no lograba explicarse;qu i so pa lpá r se l a con unapata, pero [21] la retiró alinstante, pues el roce le pro-dujo escalofríos.

Volvió a deslizarse a supos i c ión an t e r i o r. «Es t econtinuo madrugar», pensó,« l o i d i o t i z a a u n o p o rcompleto. La gente tiene quedo rmi r su s ho ra s . Hayvia jantes que v iven comoconcubinas de ha rén . Porejemplo, cuando en el cursode la mañana vuelvo a la casade huéspedes para copiar lospedidos que me han hecho,los muy señores aún estándesayunando . S i yo l oin tentara , con e l je fe quetengo, me despedirían en elac to . Qu ién s abe , po r l odemás, si no sería mejor paramí. De no ser por mis padres,

right side, his current stateprevented him from gettinginto that position. No matterhow forcefully he attemptedto wrench himself over on hisright side, he kept rockingback into his supine state. Hemust have tried it a hundredtimes, closing his eyes toavoid having to look at thosewriggling l e g s , a n d h eg a v e u p o n l y w h e n h es t a r t e d f e e l i n g a m i l d ,dull ache in his side such ashe had never felt before.

“Oh, God,” he thought,“what a strenuous professionI’ve picked! Day in, day outon the road. It’s a lot morestressful than the work in thehome office, and along witheverything else I also have toput up with these agonies oftravel ing-worrying aboutmaking trains, having bad,i r regular meals , meet ingnew people a l l the t ime,b u t n e v e r f o r m i n g a n yl a s t i n g f r i e n d s h i p s t h a tm e l l o w i n t o a n y t h i n gintimate. To hell with it all!”

Feeling a slight itch onhis belly, he slowly squirmedalong on his back towardt h e b e d p o s t i n o r d e r t oraise his head more easily.Upon loca t ing the i t chyplace, which was dotted withlots of tiny white specks that hecould not fathom, he tried totouch the area with one of hislegs, but promptly withdrew it,for the contact sent icy shuddersthrough his body.

He slipped back into hisformer position.

“Getting up so early allthe time,” he thought, [118]“makes you totally stupid. Aman has to have his sleep.Other traveling salesmenlive like harem women. Forinstance, whenever I returnto t he ho t e l du r ing t hemorn ing to wr i t e up myorders, those men are stillhaving breakfast. Just let metry that with my boss; I’d bekicked out on the spot. Andanyway, who knows, thatmight be very good for me.If I weren’t holding backbecause of my parents, I

sleeping on his r ight sidea n d w a s u n a b l e i n h i sp r e s e n t s t a t e t o a s s u m etha t pos i t ion . No mat te rhow vigorously he swungh imse l f t o t he r i gh t , hekept rocking onto his backagain. He must have tr iedit a hundred times, he shuthis eyes to avoid lookinga t h i s f la i l ing l egs , ando n l y g a ve u p w h e n h eb e g a n t o f e e l a f a i n tdull ache in his side that hehad never felt before.

‘God,’ he thought, ‘whata strenuous profession I’vechosen! On the road, day in,day out . Such businessanxieties are [3] much worsethan those back home in theoffice, and in addition I’mlumbered wi th a l l th iswretched t ravel l ing, theworry about t ra inconnect ions , the bad,i r regular meals , theconstantly changing, neverlas t ing and never warmhuman relationships. To hellwith it all!’ He felt a slightitch up on his belly; pushedhimself on his back slowlynearer to the bedpos t inorder to be able to lift hishead be t te r ; loca ted thei tch ing spo t , which wascovered with a mass of tinywhite dots he was unable tocomprehend; and then tried totouch the spot with a leg, whichhe withdrew at once, however,since the contact sent an icyshiver through his body.

He s l id back in to h i sor ig ina l pos i t ion . ‘Thesee a r l y m o r n i n g s , ’ h et h o u g h t , ‘ a r e v e r y b a df o r t h e b r a i n . A m a nn e e d s h i s s l e e p . O t h e rsa lesmen l ive l ike ha remwomen . I mean , when Ig o b a c k t o t h e h o t e ld u r i n g t h e m o r n i n g t oen te r up the o rde r s I ’vet aken , t hose f e l l ows a rej u s t s i t t i n g d o w n t ob reak fas t . I f I t r i ed tha tw i t h m y b o s s , I ’ d b es a c k e d o n t h e s p o t .Migh t no t be a bad th ingf o r m e , a f t e r a l l . I f i th a d n ’ t b e e n f o r m y

le côté droit et ne pouvaitparvenir dans sa situationprésente à adopter la positionvoulue. Il avait beau essayer dese jeter violemment sur leflanc, il revenait toujours surle dos avec un pe t i tmouvement de balançoire. Ilessaya bien cent fois, en fermantles yeux pour ne pas voir lesvibrations de ses jambes, etn’abandonna la partie qu’enressentant au côté une sorte dedouleur sourde qu’il n ’ a v a i tj a m a i s éprouvée.

«Quel métier, pensa-t-il,quel métier suis-je allé choisir!Tous les jours en voyage! Desennuis pires que dans lecommerce de mes parents! etpar-dessus le marché cette plaiedes voyages : les changementsde train, les correspondancesqu’on rate, les mauvais repasqu’il faut prendre n’importequand! à chaque instant des têtesnouvelles, des gens qu’on nereverra jamais, avec lesquels iln’y a pas moyen d’êtrecamarade! Que le diable [9]emporte la boîte!» Il sentit unepetite démangeaison en haut duventre, s’approcha un peu plus dubois de lit - en se traînantlentement sur le dos -pour pouvoirmieux lever la tête, et aperçut àl’endroit qui le démangeaittoute une sér ie de pet i t spoints blancs auxquels il necomprit rien : il essaya de tâterl’endroit avec une de sespattes, mais il dut la retirer bienvite, car ce contact lui donnaitdes frissons glacés.

I l repri t sa posit ionpremière. «Il n’y a rien d’aussiabrutissant, pensa-t-il, que dese lever toujours si tôt .L’homme a besoin de sonsommeil. Et dire qu’il y a desvoyageurs qui vivent commedes femmes de harem! Quandje retourne à l’hôtel ,l’après-midi, pour noter lescommandes, je trouve cesmessieurs qui n’en sontencore qu’à leur peti tdéjeuner. Je voudrais voir ceque dirai t mon chef sij’essayais chose pareille! jeserais congédié immé-diatement! Qui sait d’ailleurssi ce ne serait pas une bonne

droit et il lui était impossible,dans son état actuel, de se

mettre dans cette position. Ilavait beau se jeter de toutes

ses forces sur le côté droit, ilrebondissait sans cesse sur le

d o s . I l e s s aya b i en unecentaine de fois, en fermant

les yeux pour ne pas ê t reobligé de voir s’agiter sespetites pattes et n’arrêta que

quand i l commen ça àéprouver sur le côté une vague

douleur sourde , qu’ i l neconnaissait pas encore.

« Ah, mon Dieu », pensa-t-il,

« quel métier exténuant j’aidonc choisi! Jour après jour envoyage. Les ennuis

professionnels sont bien plusgrands que ceux qu’on aurait en

restant au magasin et j’aipar-dessus le marché la corvée

des voyages, le souci deschangements de trains, la

nourriture irrégulière etmédiocre, des têtes toujours

nouvelles, jamais de relationsdurables ni cordiales avecpersonne. Le diable emporte

ce métier!» Il sentit une légèredémangeaison sur le haut du

ventre, se glissa lentement sur ledos pour se rapprocher du montant

du lit, afin de pouvoir lever la têteplus commodément; il trouva

l’endroit de la démangeaisonrecouvert d’une masse de petitspoints blancs, dont il ignorait

la nature ; i l voulut tâ terl’emplacement avec une de ses

pa t tes , mais i l l a re t i raaussitôt, car le contact lui

donnait des frissons.

Il se laissa glisser danssa position antérieure. « On

devient complètement stupide», pensa-t- i l , « à se leverd’aussi bonne heure. L’homme

a besoin de sommeil. Il y ad’autres voyageurs qui vivent

comme les femmes de harem.Quand je retourne par exemple

à l’auberge au cours de lamatinée pour recopier les

commandes que j’ai reçues, cesmessieurs n’en sont qu’à leurpetit déjeuner. Il ferait beau que

j’en fisse de même avec monpatron; je sauterais

immédiatement. Qui saitd’ailleurs si ce n’est pas ce qui

pourrait m’arriver de mieux? Si

s leeping on h is r ight , and inh i s p r e s e n t s t a t e c o u l d n ’tg e t i n t o t h a t p o s i t i o n .H o w e v e r h a r d h e t h r e wh i m s e l f o n t o h i s r i g h t ,h e a l w a y s r o l l e dback to where he was. He musthave tried it a hundred times,s h u t h i s e y e s s o t h a t h ewouldn’t have to look a t thef loundering l egs , a nd on lys topped when he b e g a nt o f e e l a m i l d , d u l lp a i n t h e r e t h a t h e h a dn e v e r f e l t b e f o r e .

“ O h , G o d ” , h e t h o u g h t ,

“what a strenuous career it isthat I’ve chosen! Travellingday in and day ou t . Doing

business like this takes muchmore effort than doing your

own business at home, and ontop of that there’s the curse

of travell ing, worries aboutmaking train connections, bad

and i r regular food, contac twith different people all the

time so that you can never getto know anyone or becomefriendly with them. It can all

go to Hell!” He felt a slightitch up on his bel ly; pushed

himself slowly up on his backtowards the headboard so that he

could lift his head better; foundwhere the itch was, and saw that

it was covered with lots of littlewhi te spo t s which he d idn’tknow what to make of; and when

he tried to feel the place withone of his legs he drew it quickly

back because a s soon a s hetouched it he was overcome by

a cold shudder.

He slid back into his formerposition. “Getting up early all

the time”, he thought, “it makesyou stupid. You’ve got to getenough sleep. Other travelling

salesmen live a life of luxury.For instance, whenever I go

back to the guest house duringthe morning to copy out the

contract, these gentlemen arealways still sitting there eating

their breakfasts. I ought to justtry that with my boss; I’d getkicked out on the spot. But who

knows, maybe that would be thebest thing for me. If I didn’t

have my parents to think aboutI’d have given in my notice a

long t i m e a g o , I ’ d h a v e

76

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

parents, I would have quitlong ago. I would go up tothe boss and tell him myh e a r t f e l t o p i n i o n . H ewould be knocked off thedesk. This too is a strangeway to do things: He sitson top of the desk and fromthis height addresses theemployees, who must stepup very close because ofthe boss’s deafness. Well,I have not entirely givenup hope, and as soon as Ihave saved the money topay off the debt my parentsowe him-it might still bea n o t h e r f i v e o r s i xyears-I’ll definitely do it.Then I’ll cut myself free.F o r t h e t i m e b e i n g ,h o w e v e r , I m u s t g e t u pbecause my train leaves atfive.”

And he looked a t thea l a r m c l o c k t i c k i n g o nt h e b u r e a u . “ G o dAlmighty!” he thought . I twas ha l f pas t s ix and theh a n d s w e r e s t e a d i l yadvanc ing , ac tua l ly pas tthe ha l f hour and a l readyc l o s e r t o t h r e e q u a r t e r sp a s t . D i d t h e a l a r m n o tr ing? One could see f romt h e b e d t h a t i t w a sc o r r e c t l y s e t f o r f o u ro ’ c l o c k a n d s o i t m u s thave gone o f f . Yes , bu twas i t poss ib le to s l eept h r o u g h t h a t f u r n i t u r e -r a t t l i n g r i n g i n g ? We l l ,h e h a d n ’ t s l e p tpeace fu l ly bu t p robab lyal l the sounder for i t . Butwhat should he do now?T h e n e x t t r a i n l e f t a ts e v e n o ’ c l o c k , a n d i norder to catch i t he wouldhave to rush a round l ikem a d , a n d t h e s a m p l ec o l l e c t i o n w a s s t i l lunpacked and he was no tfee l ing par t icular ly f reshand energet ic . And eveni f he caught the t ra in , ab a w l i n g o u t f r o m t h eb o s s w a s i n e s c a p a b l e ,b e c a u s e t h e o f f i c emessenger had arr ived bythe f ive o’c lock t ra in andreported his absence long ago;he was the boss’s creature,mindless and spineless. What

me hubiese despedido. Mehubiera presentado ante eljefe y, con toda mi alma, leh a b r í a m a n i f e s t a d o m imodo de pensar. ¡Se caedel pupitre! Que tambiéntiene lo suyo eso de sentar-se encima del pupitre para,desde aquella al tura, ha-blar a los empleados, que,como él es sordo, han deacercársele mucho. Pero,lo que es la esperanza, to-davía no la he perdido deltodo. En cuanto tenga reuni-da la cant idad necesar iapara pagarle la deuda de mispadres -unos cinco o seisaños todavía-, ¡vaya si lohago! Y entonces, sí que meredondeo. Bueno; pero, porahora, lo que tengo que ha-cer es levantarme, que eltren sale a las cinco.

Volvió los ojos hacia el des-pertador, que hacía su tictac en-cima del baúl.

— ¡Santo Dios! --exclamópara sus adentros.

Eran las seis y media, y lasmanecillas seguían avanzandotranquilamente. Es decir, [11]ya era más. Las manecillas es-taban casi en menos cuarto.¿Es que no había sonado eldespertador? Desde la camapodía verse que estaba pues-to efectivamente en las cuatro;por tanto, tenía que haber so-nado. Mas ¿era posible seguirdurmiendo impertérrito, a pe-sar de aquel sonido queconmovía hasta a los mis-mos muebles? Su sueño nohabía sido tranquilo. Pero,por lo mismo, probablemen-te tanto más profundo. Y¿qué se hacía él ahora? Eltren siguiente salía a las sie-te; para cogerlo era precisodarse una pr i sa loca . E lmuestrario no estaba aúnempaquetado, y, por último,él mismo no se sentía nadadispuesto. Además, aunquealcanzase el tren, no por elloevitaría la filípica del amo,pues el mozo del almacén, quehabría bajado al tren de lascinco, debía de haber dado yacuenta de su falta. Era el talmozo una hechura del amo,sin dignidad ni consideración.Y si dijese que estaba enfer-

hace ya tiempo que habríar enunc i ado ; me hab r í apresentado ante el jefe y lehabría dicho sin tapujos loque pienso. ¡A que se hubieracaído del pupitre! No deja deser extraño, por otro lado, esode sentarse en el pupitre yhablar desde lo alto con elempleado que, dada la durezade oído del jefe, tiene queacercársele mucho. El caso esque aún no se ha perdido deltodo la esperanza. En cuantohaya reunido el dinero parasa lda r l a deuda que mi spadres tienen con él -y esoaún puede tardar unos cincoo seis años-, seguro que loha ré . Y e sa s e r á l a g r anruptura. Pero de momento loque t engo que hace r e slevantarme, porque mi trensale a las cinco».

Y miró en dirección aldespertador, cuyo tictac lel l egaba desde e l a rmar io .« ¡Válgame Dios!», pensó.Eran las seis y media y lasm a n e c i l l a s s e g u í a navanzando imperturbables,ya e r a i nc lu so l a med iapasada , y menos cua r toestaba cerca. ¿No [22] habíasonado el despertador? Desdela cama se veía que estabadeb idamente pues to a l a scua t ro ; seguro q u e h a b í as o n a d o . S í , p e r o ¿ e r apos ib le segu i r durmiendot r a n q u i l a m e n t e c o n u nruido que estremecía hastalos muebles? Muy tranquilono había sido su sueño, porc i e r t o , aunque s íp robab l emen te muyprofundo. ¿Qué hacer ahora?El próximo tren salía a lassiete; para alcanzarlo habríatenido que correr como unloco, el muestrario aún noes taba empaque tado , y é lmi smo no s e s en t í apa r t i cu l a rmen te ág i l n ie s p a b i l a d o . I n c l u s o s illegaba a coger el tren, unarepr imenda de l j e fe se r í ainevitable, pues el recaderolo habría esperado en el trende l a s c i nco y hab r í ainformado hacía rato de sutardanza. Era una hechura deljefe, sin agallas ni sustanciagris. ¿Y si mandaba decir que

would have given not icelong ago , I wou ld havemarched straight up to theboss and told him off fromthe bottom of my heart. Hewould have toppled fromhis desk! Besides, it’s sopeculiar the way he seatshimself on it and talks downto the employees from hisgreat height, and we alsohave to get right up closebecause he ’s so ha rd o fhear ing . Wel l , I haven’ tabandoned all hope; onceI’ve saved enough to pay offmy parents’ debt to himthatshould take another five orsix years-I’ l l go throughwith it no matter what. I’llmake a big, clean break! Butfor now, I’ve got to get up,my train is leaving at five A.M.”

And he glanced at thealarm clock ticking on thew a r d r o b e . “ G o dAlmighty!” he thought. I tw a s s i x - t h i r t y, a n d t h eh ands of the c lock werecalmly inching forward, itw a s e v e n p a s t t h e h a l fh o u r , i t w a s a l m o s t aquarter to. Could the alarmhave failed to go off? Fromthe bed, you could see thatit was correctly set at fouro’clock; it must have goneo ff . Ye s , b u t w a s i tp o s s i b l e t o s l e e pp e a c e f u l l y t h r o u g h t h a tfurniture-quaking jangle?We l l , f i n e , h e h a d n o ts lep t peacefu l ly, thoughp r o b a b l y a l l t h e m o r esoundly. But what shouldhe do now? The next t rainw o u l d b e l e a v i n g a tseven; and to ca tch i t , hewould have to rush l ike[ 11 9 ] m a d , a n d t h esamples weren ’t packedu p y e t , a n d h e f e l ta n y t h i n g b u t f r e s h o rsprightly. And even if hedid catch the train, therewould be no avoiding theboss ’s fu lmina t ions , fo rthe errand boy must havewa i t ed a t t he f i ve A .M.t r a i n a n d l o n g s i n c ereported Gregor’s failureto show up. The boy wast h e d i r e c t o r ’s c r e a t u r e ,

pa ren t s , I ’d have handedi n m y n o t i c e l o n g a g o ,I ’d have gone s t r a igh t t omy boss and g iven h im ap iece o f my mind . He’dhave fa l l en of f h i s desk !Funny the way he s i t s onh i s desk and t a lk s downto h is s ta f f f rom on h igh ,espec ia l ly as you have toc o m e r i g h t u p c l o s eb e c a u s e h e ’ s h a r d o fhear ing . Al i wel l , there’ss t i l l a g l e a m o f h o p e ;once I ’ve go t t he moneyt o g e t h e r t o p a y b a c kwhat my parents owe him- i t m i g h t t a k e a n o t h e rf i v e o r s i x y e a r s - I ’ l ld e f i n i t e l y d o i t . I ’ l lm a k e a f r e s h s t a r t .M e a n w h i l e , t h o u g h , I ’ db e t t e r g e t u p , m y t r a i nl eaves a t f i ve . ’

And he looked across tothe alarm clock that wast i c k i n g o n t h e c h e s t o fdrawers. ‘God almighty!’he thought. It was half pasts i x a n d t h e h a n d s w e r emoving steadily forwards,in fac t i t was a f t e r ha l fp a s t , i t w a s n e a r l y aquarter to seven. Might thealarm not have rung? Hecould see from the bed thati t h a d [ 4 ] b e e n s e tcorrectly to go off at four;it must have rung. Yes, butwas i t poss ib le to s l eepc a l m l y t h r o u g h t h a tfurniture-shaking racket?Wel l , he hadn ’ t e x a c t l ys l e p t c a l m l y , b u t t h a tp r o b a b l y m e a n t h e h a dslept all the more soundly.B u t w h a t s h o u l d h e d onow? The next train left atseven; to catch that wouldmean a frant ic rush, andthe samples had no t ye tb e e n p a c k e d , a n d h ew a s n ’ t e x a c t l y f e e l i n ge s p e c i a l l y f r e s h a n dmobile . And even if he didcatch the t rain, he couldexpect a thundering tiradefrom his boss, because theoffice boy would have metthe five o’clock train andreported his absence longago. The boy was his boss’l a c k e y, a s p i n e l e s s ,mindless creature. What if

affaire? Si je ne me retenais àcause de mes parents, il y alongtemps que j’aurais donnéma démission, je serais allétrouver le patron et je ne luiaurais pas mâché les choses.Il en serait tombé de sonbureau. Voilà encore de drôlesde manières : s’asseoir sur lebureau pour parler auxemployés du haut d’un trône,surtout quand on est durd’oreille et qu’il faut que lesgens s’approchent tout près!Enfin, tout espoir n’est pasperdu; une fois que j’aurairéuni la somme que mes pa-rents lui doivent - celademandera bien cinq ou [10]six ans - je ferai certainementle coup. Et alors, un point, ontourne la page. En attendant,je dois me lever pour le trainde cinq heures.

Il regarda le réveil quitictaquait sur le coffre.

«Dieu du ciel!» pensa-t-il;il était six heures et demie etles aiguilles continuaientd’avancer tranquillement, lademie était même passée :s i x h e u r e s t r o i s q u a r t sn ’ é t a i e n t p a s l o i n . L eréveil n’avait-il donc passonné? Du lit, on pouvaitpourtant voir que la petiteaiguil le étai t bien placéesur quatre heures; le réveila v a i t b i e n s o n n é . M a i sa lors (Grégoi re ava i t pudormir tranquille malgré cecari l lon à fracasser lesmeubles? Tranquille, non, sonsommeil n’avait pas ététranquille, mais il n’en avaitdormi que plus fort. Oui, maismaintenant? Le premier trainpartait à sept heures; pourl’avoir encore il eût fallu sepresser comme un fou, et puisla collection d’échantillonsn’était pas empaquetée; enfin ence qui le concernait lui-même,Grégoire ne se sentait pasremarquablement dispos. Etpuis, même s’il avait attrapéle train, la colère du patronétait inévitable, puisque legarçon de courses avai tattendu Grégoire au train decinq heures et prévenu déjàla maison de son oubl i .C’éta i t une créature dupatron, un individu servile et

je ne me retenais pas à cause demes parents, j’aurais donné ma

démission depuis longtemps, jeserais allé voir le patron et je lui

aurais vidé mon sac. Il en seraittombé du haut de son bureau!

Quelle habitude aussi de sepercher sur le bord du comptoir

et de haranguer de là-haut sesemployés! Surtout quand on estdur d’oreille comme le patron et

qu’on oblige les gens às’approcher tout près ! Enfin,

tout espoir n’est pas perdu;quand j’aurai réuni l’argent

nécessaire pour rembourser lasomme que mes parents lui

doivent - cela demandera biencinq ou six ans -, c’estcertainement ce que je ferai. Et

alors, point final et on tourne lapage. Mais, en attendant, il faut

que je me lève, car mon trainpart à 5 heures.»

Et il regarda du côté du

réveil, dont on entendait letic-tac sur la commode. « Dieu

du ciel » , pensa-t-il. Il était sixheures et demie et les aiguillescontinuaient tranquillement à

tourner, il était même la demiepassée et on n’était pas loin de

sept heures moins le quart. Leréveil par hasard n’aurait-il pas

sonné? On pouvait voir du litqu’ i l é ta i t b ien rég lé sur

qua t re heures , comme ilconvenait; il avait certainementsonné. Mais a lors , comment

Gregor ava i t - i l pu do rmi rt r a n q u i l l e avec cette

sonnerie à faire trembler lesmeubles? Non, son sommeil

n’avait certes pas été paisible,mais sans doute n’avait- i l

dormi que plus profondément.Que faire maintenant? Le

prochain train partai t à 7heures; pour l’attraper encore,il aurait fallu se précipiter

comme un fou, la collectionn’était même pas empaquetée et

enfin, i l ne se sentai t paspart iculièrement frais et

dispos. Et d’ailleurs, même s’ilparvenait encore à attraper ce

train-là, une algarade du patronétait inévitable, car le garçon decourses avait attendu Gregor au

train de 5 heures et avaitcertainement déjà depuis

longtemps prévenu tout lemonde de son retard. C’était

une créature du patron, un

g o n e u p t o t h e b o s s a n dt o l d h i m j u s t w h a t I t h i n k ,

t e l l h i m e v e r y t h i n g Iw o u l d , l e t h i m k n o w j u s t

w h a t I f e e l . H e ’ d f a l l r i g h to f f h i s d e s k ! A n d i t ’ s a

funny sor t o f bus iness to bes i t t i n g u p t h e r e a t y o u r

d e s k , t a l k i n g d o w n a t y o u rsubord ina tes f rom up the re ,e s p e c i a l l y w h e n y o u h a v e

t o g o r i g h t u p c l o s eb e c a u s e t h e b o s s i s h a r d o f

h e a r i n g . We l l , t h e r e ’s s t i l ls o m e h o p e ; o n c e I ’ v e g o t

t h e m o n e y t o g e t h e r t o p a yo ff my pa ren t s ’ deb t t o h im

- a n o t h e r f i v e o r s i x y e a r sI suppose - tha t ’s def in i te lyw h a t I ’ l l d o . T h a t ’s w h e n

I ’ l l m a k e t h e b i g c h a n g e .F i r s t o f a l l t hough , I ’ve go t

t o g e t u p , m y t r a i n l e a v e sa t f i v e . ”

And he looked over a t the

a la rm c lock , t i ck ing on thec h e s t o f d r a w e r s . “ G o d i n

Heaven!” he thought . I t washa l f pas t s ix and the handsw e r e q u i e t l y m o v i n g

forwards , i t was even l a t e rt h a n h a l f p a s t , m o r e l i k e

q u a r t e r t o s e v e n . H a d t h ea l a r m c l o c k n o t r u n g ? H e

cou ld see f rom the bed tha ti t h a d b e e n s e t f o r f o u r

o ’ c l o c k a s i t s h o u l d h a v ebeen; i t ce r ta in ly mus t haver u n g . Ye s , b u t w a s i t

p o s s i b l e t o q u i e t l y s l e e pt h r o u g h t h a t f u r n i t u r e -

ra t t l ing noise? True , he hadn o t s l e p t p e a c e f u l l y, b u t

p r o b a b l y a l l t h e m o r ed e e p l y b e c a u s e o f t h a t .

W h a t s h o u l d h e d o n o w ?T h e n e x t t r a i n w e n t a t

s e v e n ; i f h e w e r e t o c a t c ht h a t h e w o u l d h a v e t or u s h l i k e m a d a n d t h e

c o l l e c t i o n o f s a m p l e s w a ss t i l l n o t p a c k e d , a n d h e

d i d n o t a t a l l f e e lp a r t i c u l a r l y f r e s h a n d

l i v e l y . And even i f he d idca tch the t ra in he would not

a v o i d h i s b o s s ’s a n g e r a st h e o f f i c e a s s i s t a n t w o u l dhave been the re to see the

f i v e o ’ c l o c k t r a i n g o , h ewould have put in h is repor t

a b o u t G r e g o r ’s n o t b e i n gthe re a long t ime ago . The

o f f i c e a s s i s t a n t w a s t h e

98

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

i f G r e g o r r e p o r t e d i ns i c k ? T h i s w o u l d b ee x t r e m e l y p a i n f u l a n ds u s p i c i o u s , a s h e h a dn o t o n c e b e e n i l ld u r i n g h i s f i v e - y e a re m p l o y m e n t . T he bosswould certainly come overwith the health insurancedoctor, reproach the parentsfor their [ 9 ] l a z y s o n ,a n d c u t o f f a l le x c u s e s b y r e f e r r i n gt o t h e h e a l t h i n s u ranced o c t o r , f o r w h o m t h e r ewere only heal th y b u tw o r k - s h y p e o p l e . A n dw o u l d h e b e s o w r o n gi n t h i s c a s e ? A c t u a l l yG r e g o r f e l t p e r f e c t l yw e l l , a p a r t f r o m ad r o w s i n e s s t h a t w a ss u p e r f l u o u s a f t e r s ol o n g a s l e e p ; i n f a c t h ee v e n h a d a g r e a ta p p e t i t e .

A s h e u r g e n t l yc o n s i d e r e d a l l t h i s ,w i t h o u t b e i n g a b l e t od e c i d e t o g e t o u t o fbed-the alarm clock strucka quarter to seven—therewas a t imid knock at thedoor by his head. “Gregor,”a voice called-i t was themother—”it’s a quarter toseven. Didn’t you want toge t go ing?” Tha t swee tvoice! Gregor was shockedwhen he heard his voiceanswering, unmistakably hisown, true, but a voice inwhich, as if from below, apers i s t en t ch i rp ingintruded, so that the wordsremained clearly shaped onlyfor a moment and then weredestroyed to such an extentthat one could not be sure onehad heard them right. Gregorwanted to answer thoroughlyand explain everything, butrestricted himself, given theci rcumstances, to saying:“Yes , yes , thank you ,Mother, I’m just getting up.”Due to the wooden door, thechange in Gregor ’s voicew a s p r o b a b l y n o ta p p a r e n t o n t h e o t h e rs i d e , f o r t h e m o t h e rc o n t e n t e d h e r s e l f w i t ht h i s e x p l a n a t i o n a n dshuff led away. However,

mo, ¿qué pasaría? Pero esto,además de ser muy penoso, in-fundiría sospechas, puesGregorio, en los cinco añosque llevaba empleado, no ha-bía estado malo ni una solavez. Vendría de seguro el prin-cipal con el médico del Mon-tepío. Se desataría en reproches,delante de los padres, respectoa la holgazanería del hijo, ycortaría [12] todas las obje-ciones alegando el dictamendel galeno, para quien todoslos hombres están siempresanos y so lo padecen dehorror al trabajo. Y la ver-dad es que, en este caso, suopinión no habría carecidocompletamente de fundamen-to. Salvo cierta somnolencia,desde luego superflua despuésde tan prolongado sueño,Gregorio sentíase admirable-mente, con un hambre parti-cularmente fuerte.

Mientras pensaba y medi-taba atropelladamente, sin po-derse decidir a abandonar ellecho, y justo en el momentoen que el despertador daba lassiete menos cuarto, llamaronquedo a la puerta que estabajunto a la cabecera de la cama.

—Gregorio -dijo una voz,la de la madre-, son las sietemenos cuarto. ¿No ibas a mar-charte de viaje?

¡Qué voz más dulce!Gregorio se horrorizó al oíren cambio la suya propia, queera la de siempre, sí, pero quesalía mezclada con un doloro-so e irreprimible pitido, ene l c u a l l a s p a l a b r a s , a lpr in cipio claras, confun-dían se luego, resonandod e m o d o q u e n o e s t a b au n o s e g u r o d e h a b e r l a so í d o . Gr e g o r i o h u b i e r aquer ido contes ta r d i la ta -damente, expl icar lo todo;p e r o , e n v i s t a de e l lo ,limitóse a decir: [13]

—Sí, sí. Gracias, madre.Ya me levanto. A través dela puerta de madera, la mu-t a c i ó n d e l a v o z d eG r e g o r i o n o d e b i ó d enotarse, pues la madre set ranqui l izó con es ta res-puesta y se retiró. Pero estecorto diálogo hizo saber alos demás miembros de la

estaba enfermo? Habría sidoe x t r e m a d a m e n t edesagradable y sospechoso,pues Grego r no hab í aenfermado ni una sola vezdurante los cinco años quellevaba trabajando. Seguroque el jefe se presentaría cone l méd ico de l s egu ro ,reprocharía a los padres tenerun h i j o t an ho lgazán yrechaza r í a t odas l a sobjeciones remitiéndose almédico del s e g u r o , p a r aq u i e n s o l o h a b í a g e n t ec o n m u y b u e n a salud ygran aversión al trabajo . Y locierto es que, en este caso, nohabría ido muy descaminado .De hecho , apa r t e de c i e r t as o m n o l e n c i a , r e a l m e n t es u p e r f l u a d e s p u é s d e t a npro longado s u e ñ o , G r e g o rs e s e n t í a m u y b i e n y has tat e n í a u n h a m b r epar t icu larmente in tensa .

[23] Mientras pensaba todoesto con gran prisa, sin poderdecidirse a abandonar la cama-el despertador acababa de darlas s ie te menos cuar to- ,alguien llamó suavemente a lapuerta que estaba junto a lacabecera de la cama.«Gregor», dijo una voz -era lamadre-, «son las siete menoscuarto. ¿No pensabas salir deviaje?» ¡Qué voz tan dulce!Gregor se asustó al oír supropia voz que respondía, puesaunque era, inconfundiblemente,la de siempre, salía como desdemuy abajo y mezclada con undoloroso e i rrepr imiblepitido que solo en un primermomento permit ía oír conclaridad las palabras, paraluego , cuando resonaban ,d e f o r m a r l a s d e t a l m o d oque uno no sabía s i habíao í d o b i e n . G r e g o r h a b í aq u e r i d o r e s p o n d e rd e t a l l a damente y aclararlotodo, pero dadas lascircunstancias se limitó a decir:«Sí, sí, gracias, madre, ahoramismo me levan to» . E lcambio en la voz de Gregor nodebió de notarse fuera debidoa la puerta de madera, pues lamadre se tranquilizó con estaexp l icac ión y se a le jóarrastrando los pies. Pero estebreve d iá logo s i rv ió para

spineless and mindless. Nowwhat i f Gregor repor teds ick? But tha t would beextremely embarrassing andsuspect, for throughout hisfive years with the firm hehad never been sick evenonce. The boss was bound tocome over with themedical-plan doctor, upbraidthe parents about their l azys o n , a n d c u t o f f a l lo b j e c t i o n s b y r e f e r r i n gt o t h e d o c t o r, f o r w h o me v e r y b ody in the wor ldwas in the best of healthb u t w o r k - s h y . A n dbesides, would the doctorbe al l that wrong in thisc a s e ? A s i d e f r o m h i sd r o w s i n e s s , w h i c hw a s r e a l l y s u p e r f l u o u sa f t e r h i s l o n g s l e e p ,G r e g o r a c t u a l l yf e l t f i n e a n d w a se v e n r a v e n o u s .

As he speedily turned allthese things over in his mind;but could not resolve to getout of bed—the alarm clockwas just striking a quarter tos e v e n —t h e r e w a s acaut ious rap on the doornear the top end of his bed.

“Gregor,” a voice called-itwas his m o t h e r - ” i t ’s aquar te r to seven . Didn’ tyou have a train to catch?”

T h e g e n t l e v o i c e !G r e g o r w a s s h o c k e d t ohear his own response; itw a s u n m i s t a k a b l y h i sear l ier voice , but wi th apainful and insuppressiblesqueal blending in as if frombelow, v i r tual ly leavingwords in their full clarity forjust a moment, only to garblethem in their resonance, sothat you could not tell whetheryou had heard right. Gregor hadmeant to reply in detail [120] andexplain everything , bu t ,under the circumstances, helimited himself to saying,“ Ye s , y e s , t h a n k y o u ,Mother, I’m getting up.”

Because of the woodendoor, the change in Gregor’svo ice was p robab ly no taudible on the other side, forthe mother was put at ease byhis reassurance and sheshuffled away. However, their

he were to report sick? Butt h a t w o u l d b e h i g h l ye m b a r r a s s i n g a n dsuspicious, for during hisf ive years wi th the f i rmG r e g o r h a d n e v e r o n c ebeen sick. The boss wouldb e b o u n d t o b r i n g t h eh e a l t h - i n s u r a n c e d o c t o rround, reproach his parentsfor having an idle son, andcut short all their protestsby quo t ing t he doc to r ’sv i e w t h a t t h e w o r l dcons is ted exc lus ive ly ofp e r f e c t l y h e a l t h y b u tw o r k - s h y p e o p l e . A n da n y w a y, w o u l d h e h a v ebeen so wholly wrong inthis instance? Apart from ac e r t a i n d r o w s i n e s s t h a tw a s r e a l l y q u i t esuperfluous after his longsleep, Gregor did feel welland even had an unusuallyhearty appetite.

While he was consideringall this in the greatest haste,without being able to make uphis mind to get out of bed -the alarm clock was juststriking a quarter to seven -there was a cautious tap at thedoor near the top of his bed.‘Gregor,’ called a voice - itwas his mother - ‘it’s a quarterto seven. Didn’t you have atrain to catch?’ That gentlevoice! Gregor gave a startwhen he heard his own voiceanswer; it was unmistakablyhis own, but mingling with it,as if from below, was apainful, notto-be-suppressedsqueak that uttered the wordsclearly only for a second,before distorting them tosuch an extent that you [5]wondered whether you hadheard them properly. It hadbeen Gregor’s intention toa n s w e r a t l e n g t h a n dexplain everything, but inthe c i r cums tances heconfined himself to saying,‘Yes, yes, thank you mother,I’m just getting up.’ Due to thewooden door the change inGregor’s voice waspresumably not noticeablefrom outside, for his mother,reassured by this explanation,went shuffling off. But thisbrief exchange had alerted the

bête. Alors... Et s’il se faisaitporter malade? Mais c’étaitfort ennuyeux et celasemblerait bien suspect, car,depuis cinq ans qu’il étaitdans la maison, Grégoiren’avait jamais eu la moindreindisposit ion. Le patronviendrait avec le médecin [11]des assurances, il reprocheraitaux parents la fainéantise deleur fils et couperait court àtoute objection en arguantdes affirmations du médecinpour leque l i l n ’y ava i tjamais de m a l ades, maisseulement des paresseux. Set r o m p e r a i t - i l d ’ a i l l e u r ste l le m e n t e n l ’ o c c u r r e n c e?G r é g o i r e s e s e n t a i tp a r f a i t e m e n t e n f o r m e ,n ’ e û t é t é c e b e s o i n d ed o r m i r , v r a i m e n t s u p e r f l ua p r è s u n e s i l o n g u e n u i t ; i la v a i t m ê m e u n a p p é t i ts i n g u l i e r .

Comme il venait deretourner rap idement cespensées dans sa tête sansp o u v o i r s e d é c i d e r àqui t ter le l i t , i l entendi tfrapper à la porte, à côtéde son chevet, tandis que leréveil sonnait les trois quartsd’heure. «Grégoire! appelait-on- c’était sa mère. Il est septheures moins le quart. Est-ceque tu ne voulais pas prendre letrain?» La douce voix! Grégoirefrémit en s’entendant répondre.On reconnaissait bien sonorgane, il n’y avait pas à s’yméprendre, c’était bien lui qui parlait,mais il se mêlait à sa voix unpiaulement douloureux,impossible à réprimer,’ quisemblait sortir du tréfonds de sonêtre, et qui ne laissait aux motsleur vraie figure que dans lepremier instant pour brouillerensuite leur résonance au pointqu’on se demandait si l’on avaitbien entendu. Grégoire auraitvoulu détailler sa réponse, maisdans ces conditions il se contentade dire : «Si, si, merci, maman.Je me lève.» Sans doute laporte empêchait-elle de jugerdu changement survenu dans lavoix de Grégoire, carl’explication rassura la [12]mère qui s’éloigna en traînantses pantoufles. Mais cettepetite conversation avait fait

individu sans épine dorsale et sansle moindre soupçon d’intelligence.

S’il se faisait porter malade?Mais ç’eût été désagréable et cela

eût paru suspect, car, depuis cinqans qu’il était en service, il n’avait

pas été malade une seule fois. Lepatron arriverait certainement,

accompagné du médecin desassurances, il ferait des reprochesaux parents à cause de la paresse

de leur fils et couperait court àtoutes les objections en se référant

au médecin des assurances, pourlequel il n’y avait pas de malades,

mais seulement des gens quin’avaient pas envie de travailler.

D’ a i l l e u r s , a u r a i t - i l e ut e l l e m e n t t o r t e nl’occurrence? En dépit d’une

s o m n o l e n c e , d o n t o n s eserait bien passé après toutes

c e s h e u r e s d e s o m m e i l ,G r e g o r s e s e n t a i t e n

excellent état; il avait mêmeune faim de loup.

Comme i l re tournai t en

toute hâte ces pensées danss a t ê t e s a n s p o u v o i r s edécider à quit ter son l i t , on

f r a p p a p r u d e m m e n t à l aporte si tuée à côté de son

chevet, au moment où le réveilsonnait les trois quarts. « Gregor

!» disait-on - c’était sa mère - «il est sept heures moins le quart.

N’avais-tu pas (intention deprendre le train?» Oh! la doucevoix! Gregor prit peur en

s’entendant répondre. C’était biensa voix, incontestablement, mais il

s’y mêlait, comme venant d’endessous, une sor te de

piaulement douloureux ,irrépress ible ; au premier

moment , on reconnaissa i tcorrectement les mots, mais

tout se brouillait ensuite, aupoint qu’on se demandait sil’on avait bien entendu. Gregor

voulai t répondre en détai le t t o u t e x p l i q u e r ; m a i s ,

d a n s c e s c o n d i t i o n s , i l s ec o n t e n t a d e r é p o n d r e :

« Si, si, merci, mère. Je melève tout de suite.» Il était

apparemment impossible àtravers le bois de la porte deremarquer son changement de

voix, car la mère de Gregor futrassurée par cette explication

et s’éloigna en traînant lasava te . Mais ce t t e b rève

conversation avait alerté les

boss ’s man , sp ine less , andwith no understanding. What

about if he reported sick? Butthat would be extremely strained

and suspicious as in fifteen yearsof service Gregor had never

once yet been ill. His boss wouldcertainly come round with the

doctor f rom the medicalinsurance company, accuse hisparents of having a lazy son,

a n d a c c e p t t h e d o c t o r ’srecommendation not to make

a n y c l a i m a s t h e d o c t o rbelieved that no-one was ever

i l l b u t t h a t m a n y w e r ew o r k -s h y . A n d w h a t ’ s

m o r e , w o u l d h e h a v eb e e n e n t i r e l y w r o n g i nt h i s c a s e ? G r e g o r d i d i n

f a c t , a p a r t f r o me x c e s s i v e s l e e p i n e s s

a f t e r s l e e p i n g f o r s ol o n g , f e e l c o m p l e t e l y

w e l l a n d e v e n f e l t m u c hh u n g r i e r t h a n u s u a l .

He w a s s t i l l h u r r i e d l y

t h i n k i n g a l l t h i s t h r o u g h ,unable to decide to get out oft h e b e d , w h e n t h e c l o c k

s t r u c k q u a r t e r t o s e v e n .There was a cautious k n o c k

a t t h e d o o r n e a r h i sh e a d . “ Gregor”, somebody

called - it was his mother - “it’squarter to seven. Didn’t you

want to go somewhere?” Thatgen t l e vo ice ! Gregor wasshocked when he heard his own

voice answering, it could hardlybe recognised as the voice he

had had before. As if from deepinside him, there was a painful

and uncontrollable squeakingmixed in with it, the words could

be made out at first but thenthere was a sort of echo which

made them unclear, leaving thehearer unsure whether he hadheard properly or not. Gregor

had wanted to give a full answerand explain everything, but in

the circumstances contentedh i m s e l f w i t h s a y i n g :

“Yes, mother, yes, thank-you,I ’m ge t t ing up now.” The

change in Gregor ’s vo iceprobably could not be noticedoutside through the wooden

door, a s h i s mother wassatisfied with this explanation

and shuffled away. But thisshort conversation made the

other members of the family

1110

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

t h i s s h o r t c o n v e r s a t i o nbrought to the a t t en t iono f t h e o t h e r f a m i l ym e m b e r s t h a t G r e g o r ,qu i t e unexpec ted ly, wass t i l l a t h o m e , a n d t h ef a t h e r w a s a l r e a d yk n o c k i n g , g e n t l y , b u twith his fist , on one of thes i d e d o o r s . “ G r e g o r ,Gregor,” he cal led, “whatis the matter?” And after alittle while he called again,in a louder, warning voice:“Gregor, Gregor!” At theother side door the sistersoftly pleaded: “Gregor? Aren’tyou feeling well? Do you needanything?” To both doors Gregoranswered: “I’m all ready,” andstrove, through enunciating mostcarefully and inserting long pausesbetween each word, to keepanything conspicuous out of hisvoice. The father went back tohis breakfast, but the sisterwhispered: “Gregor, open up, Ibeg you.” Gregor, however, hadno intention whatsoever ofopening the door and insteadcongratulated himself on theprecaution he picked up whiletraveling of locking the doorsat night, even at home.

All he wanted to do nowwas to get up quietly andundisturbed , get dressed,and, most important , eatbreakfas t , and only thenconsider what to do next,because , as he was wel laware, in bed he could neverthink anything through to areasonable conclusion. Herecalled how he had oftenfelt slight pains in bed, [10]perhaps due to lying in anawkward position, pains thatproved imaginary when hegot up, and he was eager tosee how today’s i l lus ionwould gradually dissolve.He had no doubt that thechange in h is vo ice wasnoth ing more than thepresentiment of a severecold, an ailment commonamong traveling salesmen.

The coverlet was easyt o t h r o w o ff h e n e e d e don ly t o pu ff h imse l f upand i t fe l l o f f by i t se l f .Bu t t hen t h ings became

familia que Gregorio, con-t r a r i a m e n t e a l o q u e s ec re ía , e s t aba todav ía encasa. Llegó el padre a suvez y, golpeando l igera-m e n t e l a p u e r t a , l l a m ó :« G r e g o r i o , ¡ G r e g o r i o ! ,¿ Q u é p a s a ? » E s p e r ó u nmomento y volvió a insis-t i r, a lzando a lgo la voz:« G r e g o r i o , ¡ G r e g o r i o ! »Mientras tanto, detrás dela o t ra hoja , la hermanalamentábase dulcemente:«Gregorio, ¿no estás bien?¿Necesitas algo?» «Ya estoylisto», respondió Gregorio aambos a un tiempo, aplicán-dose a pronunciar, y hablan-do con gran lentitud, paradisimular el sonido inaudi-to de su voz. Tornó el padrea su desayuno, pero la her-mana s iguió m u s i t a n d o :«-Abre, Gregorio; te lo su-plico». En lo cual no pen-saba Gregorio, ni muchomenos, felici tándose, pore l con t r a r i o , de aqu e l l ap recauc ión suya -háb i tocontraído en los viajes- dee n c e r r a r s e e n s u c u a r t opor l a noche , aun en supropia casa.

Lo primero era levantarsetranquilamente, arreglarse sinser importunado y, sobre [14]todo, desayunar. Solo des-pués de efectuado todo estopensaría en lo demás, puesde sobra comprendía que enla cama no podía pensarnada a derechas. Recordabahaber sentido ya con frecuen-cia en la cama ciertodolorcillo, producido, sinduda, por alguna postura incó-moda, y que, una vez levanta-do, resultaba ser obra de suimaginación; y tenía curiosi-dad por ver cómo habrían dedesvanecerse paulatinamentesus imaginaciones de hoy. Nodudaba tampoco lo más mínimode que el cambio de su voz era sim-plemente el preludio de un resfria-do mayúsculo, enfermedad profesio-nal del viajante de comercio.

Arrojar la colcha le josde s í e ra cosa har to sen-ci l la . Bastar ía le para e l locon abombarse un poco:l a c o l c h a c a e r í a p o r s í

advertir a los demás miembrosde la familia de que, en contrade lo que esperaban, Gregoraún seguía en casa, y ya estabael padre llamando a una de laspuertas laterales, suavemente,pero con el puño. «Gregor,Gregor», exclamó, «¿quépasa?» . Y a l cabo de unmomento volvió a apremiar,c o n v o z a ú n m á s g r a v e :«¡Gregor! ¡Gregor!». Por laotra puerta lateral, la hermanase l amentó en voz ba ja :«¿Gregor? ¿No te encuentras[24] bien? ¿Necesitas algo?».«Ya estoy listo», respondióGregor hacia ambos lados,procurando pronunciar cone l máx imo cu idado eintercalar largas pausas entrelas dist intas palabras paraque en su voz no se notasenada extraño. El padre siguiódesayunando , pe ro l ahe rmana susurró: «Gregor,abre, te lo suplico». Pero Gregorno tenía la menor intenciónde ab r i r, y más b i en s efel ic i tó por su precaución-adoptada a raíz de los viajes-de cerrar todas las puertas conllave por la noche, incluso ensu propia casa.

Primero quería levantarset ranqui lamente y, s in sermolestado, vestirse y, sobretodo, desayunar, y solodespués pensar en lo demás,pues ya había notado que,quedándose en la cama, suselucubraciones no lo llevaríana ninguna conclus iónrazonable . Recordó habersentido muchas veces en lacama un ligero dolor -debidoquizá a alguna mala postura-que luego, al levantarse,resultaba ser puramenteimaginario, y tenía curiosidadpor ver cómo sus fantasías seirían desvaneciendo poco a pocoesa mañana. No le cabía lamenor duda de que el cam-b io en l a voz e ra so lo e lanuncio de un fuerte resfriado,enfermedad profesional de losviajantes de comercio.

L i b e r a r s e d e lc u b r e c a m a f u e m u ys e n c i l l o ; l e b a s t ó c o ni n f l a r s e u n p o c o y d e j a rque cayera por sí solo. Pero luego

brief exchange had made therest of the family realize thatGregor, unexpectedly, wasstill at home, and the fatherwas already at one side door,knocking weakly though withhis fist: “Gregor, Gregor,” hecalled, “what ’s w r o n g ? ”And af te r a short pause, headmonished him again ,though in a deeper voice,“Gregor! Gregor!”

At the other side door,however, the sister plaintivelymurmured, “Gregor? Aren’tyou well? Do you needanything?”

Gregor replied to bothsides, “I’m ready now,” andby enunciating fastidiouslywith drawn-out pauses betweenwords, he tried to eliminateanything abnormal from hisvoice. Indeed, the fatherreturned to his breakfast; but thesister whispered, “Gregor, openup, I beg you.” However, Gregorhad absolutely no intentionof opening up; instead, hepraised the cautious habithe had developed duringhis t ravels of locking al ldoors at night, even in hishome.

For now, he wanted toget up calmly and withoutbeing nagged, put on hisc lo the s , above a l l havebreakfas t , and only thenthink about what to do next;for he real ized he wouldcome to no sensible conclu-sion by pondering in bed.He remembered that often,pe rhaps f rom ly ingawkwardly, he had felt aslight ache, which, upon hisgetting up, had turned out to[121] be purely imaginary,and he looked forward tosee ing t oday ’s f anc i e sgradually fading away. Hehad no doubt whatsoeverthat the change in his voicewas no th ing bu t t heharbinger of a severe cold,an occupational hazard oftraveling salesmen.

Throwing off the blanketwas quite simple; all he hadto do was puff himself up alittle, and it dropped awayby itself. Doing anything

other members of the family tothe fact that Gregor, contraryto expectation, was still athome, and already his fatherwas knocking at one of theside-doors, not hard, but withhis fist. ‘Gregor, Gregor,’ hecalled, ‘what is it?’ And aftera little while he repeated thereprimand in a deeper voice:‘Gregor! Gregor!’ At the dooron the other side, however,came the soft plaintive voiceo f h i s s i s t e r : ‘Grego ryAren’t you well? Do youneed any th ing? ’ ‘ Ju s tcoming,’ Gregor replied inboth directions and tried,t h rough enunc i a t i ng a sc l ea r ly a s pos s ib l e andleaving long pauses betweenthe words, to make his voicesound as inconspicuous aspossible. His father wentback to his breakfast, but hissister whispered, ‘Gregor,open up, please: But Gregorhad no intention of openingthe door, and congratulatedh imse l f ins tead on h i sprudent habit, adopted fromhis travels, of locking all thedoors at night even when hewas at home.

First of all he wanted toget up in peace and quiet,dress and above al l havebreakfas t , and only thenthink about what to do next,for he knew that he wouldnot reach any sens ib leconclusion as long as he waslying in bed. He recalledhaving fairly often felt someslight pain in bed, possiblyas a resu l t o f ly ingawkward ly, which hadturned ou t to be pure lyillusory once he was up, andhe was curious to see howthis morning’s imaginingswould gradually dissolve.There was not the slightest doubtin his mind that the change in hisvoice was [6] simply the firstsymptom of a streaming cold,that occupational affliction oftravelling salesmen.

Discarding the blanketwas simple enough; he onlyneeded to inflate himself alittle, and it fell to the floorof its own accord. But after

remarquer aux autres membres dela famille que Grégoire, contretoute attente, se trouvait encoreau lit, et le père s’était mis àfrapper à la porte latérale,doucement, mais avec lepoing.«Grégoire, Grégoire,criait-il, qu’y a-t-il donc?» Et au boutd’un moment, sur un ton d’avertissement,et d’une voix plus grave

«Grégoire, Grégoire!» Al’autre porte latérale la soeurdu jeune homme gémissaitdoucement

«Grégoire! Es- tumalade? As-tu besoin dequelque chose? - Je suisprêt» , répondi t des deuxc ô t é s G r é g o i r e e ns ’ e f f o r ç a n t d ’ a r t i c u l e rdistinctement et de séparerl a rgement les mots pourrendre sa voix naturel le .Le père retourna déjeuner;m a i s l a s o e u r c huchotaencore : «Grégoire, ouvre-moi , je t ’en suppl ie .»Grégoire n’eut garde de serendre à cet te invi ta t ion;il se félicitait au contraired’avoir conservé chez luil ’ h a b i t u d e d e f e r m e rtoujours les portes commeà l ’hôte l .

Il allait d’abord se levert ranqui l l ement sans ê t regêné pa r pe r sonne ,s ’hab i l l e r e t su r t ou tdéjeuner; ensuite il seraitt e m p s d e r é f l é c h i r ; c en ’ é t a i t p a s a u l i t , i l l esentait bien, qu’il pourraitt r o u v e r u n e s o l u t i o nraisonnable du problème.I l n ’ e s t p a s r a r ed ’ é p r o u v e r à l a s u i t ed’une fausse pos i t ion dec e s p e t i t s m a l a i s e s q u id i s p a r a i s s e n t d è s q u ’ o ns e l è v e , e t G r é g o i r eé t a i t c u r i e u x d e v oir sedissiper petit à petit sonhallucination présente: Quant auchangement de sa voix, c’était,selon sa conviction intime, [13]le prélude de quelque chaud etfroid, la maladie professionnelledes voyageurs.

I l n ’ e u t a u c u n m a là r e j e t e r l ac o u v e r t u r e ; i l s eg o n f l a u n p e u e t e l l et o m b a d ’ e l l e - m ê m e .

autres membres de la famillesur le fait que Gregor, contre

toute attente, était encore là etson père s’était mis à frapper à

l’une des portes latérales,doucement, mais avec le poing :

« Gregor, Gregor », criait-il, « quese passet-il donc?» Et au bout

d’un moment, il le rappelait denouveau à l’ordre d’une voix plusgrave : « Gregor ! Gregor !» A une

autre porte latérale, la soeur dujeune homme disait doucement,

d’une voix plaintive« Gregor ! Es-tu malade?

As- tu besoin de quelquechose?» Gregor répondit des

deux côtés à la fois« Je suis prêt dans une

minute » , en s’ef forçant

d’articuler distinctement et enlaissant de grands intervalles

entre les mots pour dissimulerla singularité de sa voix. Le

père retourna d’ailleurs à sonpetit déjeuner, mais la soeur

murmurait : « Ouvre, Gregor,je t ’en conjure . » M a i s

Gregor ne songea i t pas àouvrir, i l se fé l ic i ta de laprécaution qu’il avait prise,

à f o r c e d e v o y a g e r , d efermer toujours les portes à

clef, même chez lui.

Il voulait d’abord se levert r a n q u i l l e m e n t , s a n s ê t r e

gêné par personne, s’habiller etsurtout prendre son petitdéjeuner; il serait temps ensuite

de réfléchir, car il comprenaitbien qu’en restant couché, il ne

parviendrait pas à trouver unesolution raisonnable. Il se

rappela avoir souvent éprouvéau lit, peut-être à la suite d’une

mauvaise position, une légèredouleur, qui s’était ensuite

révélée imaginaire au momentdu réveil; et il était curieux devoir si ses impressions

d’aujourd’hui allaient, ellesaussi, peu à peu se dissiper.

Quant à la transformation de savoix , i l ne doutai t pas un

instant que ce fût seulement lesigne prémonitoire d’un bon

rhume, la maladie professionnelledes voyageurs de commerce.

I I n ’ e u t a u c u n m a l àr e j e t e r l a c o u v e r t u r e ; i l

l u i s u f f i t d e s e g o n f l e r u np e u e t e l l e t o m b a

d ’ e l l e - m ê m e . M a i s

aware that Gregor, against theire x p e c t a t i o n s w a s s t i l l a t

home , and soon h i s f a the rcame knocking at one of the

side doors, gently, but withhis fist. “Gregor, Gregor”, he

called, “what’s wrong?” Andafter a short while he called

again with a warning deepnessin his voice: “Gregor! Gregor!”At the o t h e r s i d e d o o r h i s

s i s t e r c a m e p l a i n t i v e l y :“Gregor? Aren’t you wel l?

Do you need anything?”G r e g o r a n s w e r e d t o b o t h

s i d e s : “ I ’ m r e a d y, n o w ” ,mak ing an e ffo r t t o r emove

a l l t h e s t r a n g e n e s s f r o mh i s v o i c e b y e n u n c i a t i n gv e r y c a r e f u l l y a n d p u t t i n g

l o n g p a u s e s b e t w e e n e a c h ,i n d i v i d u a l w ord. His fa ther

went back to h is breakfas t ,b u t h i s s i s t e r w h i s p e r e d :

“G r e g o r, o p e n t h e d o o r, Ib e g o f y o u . ” G r e g o r ,

h o w e v e r , h a d n o t h o u g h to f o p e n i n g t h e d o o r , a n d

i n s t e a d c o n g r a t u l a t e dh i m s e l f f o r h i s c a u t i o u sh a b i t , a c q u i r e d f r o m h i s

t r a v e l l i n g , o f l o c k i n g a l ld o o r s a t n i g h t e v e n w h e n

h e w a s a t h o m e .

The first thing he wanted todo was t o ge t up i n peace

without being disturbed , toget dressed, and most of all tohave his breakfast. Only then

would he consider what to donext, as he was well aware that

h e w o u l d n o t b r i n g h i st h o u g h t s t o a n y s e n s i b l e

conclusions by lying in bed.He remembered that he had

often felt a slight pain in bed,p e r h a p s c a u s e d b y l y i n g

awkwardly, but that had alwayst u r n e d o u t t o b e p u r eimagination and he wondered

how h i s imag in ings wou lds lowly re so lve t hemse lves

today. He did not have theslightest doubt that the change in

his voice was nothing more thanthe first sign of a serious cold,

which was an occupational hazardfor travelling salesmen.

It was a simple matter tothrow off the covers; he only

h a d t o b l o w h i m s e l f u p al i t t l e a n d t h e y f e l l o f f b y

themse lves . Bu t i t became

harbinger heraldo, precursor, heraldo, lucero, presagio,

1312

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

m u c h m o r e d i f f i c u l t ,e spec i a l l y s i nce he wasexcessively wide. He wouldhave needed arms and handsto prop himself up, instead ofwhich he had only the manylittle legs that continuallywaved every which way andwhich he could not control atall. If he wanted to bend one,it was the first to stretch itselfout , and i f he f inal lysucceeded in getting this legto do what he wanted, theothers in the meantime, as ifset free, waved all the morewildly in painful and frenziedagitation. “There’s no usestaying in bed,” Gregor saidto himself.

First he attempted to getthe lower part of his bodyout of bed, but this lowerpart, which he had not yetseen and about which hecould form no clear picture,proved too onerous to move.I t shif ted so s lowly, andwhen he had finally becomenearly frantic, he gatheredh i s energ y a nd l u n g e dforward, without restraint,i n t h e w r o n g d i r e c t i o nand so s l ammed aga ins tt h e l o w e r b e d p o s t ; t h es e a r i n g p a in tha t sho tthrough his body informedhim that the lower part of hisbody was perhaps the mostsensitive at present.

He then tried to get thetop part of his body out first,and cautiously moved hishead toward the edge of thebed. This went smoothlyenough, and despite its girthand mass t he b u l k o f h i sb o d y s l o w l y f o l l o w e dt h e d i r e c t i o n o f h i sh e a d . B u t w h e n h ef i n a l l y g o t h i s h e a d f r e eo v e r t h e b e d s i d e , h eb e c a m e l e e r y o fc o n t i n u i n g i n t h i s v e i n ,b e c a u s e i f h e f e l l i tw o u l d b e a m i r a c l e i f h ed i d n o t h u r t h i s h e a d .A n d h e m u s t n o t ,e s p e c ia l ly now, loseconsciousness at any price;better to stay in bed.

B u t w h e n h e h a d

s o l a . P e r o l a d i f i c u l t a des taba en la ex t raord ina-r i a anchura de Gregorio.Para incorporarse , podíah a b e r s e a y u d a d o d e l o sbrazos y las manos; mas,en su lugar, tenía ahora in-numerables patas en cons-tante agitación y le era im-posible hacerse dueño deellas. Y el caso es que élq u e r í a i n c o r p o r a r s e . S eest i raba; lograba por f indominar una de sus patas;pero, mientras t a n t o , l a sd e m á s p r o s e g u í a n s u l i -b r e y d o l o r o s a a g i t a -c i ón . « No [15] convienehacer e l zángano en lacama», pensó Gregorio.

Primero intentó sacar del lechola parte inferior del cuerpo. Pero estaparte inferior -que por cierto no ha-bía visto todavía, y que, por tanto, leera imposible representarse en suexacta conformación- resultó ser de-masiado difícil dé mover. La opera-ción se inició muy despacio.Gregorio, frenético ya, concentrótoda su energía y, sin pararse enbarras, se arrastró hacia ade-lante. Mas calculó mal la di-rección, se dio un golpe tremen-do contra los pies de la cama, yel dolor que esto le produjodemostróle, con su agudez, queaquella parte inferior de sucuerpo era quizá, precisa-mente, en su nuevo estado,la más sensible.

Intentó, pues, sacar primerola parte superior, y volviócuidadosamente la cabezahacia el borde del lecho.Esto no ofreció ninguna di-ficultad, y, no obstante suanchura y su peso, el cuerpotodo siguió por fin, aunquelentamente, el movimientoiniciado por la cabeza. Mas,al verse con ésta colgandoen el aire, le entró miedo decont inuar avanzando enigual forma, porque, deján-dose caer así, era preciso unverdadero milagro para sa -ca r i n t ac t a l a cabeza ; yahora menos [16] que nuncaquería Gregorio perder elsentido. Antes prefería que-darse en la cama.

Mas cuando, después de

empezaron las dificultades,debido sobre todo a sudescomunal anchura. Habríanecesitado brazos y manospara incorporarse, pero en su[25] lugar solo tenía esasnumerosas patitas- que no pa-raban de agitarse en todos lossentidos y que él, además, eraincapaz de controlar. Siintentaba doblar alguna, estaera la primera que volvía aestirarse, y cuando por finlograba hacer lo que quería conella, las restantes proseguían,como abandonadas a s ímismas, con su extrema ydolorosa agitación. «Nada dequedarse inútilmente en lacama», se dijo Gregor.

Primero quiso bajar de lacama con la parte inferior desu cuerpo, que por cierto élno había visto todavía y de laque tampoco podía hacerseuna idea precisa, pero resultómuy difícil de mover. ¡Era unproceso lentísimo! Y cuandoal final, casi furioso, reuniótodas sus fuerzas y seimpulsó hac ia de l an t e s i ncontemplaciones, calculó mal ladirección y se dio un v i o l e n t ogolpe c o n t r a l a s p a t a sd e l a c a m a ; e ll a n c i n a n t e dolor quesintió le hizo ver queprecisamente la parte inferior desu cuerpo era quizá, de momento,la más sensible.

En tonces in ten tó sacarpr imero la par te super ior yg i ró con cu idado l a cabe-z a h a c i a e l b o r d e d e l acama. No le fue d i f í c i l y,a p e s a r d e s u anchura ypeso, el cuerpo entero acabósiguiendo lentamente el mo-vimiento de la cabeza. Perocuando ya tenía la cabeza enel aire, fuera de la cama, ledio miedo seguir avanzandode ese modo, pues si al finalse dejaba caer así , tendríaque ocurr i r un verdaderomilagro para que la cabezano se les ionase . Y lo queahora no podía perder bajoningún concepto [26] era elconocimiento; antes preferi-ría quedarse en la cama.

Sin embargo, cuando des-

else, however, was difficult,especially since he was souncommonly broad . H ewould have needed armsand hands to prop himselfup, and all he had was thenumerous tiny legs that keptperpetually moving everywhich way but without hismanaging to control them.If he tried to bend a leg, itfirst straightened out; andif he finally succeeded int a k i n g c h a rg e o f i t , t h eother legs meanwhile al lk e p t c a r r y i n g o n , a s i femancipated , in ext remeand painful agitation. “Justd o n ’ t d a w d l e i n b e d , ”Gregor told himself.

To start with, he wanted toget out of bed with the lowerpart of his body; but thisportion, which, incidentally, hehad not yet seen and could notproperly visualize, proved toocumbersome to move-it went soslowly. And when eventually,having grown almost frantic, hegathered all his strength andrecklessly thrust forward, hechose the wrong directionand slam m e d v i o l e n t l yi n t o t h e l o w e rb e d p o s t , w h e r e u p o nt h e b urning pain he thenfelt made him realize that thelower part of his body mightbe precisely the most sensitive,at least for now.

He therefore first tried to get hisupper portion out of the bed, and todo so he cautiously turned his headtoward the side of the mattress. Thisactually proved [122] easy; andeventually, despite its breadth andweight, his body bulk slowlyfollowed the twisting of hishead. But when his head wasfinally looming over the edgeof the bed, in the free air, he wasscared of advancing any furtherin this manner; for if heultimately let himself plungedown like this, only an outrightmiracle would prevent injuryto his head. And no matterwhat , he mus t no t loseconsciousness now of alltimes; he would be better offremaining in bed.

But when, sighing after

that th ings became morediff icul t because of h isext raordinary girth . Hewould have needed arms andhands to l i f t himself up;ins tead he only had hisnumerous legs that were inconstant and multifariousmotion and over which hehad no control. Whenever hetr ied to bend one, i tstraightened itself out, and bythe time he finally managed tomake this leg do his bidding,all the others were flailingaround, as if liberated, in as ta te o f mos t acu te andpainful excitement. ‘Betternot waste time in bed,’ saidGregor to himself.

He tried at first to get thelower part of his body out ofbed, but this lower part whichhe had incidentally not yet seenand of which he could form noreally clear picture, proved toocumbersome; progress was soslow; and when at last, havingbecome almost wild, hemustered all his strength andthrust himself recklesslyforward, it turned out that hehad chosen the wrongdirection, he bumped violentlyagainst the bottom end of thebed, and the searing pain he feltinformed him that it wasprecisely this lower part of hisbody that might for the timebeing be the most sensitive.

So he t r ied to get theupper part of his body outof bed f irs t , twist ing hishead round to the edge ofth e bed. That was easyenough, and despite its girthand great weight, his bodyslowly followed themovement of his head. Butwhen at long last he had gothis head out over the side ofthe bed, in mid-air, he becameafraid of continuing in thismanner, for if he were to falllike that it would take a miraclefor him not to sustain a headinjury. And consciousnessw a s t h e l a s t t h i n g h ew a n t e d t o l o s e a t t h ep r e s e n t t i m e ; h e w o u l drather s tay in bed. [7]

But when after a similar

M a i s e n s u i t e G r é g o i r ef u t g ê n é p a r s acarrure formidable. P ourse lever, i l lui aurai t fal ludes bras e t des jambes e ti l n e p o s s é d a i t q u e d ep e t i t e s p a t t e s e nvibra t ion cont inue l le surl e s q u e l l e s i l n ’ a v a i ta u c u n m o y e n d ’ a c t i o n .Avant d’en pouvoi r p l ie rune i l lu i fa l la i t d ’abords ’ é t i r e r , e t , q u a n d i la r r i v a i t à e x é c u t e r l emouvement voulu , tou tesles autres se déchaînaientsans cont rô le , l e fa i san tsouff r i r a t rocement . «Ner es tons pas i nu t i l emen tau l i t» , se d i t - i l .

Pour en sortir, il essayad’abord de commencer parl ’ a r r i è r e - t r a i n ;malheureusement cetarrièretrain, qu’il n’avait pasencore vu et dont il ne sefaisait pas une idée précise, serévéla à l’expérience trèsdifficile à mouvoir; la lenteurdu procédé l’exaspéra; il réunittoutes ses forces pour se jeteren avant, mais, ayant malcalculé sa trajectoire, il seheurta violemment contre l’undes montants du lit, et lacuisante douleur qu’il enressentit lui apprit que lapartie inférieure de son corpsétai t sans doute la plussensible.

Il voulut donc, changeantde tactique, commencer parle haut du corps et tournaprudemment la tête vers lehaut du lit. Il y réussit sanspeine, et le reste de sa masse,malgré son poids e t sonvolume, finit par suivre ets’orienter du même côté. Mais[14] q u a n d l a t ê t e f u ts o r t i e e t q u ’ e l l e p e n d i td a n s l e v i d e , G r é g o i r ee u t p e u r d e c o n t i n u e r ;s ’ i l t o m b a i t d a n s c e t t ep o s i t i o n , i l s eb r i s e r a i t l e c r â n e àm o i n s d ’ u n m i r a c l e , e tc e n ’ é t a i t p a s l em o m e n t d e p e r d r e s e sm o y e n s ; m i e u x v a l a i tr e s t e r a u l i t .

P o u r t a n t , l o r s q u e ,

e n s u i t e l e s c h o s e s s eg â t è r e n t , s u r t o u t à c a u s e

d e s a l a r g e u r insolite. I1aurait fallu s’aider des bras et

des mains pour se redresser;mais il n’avait que de petites

pattes qui n’arrêtaient pas deremuer dans tous les sens et

sur lesquelles il n’avait aucunmoyen d’action. S’il voulaitplier l’une d’entre elles, elle

commençait par s’allonger; ets’il parvenait enfin à faire faire

à cette patte ce qu’il voulait,toutes les autres, abandonnées

à elles-mêmes, se livraientaussitôt à une vive agitation

des plus pénibles. « Surtout,ne pas rester inutilement au lit», se dit-il.

Il voulut d’abord sortir du

lit par le bas du corps, maiscette partie inférieure de son

corps, que d’ailleurs il n’avaitencore jamais vue et dont il ne

parvenait pas à se faire uneidée préc ise , s ’avéra t rop

difficile à mouvoir; tout celabougea i t s i l en tement ; e tquand enfin, exaspéré, il se

poussa brutalement de toutesses forces en avant, il calcula

mal sa trajectoire et vint seheurter violemment à l’un des

montants du lit et la douleurcuisante qu’il éprouva lui fit

comprendre que la par t i einférieure de son corps étaitpeut-être pour l’instant la plus

sensible.

I l essaya donc de sort ird ’ a b o r d p a r l e h a u t e t

t o u r n a l a t ê t e a v e cprécaution vers le bord du

li t . II y parvint sans peineet la masse de son corps ,

m a l g r é s a l a rg e u r e t s o np o i d s , f i n i t p a r s u i v r elentement les mouvements

de sa tête. Mais lorsque latête fut entièrement sortie à

l ’a i r l ib re , i l eu t peur decont inuer à progresser de

cet te manière; car, s ’ i l selaissait tomber de la sorte,

ç’eût é té un miracle qu’i lne se fracassât pas le crâne.Et ce n’étai t certes pas le

m o m e n t d e p e r d r e s e sm o y e n s . M i e u x v a l a i t

encore rester au l i t .

Mais quand, après s’être

difficult after that, especiallyas he was so except ional ly

broad . He would have used hisarms and his hands to push

himself up; but instead of themhe only had all those little legs

continuously moving in differentdirections, and which he was

moreover unable to control. If hewanted to bend one of them,then that was the first one that

would stretch itself out; and ifhe finally managed to do what

he wanted with that leg, all th eo t h e r s s e e m e d t o b e s e t

f r e e a n d w o u l d m o v ea b o u t p a i n f u l l y. “ T h i s i s

s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n ’ t bedone in bed”, Gregor said to himself,“so don’t keep trying to do it”.

The f irst thing he wanted

to do was get the lower partof his body out of the bed,

bu t he had never seen th i sl o w e r p a r t , a n d c o u l d n o t

imagine what i t looked l ike;i t turned out to be too hard

to move; i t went so slowly;a n d f i n a l l y, a l m o s t i n af renzy, when he ca re less ly

s h o v e d h i m s e l f f o r w a r d swith a l l the force he could

gather, he chose the wrongd i r ec t i on , h i t ha rd aga ins t

t h e l o w e r b e d p o s t , a n dl e a r n e d f r o m t h e b u r n i n g

pa in he fe l t tha t the lowerpar t of h is body might wel l ,a t p r e s e n t , b e t h e m o s t

sensi t ive .

So then he tried to get the toppart of his body out of the bed

first, carefully turning his headto the side. This he managed

quite easily, and despite i tsbreadth and its weight, the bulk

o f h i s b o d y e v e n t u a l l yf o l l o w e d s l o w l y i n t h ed i r ec t i on o f t he head . Bu t

when he had at last got hishead out of the bed and into

the fresh air it occurred to himthat if he let himself fall i t

would be a miracle if his headw e r e n o t i n j u r e d , s o h e

b e c a m e a f r a i d t o c a r r y o npushing himself forward thesame way. And he could not

knock himself out now at anyprice; bet ter to s tay in bed

than lose consciousness.

It took just as much effort to

1514

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

r e p e a t e d h i s f o r m e ref for ts and once more laysighing and watching hispuny legs struggle againsteach other, possibly evenmore vic ious ly, and hadf o u n d n o w a y t o b r i n gp e a c e a n d o r d e r t o t h i srandom motion, he againtold himself that he couldnot poss ib ly s tay in beda n d t h a t t h e l o g i c a lr e c o u r s e w a s t o r i s ke v e r y t h i n g i n t h e m e r ehope o f f r ee ing h imse l ffrom the bed. But a t thes a m e t i m e h e d i d n o tforget to remind himselfp e r i o d i c a l l y t h a t b e t t e rt h a n r a s h decisions wascool, indeed the very coolest,deliberation. In these moments,he fixed his gaze as firmly as[11] possible on the window, butunfortunately the sight of themorning fog, which had evenobscured the other side of thenarrow street, offered little in theway of cheer or encouragement.“Seven o’clock already,” he saidto himself at the new chiming ofthe alarm clock, “seven o’clockalready and still such thick fog.”And for a little while he lay still,breathing lightly as if heexpected total repose wouldrestore everything to its normaland unquestionable state.

Bu t t hen he s a id t ohimself: “Before a quarterp a s t s e v e n I a b s o l u t e l ym u s t b e o u t o f b e d .B e s i d e s , b y t h a t t i m esomeone from the off icewill have come to ask aboutm e , b e c a u s e t h e o f f i c eo p e n s b e f o r e s e v e no ’ c l o c k . ” A n d n o w h ebegan rocking the wholel e n g t h o f h i s body in asteady rhythm in order topitch it out of the bed. If hedropped from the bed in thisway, he cou ld p robab lyprotect his head by lifting itsharply as he fell. His backseemed to be hard, so it wouldnot be harmed by the fall to thecarpet. His greatest concernwas for the loud crash he waslikely to make, provokingfear i f not te r ror behindall the doors. S till , i t mustbe r isked.

rea l iza r a l a inversa losmismos esfuerzos , subra-yándolos con hondísünossusp i ros , ha l lóse de nue-vo en la misma pos ic ióny t o r n ó a v e r s u s p a t a spresas de una exc i tac iónmayor que antes , s i cabe ,comprend ió que no d i s -p o n í a d e m e d i o a l g u n opara remediar tamaño ab-surdo , y vo lv ió a pensarque no debía segui r en lacama y que lo más cuer -do e ra a r r i e sga r lo todo ,a u n q u e s o l o l e q u e d a s eu n a í n f i m a e s p e r a n z a .P e r o a l p u n t o r e c o r d óque har to mejor que to -mar decis iones extremasera meditar serenamente.Sus ojos se clavaron confuerza en la ventana; mas,por desgracia, la vista de laniebla que aquella mañanaocultaba por completo ellado opuesto de la cal le ,poca esperanza y escasosánimos debía de infundirle.«Las siete ya -díjose al oírde nuevo el despertador-.¡Las siete ya, y todavía si-gue l a n i eb la ! » Duran teunos momentos permanecióechado, inmóvil y respiran-do quedo, cual si esperasevolver en el silencio a suestado normal.

Pero, a poco, pensó: « An-tes de-que den las siete y cuartoes indispensable que me hayalevantado. Sin contar que, entre-tanto, vendrá seguramente al-guien del almacén a [17] pre-guntar por mí, pues allí abrenantes de las siete». Y se dispusoa salir de la cama, balanceándo-se cuan largo era. Dejándosecaer en esta forma, la cabeza,que tenía el firme propósito demantener enérgicamente ergui-da, saldría probablemente sindaño ninguno. La espalda pare-cía tener resistencia bastante:nada le pasaría al dar con ellaen la alfombra. Únicamentehacíale vacilar el temor al es-truendo que esto habría de pro-ducir, y que sin duda daría ori-gen, detrás de cada puerta, cuan-do no a un susto, por lo menos auna inquietud. Mas no quedabaotro remedio que afrontar estaperspectiva.

pués de realizar los mismosesfuerzos volvió, suspirando,a su posición anterior y vionuevamente sus patitas lu-chando entre sí incluso conmás violencia, no encontróninguna posibilidad de ponerorden ni sosiego en aquel caosarbitrario, y volvió a decirseque no podía seguir ahí tum-bado y que lo más sensato se-ría sacrificarlo todo, aunquesolo hubiera una esperanzamínima de liberarse así de lacama. Pero, al mismo tiempo,no se le olvidaba que de vezen cuando debía recordar quela reflexión serena -y más queserena- es mucho mejor quelas decisiones desesperadas.En esos momentos dirigía ha-cia la ventana una mirada lomás aguda posible, aunque,por desgracia, la visión de laniebla matinal, que ocultabaincluso el otro lado de la es-trecha callejuela, dejaba esca-so margen a la confianza y albuen humor. «¡Las siete ya!»,se dijo cuando el despertadorvolvió a sonar. «¡Las siete yay tanta niebla todavía!» Y sequedó un momento quieto,respirando apenas, como side aquel silencio total espe-rase que las cosas volvierana su estado natural y verda-dero.

Pero luego se dijo: «An-tes de que den las s iete yc u a r t o t e n g o q u e h a b e ra b a n d o n a d o d e l t o d o l acama. Además, para enton-ces seguro que vendrá a l -guien de la of icina a pre-guntar por mí, pues abrenantes de las siete». Y tratód e s a c a r e l c u e r p o d e l acama balanceándose unifor-memen te en t oda [27 ] sulongitud. Si se dejaba caerde esa manera , la cabeza,q u e é l p e n s a b a m a n t e n e rbien erguida al caer, saldríaprobablemente ilesa. La es-palda parecía ser dura, y se-guro que no le pasaría nadaal caer sobre la alfombra.Lo que más le preocupabaera el estrépito que causaríay que posiblemente provoca-ría inquietud, si no temor, de-trás de cada puerta. Pero ha-bía que correr el riesgo.

repeating this exertion, hest i l l lay there as before ,watching his tiny legs battleeach other perhaps even morefiercely and finding no wayto bring peace and order tothis idiosyncratic condition,he again mused that he couldnot possibly stay there. Themost logical recourse wouldbe to make any sacrif icewhatsoever if there was eventhe s l ightest hope of hisfreeing himself from the bed.Yet at the same time, he didnot neglect to keep remindinghimself that a calm, indeedthe calmest reflection was farsuper ior to desperateresolves. In such moments,he fixed his eyes as sharplyas he could on the window;but unfor tunate ly, l i t t lecomfort or encouragementcould be drawn from the sightof the morning fog, whichshrouded even the other sideof the narrow street. “Alreadyseven o’clock,” he said tohimself when the alarm clockstruck again, “already seveno’clock and still such a thickfog.” And for a short while,he lay quiet ly, breathingfaint ly, as i f perhapsexpect ing the s i lence torestore real and normal cir-cumstances.

But then he told himself,“I absolutely must be out ofbed completely before theclock strikes seven-fifteen.[123] Besides, by thensomeone from work will cometo inquire about me, since theoffice opens before seven.”And he now began seesawingthe full length of his body atan altogether even rhythm inorder to rock it from the bed.If he could get himself totumble from the bed in thisway, then he would no doubtprevent injury to his head bylifting it sharply while falling.His back seemed hard;nothing was likely to happento it during the landing on thecarpet. His greatest misgivingwas about the loud crash thatwas sure to ensue, probablycausing anxiety if not terrorbehind all the doors. Still, thisrisk had to be run.

struggle he lay back pantingin his original position, andsaw again h is l i t t le legslocked in what seemed to beeven fiercer combat thanbefore, and found no way ofrestoring any calm or orderto such chaos , he t o ldhimself once more that therewas no way he could stay inbed , and tha t the wises tthing would be to risk all foreven the faintest hope offreeing himself f rom hisbed. At the same time he didnot forget to remind himselfat intervals that the coolestof cool reflection was betterby f a r t han de spe ra t edecisions. At such momentshe focused h i s eyes a ssharply as possible on thewindow, but unfortunatelythe s ight of the morningmist, which veiled even theother s ide of the narrowstreet, had little good cheeror encouragement to offer.‘Seven o’clock already,’ hesaid to himself as the alarmc lock r ang once more ,‘seven o’clock and still sucha thick mist: And for a shortwhile he lay still, breathingquietly, hoping perhaps thatsuch to ta l s i l ence mightb r ing abou t a r e tu rn t onormal, everyday reality.

Bu t t hen he s a id t ohimself. ‘Before it strikesseven fifteen, I must at allcosts be right out of bed.Anyway, someone by thenwil l have come from theoffice to enquire about me,as the office opens beforeseven: And he now set aboutrocking the whole length ofhis body evenly out of bed.If he let himself fall fromthe bed in th i s way, h i shead, which he intended tolift sharply as he fell, wouldpresumably be unharmed.His back seemed to be hard;h i t t ing the carpe t wouldp robab ly cause i t nodamage. His greatest concernwas t h e t h o u g h t o f t h el oud noise he would inevitablymake, and which would probablycause, if not alarm, then at leastconcern behind the various doors.But such a risk had to be taken.

poussant un soupir aprèstant de peine, il se retrouvaétendu comme auparavant,l o r s q u ’ i l v i t s e s p e t i t e spa t t e s s e l i v r e r ba t a i l l eavec plus d’acharnementque jamais, désespérant det r o u v e r a u c u n m o y e nd e r e s t a u r e r l a p a i x e tl ’ o r d r e d a n s c e t t es o c i é t é d e s p o t i q u e , i lr e c o m m e n ç a à c r o i r eq u ’ i l n e p o u v a i tabso lument pas res te r aul i t e t q u ’ i l f a l l a i tr a i s o n n a b l e m e n t t o u tsacr i f ie r à l a p lus pe t i t echance de sortir de là. I lne se rappelait pas moinsq u e l e s r é f l e x i o n sdésespérées ne valent pas laréflexion froide et sage.D’ordinaire, dans cesmoments-là, il concentrait sesregards sur la fenêtre pour entirer des encouragements etdes motifs d’espoir, mais cejour-là, la rue n’avait rien à luidire; le brouillard n’annonçaitrien de bon. «Sept heures,pensa-t-il, déjà sept heures etle brouil lard n’a pasdiminué!» Il se recoucha unmoment, pour ménager sarespirat ion et ses forces,comme s’il attendait du calmecomplet le retour de la vienormale.

Pu i s i l s e d i t : « Av a n tl e q u a r t i l f a u t a b s o l u -m e n t q u e j e s o i s d e b o u t .D ’ i c i l à , d ’ a i l l e u r s , o na u r a e n v o y é q u e l q u ’ u nd e l a m a i s o n p o u r m ed e m a n d e r , c a r l em a g a s i n o u v r e a v a n ts e p t h e u r e s . » E t i l s em i t à s e b a l a n c e r s u r l ed o s p o u r s o r t i r d u l i td a n s [ 1 5 ] t o u t e s al o n g u e u r e t d ’ u n e s e u l ep i è c e . D e c e t t e f a ç o n , i lp o u r r a i t t o u j o u r sp r é s e r v e r s a t ê t e e n l at e n a n t l e v é e p e n d a n t l es a u t . S o n d o s , q u i l u is e m b l a i t a s s e z d u r , n er i s q u a i t r i e n s u r l et a p i s . I l ne craignait quele vacarme de sa chute quiallait retentir dans toute lam a i s o n , y p r o p a g e a n tl’effroi ou tout au moinsl’inquiétude.

donné à nouveau le même mal,il se retrouva en soupirant dans

la même position et qu’il vit ànouveau ses petites pattes se

livrer bataille avec plus deviolence encore qu’auparavant,

sans trouver aucun moyen derétablir un peu d’ordre et de

calme dans toute cetteconfusion, il se dit derechefqu’il lui était absolument

impossible de rester au lit et quele plus raisonnable était encore

de tout risquer, s’il subsistait unespoir, si léger soit-il, de sortir

ainsi du lit . Ce qui nel’empêchait pas de se rappeler,

de temps à autre, que la réflexionet le sangfroid valent mieux queles résolutions désespérées. A ces

moments-là, il fixait ses regardsaussi fermement qu’il le pouvait

sur la fenêtre; maismalheureusement le brouillard du

matin noyait tout, jusqu’au bordopposé de l’étroite ruelle et il y

avait peu d’encouragement etd’espoir à a t tendre de ce

côté- là . « Sept heures!»,pensa-t-il en entendant ànouveau la sonnerie du réveil,

« e t le broui l lard n’a pasdiminué », et il resta couché un

moment immobile en retenantson souff le , comme s’ i l

espérait que le calme total allâtrendre à toute chose son

évidence coutumière.

Mais il se dit ensuite : «

Avant que ne sonne 8 heuresun quart, il faut absolument

q u e j ’ a i e q u i t t é l e l i t .Quelqu’un du magasin sera

d’ailleurs venu demander dem e s n o u v e l l e s , c a r i l s

ouvrent avant 7 heures! Et ilse mit à balancer son corps

d e t o u t s o n l o n g d ’ u nmouvement régulier pour lesortir du lit . S’il se laissait

t omber de ce t t e f açon, i lpourrait sans doute éviter de

se b lesser la tê te , pourvuqu’il la tînt bien droite au

moment de la chute. Son dossembla i t du r e t i l ne s e

passerait p robablement rienlorsqu’il toucherait le tapis. Saprincipale inquiétude venait du

grand bruit qu’il ferait sans douteet qui, même à travers les portes

closes, pouvait provoquer sinon del’effroi, du moins de l’inquiétude.

Mais il fallait risquer.

get back to where he had beenearlier, but when he lay there

sighing, and was once morewatching his legs as they

struggled against each othereven harder than before, if that

was possible, he could think ofno way of bringing peace and

order to this chaos. He toldhimself once more that it wasnot possible for him to stay in

bed and that the most sensiblething to do would be to get free

of it in whatever way he couldat whatever sacrifice. At the

same time, though, he did notforget to remind himself that

calm consideration was muchbetter than rushing to desperateconclusions. At times like this

he would direct his eyes to thewindow and look out as clearly

as he could, but unfortunately,even t he o the r s i de o f t he

narrow street was envelopedin morning fog and the view

had little confidence or cheerto offer him. “Seven o’clock,

already”, he said to himselfwhen the clock struck again,“seven o’clock, and there’s

st i l l a fog l ike this .” And hel a y t h e r e q u i e t l y a w h i l e

longer, breathing lightly as ifh e p e r h a p s e xp e c t e d t h e

t o t a l s t i l l n e s s t o b r i n gt h i n g s b a c k t o t h e i r r e a l

a n d n a t u r a l s t a t e .

But then he said to himself:

“Before it strikes quarter pastseven I’ll definitely have to

have got properly out of bed.And by then somebody will

have come round from work toask what’s happened to me as

well, as they open up at workbefore seven o’clock.” And so

he set himself to the task ofswinging the entire length of hisbody out of the bed all at the

same time. If he succeeded infalling out of bed in this way

and kept his head raised as hedid so he could probably avoid

injuring it. His back seemed tobe quite hard, and probably

nothing would happen to i tfall ing onto the carpet. H i sm a i n c o n c e r n w a s f o r t h e

loud noise he was bound to make,and which even through all the

doors would probably raise concernif not alarm. But it was something

that had to be risked.

1716

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

When Gregor was stickinghalfway out of the bed-the newmethod was less a strugglethan a game, he had only toinch along by rocking backand forth-it struck him howmuch easier it would be ifsomeone came to help. Twostrong people-he thought ofh i s f a the r and t hemaid-would surely suffice:They would only have tosl ip their arms under hiscurved back to lift him fromthe bed, bend down withtheir burden, and be patientand wa tch fu l wh i l e heengineered his swing overt o t h e f l o o r , w h e r e h ehoped his t iny legs wouldf ind some purpose. Now,putt ing aside the fact thatal l the doors were locked,should he real ly cal l forh e l p ? D e s p i t e h i spredicament, he could notsuppress a smile a t thesethoughts.

He was already out sofa r tha t he cou ld bare lyk e e p h i s b a l a n c e w h i l evigorous l y ro c k i n g , a n dve ry soon he wou ld haveto dec ide one way o r t heo t h e r , b e c a u s e i n f i v em i n u t e s i t w o u l d b e aq u a r t e r p a s t s e v e n - t h e nt h e d o o r b e l l r a n g .“ T h a t ’ s s o m e o n e f r o mt h e o f f i c e , ” he sa id toh imse l f , and s l igh t lystiffened although his legsonly danced more wildly.Everything was still for amoment. “They’re not goingto answer,” Gregor said tohimself, clinging to someabsurd hope. But then ofcourse the maid marchedsharply to the door as usualand opened i t . Gregorneeded on ly to hear thev is i to r ’s f i r s t words ofgree t ing to know who i twas-the head clerk himself.Why was Gregor condemnedto serve at a firm where thesmal les t in f rac t ion wasseized upon [12] with thegravest suspicion; was eachand every employee ascoundre l ; was the re noloyal and dedicated man

Ya estaba Gregorio a me-dias fuera de la cama (el nue-vo método antes parecía unjuego que un trabajo, puessolo implicaba el balancear-se siempre hacia atrás), cuan-do cayó en la cuenta de quetodo sería muy sencillo si al-guien viniese en su ayuda.Con dos personas robustas (ypensaba en su padre y en lacriada) bastaría. Solo ten-drían que pasar los brazospor debajo de su abombadaespalda, desenfundarle dellecho y, agachándose luegocon la carga, permitirle solí-citamente estirarse por com-pleto en el suelo, en dondeera de presumir que las patasdemostrarían su razón de ser.Ahora [18] bien, y prescin-diendo de que las puertas es-taban cerradas, ¿conveníalerealmente pedir ayuda? Pesea lo apurado de su situación,no pudo por menos de son-reírse.

Había adelantado ya tanto,que un solo balanceo, más pro-nunciado que los anteriores,bastaría para hacerle perder casipor completo el equilibrio. Ade-más, muy pronto no le quedaríaotro remedio que’ tomar unadeterminación, pues solo falta-ban ya cinco minutos para lassiete y cuarto. En esto, llama-ron a la puerta del piso. «De se-guro es alguien del almacén»pensó Gregorio, quedando depronto suspenso, mientras suspatas seguían danzando cadavez más rápidamente. Un pun-to, permaneció todo en silencio.«No abren» -pensó entonces,asiéndose a tan descabelladaesperanza. Pero, como no podíapor menos de suceder,sintiéronse aproximarse a lapuerta las fuertes pisadas de lacriada. -Y la puerta se abrió.Bastóle a Gregorio oír la prime-ra palabra pronunciada por elvisitante, para percatarse dequién era. Era el principal enpersona. ¿Por qué estaríaGregorio condenado a trabajaren una casa en la cual la másmínima ausencia despertabainmediatamente las más trágicassospechas? ¿Es que los emplea-dos, todos en general y cada [19]

C u a n d o G r e g o r y as o b r e s a l í a a m e d i a s d el a c a m a - e l n u e v o m é -t o d o e r a m á s u n j u e g oq u e u n e s f u e r z o , s o l ot e n í a q u e b a l a n c e a r s ea s a c u d i d a s - , pensó en lofácil que sería todo si alguienviniera en su ayuda. Dos per-sonas fuertes -pensó en su pa-dre y la criada- habrían sidomás que suficientes; solo ten-drían que deslizar los brazospor debajo de su espaldaabombada, sacarlo así de lacama con cuidado, agacharsecon la carga y, cautelosamen-te, aguardar a que él comple-tara entonces la maniobra enel suelo, donde era de esperarque las patitas demostrasen surazón de ser. Ahora bien, de-jando aparte el que las puertasestuvieran cerradas con llave,¿debería realmente pedir ayu-da? Pese a lo desesperado desu situación, no pudo reprimiruna sonrisa ante esta idea.

Y a h a b í a l l e g a d o au n p u n t o e n q u e , s is e g u í a a u m e n t a n d o e lba lanceo , apenas pod r í amantener el equilibrio; y ade-más, muy pronto tendría que to-mar una decisión definitiva,pues faltaban cinco minutospara las siete y cuarto... cuan-do de pronto sonó el timbre dela puerta de la casa. « Seguro que[28] es alguien de la oficina»,pensó Gregor, y se quedó pe-trificado, mientras sus patitasbailaban más deprisa todavía.Hubo un instante de silenciototal . «No abren», se di joGregor, aferrado a alguna ab-surda esperanza. Pero la cria-da se dirigió luego a la puer-t a con pa so f i rme , comosiempre, y abrió. A Gregor lebastó con oír el primer salu-do del visitante para saberquién era: el gerente en per-sona. ¿Por qué estaría Gregorcondenado a trabajar en unae m p r e s a d o n d e e l m e n o rdescuido despertaba ense-g u i d a e l m a y o r r e c e l o ?¿Acaso los empleados erantodos, s in excepción, unosp ícaros? ; ¿no hab ía en t reellos ni un solo hombre leal yentregado que, por el simple

By the time Gregor wasalready sticking halfway outof the bed (this new methodwas more of a game than astruggle, all he had to do waskeep seesawing andwrenching himself along), itoccurred to him how easyeverything would be ifsomeone lent him a hand. Itwould take only two strongpeople (he thought of hisfather and the maid); theywould only have to slip theirarms under his vaulted back,slide him out of the bed,crouch down with theirburden, and then just waitpatiently and cautiously as heflipped over to the floor,where he hoped his tiny legswould have some purpose.Now quite aside from the factthat the doors were locked,should he really call forassistance? Despite hismisery, he could not helpsmiling at the very idea.

By now he was alreadyseesawing so intensely thathe barely managed to keeph i s ba lance , and so hewould have to make up hismind very soon, for it wasa l r eady t en a f t e rseven-when the doorbel lrang. “It’s someone from theoff ice,” he to ld himself ,a lmos t pe t r i f i ed , [ 124 ]whi le h i s t iny legs on lydanced all the more hastily.For an instant, there wasto ta l hush . “They’re notanswering,” Gregor said toh imse l f , p r ey t o someabsurd hope. But then ofcourse, the maid, as usual,strode firmly to the doorand opened it. Gregor onlyhad to hear the visitor’s firstword of gree t ing and heknew who it was-the officemanager himself. Why ohwhy was Gregor condemnedto working for a companywhere t he s l i gh t e s ttard ines s a roused t hemurkiest suspicions? Waseve ry l a s t emp loyee ascoundrel, wasn’t there asingle loyal and dedicatedperson among them, a manwho, if he failed to devote

When Gregor was alreadyprotruding halfway out ofbed the new method was notso much work as play, sincehe only needed to keeprocking in fits and starts - itoccurred to him [8] howsimple everything would beif someone came to his aid.Two strong people - he hadin mind his father and themaid would be quite enough;they would only have to slidetheir arms under his archedback, slip him out of bed,bend their knees beneath theburden and then s implyexercise pat ience t i l l hesomersaulted onto the floor,where the little legs would,he hoped, acquire a purpose.Well, quite apart from thefact that the doors werelocked, ought he really to callfor help? Despite his greatpredicament, he was unableto suppress a smile at thethought.

He had already reached thestage where, if he rockedfairly vigorously, he couldscarcely keep his balance, andhe would very soon have tomake up his mind once andfo r a l l , because i n f i veminu te s i t wou ld be aquarter past seven - whenthe re was a r i ng a t t heapartment door. ‘Someonefrom the office , ’ he said tohimself, and almost froze,while his little legs dancedeven faster. For a momenta l l was s i l en t . ‘They ’ r enot answering,’ Gregor saidto himself, seized by someinsane hope. But then ofcourse, as always, the maidstrode purposefully to thedoor and opened it. Gregoronly needed to hear thevisitor’s first word of greetingto know at once who it was - thechief clerk himself. Why wasGregor of all people condemnedto work for a firm where theslightest lapse promptlyaroused the greatest suspicion?Were a l l the employeesscoundre l s , then , everysingle one of them? Wasthere not a single loyal anddevoted worker among them

Quand il eut une moitiédu corps hors du l i t - avecl a n o u v e l l e m é t h o d ec ’ é t a i t p l u t ô t u n j e uqu’une corvée, il n’y avaitq u ’ à s e b a l a n c e r p a rs e c o u s s e s - i l s e m i t àpenser à la fac i l i té aveclaquelle i l aurait pu se levers’il avait eu un peu d’aide.Deux personnes fortes commeson père et la bonne auraientamplement suffi. Ils n’auraienteu qu’à passer les bras sousson dos rond, le dégager du lit,s’incliner ensuite avec leurfardeau et puis attendreprudemment qu’il eût finid’opérer son rétablissementsur le sol où il fallait espérerque ses pattes trouveraientenfin leur raison d’être. Mais,même si les portes n’avaientpas encore été fermées, aurait-ilvraiment bien fait d’appeler àl’aide? A cette idée, malgré toutson malheur, il ne put réprimerun sourire.

L’opéra t ion é ta i t dé jàs i avancée qu’en accen-t u a n t s o n m o u v e m e n td’escarpolette il se sentaitpresque perdre l’équilibre; il luifallait prendre une décisiondéfinitive, car il ne disposaitplus que de cinq minutes avantl’écoulement du quart d’heurefatidique; mais soudain ilentendit sonner. «Quelqu’un estvenu du magasin», se dit-il, etil [16] sentit son sang se figertandis que ses petites pattesaccéléraient leur sarabande. Iln’entendit rien d’un instant etpensa dans une lueur d’espoirabsurde que personne n’allaitouvrir. Mais la borine, commetoujours, se dirigea d’un pasferme vers la porte. Le premiermot du visiteur suffit à Grégoirepour l’identifier, c’était legérant lui-même. Pourquoifallait-il que. Gérard fûtcondamné à servir dans une,maison où l’on soupçonnaitt o u j o u r s l e p i r e à l amoindre inadvertance dupersonnel? Ces employésétaient- i ls donc tous desfripouilles, sans exception?Ne se trouvait-il dans leurn o m b r e a u c u n d e c e sserviteurs dévoués et fidèles

L o r s q u e G r e g o r e u t à

moi t i é émergé du l i t - l anouvelle méthode était plus

u n j e u q u ’ u n e f f o r t , i lsuffisait de se balancer -, il

s e m i t à p e n s e r q u e t o u taurait été facile si on était

venu l’aider. Deux personnesvigoureuses - il pensait à sonpère et à la bonne - auraient

a m p l e m e n t s u f f i : e l l e sauraient passé les bras sous

son dos bombé, l ’auraientex t ra i t du l i t , se se ra ien t

penchées avec leur fardeaue t a u r a i e n t s i m p l e m e n t

a t t endu pa t i emment qu ’ i lrebondisse de lui-même surl e s o l , o ù l ’ o n p o u v a i t

espérer que les petites patteseussent rempli leur office.

Mais, outre que les portesétaient fermées, aurait-il dû

vraiment appeler à l’aide?E n d é p i t d e t o u t s o n

malheur, il avait de la peine,à cette idée, à réprimer un

sourire.

II en était déjà si loin dans

l ’opéra t ion que , même enaccentuant le mouvement de

balancement , i l parvenaitdiffici lement à garder

l’équilibre; il lui fallait prendreune décision définitive, car

dans cinq minutes il serait 8heures un quart; mais soudainil entendit sonner à la porte de

l’appartement. « C’estquelqu’un du magasin », se

d i t - i l , e t i l r es ta f igé surplace, tandis que ses petites

pa t t e s s ’ ag i t a i en t p lu sfrénétiquement encore. Tout

resta un moment silencieux.« Ils n’ouvrent pas », se dit

Grego r, p r i s d ’un e spo i rinsensé . Mais auss i tô t , l abon ne se dirigea comme

toujours de son pas ferme versla porte et l’ouvrit. Il suffit à

Gregor d’entendre les premiersmots du visi teur pour

comprendre de qui il s’agissaitc’était le fondé de pouvoir en

personne. Pourquoi fallait-il queGregor fût condamné à travailler dansune affaire où, au moindre

manquement, on concevait aussitôt lespires soupçons ? Les employés

étaient-ils donc tous sans exception desfripons? N’y avait-il parmi eux aucun

de ces serviteurs fidèles et dévoués

When Gregor was already

st icking half way out of thebed - the new method was

m o r e o f a g a m e t h a n a neffort , a l l he had to do was

ro c k b a c k a n d f o r t h - i toccurred to him how simple

e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d b e i fsomebody came to help him.Two strong people - he had

h i s f a the r and the ma id inmind - would have been more

t h a n e n o u g h ; t h e y w o u l donly have to push their arms

under the dome of his back,peel him away from the bed,

bend down with the load andthen be patient and careful ashe swang over onto the floor,

where , hopeful ly, the l i t t lelegs would find a use. Should

h e r e a l l y c a l l f o r h e l pthough, even apart from the

fact that al l the doors werel o c k e d ? D e s p i t e a l l t h e

difficulty he was in, he couldnot suppress a smile at this

thought.

A f t e r a w h i l e h e h a d

a l r e a d y m o v e d s o f a ra c r o s s t h a t i t w o u l d h a v e

b e e n h a r d f o r h i m t o k e e ph i s b a l a n c e i f h e r o c k e d

too ha rd . The t ime was nowt e n p a s t s e v e n a n d h e

w o u l d h a v e t o m a k e a f i n a ld e c i s i o n v e r y s o o n . T henthere was a ring at the door of

the flat. “That’ll be someonef r o m w o r k” , h e s a i d t o

himself, and froze very still,although his li t t le legs only

became all the more lively asthey danced a round . For a

moment everything remainedquiet. “They’re not opening

t h e d o o r ” , G r e g o r s a i d t oh i m s e l f , c a u g h t i n s o m enonsensical hope. But then of

course, the maid’s firm stepswent to the door as ever and

opened it. Gregor only neededto hear the visitor’s first words of

greeting and he knew who it was- the chief clerk himself. Why did

Gregor have to be the only onecondemned to work for a companywhere they immediately became

highly suspicious at the slightestshortcoming? Were all employees,

every one of them, louts, wasthere not one of them who was

f a i t h f u l a n d d e v o t e d w h o

1918

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

serving them who, havingspent several hours of themorning not devoted to thefirm, might become soovercome by pangs ofremorse as to be actuallyunable to get out of bed?Would i t not have beenenough to send an apprenticeto inquire-if any inquiry wereactually necessary; did thehead clerk himself have tocome, and did the wholeinnocent family have to beshown that only the head clerkcould be entrusted toinvestigate this suspiciousmatter? And owing more tothe anxiety these thoughtscaused Gregor than to any realdecision, he swung himselfwith all his might out of thebed. There was a loud thud butnot really a crash. The fall wasbroken somewhat by thecarpet , and his back wasmore flexible than Gregorhad thought, so there resultedonly a relatively unobtrusivethump. However, he had notbeen careful enough aboutrais ing his head and hadbanged it; he twisted it andrubbed it against the carpetin pain and aggravation.

“Something fell in there,”said the head clerk in theadjoining room to the left.Gregor t r ied to imaginewhether something similar towhat had happened to himtoday might one day befallthe head clerk; the possibilityreally had to be granted. Butas if in rude reply to thequestion, the head clerk nowtook a few decisive steps inthe next room, which causedhis patent leather boots tocreak. From the room to ther ight the s is ter informedGregor in a whisper: “Thehead c le rk i s he re .” “ Iknow,” Gregor sa id tohimself, not daring to raisehis voice loud enough for hissister to hear.

“ G r e g o r , ” t h e f a t h e rsaid, now from the room onthe left, “the head clerk hascome and wants to knowwhy you did not catch theearly train. We don’t know

uno en particular, no eran sinounos pillos? ¿Es que no podíahaber entre ellos algún hombrede bien que, después de perderaunque solo fuese un par de ho-ras de la mañana, se volvieseloco de remordimiento y no sehallase en condiciones de aban-donar la cama? ¿Es que no bas-taba acaso con mandar a pregun-tar, por un chico, suponiendo quetuviese fundamento esta maníade averiguar, sino que era preci-so que viniese el mismísimo prin-cipal a enterar a toda una inocen-te familia de que solo él teníacalidad para intervenir en la in-vestigación de tan tenebrosoasunto? Y Gregorio, más biensobrexcitado por estos pensa-mientos que ya decidido a ello,arrojóse enérgicamente del le-cho. Se oyó un golpe sordo, peroque no podría propiamente ca-lificarse de estruendo. La alfom-bra amortiguó la caída; la espal-da tenía también mayor elasti-cidad de lo que Gregorio habíasupuesto, y esto evitó que el rui-do fuese tan espantoso como setemía. Pero no tuvo cuidado demantener la cabeza suficiente-mente erguida; se hirió y el do-lor le hizo restregarla rabiosa-mente contra la alfombra.

—Algo ha ocurrido ahídentro -dijo el principal en lahabitación de la izquierda.Gregorio intentó imaginar queal principal [20] pudiera suce-derle algún día lo mismo quehoy a él, posibilidad cierta-mente muy admisible. Pero elprincipal, como contestandobrutalmente a esta suposición,dio con energía unos cuantospasos por el cuarto vecino,haciendo crujir sus botas decharol. Desde la habitacióncontigua de la derecha, susu-rró la hermana esta noticia: «Gregorio, que ahí está el prin-cipal». « Ya lo sé», contestóGregorio para sus adentros.Pero no osó levantar la vozhasta el punto de hacerse oírde su hermana.

—Gregorio -dijo por fin el pa-dre desde la habitación contigua dela izquierda-, Gregorio, ha venidoel señor principal y pregunta por quéno te marchaste en el primer tren.No sabemos lo que debemos con-

hecho de no aprovechar unashoras de trabajo por la maña-na, enloqueciera bajo la presiónde sus remordimientos y no es-tuviera, por eso mismo, en con-diciones de abandonar la cama?¿Acaso no bastaba con enviar aun aprendiz a preguntar qué ocu-rría, suponiendo que semejanteindagación fuera necesaria?¿Realmente tenía que presentar-se el gerente en persona y de-mostrarle a toda una familiainocente que la investigaciónde aquel sospechoso asuntosolo podía encomendarse a laperspicacia de un gerente? Elcaso es que, debido más a lairritación que estas reflexionesprodujeron en Gregor que a unaverdadera decisión, se lanzó contodas sus fuerzas fuera de la cama.Se oyó un golpe seco, que no lle-gó a ser lo que se dice un estrépi-to. La alfombra amortiguó un pocola caída, aparte de que la espaldaresultó ser más elástica [29] de loque Gregor había pensado; de ahíel ruido sordo y no demasiado lla-mativo que se produjo. No tuvo,eso sí, cuidado de mantener sufi-cientemente erguida la cabeza,que sufrió un golpe; él la giró y larestregó contra la alfombra depura rabia y dolor.

«Algo se ha caído ahí den-tro», dijo el gerente en la ha-bitación contigua de la iz-quierda. Gregor intentó ima-ginarse al gerente en una si-tuación parecida a la suya esedía, eventualidad ciertamenteadmisible. Pero como crudarespuesta a este supuesto, elgerente dio unos cuantos pa-sos con firmeza en la habita-ción de al lado, haciendo cru-jir sus botas de charol. Desdela habitación contigua de laderecha, la hermana susurrópara in formar a Gregor :«Gregor, ha venido el geren-te». «Ya lo sé», dijo este parasus adentros, pero no se atre-vió a decirlo en voz tan altacomo para que su hermanapudiera oírlo.

«Gregor», dijo entonces elpadre desde la habitación con-tigua de la izquierda, «el se-ñor gerente ha venido y pre-gunta por qué no has viajadoen el primer tren. No sabemos

even a few morning hours tothe firm, would go crazywi th r emorse , becomingabso lu t e ly i ncapab l e o fleaving his bed? Wouldn’t itsuffice to send an office boyto inqui re- i f indeed th issnooping were at all neces-sa ry? D id t he o ff i cemanager himself have tocome , d id t he en t i r einnocent family have to beshown that this was the onlype r son who had enoughbrains to be entrusted withinvestigating this suspiciousaffair? And more because ofthese agitating reflectionsthan because o f anyconcrete decision, Gregorswung himself out of bedwith all his might. Therewas a loud thud, but notreally a crash. His fall wasslightly cushioned by thecarpet; and also, his backwas more pliable than heh a d t h o u g h t . H e n c e t h ed u l l t h u d w a s n o t s oblatant . However, by notholding his head carefullyenough, he had banged it;now he twisted it, rubbingi t o n t h e c a r p e t i nannoyance and pain.

“Something fell in there,”said the office manager in theleft-hand room. Gregor tried toimagine whether somethingsimilar to what had happened tohim today [125] might notsomeday happen to the officemanager. After all, the possibilityhad to be granted. However, asif in brusque response to thisquestion, the office manager nowtook a few resolute steps in thenext room, causing hispatent-leather boots to creak.

From the right-hand room,the sister informed Gregor ina whisper, “Gregor, the officemanager is here.”

“I know,” sa id Gregorto h imsel f , no t dar ing tospeak loudly enough forthe s i s te r to hear.

“Gregor,” the father nowsaid from the left-hand room,“the office manager has cometo inquire why you didn’tcatch the early train. We haveno idea what to tell him.

who, having failed to turn amere two hours one morning tothe firm’s advantage, was drivenso crazy with remorse that hewas actually no longer capableof getting out of bed? Would itnot have been sufficient to sendan apprentice round to enquire- assuming that all theseinvestigations were essential inthe first place? Was it necessaryfor the chief clerk to come inperson, necessary for the whole[9] innocent family to be shownthat the investigation of thissuspicious affair could beentrusted to his wisdom alone?And more as a consequence ofthe agitation caused by thesethoughts than as a result of trueresolve, Gregor swung himselfout of bed with all his might.There was a loud thump, but itwas not a true bang. His fall hadbeen muffled a little by thecarpet, and his back was alsomore elastic than Gregor hadsupposed, hence the ensuingdull thud that was really not veryconspicuous. He had not howeverbeen sufficiently careful withhis head which he had banged,and which he twisted round andrubbed on the carpet inirritation and pain.

‘Something’s fallen inthere,’ said the chief clerk inthe room on the left. Gregortr ied to imagine whethersomething similar to whathad just happened to himmight one day happen to thechief clerk; he had to admitthe possibility. But as if inbrusque reply to th i squestion, the chief clerk nowtook a few determined stepsin the next room, causing hispa ten t - l ea ther boo ts tocreak. From the room on ther igh t Gregor ’s s i s te rinformed him in a whisper:‘Gregor, the chief clerk’shere.’ ‘I know,’ said Gregorto himself, but did not darespeak loud enough for hissister to hear.

‘Gregor,’ his father nowsaid from the room on thelef t , ‘ the chief clerk hascome to enquire why youdidn’t catch the early train.We don’t know what to say

qui, s’il leur arrive par hasard des’oublier une ou deux heures lematin, se trouvent si malades deremords qu’ils n’en peuvent plusquitter le lit? N’aurait-il vraimentpas suffi d’envoyer auxrenseignements un apprentiquelconque - si toutefois unpareil interrogatoire étaitnécessaire - au lieu de dérangerimmédiatement le gérant commepour montrer à toute la famille -qui n’en pouvait mais - quel’éclaircissement d’une affaireaussi suspect, ne pouvait êtreconfié qu’à l’intelligence dugrand manitou? Ces réflexionsirritèrent tellement Grégoire qu’ilse jeta de toute sa force hors dulit : ce fut moins le résultat d’unedétermination véritable que sonirritation. Il en résulta un chocbruyant, mais non le vacarmeredouté. Le tapis ayant amortila chute, et le dos du jeunehomme étant plus élastiquequ’il ne l’avait d’abord pensé,le bruit sourd [17] ne s’étaitaccompagné d’aucun grabuge.La tête seule avait souffert;Grégoire, ne l’ayant pas relevéesuffisamment, se l’était cognéedans sa chute; il dut la tournerun peu pour la frotter sur letapis de douleur et de colère.

«Il y a quelque chose quiv ien t de tomber» , d i t l egéran t dans l a p ièce degauche . Grégoi re sedemanda - si un jour il nepourrait pas arriver quelquemalheur du même genre à cethomme; après tout, rien nes’y opposait. Mais, commeune réponse bruta le, one n t e n d i t d e s p a s , d e ss o u l i e r s q u ic r a q u a i e n t . E t d a n s l ap i è c e d e d r o i t e l a s o e u ra v e r t i s s a i t :« G r é g o i r e » ,c h u c h o t a i t - e l l e , « l ég é r a n t e s t v e n u » . « J esa i s» , d i t Grégo i re , ma i si l n ’ o s a p a r l e r s i f o r tq u e s a s c i e u r p a r v î n t àl ’ e n t e n d r e .

«Grégoire», disait maintenantle père dans la pièce de gauche,«M. le Gérant vient demanderpourquoi tu n’es pas parti aupremier train. Nous ne savons quelui répondre. D’ailleurs, il veut te

qui, s’il leur arrivait un matin delaisser passer une ou deux heures

sans les consacrer au magasin,fussent aussitôt saisis de remords

insensés au point de ne paspouvoir se lever de leur lit?

N’aurait-il pas suffi d’envoyer unapprenti aux renseignements - à

supposer qu’un interrogatoireparût même nécessaire -;fallait-ilque le fondé de pouvoir vint

lui-même, afin de montrer à toutela famille innocente que

l’éclaircissement de cettescabreuse affaire ne pouvait être

confié qu’à la perspicacité d’unfondé de pouvoir? Et à cause de

l’agacement que produisaient enlui toutes ces réflexions plutôt quepar l’effet d’une véritable

décision, il se jeta de toutes sesforces hors du lit. Il y eut un choc,

mais non à proprement parler unfracas. La chute avait été un peu

amortie par le tapis et le dos étaitsans doute plus élastique que

Gregor ne l’avait tout d’abordpensé; toujours est-il que le bruit

resta assez sourd pour ne pas tropappeler l’attention. Il n’avaitsimplement pas assez pris garde

à sa tête, qui alla se cognerquelque part; il la tourna de côté

et, de dépit et de souffrance, lafrotta contre le tapis.

« Il y a quelque chose qui vient

de tomber », dit le fondé depouvoir dans la pièce de gauche.Gregor chercha à imaginer s’il ne

pourrait pas un jour advenir aufondé de pouvoir une aventure

semblable à la sienne; c’était aumoins une éventualité qu’on ne

pouvait pas écarter. Mais, en guisede réponse brutale à cette

question, on entendit dans lapièce d’à côté le fondé de pouvoir

avancer de quelques pas d’un airdécidé en faisant craquer sessouliers vernis. Et dans la pièce

de droite, la soeur disait à voixbasse pour avertir Gregor : « Le

fondé de pouvoir est là.» « Je sais» , dit Gregor à part lui, mais il

n’osa pas élever suffisamment lavoix pour que sa soeur puisse

l’entendre.

« G r e g o r » , d i s a i t

m a i n t e n a n t l e p è r e d a n s l apièce de gauche, « M. le fondé

de pouvoir est arr ivé et veutsavo i r pou rquo i t u n ’ e s pa s

parti par le premier train. Nous

would go so mad with pangsof conscience that he couldn’t

ge t out of bed i f he d idn’tspend a t l e a s t a coup le o f

h o u r s i n t h e m o r n i n g o nc o m p a n y b u s i n e s s ? Wa s i t

really not enough to let oneof the trainees make enquiries

- a s suming enqu i r i e s we reeven necessary - did the chiefclerk have to come himself,

and did they have to show thewhole, innocent family that

th i s was so suspicious thatonly the chief clerk could be

trusted to have the wisdom toi n v e s t i g a t e i t ? A n d m o r e

because these thoughts hadmade him upset than throughany proper decision, he swang

himself with all his force outof the bed. There was a loud

thump, but it wasn’t really al o u d n o i s e . H i s f a l l w a s

softened a little by the carpet,and Gregor ’s back was also

m o r e e l a s t i c t h a n h e h a dt h o u g h t , w h i c h m a d e t h e

sound muff led and no t toonoticeable. He had not heldh i s head ca re fu l ly enough ,

though, and hit i t as he fell;a n n o y e d a n d i n p a i n , h e

turned it and rubbed it againstthe carpet.

“Something’s fallen down in

there”, said the chief clerk inthe room on the left. Gregort r i e d t o i m a g i n e w h e t h e r

something of the sort that hadhappened to him today could

ever happen to the chief clerktoo; you had to concede that

it was possible. But as if ingruff reply to this question, the

chief clerk’s firm footsteps inhis highly polished boots could

now be heard in the adjoiningroom. From the room on hisright, Gregor’s sister whispered

to h im to l e t h im know:“Gregor, the ch ie f c le rk i s

here. “ “Yes, I know”, saidG r e g o r t o h i m s e l f ; b u t

wi thout dar ing to ra i se h isv o i c e l o u d e n o u g h f o r h i s

sister to hear him.

“Gregor”, said his father now

from the room to his left, “thechief clerk has come round and

wants to know why you didn’tleave on the early train. We

don’t know what to say to him.

gruff [ronco (in voice) / brusco (in manner)]

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

what to tell him. Besides,he wants to speak to youpersonally, so please openthe door. He would surelybe so kind as to excuse theunt idiness of the room.”“ G o o d morn ing , Mr.Samsa,” the head clerk wascalling out amiably. “He isnot well,” said the mother tothe head c lerk whi le thefather was s t i l l speakingthrough the door, “he’s notwell, sir, believe me. Whyelse would Gregor miss atrain! All that the boy thinksabout i s work. I t a lmostmakes me mad the way heneve r goes ou t i n t heevening; he’s been in thecity eight days now, but he’sbeen at home every night.He sits with us at the tablequietly reading the paper orstudying train schedules.His only amusement [13 ] isbusying himself with hisfretsaw.* For example, hespent two or three eveningsca rv ing a sma l l f r ame ,you’d be amazed how prettyit is, he hung it in his room,you’ l l s ee i t a s soon a sGregor opens up. I’m glad,sir, that you are here; wewould never have got tenGregor to open the doorourselves, he’s so stubbornand he’s certainly not welleven though he denied i tth is morning.” “I ’m jus tcoming , ” s a id Grego rslowly and carefully , notmoving so as not to miss oneword of the conversation. “ I c a n ’ t t h i n k o f a n yo t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n ,m a d a m , ” s a i d t h e h e a dc l e r k ; “ I h o p e i t ’ sno th ing s e r ious . On theother hand I mus t say webus inessmen- fo r tuna te lyo r un fo r tuna te ly, a s youwi l l - a r e o f t en ob l iged tos imply overcome a s l igh ti nd i spos i t i on t o t end t obus iness . ”

“ S o c a n t h e h e a d c l e r kcome in now?” asked theimpatient father, knockingon the door again. “No,”said Gregor. The room ont h e l e f t f e l l i n t o a nu n c o m f o r t a b l e s i l e n c e ,

testarle. Además, desea hablar per-sonalmente contigo. Conque haz elfavor de abrir la puerta. El señorprincipal tendrá la bondad de dis-culpar el desorden del cuarto.

— ¡Buenos días, señorSamsa! -terció entonces amable-mente el principal.

—No se encuentra bien-dijo la madre a este últimomientras el padre continuabahablando junto a la puerta-. Noestá bueno, créame usted, señorprincipal. ¿Cómo, si no, ibaGregorio a perder el tren? Si elchico no tiene otra cosa en lacabeza más [21] que el alma-cén. ¡Si casi me molesta que nosalga ninguna noche! Ahora,por ejemplo, ha estado aquíocho días; pues bien, ¡ni unasola noche ha salido de casa!Se sienta con nosotros, hacien-do corro alrededor de la mesa,lee el periódico sin decir pala-bra o estudia itinerarios. Suúnica distracción consiste entrabajos de carpintería. En doso tres veladas ha tallado unmarquito. Cuando lo vea usted,se va a asombrar; es precioso.Ahí está colgado, en su cuarto;ya lo verá usted en seguida, encuanto abra Gregorio. Por otraparte, celebro verle a usted, se-ñor principal, pues nosotrossolos nunca hubiéramos podi-do decidir a Gregorio a abrir lapuerta. ¡Es más tozudo! Segu-ramente no se encuentra bien,aunque antes dijo lo contrario.-Voy en seguida -exclamó lenta-mente Gregorio, circunspecto ysin moverse para no perder pa-labra de la conversación. -Deotro modo, no sabría explicár-melo, señora -repuso el princi-pal-. Es de esperar que no seránada serio. Aunque, por otraparte, no tengo más remedioque decir que nosotros, los co-merciantes, desgraciada o afor-tunadamente como se quiera,tenemos a la fuerza que sabersufrir a menudo ligeras indis-posiciones, anteponiendo atodo los negocios.

—Bueno [22]—preguntó elpadre, impacientándose y tor-nando a llamar a la puerta-: ¿pue-de entrar ya el señor principal?—No —respondió Gregorio.

En la habitación contigua de la izquierdareinó un silencio lleno de tristeza, y en la

qué decirle. Además, deseahablar personalmente contigo,así que haz el favor de abrirla puerta. Ya tendrá la amabi-lidad de disculpar el desordende la habitación». «Buenosdías, señor Samsa», terciócordialmente el gerente. «Nose encuentra bien», le dijo lamadre a este mientras el pa-dre seguía hablando junto a lapuerta, «no se encuentra bien,c réame, señor geren te .¿Cómo, si no, habría perdidoGregor el tren? El muchachono [30] piensa más que en sutrabajo. Si casi me molestaque nunca salga de noche;ahora mismo acaba de pasarocho días en la ciudad, perono ha salido de casa una solanoche. Se sienta a la mesa connosotros y lee tranquilamenteel periódico o estudia los ho-rarios de trenes. Para él hacert raba jos de marqueter íaconstituye una distracción. Enel curso de dos o tres tardes,por ejemplo, talló un peque-ño marco; se asombrará ustedde lo precioso que es, lo tienecolgado en su habitación, aho-ra mismo lo verá , cuandoGregor abra. Además, me ale-gra mucho que esté usted aquí,señor gerente, nosotros solosno hubiéramos podido animara Gregor a abrir la puerta, ¡conlo tozudo que es! Y seguro queno se encuentra bien, aunque lohaya negado esta mañana».«Enseguida voy», dijo Gregorcon lentitud circunspecta, y nose movió para no perderse unapalabra de la conversación.«De otro modo yo tampocopodría explicármelo, señora»,dijo el gerente; «ojalá no seanada serio. Aunque por otraparte he de decir que nosotros,los hombres de negocios, tene-mos muchas veces que sobre-ponernos -por suerte o pordesgracia, según se mire- acualquier ligera indisposiciónen aras de nuestra respon-sabilidad profesional».

«¿Qué? ¿Ya puede entrar averte el señor gerente?», pre-guntó el padre, impaciente yvolviendo a llamar a la puer-ta. «No», dijo Gregor. En lahabitación contigua de la izquier-da se hizo un penoso silencio, y

Besides, he would like to speakto you personally. So pleaseopen the door. I’m sure he willbe kind enough to overlook thedisorder in the room.”

“Good morning, Mr.Samsa,” the office managerwas calling amiably.

“He’s not well ,” themother said to the office man-ager while the father kepttalking through the door, “he’snot well, believe me, sir. Whyelse would Gregor miss atrain! I mean, the boy thinksof nothing but his job. I’malmost annoyed that he nevergoes out in the evening;goodness, he’s been back intown for a whole week now,but he’s stayed in every singlenight. He just sits here at thetable, quietly reading thenewspaper or poring overtimetables. The only fun hehas is when he does somefretsawing. For instance, hespent two or three eveningscarving out a small pictureframe; you’d be amazed howpretty it is. It’s hanging inside,in his room; you’ll see it in amoment when Gregor opensthe door. By the way, sir, I’mdelighted that you’re here; wecould never have gottenGregor [126] to unlock thedoor by ourselves-he’s sostubborn; and he must be underthe weather, even though hedenied it this morning.”

“I’ll be right there,” saidGregor slowly and deliberately,b u t n o t s t i r r i n g s o a sn o t t o m i s s o n e w o r d o ft h e c o n v e r s a t i o n .

“I can think of no otherexplanat ion e i ther, Mrs .Samsa,” said the manager, “Ido hope it is nothing serious.Though still and all, I mustsa y t h a t f o r b u s i n e s sr e a s o n s we businessmen-unfortunately or fortunately,as you will-very often mustsimply overcome a minorindisposition.”

“Well, can the managercome into your room now?”asked the impatient father,knocking on the door again.

“No,” said Gregor. In theleft-hand room there was anembarrassed silence, in the

to him. Besides, he’d like aword with you in person. Soplease open up. He’l l bekind enough, I’m sure, toexcuse the mess in yourroom: ‘Good morning, HerrSamsa,’ came meanwhilethe fr iendly voice of thechief clerk. ‘He’s not well,’Gregor ’s mother told thechief clerk, while his fatherwas still talking outside thedoor, ‘he’s not well , s i r,believe you me. Why elsewould Gregor miss a train!That boy thinks of nothingbu t h i s work . I t a lmos tmakes me angry tha t heneve r goes ou t i n t heevening; he’s been in [10]town all week but stayed athome every evening. He sitswith us at table and quietlyr eads t he newspape r o rpo re s ove r t ime tab l e s .Fretwork provides his onlyamusement. He made a littlepicture-frame, for example,which took him two or threeevenings; you’ll be amazedhow pretty it is; it’s hangingin his room; you’ll see it ina momen t when Grego ropens the door. I’m glad, bythe way, t ha t you havecome, sir; we’d never havepersuaded Gregor to unlockthe door by ourselves; he’sso s tubborn , and he ’scertainly unwell, althoughhe denied it this morning.’‘Just coming,’ Gregor saidslowly and deliberately, andkept quite still so as not tomiss a word of theconversation. ‘I too, madam,can th ink of no o therexplanation,’ said the chiefclerk. ‘I hope it’s nothingserious. Although I have tosay that we businessmen are-unfor tuna te ly o rfortunately, as you will -ve ry o f ten ob l iged fo rbusiness reasons simply toshrug off minorindispositions.”

Ca n the ch ie f c le rk comein now?’ h is fa ther askedimpat ien t ly, knocking ont h e d o o r a g a i n . ‘ N o , ’sa id Gregor. In t he roomo n t h e l e f t a ne m b a r r a s s e d s i l e n c e

parler personnellement. Allons,fais-nous le plaisir d’ouvrir laporte. Il aura la bonté d’excuserle désordre de ta chambre.» Onentendit le gérant l’interrompre encriant : «Bonjour, monsieurSamsa! - II est malade», lui ditla mère tandis que le pèrepoursuivait. son discours, «iles t malade, croyez-moi ,monsieur le Gérant .Comment aurait-il manqué letrain sans cela? Ce garçon n’aque son commerce dans latête. Je me fais même dumauvais sang à voir qu’il nesort jamais après [18] souper;croiriez-vous qu’il vient depasser huit jours ici, et qu’ilest resté tous les soirs à lamaison? Il s’installe devantla table et il reste là, sans riendire, à lire le journal ou àétudier ses indicateurs. Saplus grande débauche, c’est defabriquer des babioles avec sascie à découper. Dernièrement,il a travaillé à un petit cadre; endeux, trois séances, c’était fini.Et joli comme tout! Vous verrezça dans sa chambre, vous enserez étonné. Dès que Grégoireouvrira, vous pourrez regarder.D’ailleurs, je suis bien contenteque vous ayez eue l’idée devenir. Sans vous, nous n’aurionsjamais pu décider Grégoire àouvrir sa chambre, tant cegarçon est têtu; il est sûrementmalade, bien qu’il n’ait pasvoulu en convenir ce matin.- J’arrive», articula Grégoireavec une lenteur circonspecte;mais il continua de faire lemort pour ne pas perdre unmot de la conversation. «Je nepuis en effet , madame,m’expliquer la choseautrement, déclarait le gérant,espérons que ce ne sera riende grave. Cependant, il mefaut dire que nous autrescommerçants devont souvent- par bonheur, ou par malheur,comme vous voudrez -fairepasser les affaires avant nospetits malaises.

Eh bien, monsieur legérant peut- i l ent rermaintenant?» demanda lepère impatienté en frappantde nouveau à la porte. «Non»,dit Grégoire. A gauche, il yeut un si lence pénible; à

ne savons que lui dire. Il veutd ’ a i l l eu r s t e pa r l e r

personnellement. Ouvre doncla por te , s ’ i l te p la î t . I l aura

la bonté d’excuser le désordred e t a c h a m b r e . » « Bonjour,

monsieur Samsa » , d i sa i taimablement le fondé de pouvoir

dans le même temps. « Il estmalade », disait la mère au fondéde pouvoir, tandis que le père

continuait à parler à la porte, « iles t ma l ade , c royez -moi ,

monsieur le fondé de pouvoir.Aut rement , comment Gregor

aurait-il fait pour manquer untrain? C’est un garçon qui n’a

r ien d’au t re en tê te que sonmétier. Je suis même contrariéequ’il ne sorte jamais le soir; il

vient de passer huit jours à la ville,eh bien, aucun soir il n’a quitté la

maison. Il reste à table avec nousà lire tranquillement le journal ou

à étudier les indicateurs. Sa plusgrande distraction, c’est un peu de

menuiserie. Dernièrement, il afabriqué un petit cadre en deux ou

trois soirées; vous auriez peine àcroire comme c’est joli; il l’aaccroché dans sa chambre. Vous

allez le voir dès qu’il aura ouvertsa por te . Je suis d’ai l leurs

heureuse que vous soyez là ,monsieur le fondé de pouvoir; à

nous seuls, nous n’aurions paspu décider Gregor à ouvrir sa

porte; i l es t s i tê tu; e t i l es tcertainement malade, bien qu’ila i t p r é t endu l e con t r a i r e c e

matin.» «J’arrive tout de suite», dit Gregor avec une lenteur

circonspecte; mais il restaitimmobile pour ne pas perdre un

mot de la conversation. « Je nepuis en effet m’expliquer la

chose autrement, madame », ditle fondé de pouvoir, « j’espère

que ce n’est rien de grave.Encore que je doive ajouter quenous autres gens d’affaires,

nous sommes souventmalheureusement obligés - ou

heureusement, si vous voulez -de négliger par conscience

professionnelle une peti teindisposition.»

« Alors, vas-tu maintenantlaisser entrer M. le fondé de

pouvoir?», demanda le pèreavec impatience, en frappant à

nouveau à la porte. « Non », ditGregor. Dans la pièce de gauche,

il se fit un pénible s i lence,

And anyway, he wants to speakto you personally. So please

open up this door. I’m sure he’llbe good enough to forgive the

untidiness of your room.”Then the chief clerk called

“ Go o d m o r n i n g , M r .S a m s a ” .

“He isn’ t wel l” , sa id hism o t h e r t o t h e c h i e f c l e r k ,while his father continued to

speak through the door. “Hei s n ’ t w e l l , p l e a s e b e l i e v e

me. Why e l se would Gregorhave missed a t ra in! The lad

on ly ever th inks abou t theb u s i n e s s . I t n e a r l y m a k e s

me c ross the way he neverg o e s o u t i n t h e e v e n i n g s ;h e ’ s b e e n i n t o w n f o r a

week now bu t s t ayed homeevery even ing . He s i t s wi th

u s i n t h e k i t c h e n a n d j u s tr e a d s t h e p a p e r o r s t u d i e s

t ra in t imetables . His idea ofr e l axa t ion i s work ing with

h i s f r e t s a w . H e ’s m a d e ali t t le frame, for instance, it

only took him two or threeevenings, you’l l be amazedhow nice it is; it’s hanging up

in his room; you’ll see it ass o o n a s G r e g o r o p e n s t h e

d o o r. A n y w a y, I ’ m g l a dy o u ’ r e h e r e ; w e w o u l d n ’t

have been able to get Gregorto open the door by ourselves;

he’s so stubborn; and I’m surehe isn’t well , he said thi smorning that he is, but he isn’t.”

“ I ’ l l b e t h e r e i n amoment”, said Gregor slowly

a n d t h o u g h t f u l l y , b u twi thou t mov ing so tha t he

would not miss any word oft h e c o n v e r s a t i o n . “ We l l I

can’t think of any other wayof explaining it, Mrs. Samsa”,

said the chief clerk, “I hopeit’s nothing serious. But onthe other hand, I must say that

if we people in commerce everbecome slightly unwell then,

fortunately or unfortunately asyou l ike, we simply have to

overcome it because of businessconsiderations.”

“Can the chief clerk come into see you now then?”, asked

h i s f a t h e r i m p a t i e n t l y,knock ing a t the door aga in .

“ N o ” , s a i d G r e g o r. I n t h er o o m o n h i s r i g h t t h e r e

fo l l owed a painful s i l e n c e ;

2322

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

t h e s i s t e r b e g a ns o b b i n g i n t h e r o o m o nt h e r i g h t .

Why d id the s i s te r no tjo in the o thers? She hadprobably jus t go t ten ou to f b e d a n d h a d n o t y e tbegun to dress . And whywas she c ry ing? Becausehe would not ge t up andl e t t h e h e a d c l e r k i n ,because he was in dangerof los ing h is job , becausethe boss would again starthounding Gregor’s parentsfor their old debts? Thesewere surely unnecessaryworries at the moment.Gregor was still here andwould not think of desertinghis family. Of course, he wascurrently lying on the carpetand no one who knew of hiscondition could seriouslyexpect that he would admitthe head clerk. This pettydiscour tesy, for which asuitable explanation couldeasily be found later, couldha rd ly be g rounds fo rGregor ’s immed ia t edismissal. And it seemed toGregor tha t i t wou ld bemore r easonab le i f t heywere now to leave him inpeace instead of botheringhim with their crying andpleading. But the others wereobviously distressed by theuncertainty, and this excusedtheir behavior.

“Mr. Samsa,” the headclerk now called, raising hisvoice, “what is the matter?You are barricading yourselfin your room, giving onlyyes and no answers, causingyour parents ser ious andunnecessary concern, andneglecting—I just mentionth i s in pass ing—yourprofessional responsibilitiesin an outrageous manner. Iam [14] speaking here inthe name of your parentsa n d y o u r b o s s , a n d Iseriously beg you to give aclear and immediate explanation.I a m as ton i shed , j u s tas ton ished . I hav e a lwaysknown you to be a quiet,reasonable man and nowyou suddenly seem to be

habitación contigua de la de-recha comenzó a sollozar lahermana.

Pero ¿por qué no iba éstaa reunirse con los demás?Cierto es que acababa de le-vantarse y que ni siquiera ha-bía empezado a ves t i r se .Pero ¿por qué lloraba? Aca-so porque el hermano no selevantaba, porque no hacíapasar al principal, porquecorría el peligro de perder sucolocación, con lo cual elamo volvería a atormentar alos padres con las deudas deantaño. Pero éstas, por él mo-mento, eran preocupacionescompletamente gratuitas.Gregorio estaba todavía -allí,y no pensaba ni remotamen-te en abandonar a los suyos.Por el momento, yacía sobrela alfombra, y nadie que co-nociera el estado en que seencontraba hubiera pensadoque podía hacer entrar en sucuarto al principal. Mas estapequeña descortesía, quemás adelante sabría de se-guro explicar satisfactoria-mente, no era motivo sufi-ciente para despedirle sindemora. Y Gregorio pensóque, por de pronto, hartomejor que molestarle [23]con llantos y discursos era de-jarle en paz. Pero la incertidumbre enque se hallaban respecto a él era pre-cisamente lo que aguijoneaba a losotros, disculpando su actitud.

—Señor Samsa -dijo, porf in , e l pr incipal con vozcampanuda-, ¿qué significaesto? Se ha atrincherado us-ted en su habitación. Nocontesta más que sí o no. In-quieta usted grave e inútil-mente a sus padres, y, seadicho de paso, falta a suobligación en el almacén deuna manera verdaderamen-te inaudi t a . L e h a b l o aus t ed aqu í en nombre desus pad res y de su j e f e ,y l e ruego muy en se r ioque se exp l ique a l pun toy c l a r a m e n t e . E s t o yasombrado; yo le tenía austed por un hombre formaly juicioso, y no parece sinoque ahora, de repente, quie-re usted hacer gala de in-

en la habitación de la de-recha la hermana empezó asollozar.

[31] ¿Por qué no iba lahermana a reunirse con losotros? Probablemente acaba-ba de salir de la cama y aúnno había empezado a vestir-se. Pero, entonces, ¿por quélloraba? ¿Porque él no se le-vantaba ni hacía pasar al ge-rente? ¿Porque corría el pe-ligro de perder su puesto yel jefe volvería a perseguira los padres con sus viejasreclamaciones? Estas eran,de momento, preocupacio-n e s s i n d u d a i n ú t i l e s .Gregor aún estaba ahí, y notenía la más remota intenciónde abandonar a su familia.Por ahora yacía sobre la al-fombra, y nadie que lo hubie-ra visto en ese estado le ha-bría exigido seriamente quehiciese pasar al gerente. Detodas formas, esa pequeñadescortesía, para la que yaencontraría más adelante al-guna excusa sa t is factor ia ,no podía provocar el despi-do inmediato de Gregor. Yes te tuvo la impres ión deque, en vez de incordiarlecon llantos y ruegos , seríamucho más sensato que lodejasen tranquilo por ahora.Pero era precisamente la in-certidumbre lo que los ago-biaba y disculpaba su com-portamiento.

«Señor Samsa», exclamóentonces el gerente en vozmás alta, «¿qué es lo que lepasa? Se ha atrincherado us-ted en su habitación, respon-de solo con un sí o un no,crea preocupaciones gravese inútiles a sus padres y, di-cho sea de pa s o , d e s c u i d as u s o b l i g a c i o n e s p r o f e -s i o n a l e s d e m a n e r a f r a n -c a m e n t e i naudi ta . Le ha-b lo aqu í en nombre de suspad res y de su j e f e , y l ep ido muy en se r io una ex-p l i c a c i ó n i n m e d i a t a yesclarecedora. Estoy asom-brado, muy asombrado. Yo letenía por una persona tran-quila [32] y juiciosa, y aho-ra, de pronto, parece como siquisiera hacer alarde de una

r i g h t - h a n d r o o mt h e s i s t e r b e g a ns o b b i n g .

Why didn’t she join theothers? She had probablyonly just gotten out of bedand not yet started dressing.And what was she cryingabout? Because Gregorwouldn’t get up and let themanager in, because he wasin danger of losing his job,and because the boss wouldthen go back to dun n i n gGregor’s parents with hisold claims? For the timebeing , those were mostl ikely pointless worries.Gregor was still here and hadno intention whatsoever ofrunning out on his family.True, at this moment he wassimply lying on the carpet,and no one aware of h isc o n d i t i o n w o u l d h a v eseriously expected him tolet in the manager. Indeed,G r e g o r c o u l d h a r d l y b edismissed on the spot forthis petty discourtesy, forwhich he would easily hiton an [127] appropr i a t eexcuse later on. He felt i tw o u l d m a k e f a r m o r es e n s e i f t h e y l e f t h i malone for now instead ofpestering him with tearsand coaxing. However, theothers were in a state ofsuspense, which justifiedtheir behavior.

“Mr. Samsa,” the managernow called out, raising hisvoice, “what is wrong? Youare barricading yourself inyour room, answering only`yes’ or `no,’ causing yourparents ser ious andunnecessary anxieties, and-Ionly ment ion th is inpass ing-neglect ing yourprofessional duties in a trulyoutrageous manner. I amspeaking on behalf of yourparents and the director oft h e f i r m a n d I a m q u i t ee a r n e s t l y r e q u e s t i n g a nimmediate and cogent explanation.I am dumbfounded, dumbfounded.I b e l i e v e d y o u t o b e aq u i e t , r e a s o n a b l ep e r s o n , a n d n o w y o us u d d e n l y s e e m i n t e n t o n

f e l l ; i n t h e r o o m o n t h er i g h t h i s s i s t e r b e g a n t os o b .

Why did his sister not jointhe others? She had probablyonly just got out of bed andhadn’t even begun to dress.And why was she crying?Because he was not getting upto let the chief clerk in,because he was in danger oflosing his job, and because theboss would then starthounding his parents againabout those old debts? Therewas sure ly no need toworry about such thingsfor the time being. Gregorwas still present and had notthe sl ightest intention ofdeserting his family. For themoment, it was true, he waslying there on the carpet,and no one aware of h iscondition could seriouslyhave expected him to let thechief clerk in. But this minordiscour tesy, for which asuitable excuse could easilybe found at a later stage, [11]was sure ly no t reasonenough to dismiss Gregor onthe spot. And it seemed toGregor that it would havebeen much more sensible toleave him alone, instead ofdisturbing him with tears andentreaties. But it was, of course,the uncertainty which wasdistressing the others, and thatexcused their behaviour.

‘Herr Samsa,’ the chiefclerk now called out in alouder voice, ‘what is wrong?You barricade yourself inyour room, answer nothingbut yes or no, cause yourparents a great deal ofunnecessary anxiety and, inaddition - I only mention thisin passing - neglect yourprofess ional dut ies in afrankly quite outrageousmanner. On behalf of yourparents and your employer Imust ask you most earnestlyfor an immediate , anunambiguous explanation. Iam astonished, astonished. Ihad always considered you tobe a calm and reasonableindividual , and now yousuddenly seem inclined to

d r o i t e , l a s o e u rs e m i t às a n g l o t e r .

Pourquoi n’allait-elle pasrejoindre les autres.? [19] Sansdoute venait-elle seulement dese lever et n’était-elle pasencore vêtue. Et pourquoidonc pleurait-el le? Parcequ’il ne se levait pas pourfaire entrer le gérant, qu’ilrisquait de perdre son p o s t ee t q u e l e p a t r o nrecommencerait à accablerses parents des mêmesréclamations qu’autrefois? Soucisvraiment déplacés!Grégoire était encore là, et nepensait pas le moins du mondeà abandonner sa famille. Encet instant, évidemment, ilgisait sur un tapis et personne en,le voyant dans cet état n’auraitpu exiger sérieusement qu’il fîtentrer le gérant dans sachambre. Mais ce n’était toutde même pas à cause de cettepeti te impoli tesse, qu’i ltrouverait d’ailleurs bien lemoyen de faire excuser plustard, qu’on allait le mettreimmédiatement à la porte. EtGrégoire trouva qu’il eût étéplus raisonnable e n c em o m e n t d e l e l a i s s e rt r a n q u i l l e q u e d el ’ accabler de discours et degémissements. Mais c’étaitjustement l’incertitude des autresqui causait leur inquiétude et lesexcusait d’agir ainsi.

Maintenant le gérant élevaitla voix : «Monsieur Samsa,criait-il, que se passe-t-il donc?Vous vous barricadez là dansvotre chambre, vous nerépondez que par oui ou non,vous plongez inutilement vosparents dans l’angoisse et vousnégligez vos devoirsprofessionnels, je l’ajoute entreparenthèses, d’une façoncomplètement inouïe! Je parleici au nom de vos parents et devotre directeur, et je vous prietrès sérieusement de nousdonner immédiatement uneexplication des plus nettes. Jesuis [20] complètementstupéfait. Je vous prenais pourun garçon tranquille, raisonnable, etvoilà que tout d’un coup vous vousdonnez des airs de vouloir, étonner

d a n s l a p i è c e d e d r o i t e ,l a s o e u r s e m i t à

s a n g l o t e r .

Pourquoi la soeurn’allait-elle pas rejoindre les

autres? Elle venaitprobablement de sortir tout juste

du lit et n’avait pas commencéà s’habiller. Et pourquoi doncpleurait-elle? Parce qu’il ne se

levait pas pour ouvrir au fondéde pouvoir, parce qu’il risquait

de perdre son poste, parce quele patron allait demander à

nouveau à ses parents lepaiement de leur dette?

C’étaient là provisoirementdes soucis inutiles. Gregor étaitencore là et ne songeait pas le

moins du monde à abandonnersa famille. Pour l’instant, il est

vrai, il était là, couché sur letapis et, en le voyant dans cet

état, personne n’aurait pu exigersérieusement qu’il fasse entrer

le fondé de pouvoir. Mais cen’était pourtant pas à cause de

ce petit manque de courtoisie,pour lequel on trouverait plustard facilement une excuse,

qu’on allait mettre Gregor à lapor te . E t Gregor ava i t

l ’ impress ion qu’ i l se ra i tbeaucoup plus raisonnable

pour l’instant de le laissert ranqui l l e , p lu tô t que de

l ’accabler de la rmes e td’exhortations . Mais c’étaitl ’ i n c e r t i t u d e q u i l e s

a n g o i s s a i t a i n s i e t q u iexcusait leur attitude.

Maintenant, le fondé de

pouvoir élevait la voix : «Monsieur Samsa », criait-il, «

que se passe-t-il? Vous vousbarricadez dans votre chambre,

vous ne répondez que par oui etpar non, vous causezinutilement de grands soucis à

vos parents et vous négligez vosobligations professionnelles,

soit dit en passant, d’une façonproprement inouïe. Je parle ici

au nom de vos parents et devotre directeur et je vous prie

très sérieusement de nousdonner à l’instant même uneexplication claire. Je suis

é t o n n é , t r è s é t o n n é . J ec r o y a i s v o u s c o n n a î t r e

comme un homme calme etraisonnable et voilà que tout à

coup vous semblez vouloir vous

i n t h e r o o m o n h i sl e f t h i s s i s t e r b e g a n

t o c r y .

So why did his sister notgo and join the others? She

had probably only just got upand had not even begun to get

d res sed . And why was shecrying? Was it because he hadnot got up, and had not let the

chief clerk in, because he wasin danger of los ing his job

and if that happened his bosswould once more pursue their

p a r e n t s w i t h t h e s a m edemands a s be fo re? There

was no need to worry aboutthings like that yet. Gregorwas still there and had not the

s l i g h t e s t i n t e n t i o n o fabandoning his family. For

the t ime be ing he j u s t l aythere on the carpet, and no-

one who knew the conditionhe was in wou ld se r ious ly

have expected him to let thechief clerk in. It was only a

m i n o r d i s c o u r t e s y, a n d asuitable excuse could easilybe found for it later on, it was

n o t s o m e t h i n g f o r w h i c hGregor could be sacked on the

spot. And it seemed to Gregormuch more sensible to leave

him now in peace instead ofdisturbing him with talking

at him and crying . But theothers didn’t know what wash a p p e n i n g , t h e y w e r e

worr ied, that would excusetheir behaviour.

The chief clerk now raised his voice,

“Mr. Samsa”, he called to him,“what is wrong? You barricade

yourself in your room, give usno more than yes or no for an

answer, you are causing seriousand unnecessary concern toyour parents and you fail - and

I mention this just by the way -you fa i l to ca r ry ou t your

business duties in a way that isqu i te unheard o f . I ’ m

s p e a k i n g h e r e o n b e h a l fo f y o u r p a r e n t s a n d o f

y o u r e m p l o y e r , a n dr e a l l y m u s t r e q u e s t aclear and immediate explanation.

I am astonished , quite astonished.I t h o u gh t I k n e w y o u a s a

c a l m a n d s e n s i b l e p e r s o n ,and now you suddenly seem

t o b e s h o w i n g o f f w i t h

*Long, narrow-bladed saw used to cut ornamental work from thin wood.

2524

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

i ndu lg ing i n r a sheccentricities. The Chief didpoint out a poss ibleexplanation for your absenceearly today-concerning thecash payments tha t werer e c e n t l y e n t r u s t e d t oy o u - b u t i n f a c t Iprac t ica l ly gave h im myword o f hono r t ha t t h i sc o u l d n o t b e t h e t r u ee x p l a n a t i o n . N o w,h o w e v e r , I s e e y o u rincredible obst inacy andhave completely lost anyd e s i r e t o i n t e r c e d e o ny o u r b e h a l f . A n d y o u rpos i t ion i s by no meansunassai lable . I or iginal lyi n t e n d e d t o s p e a k w i t hyou p r iva te ly, bu t s incey o u a r e p o i n t l e s s l ywast ing my t ime, I see nor e a s o n w h y y o u r g o o dparents shouldn’t also hear.Your recent performance hasbeen highly unsatisfactory; itis admittedly not a heavybus ines s s ea son , bu t aseason o f no bus ines s a ta l l , I a s s u r e y o u , M r .S a m s a , does no t ex i s t ,cannot exist.”

“But, sir,” cried Gregor,be s ide h imse l f andforget t ing al l e lse in hisag i ta t ion , “ I ’ l l open thedoor immed ia t e ly, t h i si n s t an t . A s l i gh tind ispos i t ion , a spe l l o fd i zz ine s s p r even t ed mefrom getting up. I’m stilllying in bed. But now I amfee l i ng comple t e lyrefreshed. I’m just gettingout of bed. Please be patienta moment! I’m not as wellas I thought. But really I’mall right. These things canju s t w ipe you ou t sosuddenly. Only last night Ifelt fine, my parents can tellyou, or actually last night Ialready had some sign of it.They must have noticed it.Oh, why did I not report ita t t he o f f i ce ! Bu t onealways thinks that one willovercome an illness withoutstaying home. Sir, pleasespare my parents! There areno g rounds t o t heaccusa t i ons you ’ve j u s tmade against me, no one has

comprensibles extravagan-cias. Cierto que el jefe m ei n s i n u ó e s t a m a ñ a n au n a p o s i b l e e x p l i c a c i ó nd e s u f a l t a : r e f e r í a s e a lcobro que se le encomendóa usted hiciese anoche efec-tivo, mas yo casi empeñé mipalabra de honor de que estaexplicación no venía al caso.Pero ahora, ante esta incom-prensible testarudez, no mequedan ya ganas de seguirinteresándome por usted. Suposición de usted no es, nicon mucho, muy segura. Miintención era [24] decirle austed todo esto a solas; pero,como usted tiene a bien ha-cerme perder inútilmente eltiempo, no veo ya por qué nohabrían de enterarse tambiénsus señores padres. En estosúltimos tiempos su trabajoha dejado bastante que de-sear. Cierto que no es ésta laépoca más propicia para losnegocios; nosotros mismoslo reconocemos. Pero, señorSamsa, no hay época, nodebe haberla, en que los ne-gocios estén completamenteparados.

—Señor principal -gritóGregorio fuera de sí, olvi-dándose en su excitación detodo lo demás-. Voy inme-diatamente, voy al momen-to. Una ligera indisposición,un desvanec imien to ,impidióme levantarme. Es-toy todavía acostado. Peroya me siento completamentedespejado. Ahora mismo melevanto. ¡Un momento depaciencia! Aún no me en-cuentro tan bien como creía.Pero ya estoy mejor. ¡No secomprende cómo le puedensuceder a uno estas cosas! Ayertarde estaba yo tan bueno. Sí,mis padres lo saben. Mejor di-cho, ya ayer tarde tuve una es-pecie de presentimiento .¿Cómo no me lo habrán no-tado? Y ¿por qué no lo diríayo en el almacén? Pero siem-pre cree uno que podrá pa-sar la enfermedad sin nece-sidad de estarse en casa. ¡Se-ñor principal , tenga [25]consideración con mis pa-dres! No hay motivo paratodos los reproches que me

conduc ta extravagante ycaprichosa. El jefe me sugi-rió es t a m a ñ a n a u n a p o s i -b l e e x p l i c a c i ó n d e s u t a r -d a n z a , r e l a c i o n a d a c o nu n o s c o b ros q u e s e l e h a -b í a n e n c o m endado hacepoco, pero yo casi empeñé mipalabra de honor en que esaexplicación no podía ser cier-ta. Ahora, sin embargo, y envista de su incomprensible tes-tarudez, he perdido las ganasde interceder, aunque seamínimamente, en su favor. Ysu posición en la empresa tam-poco es que sea demasiado se-gura. Mi intención inicial eradecirle todo esto a solas, peroya que me está haciendo per-der aquí el tiempo inútilmen-te, no veo por qué no habríande enterarse también sus seño-res padres. Su rendimiento enlos últimos tiempos ha sidomuy poco satisfactorio; claroque esta no es la mejor épo-ca del año para hacer grandesnegocios, y nosotros lo reco-nocemos, pero una época enla que no se haga ningún ne-gocio, señor Samsa, no la hayni debe haberla».

«Pero, señor gerente», ex-clamó Gregor fuera de sí, ol-vidándose en su excitación detodo lo demás, «voy a abrirahora mismo, sí, inmediata-mente. Una ligera indisposi-ción, un pequeño vértigo mehan impedido levantarme.Todavía estoy en la cama.Pero ya me siento otra vezfresco y despejado. Me le-vantaré ahora mismo. ¡Soloun poquito de paciencia! Aúnno me encuent ro tan b iencomo pensaba, pero ya estoymejor. ¡Son cosas que lo pi-llan a uno desprevenido! Ayerestaba la mar de [33] bien,mis padres lo saben, o, me-jor dicho, ya ayer tuve unpequeño presentimiento , ytendría que habérseme nota-do. ¿Por qué no habré dichonada en la oficina? Aunqueuno siempre piensa que supe-rará la enfermedad sin nece-sidad de quedarse en casa.¡Señor gerente, le ruego con-sideración para con mis pa-dres! Los reproches que aca-ba usted de hacerme no tie-

flauntin g bizarre moods.This morning the directorh i n t e d a t a p o s s i b l ee x p l a n a t i o n f o r y o u rtardinessit pertained to thecash collections that youw e r e r e c e n t ly en t ru s t edwith-but in fact I practicallygave him my word of honorthat this explanation couldnot be valid. Now, however,I am witnessing youri n c o m p r e h e n s i b l estubbornness, which makesme lose any and all desire tospeak up for you in any waywhatsoever. And your job isby no means rock solid. Myoriginal intention was to tellyou all this in private, butsince you are forcing me towaste my t ime hereneedlessly, I see no reasonwhy your parents should notfind out as well. Frankly, yourrecent work has been highlyunsatisfactory. We doappreciate that this is not theseason for doing a lot ofbusiness; still, there is noseason whatsoever, there can beno season for doing no businessat all, Mr. Samsa.” [128]

“Bu t , s i r, ” Grego rexclaimed, beside himself,forgetting everything else inhis agitation, “I’ll open thedoor immediately, this veryinstant. A slight indispo-sition, a dizzy spell haveprevented me f rom get t ingu p . I a m s t i l l l y i n g i nbed . But now I am qui tef re sh again. I am gettingout of bed this very second.Please be patient for anothermoment or two! It is not goingas well as I expected. But I dofeel fine. How suddenly it canovercome a person! Just lastnight I was quite well, myparents know I was-or rather,last night I did have a slightforeboding. It must havebeen obv ious t o anyonee l s e . J u s t w h y d i d n ’ t Ireport it at the office!? Butone always thinks one canget over an illness withoutstaying home. Sir! Pleasespare my parents! There areno grounds for any of thethings you are accusing meof-in fact, no one has ever

flaunt these peculiar whims.Al though your super iorintimated to me this morninga possible explanation foryour absence -concerning thecash payments that you hadbeen trusted to collect - Ivirtually gave him my wordof honour that there could beno t ru th in such anexplanation. But faced herewith your incomprehensibleobst inacy, I f ind myselflos ing absolute ly a l linclination to defend you inany way whatsoever. Andyour posit ion is far fromsecure. My original intentionwas to te l l you a l l th isprivately, but as you arecausing me to waste my timehere so aimlessly, I see noreason why your goodparents should not hear it aswell. So: your achievementshave recent ly been mostunsatisfactory; it is of coursenot the best season for doingbusiness, we recognise that;but there is no such thing,Herr Samsa, there can be nosuch thing as a season fordoing no business at all:

‘But sir,’ cried Gregor,distraught and forgettingeverything [12] else in hisag i t a t ion , ‘ I ’ l l open thedoor immediately, at once.A s l ight indisposi t ion, about of dizziness, preventedme from getting up. I’m stilli n bed . Bu t now I f ee lperfectly fit again. I’m justgetting out of bed. Just bepatient for a second! Thingsaren’t as good as I thought.But there’s nothing wrongwith me. It’s strange howquickly something like thatcan hit you! I was feelingfine only last night, you canask my parents, or, wait, Idid have a feeling last nightthat something was wrong.It must have shown on myface. Why on earth didn’t Ile t the off ice know? Butone always imagines onewill shake off such thingswi thou t need ing to s t aya t h o m e . S i r ! S p a r e m yp a r e n t s ! A l l t h e s eaccusa t ions o f your s a r equ i t e un founded ; and no

la galerie par vos extravagances! M.le Directeur, en me parlant ce matinde votre absence, m’en proposaitune in te rpré ta t ion que j ’a irepoussée; il faisait allusion auxencaissements qu’on vous aconfiés depuis peu; j’aiengagé ma parole d’honneurque cela n’avait rien à voirdans l’affaire. Maismaintenant je suis bien obligéde constater votre entêtement,et je vous assure, monsieurSamsa, que cela m’ôte touteenvie de reprendre jamaisvotre défense. Votre situationn’est pourtant pas si solide!J’avais d’abord l’intention devous dire cela en tête-à-tête,mais, puisque vous me faitesperdre inutilement mon tempsici, je ne vois plus de raisonde me taire devant vosparents. Sachez donc quevotre travail de ces dernierstemps ne nous a pas donnésatisfaction; nousreconnaissons, je le veux bien,que la saison n’est pas propice auxgrandes affaires, mais apprenez,monsieur Samsa, qu’une saisonsans aucune affaire, cela ne peut,ne doit et ne saurait exister. »

Grégoire était hors de lui; sondésarroi lui fit oublier toute prudence:«Mais, monsieur le Gérant,cria-t-il, je vais vous ouvririmméd ia t emen t , j e v ousouvre! J’ai éprouvé un légermalaise, un vertige qui m’aempêché de me lever. Je suisencore dans mon lit, mais lesforces me reviennent. Je melève; encore une seconde depatience, ça ne [21] va pastout à fait aussi bien que jepensais. Mais je rite sens quandmême beaucoup mieux.Comment la maladie peut-ellevous prendre si vite? Hier soirencore je n’allais pas trop mal,demandez à mes parents; etpourtant s i hier soir j ’ a iéprouvé un petit symptôme.On aurait bien dû leremarquer. Pourquoi n’ai-jepas prévenu au magasin! Maisvoilà, on se figure toujoursqu’on résistera à la maladiesans avoir à garder lachambre. Monsieur le Gérant,épargnez mes parents. Lesreproches que vous m’avez faitstout à l’heure sont vraiment

faire remarquer par vosextravagances . Le directeur

suggérait bien, ce matin, uneexplication possible de votre

absence - il s’agit desencaissements qu’on vous a

confiés depuis quelque temps -,mais je lui ai presque donné ma

parole que cette explication nepouvait pas être la bonne. Maismaintenant, je suis témoin de votre

incompréhensible entêtement etcela m’ôte tout désir de prendre

en quoi que ce soit votre défense.Et votre situation n’est pas du

tout des plus solides. J’avaisd’abord l’intention de vous dire

cela en tête à tête, mais, puisquevous me faites perdre montemps inutilement, je ne vois

plus pourquoi monsieur votrepère et madame votre mère ne

l’entendraient pas, eux aussi.Sachez donc que vos résultats

n’ont pas du tout étésatisfaisants ces derniers temps;

ce n’est pas évidemment unesaison propice aux affaires,

nous sommes tout prêts à lereconnaître. Mais une saisonsans affaires du tout, cela

n’existe pas, monsieur Samsa,cela ne doit pas exister.»

« Mais, monsieur le fondé de

pouvoir », s’écria Gregor horsde lui, tandis que son émotion

lui faisait oublier tout le reste,« je vous ouvre tout de suite,je vous ouvre à l’instant même.

Une légère indisposition, unaccès de vert ige, m’ont

empêché de me lever. Je suisencore au lit. Mais maintenant

je me sens à nouveau frais etdispos. Je viens de sortir du lit.

Encore un peti t instant depatience! Cela ne va pas encore

aussi bien que je pensais. Maisje me sens déjà tout à fait bien.Comme ces choses arrivent

brusquement! Hier soir, j’allaistrès bien, mes parents le savent.

Ou plutôt, déjà hier soir, j’ai euun petit pressentiment . On

aurait dû s’en rendre compte.Pourquoi n’ai-je pas prévenu

au magasin? Mais on imaginetoujours qu’on peut venir àbout du mal sans garder la

chambre. Monsieur le fondé depouvoir, épargnez mes parents!

Tous les reproches que vousvenez de me faire sont dénués

de fondement; on ne m’en avait

peculiar [odd] whims. Thismorning, your employer did

suggest a possible reason foryour fa i lure to appear, i t ’s

true - i t had to do with them o ney that was recently

entrusted to you - but I came nearto giving him my word of honour

that that could not be the rightexplanation. But now that I seeyour incomprehensible

stubbornness I no longer feela n y w i s h w h a t s o e v e r t o

i n t e r c e d e o n y o u r b e h a l f .And nor i s your pos i t ion a l l

t h a t s e c u r e . I h a do r i g i n a l l y i n t e n d e d t o s a y

a l l t h i s t o y o u i n p r i v a t e ,b u t s i n c e y o u c a u s e m e t ow a s t e m y t i m e h e r e f o r n o

g o o d r e a s o n I d o n ’ t s e ew h y y o u r p a r e n t s s h o u l d

n o t a l s o l e a r n o f i t . Yo u rt u r n o v e r h a s b e e n v e r y

u n s a t i s f a c t o r y o f l a t e ; Ig r a n t y o u t h a t i t ’s n o t t h e

t i m e o f y e a r t o d oe s p e c i a l l y g o o d b u s i n e s s ,

w e r e c o g n i s e t h a t ; b u tt h e r e s i m p l y i s n o t i m e o fy e a r t o d o n o b u s i n e s s a t

a l l , M r. S a m s a , w e c a n n o ta l l o w t h e r e t o b e . ”

“But Si r” , ca l led Gregor,

b e s i d e h i m s e l f a n df o rg e t t i n g a l l e l s e i n t h e

e x c i t e m e n t , “ I ’ l l o p e n u pimmediately, jus t a moment .I ’ m s l i g h t l y u n w e l l , a n

a t t a c k o f d i z z i n e s s , Ihaven’t been able to ge t up .

I ’ m s t i l l i n b e d n o w. I ’ mq u i t e f r e s h a g a i n n o w,

though. I ’m jus t ge t t ing outof bed . Jus t a moment . Be

patient! It’s not quite as easya s I ’ d t h o u g h t . I ’ m q u i t e

a l r i g h t n o w, t h o u g h . I t ’ sshocking, what can suddenlyhappen to a p e r s o n ! I w a s

qu i t e a l r igh t l a s t n igh t , myp a r e n t s k n o w a b o u t i t ,

p e r h a p s b e t t e r t h a n m e , Ih a d a s m a l l s ymptom of it

last night al ready. They mus th a v e n o t i c e d i t . I d o n ’ t

know why I d idn’t l e t youk n o w a t w o r k ! B u t y o ua l w a y s t h i n k y o u c a n g e t

o v e r a n i l l n e s s w i t h o u ts t a y i n g a t h o m e . P l e a s e ,

d o n ’ t m a k e m y p a r e n t ss u ffe r ! There ’s no bas i s fo r

a n y o f t h e a c c u s a t i o n s

2726

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

sa id so much as a wordabout them to me. Perhapsyou haven’t seen the latesto rde r s I s en t i n . In anyevent, I will be on the eighto ’c lock t r a in . I ’ve beeninvigorated by these fewhours of rest. Don’t let mekeep you further, sir, I’ll bein t he o f f i c e myse l fimmed ia t e ly. P l ea se begood enough to tell themand convey my respects tothe Chief!”

And while Gregor blurtedall this out, hardly knowingwhat he said, he had easily,probably due to the exercisehe had had in bed, reachedthe bureau and was nowtrying to pull himself uprightaga ins t i t . He ac tua l lywanted to open the door, toactually show himself andspeak to the head clerk; hewas eager to find out whatthe others, who so desired tosee him now, would say [15]at the sight of him. If theywere shocked, then Gregorwas no longer responsibleand could be calm. But if theyaccepted everything calmly,then he too had no reason toget worked up and could, ifhe rushed, actually be at thetrain station by eight o’clock.At first he kept sliding off thesmooth bureau but finallygave himself a last powerfulpush and stood upright; heno longer paid attention tothe pa ins in h i s lowerabdomen, however burning.He then le t h imse l f fa l lagainst the back of a nearbychair, his little legs clingingto the edges. In this way healso managed to gain controlof himself and fell silent, ashe could now listen to thehead clerk.

“Did you unde r s t andeven a word?” the headclerk asked the parents. “Heisn’t making fools of us?”“For God’s sake,” cried themother, already weeping,“maybe he is seriously illand we’re tormenting him.Gre te ! Gre te !” she t h e ns c r e a m e d . “ M o t h e r ? ”called the sister from the

hace usted ahora; nunca mehan dicho nada de eso. Sinduda, no ha visto usted losú l t imos ped idos que hetransmitido. Por lo demás,saldré en el tren de las ocho.Este par de horas de descan-so me han dado fuerzas. Nose detenga usted más, señorprincipal. En seguida voy alalmacén . Explique ustedallí esto, se lo suplico; asícomo que presente mis res-petos al jefe.

Y mientras espetaba atro-pelladamente este discurso, sincasi saber lo que decía,Gregorio, gracias a la solturaya adquirida en la cama, seaproximó fácilmente al baúle intentó enderezarse apo-yándose en él. Quería efec-tivamente abrir la puerta,dejarse ver del principal,hablar con él. Sentía curio-sidad por saber lo que di-rían cuando le viesen losque tan insistentemente lellamaban. Si se asustaban,Gregorio encontrábase desli-gado de toda responsabilidady no tenía por qué temer. Si,por el contrario, se quedabantan tranquilos, tampoco él te-nía por qué excitarse, y podía,dándose prisa, estar realmen-te a las ocho en la estación.Varias veces se escurrió con-tra las lisas paredes del baúl;p e r o , a l f i n , u n ú l t i m ob r i n c o l e p u s o e n p i e .D e l o s d o l o r e s e n e l[ 2 6 ] v i e n t r e , a u n q u em u y vivos , no se cuidaba.Dejóse caer contra el res-paldo de una silla cercana,a cuyos bordes agarrósefuertemente con sus patas.Logró a la vez recobrar eldominio de sí mismo, y ca-l ló para escuchar lo quedecía el principal .

—¿Han entendido ustedesuna sola palabra? -preguntabaéste a los padres-. ¿No seráque se hace el loco? - ¡Poramor de Dios! ~ -exclamó lamadre llorando-. Tal vez sesiente muy mal y nosotros leestamos mortificando. Y se-guidamente llamó: - ¡Grete!¡Grete! -¿Qué, madre? -con-testó la hermana desde el otro

nen ningún fundamento, ynadie me había dicho nada detodo eso. Quizá no haya us-ted leído los últimos pedidosque he enviado. Además, aúnpienso coger el tren de lasocho, estas horas de descan-so me han dado nuevas fuer-zas. No pierda más su tiem-po, señor gerente, ensegui-da llegaré a la oficina; ten-ga la bondad de decírselo alseñor director, y de presen-tarle mis respetos».

Y mientras espetaba atro-pelladamente todo esto sinsaber muy bien lo que decía,Gregor, gracias sin duda a lap r ác t i c a adqu i r i da en l acama, se había acercado sindificultad al armario e inten-taba enderezarse apoyándoseen él. Quería, de hecho, abrirla puerta, dejarse ver y hablarcon el gerente; estaba ansio-so por saber qué dirían, alverle, quienes tanto reclama-ban su presencia. Si se asus-taban, Gregor no tendría yaninguna responsabil idad ypodría estar t ranquilo. Si ,e n c a m b i o , l o a c e p t a b a ntodo con ca lma , t ampocotendría ningún motivo parainquietarse y, dándose pr isa,podría estar realmente a lasocho en la estación. Al prin-cipio resbaló varias vecesapoyado en las paredes lisasdel armario, pero un último im-pulso le permitió erguirse [34] deltodo. Ya no prestó más atencióna los dolores del bajo vientre,pese a que eran muy agudos ,y se dejó caer con tra el res-paldo de una silla cercana, acuyos bordes se aferró conlas pa t i t as . As í pudo recu-perar e l dominio de s í mis-m o , y e n m u d e c i ó , p u e sa h o r a p o d í a e s c u c h a r a lge ren te .

«¿Han entendido ustedesuna sola palabra?», pregun-tó el gerente a los padres.«¡Espero que no nos esté to-mando e l pe lo!» « ¡Por e lamor de Dios!» , exclamó lamadre llorando, «quizá estégravemente enfermo y lo es-temos tor turando. ¡Gre te!¡Grete!», gritó luego. «¿Ma-dre?», exclamó la hermana

so much as breathed a wordto me. Perhaps you havenot seen the latest ordersthat I sent in. Anyhow, Iwill be catching the eightA. M. train, these severalh o u r s o f r e s t h a v er e v i t a l i z e d m e . D o n o twas te any more o f y o u rt i m e , s i r ; I ’ l l b e i n theoff ice mysel f ins tan tly -please be kind enough toinform them of this and to givemy best to the director!”

And while hastily blurtingout all these things, barelyknowing what he was saying,Gregor, most likely becauseof his practice in bed, hadmanaged to get closer to thewardrobe and was now tryingto pull himself up against it.He truly wanted to open thedoor, truly show himself andspeak to the office manager;he was eager to learn what theothers, who were so keen onhis presence now, would sayupon seeing him. If they wereshocked, then Gregor wouldbear no further responsibilityand could hold his peace.[129] But if they acceptedeverything calmly, then helikewise had no reason to getupset, and could, if he steppedon it, actually be in the stationby eight. At first, he keptsliding down the smooth sideof the wardrobe, buteventually he gave himself afinal swing and stood thereignoring the burning pains inhis abdomen, distressful asthey were. Next he let himselfkeel over against the back of anearby chair, his tiny legs clingingto the edges. In this way, hegained control of himself andhe kept silent, for now hecould listen to the officemanager.

“Did you understand asingle word of that?” theoffice manager asked theparents. “He’s not trying tomake fools of us, is he?!”

“For goodness’ sake,” themother exclaimed, alreadyweeping, “he may be seriously illand we’re torturing him. Grete!Grete!” she then shouted.

“Mother?” the sister called

o n e h a s s a i d a w o r da b o u t t h e m t o m e .Perhaps you haven’ t seenthe l a s t ba t ch o f o rde r s Is e n t i n . A n y w a y, I ’ l lc a t c h t h e e i g h t o ’ c l o c kt ra in , the few hours ’ res th a v e d o n e m e g o o d .D o n ’ t w a s t e a n o t h e rm o m e n t , s i r ; I ’ l l b e a tt h e o f f i c e m y s e l f i n n ot i m e , w o u l d y o u k i n d l ypass tha t on and send myrespects to the boss!’

And while Gregor was blurtinga l l t h i s o u t a n d h a r d l yknew what he was saying,he had managed to reachthe chest of drawers withoutdifficulty, as a consequenceperhaps of the practice he hadacquired in bed, and was nowtrying to haul himself upright. Hereally did intend to open the door,really did intend to show himselfand speak with the chief clerk;he was anxious to find out whatthe others, who were asking forhim with such insistence, wouldsay when they saw him. If theytook fright, Gregor would haveno further responsibility andcould relax. If, on the other hand,they took it all in their stride,there would be no reason for himto get agitated, and he could, if hehurried, actually be at the station byeight. At first he kept sliding downthe smooth surface of the chest ofdrawers, but at last he gave himselfa final heave and stood [13] upright;he no longer paid any attention tothe pains in his nether regions, nomatter how acute they were. Henow let himself slump againstthe back of a nearby chair,gripping it round the edgewith his little legs. Having thusgained control over himself, hefell silent, for he was now ableto listen to what the chief clerkwas saying.

‘Have you understood asingle word?’ the chief clerkwas asking his parents, ‘heisn’t trying to make fools ofus, is he?’ ‘God forbid,’cried his mother, already intears, ‘perhaps he’s seriouslyill , and we’re tormentinghim. Grete! Grete!’ she thencried. ‘Mother?’ called hissister from the other side.

dépourvus de fondement; on nem’en avait d’ailleurs jamais riendit. Vous n’avez peut-être pas vules dernières commandes quej’ai envoyées? Je vais partir autrain de huit heures; cesquelques instants de reposm’ont fait du bien. Je ne veuxpas vous faire perdre votre temps,monsieur le Gérant, je vaisarriver tout de suite au magasin,ayez la bonté d’en prévenir M. leDirecteur et de me recommanderà sa bienveillance.»

Tout en lâchant ce flot depa ro l e s s ans t rop savo i rce qu’ i l d i sa i t , Grégoi re ,a v e c u n e f a c i l i t é d u e àses exerc ices précédents ,s ’ é t a i t a p p r o c h é d uc o f f r e contre lequel ilessayait maintenant de se lever.Il voulait, mais parfaitement! ilvoulait ouvrir la porte, il voulaitse faire voir et parler au gérant;il était curieux de connaîtrel’impression qu’il allaitproduire sur ces gens quiréclamaient si impérieusenientsa présence. S’il les effrayait,c’était rassurant, car il cessaitd’être responsable, et si lesautres [22] prenaient bien lachose, à quoi bon se tracasser?Il pourrait encore en se pressantprendre le train de huit heuresà la gare. Le coffre était lisse,Grégoire glissa plusieurs fois;pourtant dans un élan suprêmeil réussit à se lever; il nefaisait plus attention auxsouffrances qu’il éprouvaitdans l’abdomen, que lquecuisantes qu’elles fussent. Ilse laissa tomber en avant surle dossier d’une chaise voisine,et s’y maintint en se cramponnantdes pattes contre les bords. Puis,enfin maître de son corps, i lo b s e r v a l e p l u s g r a n ds i l e n c e p o u r é c o u t e rparler le gérant.

«Avez-vous compris un seulmot de son histoire?» demandait cethomme aux parents; «j’espère toutde même qu’il ne veut pas se moquerde nous? - Mon Dieu, -mon Dieu!»s’écriait la mère déjà en larmes, «ilest peut-être gravement malade, etnous qui passons notre temps à letorturer!» «Grete! Grete!»appela-t-elle. «Maman!» réponditla jeune fille à travers l’autre

jamais parlé. Peut-êtren’avez-vous pas lu les

dernières commandes que jevous ai envoyées. D’ailleurs, je

vais partir par le train de 8heures; ce repos de quelques

heures m’a rendu toutes mesforces. Ne perdez pas votre

temps, monsieur le fondé depouvoir; dans un instant, jeserai au magasin , ayez

l’obligeance de le dire audirecteur et de lui présenter mes

devoirs.»

En tenant précipitamment cespropos et sans trop savoir ce

qu’il disait, Gregor s’était sanstrop de difficulté rapproché dela commode , sans doute en

tirant profit de l’expériencequ’il avait acquise dans son lit

et il essayait de se redresser enprenant appui sur le meuble. Il

voulait en effet ouvrir la porte,il voulait se faire voir et parler

au fondé de pouvoir; il étaitcurieux de savoir ce que tous ces

gens qui exigeaient sa présenceallaient dire en le voyant. S’illes effrayait, il cessait d’être

responsable et pouvait êtretranquille, et s’ils prenaient bien

la chose, il n’avait aucune raisonde s’inquiéter et pouvait fort

bien être à 8 heures à la gare,s’il se dépêchait. Il dérapa

d’abord p lus ieurs fo i s del a c o m m o d e g l i s s a n t e ;m a i s , e n p r e n a n t u n

dern ie r é lan , i l parv int à selever. Il ne prêtait plus attention

à ses douleurs dans lebasventre, bien qu’elles fussent

très vives. II se laissa tomber surle dossier d’une chaise qui était

à proximité et se retint ens’agrippant sur les bords avec

ses petites pattes. Ce faisant, ilavait repris le contrôle delui-même et il restait silencieux,

car il était maintenant en mesured’écouter le fondé de pouvoir.

« Avez-vous pu comprendre

le moindre mot?», demandaitcelui-ci aux parents. « Ne serait-il

pas tout bonnement en train denous prendre pour des imbéciles?»« Mon Dieu », s’écriait la mère au

milieu des larmes, « il est peut-êtregravement malade et nous le

mettons à la torture. Grete ! Grete!», cria-t-elle ensuite. « Maman?»

s’écria la soeur de l’autre côté.

y o u ’ r e m a k i n g ; n o b o d y ’se v e r s a i d a w o r d t o m e

abou t any o f t he se t h ings .Maybe you haven’ t read the

l a t e s t c o n t r a c t s I s e n t i n .I ’ l l s e t o f f w i t h t h e e i g h t

o’c lock t ra in , as wel l , thesefew hours of res t have given

me s t rength . You don’t needto wa i t , s i r ; I ’ l l be i n t heof f i ce soon a f t e r you , and

p lease be so good as to t e l lt h a t t o t h e b o s s a n d

recommend me to h im!”

And while Gregor gushed ou tt h e s e w o r d s , h a r d l y

kn o w i n g w h a t h e w a ss a y i n g , h e m a d e h i sw a y o v e r t o t h e ches t

of drawe rs - this was easily done,probably because of the practise he

had already had in bed - where henow tried to get himself upright. He

really did want to open the door,really did want to let them see him

and to speak with the chief clerk;the others were being so insistent,

and he was curious to learn whatthey would say when they caughtsight of him. If they were shocked

then it would no longer be Gregor’sresponsibility and he could rest. If,

however, they took everythingcalmly he would still have no reason

to be upset, and if he hurried hereally could be at the station for

eight o’clock. The first few timeshe tried to climb up on the smoothchest of drawers he just slid

down aga in , bu t he f ina l lygave himself one last swing

and stood there upright; thelower part of his body was in

serious pain but he no longergave any attention to it. Now he

let himself fall against the backof a nearby chai r and held

tightly to the edges of it with hislittle legs. By now he had alsocalmed down, and kept quiet so

that he could listen to what thechief clerk was saying.

“Did you understand a word

of all that?” the chief clerk askedhis parents , “surely he’s not

trying to make fools of us”.“ O h , G o d ! ” c a l l e d h i smother, who was already in

tears , “he could be seriouslyi l l a n d w e ’ r e m a k i n g h i m

s u f f e r. G r e t e ! G r e t e ! ” s h et h e n c r i e d . “ M o t h er?” his

sister called from the other side.

2928

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

other side. They werecommunicating acrossGregor’s room. “You must gofor the doctor immediately.Gregor is sick. Run for thedoctor. Did you just hearGregor speak?” “That was thevoice of an animal,” said thehead clerk, in a noticeably lowtone compared to the mother’sshrieking. “Anna! Anna!”yelled the fathe r t h r o u g hthe foye r t o t he k i t chen ,c lapping h i s hands , “goget a locksmi th a t once!”And a l ready the two gi r lswere running through thefoyer w i th a r u s t l i n g o fs k i r t s - h o w h a d t h es i s t e r d r e s s e d s oq u i c k l y ? - a n d t h r o w i n gopen the house door. Thedoor could no t be heardc los ing ; they mus t havelef t i t open as is usual inh o u s e s v i s i t e d b y g r e a tmisfor tune. (3)

Gregor had become muchcalmer however. Apparentlyhis words were no longerunderstandable even thoughthey were clear enough tohim, clearer than before,perhaps because his ear hadbecome accustomed to theirsound. But at least it was nowbelieved that all was not rightwith him and they were readyto help him. He felt cheeredby the confidence and suretywith which the first orderswere met. He felt encircled byhumanity again and heexpected great andmiraculous results from boththe doctor and the locksmith,without truly distinguishingbetween them. In order tohave the clearest voicepossible for the decisiveconversations to come, hecoughed a little, taking painsto stifle the sound, as it maynot have sounded l ike ahuman cough and he could nolonger trust his own judgmentabout it. Meanwhile in theadjoining room it had becomecompletely still. Maybe theparents were sitting at thetable [16] whispering with thehead clerk, or maybe theywere all leaning against thedoor, listening.

lado de la habitación deGregorio, a través de la cualhablaban. -Tienes que ir en se-guida a buscar al médico;Gregorio está malo. Ve corrien-do. ¿Has oído cómo hablaba aho-ra Gregorio? -Es una voz de ani-mal -dijo el principal, que habla-ba en voz extraordinariamentebaja, comparada con la griteríade la madre. - ¡Ana! ¡Ana! -lla-mó el padre, volviéndose haciala cocina a través del recibimien-to y dand o p a l m a d a s - .Va y a i n m e d i a t a m e n t e abuscar un cerrajero. Ya sesent ía por e l recibimien-to el rumor de las faldas de lasdos muchachas que salían corrien-do ( ¿cómo se habría vestido tande prisa la hermana?), y ya se oíaabrir bruscamente [27] la puertadel piso. Pero no se percibió nin-gún portazo. Debieron de dejar lapuerta abierta, como suele suce-der en las casas en donde h a ocu-rrido una desgracia.

Gregorio, empero,hallábase ya mucho más tran-quilo. Cierto es que sus pala-bras resultaban ininteligibles,aunque a él le parecían muy cla-ras, más claras que antes, sinduda porque ya se le iba acos-tumbrando el oído. Pero loesencial era que ya se habíanpercatado los demás de quealgo insólito le sucedía y se dis-ponían a acudir en su ayuda. Ladecisión y firmeza con que fue-ron tomadas las primeras dis-posiciones le aliviaron. Sintiósenuevamente incluido entre losseres humanos, y esperó de losdos, del médico y del cerraje-ro, indistintamente, accionesextrañas y maravillosas. Y, a finde poder intervenir lo más cla-ramente posible en las conver-saciones decisivas que se ave-cinaban, carraspeó ligeramen-te, forzándose a hacerlo muy le-vemente, por temor a que tam-bién este ruido sonase a algoque no fuese una tos humana,cosa que ya no tenía seguridadde poder distinguir. Mientrastanto, en la habitación contigua,reinaba un profundo silencio.Tal vez los padres, sentados jun-to a la mesa con el principal,cuchicheaban [28] con éste. Talvez estaban todos pegados a lapuerta escuchando.

desde el otro lado. Se comu-nicaban a través de la habita-ción de Gregor. «Ve ahoramismo a llamar al médico.Gregor está enfermo. ¡Rápido,el médico! ¿Has oído cómohablaba?» «Era una voz de ani-mal», dijo el gerente en untono sorprendentemente bajocomparado con el griterío dela madre. « ¡Anna! ¡Anna!»,exclamó el padre a través delrecibidor en dirección a la co-cina, y dio varias palmadas.«¡Ve enseguida por un cerraje-ro!» Y al instante las dos mu-chachas echaron a correr por elrecibidor haciendo ruido consus faldas -¿cómo se habríavestido tan rápido la herma-na?- y abrieron bruscamentela puerta del piso. No se oyóningún portazo; debían de ha-ber dejado la puerta abierta,como suele hacerse en las ca-sas donde ha ocurrido unagran desgracia.

Gregor, en cambio, se ha-bía calmado mucho. Cierto esque sus palabras ya no se en-tendían, aunque [35] a él leparecían suficientemente cla-ras, más que al principio, qui-zá porque el oído se le habíaacostumbrado. Pero al me-nos ya se habían dado cuentade que algo extraño le ocurría,y estaban dispuestos a ayudar-lo. La confianza y seguridadcon que acababan de tomarselas primeras disposiciones lesentaron bien. Se sintió otravez integrado en el ámbitohumano, y confió en que am-bos, el médico y el cerrajero-sin distinguirlos con totalprecisión-, obtuvieran resulta-dos magníficos y sorprenden-tes. A fin de procurarse unavoz lo más clara posible paralas decisivas conversacionesque se avecinaban, tosió unpoco, aunque esforzándose enhacerlo muy suavemente, puesera posible que ese ruido tam-poco sonara a tos humana, algoque él mismo ya no se atrevíaa decidir. En la habitación con-tigua se había hecho, entretan-to, un silencio total. Quizá lospadres cuchichearan con elgerente sentados a la mesa,quizá estuvieran todos pegadosa la puerta, escuchando .

from the other side. Theywere communicating acrossGregor’s room. “You have togo to the doctor immediately.Gregor is sick. Hurry, get thedoctor. Did you hear Gregortalking just now?”

“That was an animal’svoice,” said the manager, histone noticeably soft comparedwith the mother’s shouting.

“Anna! Anna!” the fathercalled through the vestibuleinto the kitchen, clapping hi sh a n d s , “ G e t a l o c k s m i t hi m m e d i a t e l y ! ” A n d t h et w o g i r l s , t h e i r s k i r t sr u stling, were alreadydashing through the vestibule(how could the sister havedressed so quickly?) andtearing the apartment dooropen . No one hea rd i tslamming; they must haveleft it open, as is common inhomes that are struck bydisaster. [130]

Gregor, however, hadgrown much calmer. True, theothers no longer understoodwhat he said even though itsounded clear enough to him,clearer than before, perhapsbecause his ears had gottenused to it. But nevertheless, theothers now believed there wassomething not quite right abouthim, and they were willing tohelp. His spirits were brightenedby the aplomb and assurancewith which their first fewinstructions had been carriedout. He felt included once againin human society and, withoutreally drawing a sharpdistinction between the doctorand the locksmith, he expectedmagnificent and astonishingfeats from both. Trying to makehis voice as audible as he couldfor the crucial discussions aboutto take place, he coughed up alittle, though taking pains to do soquite softly, since this noise toomight sound different from humancoughing, which he no longer feltcapable of judging for himself.Meanwhile, the next room hadbecome utterly hushed. Perhapsthe parents and the office managerwere sitting and whispering at thetable, perhaps they were allleaning against the doors andeavesdropping.

They were communicatingthrough Gregor’s room. ‘Youmust go to the doctor ’s atonce. Gregor is ill. Fetch thedoctor, quick. Did you hearGregor talking just now?’‘That was the voice of ananimal,’ said the chief clerk,in a tone that was strikinglysoft compared to his mother’sshrieking. ‘Anna! Anna!’ hisfather was shouting throughthe hallway into the kitchen,and he clapped h is hands.‘ G e t a l o c k s m i t himmediately!’ And alreadythe two girls were runningw i t h r u s t l ing sk i r t sthrough the hall - how hadhis s is ter got dressed soquickly? - and tearing openthe apartment door. Therewas no sound of the doorslamming; they had probablyleft it open, as happens inhomes where a great calamityhas occurred.

But Gregor had becomemuch calmer. It was true, then,that they could no longerunderstand his words, thoughthey had seemed clear enoughto him, clearer than before,perhaps because his ear hadbecome attuned to them. Butat least they now believed thatall was not quite right with him,and were prepared to help. Theconfidence and assurance withwhich the first steps had beentaken comforted him. He feltintegrated once more intohuman society and hoped forgreat and startling contributionsfrom both the doctor and the[14] locksmith, without reallymaking any clear distinctionbetween them. In order to makehis voice as clear as possible forthe crucial discussions thatwere imminent, he gave a littlecough, taking good care, ofcourse, to muffle it properly,since possibly even that noisemight sound different fromhuman coughing, something thathe no longer felt competent tojudge. Complete silence hadmeanwhile fallen in theadjoining room. Perhaps hisparents were sitting at the tablewith the chief clerk, whispering;perhaps they were all leaningagainst the wall, listening.

cloison, car e l les é ta ientséparées par la chambre deGrégoire.«Va chercher lemédecin immédiatement.Notre Grégoire est malade!Un médecin, vite, vite! L’as-tuentendu parler? - C’était unevoix d’animal», déclara le gérant;après les cris des deux femmes oneût dit qu’il parlait tout bas.«Anna, Anna!» cria le père endirection du vestibule pour êtreentendu de la cuisine _ _ ________: «Allez vite chercher un serrurier.Et déjà les deux petites - commentGrete avait-elle fait pour êtrehabillée si vite? filaient dans lecouloir avec un bruit derobes et [23] ouvraie n t l ap o r t e d ’ u n s e u l c o u p ;o n n e l ’ e n t e n d i t p a s s er e f e r m e r ; s a n s d o u t el ’ a v a i e n t - e l l e s l a i s s é eo u v e r t e , c o m m e d a n sl e s m a i s o n s o ù u ng r a n d m a l h e u r v i e n td ’ a r r i v e r .

Grégoire cependant étaitdevenu bien plus calme. Sansdoute on n’avait pas comprisses paroles bien qu’elles luieussent paru fort claires, plusclaires même que la premièrefois, par suite del’accoutumance. Mais dumoins on commençait à serendre compte que son casn’était pas normal et ons’apprêtait à lui venir en aide.L’assurance et le sangfroid aveclequel les premières mesuresavaient été prises luiréconfortaient l’esprit. Il sesentait réintégré dans la sociétéhumaine, et il attendait dumédecin et du serrurier, sansfaire entre eux trop dedifférences, des exploitsgrandioses et surprenants. Afinde s’éclaircir la voix pour laconversation qu’il allait avoirà soutenir, il toussa un peu,mais le plus doucementpossible, car il craignait que satoux ne sonnât pas comme celled’un homme! il n’osait plus s’enrapporter là-dessus à son proprejugement. Entre-temps un grandsilence s’était fait dans la piècecontiguë. Peut-être ses parents,s’étaient-ils assis à table pour unconciliabule secret, peut-êtreaussi tout le monde était-il entrain d’écouter à la porte.

Elles s’interpellaient à traversla chambre de Gregor. « Va tout

de suite chercher le médecin.Gregor est malade. Vite chez le

médecin! Tu as entenducomment Gregor parle?» «

C’était une voix de bête », ditle fondé de pouvoir - on

s’étonnait, après les cris de lamère, de l’entendre parler sibas. « Anna! Anna!» criait le

p è r e d a n s l a c u i s i n e àt r a v e r s l e v e s t i b u l e e n

frappant dans ses mains, «va immédiatement chercher

un serrurier!» Et déjà les deuxjeunes filles traversaient le

vestibule dans un froissementde jupes -comment Gre teavait-elle fait pour s’habiller

s i v i t e? - e t ouvra ien tpréc ip i tamment l a por te

d’entrée; on ne l’entendit pasretomber, elles avaient dû la

laisser ouverte, comme on faitdans les maisons où s’est

produit un grand malheur.

Mais Gregor était devenubeaucoup plus calme. On necomprenait plus ce qu’il disait,

bien que ses propos lui parussentclairs, plus clairs que la première

fois, probablement parce que sonoreille s’y était faite. Mais on se

rendait compte au moins qu’iln’allait pas pour le mieux et on

s’apprêtait à lui venir en aide.L’assurance et la confiance aveclaquelle les premières mesures

avaient été prises leréconfortaient. Il se sentait

ramené dans le cadre de la sociétéhumaine et il attendait des deux

personnes, du médecin et duserrurier, sans bien faire la

différence entre les deux, desperformances grandioses et

miraculeuses. Afin d’avoir, dansles conciliabules qui sepréparaient, une voix aussi claire

que possible, il toussa un peupour se dégager la gorge, tout en

s’efforçant de le faire modérément,car il était possible que déjà ce

bruit fût différent d’une touxhumaine; il n’osait plus en

décider par ses propres moyens.Dans la pièce d’à côté, tout étaitcependant devenu silencieux.

Peut-être ses parents étaient-ilsassis à table à chuchoter avec le

fondé de pouvoir, peut-êtreétaient-ils tous penchés à la

porte pour écouter.

They communicated acrossGregor’s room. “You’ll have to

go for the doctor straight away.Gregor is ill. Quick, get the

doctor. Did you hear the wayGregor spoke just now?”

“Tha t was t he vo ice o f ananimal”, said the chief clerk,

with a calmness that was incon t r a s t w i th h i s mo the r ’sscreams. “Anna! Anna!” his

father called into the k i t c h e nt h r o u g h t h e e n t r a n c e

h a l l , c l a p p i n g h i s h a n d s,“ge t a l o c k s m i t h

h e r e , n o w ! ” A n dt h e t w o g i r l s , t h e i r

skirts s w i s h i n g , immediately ranout through the ha l l , wrenchingopen the front door of the flat as

t h e y w e n t . H o w h a d h i s s i s t e rmanaged to get dressed so quickly?

There was no sound of the doorbanging shut again; they must have

le f t i t open; people of ten do inhomes where something awful has

happened.

Gregor, i n con t ras t , hadb e c o m e m u c h c a l m e r. S othey couldn’t understand his

w o r d s a n y m o r e , a l t h o u g hthey seemed clear enough to

h i m , c l e a r e r t h a n b e f o r e -perhaps his ears had become

used to the sound. They hadrealised, though, that there was

something wrong with him,and were ready to help. Thefirst response to his situation

had been confident and wise,and that made him feel better.

He felt that he had been drawnback in among people , and

f r o m t h e d o c t o r a n d t h elocksmith he expected great

and surprising achievements -a l though he d id no t r ea l ly

distinguish one from the other.Whatever was said next wouldbe crucial, so, in order to make

his voice as clear as possible,he coughed a little, but taking

care to do this not too loudlyas even this might well sound

different from the way that ahuman coughs and he was no

longer sure he could judge thisfor himself. Meanwhile, it hadbecome very quiet in the next

room. Perhaps his parents weresat at the table whispering with

the chief clerk, or perhaps theywere all pressed against the

door and listening .

3130

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

With the aid of the chair,Gregor s lowly pushedhimself to the door, then letgo and threw himself againsti t and he ld h imse l fupright-the pads of his littlelegs were slightly sticky-andrested there for a momentfrom his exertions. He thenattempted to unlock it bytaking the key into his mouth.Unfortunately he appeared tohave no tee th-how thenshould he grasp the key?buton the other hand his jawswere certainly very powerful,and with their help he got thekey to move, ignoring the factthat he was somehowharming himself, because abrown fluid had come fromhis mouth, oozed over the key,and dripped onto the floor.“Do you hear that,” said thehead clerk in the next room,“he’s turning the key.” Thiswas a great encouragement toGregor, but they should all,the mother and father too,have shouted: “Go, Gregor,”they should have shouted:“Keep going, keep going withthat lock!” And imaginingthat they were in tent lyfollowing his every move, heobliviously clenched the keyin his jaws wi th a l l thestrength he could muster .I n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h epro g r e s s o f t h e k e y, h edanced a round the lock ,ho ld ing h imse l f up on lyb y h i s m o u t h , a n d a sneeded he e i ther hung onto the key or p ressed h i swhole weight down againstit. It was the sharp click ofthe lock finally snappingback that abruptly rousedhim. Breathing a s igh ofrelief, he said to himself.“So I d idn ’ t need t helocksmith af ter a l l ,” andpressed his head against thehandle in order to completelyopen the door.

Since he had to pull the dooropen in this way, it was openedquite wide while he himself stillcould not be seen. He first hadto slowly circumnavigate one ofthe double doors and do itvery carefully so as not to

Gregorio se deslizó len-tamente con el sillón hacia lapuerta; al llegar allí, abando-nó el asiento, arrojóse con-tra ésta y se sostuvo en pie,agarrado, pegado a ella porla viscosidad de sus patas.Descansó así un rato del es-fuerzo realizado: ~ Luego in-tentó con la boca hacer girarla llave dentro de la cerradu-ra. Por desgracia, no parecíatener lo que propiamente lla-mamos dientes. ¿Con qué ibaentonces a coger la llave?Pero, en cambio, sus mandí-bulas eran muy fuertes, y, sir-viéndose de ellas, pudo po-ner la llave en movimiento,sin reparar en el daño queseguramente se hacía, puesun líquido oscuro le salió dela boca, resbalando por la lla-ve y goteando hasta el suelo.-Escuchen ustedes -dijo elprincipal en el cuarto inme-diato-; está dando vueltas ala llave. Estas palabras alen-taron mucho a Gregorio. Perotodos, el padre, la madre,debían haberle gritado: ---¡Adelante, Gregorio! - Sí,debían haberle gri tado: -¡Siempre adelante! ¡Durocon la cerradura! -E imagi-nando la ansiedad con quetodos seguirían sus esfuer-zos mord ió con tod a s ualma en la llave, medio des-fallecido. Y, a medida queésta giraba en la cerradura,él sosteníase, [29] mecién-dose en el aire, colgado porla boca, y, conforme era ne-cesario, agarrábase a la lla-ve o la empujaba hacia aba-jo con todo el peso de sucuerpo. El sonido metálicode la cerradura, cediendopor fin, le volvió completa-mente en sí. -Bueno- se dijocon un suspiro de alivio-;pues no ha sido preciso quevenga el cerrajero, y dio conla cabeza en el pestillo paraacabar de abrir.

Este modo de abrir lapuerta- fue causa de que,aunque franca ya la entrada,todavía no se le viese. Huboprimero que girar lentamen-te contra una de las hojas dela puerta, con gran cuidado

Gregor se arrastró lentamen-te hacia la puerta empujando lasilla, la soltó al llegar, se lanzócontra la puerta, se mantuvo er-guido aferrándose a ella -lasventosas de sus patitas teníanuna sustancia viscosa- y descan-só un momento para reponersedel esfuerzo. Luego intentó, conla boca, hacer girar la llave den-tro de la cerradura. Parecía notener, por desgracia, aquello quese suele llamar dientes -¿con quéiba a coger la l lave en esecaso?-, aunque sus mandíbulaseran, en cambio, muy fuertes.[36] Con su ayuda logró ponerpor fin la llave en movimientosin reparar en que se estaba ha-ciendo daño, sin lugar a dudas,pues de la boca le salió un lí-quido pardusco que chorreó porla llave y empezó a gotear al suelo.«¡Escuchen eso!», dijo el ge-rente en la habitación conti-gua. «¡Está girando la llave!»Aquello fue un gran estímulopara Gregor, aunque todos ten-drían que haberlo animado, tam-bién el pad re y l a madre :«¡Venga, Gregor!» , habríandebido gritar le . « ¡Adelan-te , duro con la cerradura!»Y pensando que todos seguíansus esfuerzos con tensa ex-pectación, se aferró ciegamen-te a la llave con todas las fuer-zas que fue capaz de reunir . Amedida que avanzaba el mo-vimiento giratorio de la llave,él también giraba en torno a lacerradura; a ratos ya solo sesostenía con la boca y, segú nh i c i e r a f a l t a , s e c o l g a b ad e l a l l a v e o l a e m p u j a -b a h a c i a a b a j o c o n t o d oe l p e s o d e s u c u e r p o . E lr u i d o n í t i d o d e l a c e r r a -d u r a a l c e d e r f i n a l m e n t ed e s p e r t ó a Gregor de ve r -d a d . R e s p i r a n d o h o n d o s ed i j o : « B u e n o , n o h e n e c e -s i t a d o a l c e r r a j e r o » , ya p o y ó l a c a b e z a e n e l p i -c a p o r t e p a r a a b r i r d e lt odo l a pue r t a .

Como tuvo que abrirla de esemodo, él mismo no era todavíavisible aunque, de hecho, la puertaya estuviese bien abierta. Prime-ro tuvo que girarse lentamente entorno a uno de los batientes, yhacerlo con mucho cuidado si

Gregor slowly lumberedtoward the door, shoving thechair along, let go of it uponarriving, tackled the door,held himself erect againstit-the pads on his tiny feetwere a bit sticky-and for amoment he rested from thestrain. But then, using hismouth, he began twisting thekey in the lock. Unfortunatelyhe appeared to have no realteeth-now with what should hegrasp the key?-but to make upfor it his jaws were, of course,very powerful. They actuallyenabled him to get the keymoving, whereby he ignoredthe likelihood of his harminghimself in some way, for a[131] brown liquid oozed fromhis mouth, flowing over thekey and dripping to the floor.

“Listen,” said the officemanager in the next room,“he’s turning the key.” Thiswas very encouraging forGregor; but everyone shouldhave cheered h im on ,including the father and themother. “Attaboy, Gregor!”they should have shouted.“Don’t let go, get that lock!”And imagining them all assuspensefully following hisefforts, he obliviously bitinto the key with al l thestrength he could muster. Intune with his progress inturn ing the key, he keptdancing around the lock,ho ld ing h imse l f upr igh tpurely by his mouth and, asneed be, ei ther danglingfrom the key or pushing itdown again with the full heftof h i s body. I t was thesharper cl ick of the lockfinally snapping back thatliterally brought Gregor to.Sighing in relief, he toldhimself, “So I didn’t need thelocksmith after all,” and heput his head on the handle inorder to pull one wing of thedouble door all the way in.

Since he had to stay on thesame side as the key, the dooractually swung back quite farwithout his becoming visible.He had to twist slowly aroundthe one wing , and verygingerly at that, to avoid

Gregor slowly dragged himselftowards the door, pushing the chairin front of him, then let go of it,threw himself against the door,where he propped himself up - thepads on the bottom of his little legswere slightly adhesive - and restedthere for a moment from hisexertions. But then he set aboutturning the key in the lock withhis mouth. Unfortunately itseemed that he had no properteeth - what was he to grasp thekey with? - but to compensatefor that his jaws were verystrong; with their help heactually got the key moving,ignoring the fact that in sodoing he was undoubtedlycausing himself some damage,for a brown liquid issued fromhis mouth, flowed over the keyand dripped onto the floor.‘Listen,’ said the chief clerk inthe next room, ‘he’s turning thek e y. ’ T h a t w a s a g r e a tencouragement to Gregor;but they should a l l havebeen cheering him on, hisfather and mother too. ‘Comeon, Gregor,’ they should haveshouted, ‘stick at it, harder,work on that lock!’ Andimagining that they were allfollowing his efforts withtense excitement, he bitfuriously on the key with allthe strength he could muster.As the k e y t u r n e d , h edanced round the lock; hewas now holding himselfup by his mouth alone and,as the situation demanded,either clung to the key orpressed it down again witht h e f u l l w e i g h t o f h i sb o d y. T h e [ 1 5 ] s h a r p e rs o u n d o f t h e l o c k a s i tfinally snapped back wokeGregor up once and fo rall. With a sigh of relief hesaid to himself , ‘I didn’tneed the locksmith af terall ,’ and laid his head onthe handle to pull the doorwide open.

By opening it in this way,the door was actually wideopen while he himself wasstill not visible. First he hadto edge his way round thiswing of the door, and withthe utmost care, if he wasn’t

Grégoire se traîna lentementvers elle avec sa chaise; là ilabandonna le siège, se jetacontre la porte et se maintientdebout en s’aidant du bois carle bout de ses pattes sécrétaitune substance collante [24] -puis se reposa un moment deson effor t ; après quoi i lessaya d’ouvrir la serrureavec sa bouche. Commentsaisir la clef? S’il n’avaitpa s de v r a i e s den t s , i lpossédait en revanche desmâchoires très robustes et ila r r i va e f f ec t i vemen t àremuer la clef en négligeantle mal qu’il pouvait se faire;il lui coulait des lèvres unl i qu ide b runâ t r e qu i s erépandai t sur la ser rure ,pu i s s ’ égou t t a i t su r l et ap i s . «Ecou tez, disait legérant dans la pièce voisine, ilest en train de tourner la clef.»Ce fut un encouragementb i e n p r é c i e u x p o u rGrégoire; i l aurai t vouluque son p è r e , s a m è r e ,t o u t l e m o n d e e n f i n , s emî t à l u i c r i e r : «Hard i ,Grégoire, courage, poussedonc!» Et dans l’ idée quetoute la famille suivait sesefforts avec une attentionpassionnée il se cramponnaità pleine mâchoire, de toutesses forces, presque à tomberi n a n i m é . S u i v a n t l ap o s i t i o n d e l a c l e f , i ld a n s a i t a u t o u r d e l as e r r u r e , s e m a i n t e n a n ts i m p l e m e n t d e l ab o u c h e , o u s e p e n d a i ta p r è s l ’ a n n e a u e t l er a m e n a i t e n b a s d e t o u tl e p o i d s d e s o n c o r p s .L e d é c l i c c l a i r d u p ê n eq u i a v a i t c é d é s o n n a l er é v e i l d e G r é g o i r e . J em e s u i s p a s s é d use r ru r i e r » , s e d i t - i l avecu n s o u p i r d es o u l a g e m e n t , e t i l p o s as a t ê t e s u r l a p o i g n é ep o u r f i n i r d ’ o u v r i r.

Cette méthode, la seulepos s ib l e , empêcha s afamille de le voir un bonmoment , même quand lapor t e fu t ouver t e . I l l u ifallait contourner l’un desbat tant s avec l a p lu s

Gregor se traîna lentement

avec sa chaise jusqu’à la porte;là il abandonna le siège, se jeta

sur la porte, se maintint debouten s’appuyant contre elle - le

bout de ses pattes sécrétait unesubstance collante - et resta là

un instant, à se reposer de soneffort. Après quoi, il essayaavec sa bouche de tourner la

c le f dans l a se r rure . I lsemblai t malheureusement

qu’il n’eût pas de vraies dents- avec quoi, dès lors, saisir la

clef? -; en revanche, il avaitdes mandibules très robustes;

i l parvint grâce à e l les àmouvoir la clef, en négligeantle fait qu’il était certainement

en train de se blesser, car unliquide brunâtre lui sortait de la

bouche, coulait sur la clef ettombait goutte à goutte sur le sol.

« Écoutez », disait le fondé depouvoir dans la pièce d’à côté,

« il est en train de tourner laclef.» Ce fut pour Gregor un

grand encouragement, mais tousauraient dû crier avec lui, mêmeson père et sa mère : « Hardi,

Gregor », auraient-ils dû crier,« vasy, attaque-toi à la serrure!»

Et à l’idée que tout le mondesuivait passionnément ses

efforts avec une vive attention,il s’accrochait aveuglément à la

clef, de toutes les forces qu’ilpouvait trouver en lui. Amesure que la clef tournait, il

dansait autour de la serrure;tantôt il se maintenait

simplement debout grâce à sabouche, tantôt, selon l’exigence

de l’instant, il se suspendait àla cl e f o u l a t i r a i t e n b a s

d e t o u t l e p o i d s d e s o nc o r p s . L e b r u i t p l u s

c l a i r q u e f i t l a s e r r u r eq u a n d l e p è n e f i n i t p a rc é d e r , r é v e i l l a G r e g o r

t o u t à f a i t . « J ’ a i d o n cp u m e p a s s e r d u

s e r r u r i e r » , s e d i t - i l ,e t i l p o s a l a t ê t e s u r

l a c l e n c h e p o u r f i n i rd ’ o u v r i r .

En manoeuvrant la porte decette manière, elle se trouva

grande ouverte sans qu’on pûtencore l’apercevoir. Il lui fallait

contourner lentement l’un desbattants avec les plus grandes

précautions, s’il ne voulait pas

Gregor s lowly pushed his

way ove r to the door wi ththe chai r. Once there he le t

go of i t and th rew h imse l fo n t o t h e d o o r , h o l d i n g

h i m s e l f u p r i g h t a g a i n s t i tusing the adhesive on the tips

of his legs. He rested there alittle while to recover from theeffort involved and then set

himself to the task of turningthe key in the lock with his

mouth . He seemed ,unfortunately, to have no proper

teeth - how was he, then, tograsp the key? - but the lack of

teeth was, of course, made upfor with a very s trong jaw;using the jaw, he really was

able to start the key turning,ignoring the fact that he must

have been causing some kind ofdamage as a brown fluid came

from his mouth, flowed over thekey and dripped onto the floor.

“Listen”, said the chief clerkin the next room, “ he’s turning

the key.” Gregor was greatlyencouraged by this; but they allshould have been call ing to

him, his father and his mothertoo: “Well done, Gregor”, they

should have cried, “keep at i t ,keep hold of the lock!” And

with the idea that they werea l l exc i ted ly fo l lowing h i s

efforts, he bit on the key witha l l h i s s t reng th , pay ing noattention to the pain he was

causing himself. As the keyt u r n e d r o u n d h e t u r n e d

around the lock with it , onlyholding himself upright with

his mouth, and hung onto thekey or pushed it down again

with the whole weight of hisbody a s needed . The c l ea r

sound of the lock as it snappedback was Gregor’s sign that hecould break his concentration,

and as he regained his breathh e s a i d t o h i m s e l f : “ S o , I

didn’t need the locksmith afterall”. Then he lay his head on

the handle of the door to openit completely.

Because he had to open thed o o r i n t h i s w a y, i t w a s

already wide open before hecould be seen. He had first to

s lowly turn himself aroundone of the double doors , and

he had to do i t very carefully

X

3332

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

flop onto his back beforeentering the room. He wasstill busy with this involvedmaneuver and had no timeto be distracted by anythingelse when he heard the headclerk burst out with a loud“Oh!” - i t sounded l i ke agus t of windand now healso saw the head c lerk ,s t a n d i n g c l o s e s t t o t h ed o o r, p r e s s i n g h i s h a n dagainst his open mouth andbacking away slowly as ifr epe l l ed by an invis ib l eand r e len t less fo rce . (4)The motherstanding there,despite the presence of thehead clerk, with her hairstill undone and bristlingall over-first looked at thefather with clasped hands,then took two steps towardGregor and fell down amidher bi l lowing skir ts , herface sinking out of sightonto [17] her breast. Thefather, fur iously shakingh i s f i s t s a s i f w i l l i n gGregor to go back in hisroom, looked uncertainlya round the l iv ing room,c o v e r e d h i s e y e s i n h i sh a n d s , a n d s o b b e d w i t hg r e a t h e a v e s o f h i spowerful chest.

G r e g o r d i d n o t n o wenter the room but insteadleaned against the other,f irmly locked wing of thedoor so that only half ofhis body could be seen andhis head above i t , t i l t inga s h e p e e r e d o u t a t t h eothers. In the meantime i thad grown much brighter;a sec t ion o f the end lessdark gray building acrosst h e s t r e e t w a s c l e a r l yvisible-i t was a hospital ,w i t h r e g u l a r w i n d o w sb r e a k i n g t h r o u g h t h ematte façade; the rain wasstill falling but now only inlarge individually formeda n d v i s i b l e d r o p s t h a tstruck the ground one at atime. The many breakfastdishes lay on the table, asb r e a k f a s t w a s t h e m o s timportant meal of the dayf o r t h e f a t h e r , t h e t i m ewhen he would pore overthe di fferent newspapers

p a r a n o c a e r s e b r u s c a -men te de e spa ldas en e lu m b r a l . Y a ú n e s t a b aocupado en l l eva r a cabot a n d i f í c i l m o v i m i e n t o ,s i n t i e m p o p a r a p e n s a ren o t ra cosa , cuando s in -t ió un « ¡oh!» del principal,que sonó como suena e lmugido del viento, y vio aeste señor, el más inmedia-to a la puerta, taparse laboca con la mano y retroce-der lentamente, como im-pulsado mecánicamente poruna fuerza invisible.

La madre -que, a pesar de lapresencia del principal, estabaallí despeinada, con el pelo en-redado en lo alto del cráneo- miróprimero a Gregorio, juntando lasmanos, avanzó luego dos pasoshacia él, y se desplomó por fin,en medio de sus faldas esparci-das [30] en torno suyo, con elrostro oculto en las profundida-des del pecho. El padre amenazócon el puño, con expresión hos-til, cual si quisiera empujar aGregorio hacia el interior de lahabitación; volvióse luego, sa-liendo con paso inseguro al reci-bimiento, y, cubriéndose los ojoscon las manos, rompió a llorar detal modo, que el llanto sacudíasu robusto pecho.

Gregorio, pues, no llegó apenetrar en la habitación;desde el interior de la suyapermaneció apoyado en lahoja cerrada de la puerta, demodo que solo presentaba lamitad superior del cuerpo,con la cabeza inclinada demedio lado, espiando a loscircunstantes. En esto, habíaido clareando, y en la aceraopuesta se recortaba nítidoun trozo del edificio negruz-co de enfrente. Era un hospi-tal, cuya monótona fachadarompían simétricas ventanas.La lluvia no había cesado,pero caía ya en goterones ais-lados, que se veían llegardistintamente al suelo. Sobrela mesa estaban los utensiliosdel servicio de desayuno,pues, para el padre, era éstala comida principal del día,que gustaba de prolongarsecon la lectura de varios perió-dicos. En el lienzo de paredque daba jus to f ren te a

no quería caer torpemente deespaldas ante el umbral mis-mo de la habitación. Aún es-taba entregado a esa difícilmaniobra, s in t iempo parapensar en otra cosa, cuandooyó [37] que el gerente lan-zaba un fuerte «¡Oh!» -sonócomo cuando muge el vien-to-, y también lo vio, pues erael más próximo a la puerta,taparse con la mano la bocaabierta y retroceder lenta-mente, como impulsado poruna fuerza inv i s ib le y deefecto constante. La madre-que pese a la presencia delgerente aún seguía allí con elpelo revuelto y erizado de lanoche pasada- miró primeroal padre con las manos jun-tas, dio luego dos pasos ha-cia Gregor y, hundiendo elrostro en el pecho hasta quedesapareció del todo, se des-plomó en medio de sus fal-das, que quedaron extendidasa su alrededor. El padre ce-rró el puño con expresiónhostil, como queriendo hacerretroceder a Gregor a su ha-bitación, miró luego en derre-dor con aire inseguro, se tapólos ojos con las manos y dejóque el llanto estremeciera supoderoso pecho.

Gregor no llegó a entrar,pues, en la sala de estar, sinoque, desde el interior de su ha-bitación, se apoyó en el batien-te cerrado de la puerta, de modoque solo se le veían la mitad delcuerpo y, por encima, inclina-da hacia un lado, la cabeza, conla cual espiaba a los otros. En-tretanto ya había clareado mu-cho más, y al otro lado de lacalle se recortaba nítidamenteun trozo del edificio de enfren-te, interminable y de un grisnegruzco -era un hospital-, consu hilera regular de ventanasque horadaban abruptamentela fachada. La lluvia seguíacayendo , aunque so lo engoterones visibles de formaaislada que caían al suelotambién de uno en uno. La[38] vajilla del desayuno seacumulaba en gran cantidadsobre la mesa, pues para elpadre el desayuno era la co-mida más importante del día,que él prolongaba durante ho-

plopping over on his backbefore entering the next room.He was still busy performingthis tricky maneuver, with notime to heed anything else,when he heard the officemanager blurt out a loud“Oh!”-i t sounded l ike awhoosh of wind-and now healso saw him, the personnearest to the door, pressinghis hand to his open mouthand slowly shrinking back asif he were being ousted bysome unseeable but relentlessforce. The mother, who,despite the office manager’spresence, [132] stood therewith her hair still undone andbristling, first gaped at thefather, clasping her hands,then took two steps towardGregor and collapsed, herpetticoats flouncing out allaround her and her facesinking quite undetectablyinto her breasts. The fatherclenched his fist, glaring atGregor as if trying to shovehim back into his room, thenpeered unsteadily around theparlor before covering hiseyes with his hands andweeping so hard that hispowerful chest began toquake.

Gregor did not step intothe parlor after all; insteadhe leaned against his sideof the firmly bolted secondwing of the door, so thatonly half his body could beseen along with his head,w h i c h t i l t e d s i d e w a y sabove it, peeping out at theothers. Meanwhile the dayhad grown much l ighter.Across the street, a portiono f t h e e n d l e s s , g r a y i s hblack bui ld ing ( i t was ahospital) stood out clearlywith i ts regular windowsharsh ly d i s rup t ing t hefacade. The rain was stillfalling, but only in large,visibly separate drops thatwere also literally hurledseparately to the ground.The breakfast dishes stillabundan t ly cove red t hetable because breakfast wasthe most important meal ofthe day for Gregor’s father;and he would draw it out for

t o f a l l f l a t on h i s backbefore entering the room.He was st i l l preoccupiedwith this tricky manoeuvre,and had no time to attend toany th ing e l s e , when heheard the chief clerk utter aloud ‘Ugh!’ - it sounded likea rush of wind -and now hecould see h im, s tand ingclosest to the door, pressinghis hand to his open mouth,backing slowly away, as ifdriven out by some invisibleand constantly unrelentingforce. His mother - in spiteof the chief clerk’s presence,she was standing there withher ha i r al l undone andtousled from the n igh t -looked first with claspedhands at his fa ther, thent o o k t w o s t e p s t o w a r d sGregor and slumped down,h e r s k i r t s b i l l o w i n g i ncircles around her, her facecompletely buried in herbosom. His father lookedhostile and clenched a fist,as i f he intended to beatGregor back into his room,then l ooked unce r t a in lyr o u n d t h e l i v i n g - r o o m ,shaded his eyes with hishands and wept unti l hispowerful chest shook.

Gregor did not in factenter the room at all, butleaned against the inside ofthe firmly bolted wing of thedoor, so all that could beseen was half of his bodyand, above it, his head tiltedto one side and staring outa t t he o the r s . I n t hemean t ime i t had g rownmuch lighter; clearly visibleon the o ther s ide o f thestreet was a section of theendless, grey-black buildingopposite - it was a hospital- with its regular windowsharshly piercing its facade;the rain was still falling, butonly in huge, individuallyv i s ib l e d rops t ha t we reliterally pelting the ground[16] one by one . Anexces s ive number o fb reak fa s t d i shes l ayscattered on the table, sincebreakfast for his father wasthe most important meal ofthe day, which he would

grande prudence pour nepas r a t e r son en t r ée ens’étalant sur le dos; il s’yescrimait [25] encore, touteson attention absorbée parl a manoeuvre , quand i lentendit son chef pousser unde ces «Oh!» sonores, telsqu’en produisent les mugissementsdu vent, et le vit - le gérant était leplus près de la porte - presser lamain sur sa bouche ouverte etbattre en retraite lentementcomme si quelque force invisibleet d’intensité constante l’eûtrepoussé de cet endroit. La mère,qui était restée là malgré laprésence du gérant, avec sescheveux en bataille pleins dudésordre de la nuit, commençapar regarder le père en joignantles mains, puis fit deux pas dansla direction de Grégoire et tombaau centre du cercle de famille, sesjupes s’étalant autour d’elletandis que son visage,s’affaissant sur son sein, devenaitabsolument introuvable. Le pèreserra les poings d’un air méchant,comme pour rejeter Grégoiredans sa chambre, regarda lasalle à manger d’un oeilperplexe, se couvrit les yeux deses mains et pleura avec de grossanglots qui agitaient sapuissante poitrine.

Grégoire s’abstint doncde pénétrer dans la pièce, ilse contenta de s’appuyersur le battant fermé de laporte, ne laissant voir quela moitié de son corps, et,t o u t e n h a u t , s a t ê t epenchée sur le côté pourguetter la suite. Cependantle temps s’était beaucoupé c l a i r c i ; o n v o y a i tnettement de l’autre côté dela rue un morceau de lamaison d’en face, un longhôpital, noirâtre, avec lesf e n ê t r e s r é g u l i è r e s q u it r o u a i e n t d u re m e n t s afaç a d e ; i l p l e u v a i t [ 2 6 ]e n c o r e , m a i s p a rg r a n d e s g o u t t e s b i e ns é p a r é e s q u i t o m b a i e n ts u r l e s o l u n e à u n e. Lavaisselle du petit déjeuners’étalait abondamment surla table, car ce repas étaitp o u r l e p è r e l e p l u simpor t an t du j ou r ; i l l ep r o l o n g e a i t d e s h e u r e s

retomber lourdement sur le dos,juste au moment de son entrée

dans la pièce. II était encore toutoccupé à ce mouvement

difficile, en ne pouvant prêterd’at tent ion à r ien d’autre ,

quand il entendit le fondé depouvoir pousser un a Oh!»

sonore - on eût d i t lemugissement du vent - et il le vit,lui qui était le plus près de la

porte, appuyer la main sur sabouche ouverte et battre

lentement en retraite, comme siune force invisible et constante,

toujours égale à ellemême, lechassait de cet endroit. Sa mère,

dont la chevelure, en dépit de laprésence du fondé de pouvoir,avait gardé tout le désordre de la

nuit et se hérissait vers le haut dela tête, regarda d’abord le père en

joignant les mains, puis fit deuxpas vers Gregor et tomba au

milieu de ses jupons déployésautour d’elle; son visage, penché

sur sa poitrine, avait entièrementdisparu. Le père serra les poings

d’un air hostile, comme pour rejeterGregor dans sa chambre, promenases regards d’un air incertain d’un

bout de la pièce à l’autre, puis ilse couvrit les yeux de ses mains et

se mit à pleurer avec de grossanglots qui secouaient sa

puissante poitrine.

Gregor n’entra pas dans lapièce; il resta appuyé sur lebattant fermé de la porte, de

sorte qu’on ne voyait que lamoi t ié de son corps e t

par-dessus, on pouvait voir satê te penchée de côté qui

essayai t d’apercevoir lesautres personnages. Le temps

s’é ta i t éc la i rc i ; on voyai tdistinctement de l’autre côté

de la rue un f ragment del’immense maison noirâtre quiconstituait le vis-à-vis - c’était

un hôpi ta l - ; des fenêtresdisposées régulièrement en

perçaient brutalement l afaçade; la pluie continuait à

tomber, mais maintenant engrosses gouttes séparées les

unes des autres e t quiparaissaient l i t téra lementjetées l’une après l’autre sur le

sol. L’abondante vaisselle dupetit déjeuner était encore sur

la table, car c’était pour le pèrele pr incipal repas de la

journée; i l le prolongeai t

i f he did not want to fal l f la ton h is back before enter ing

t h e r o o m . H e w a s s t i l loccupied wi th th is d i ff icul t

m o v e m e n t , u n a b l e t o p a ya t t en t ion to any th ing e l se ,

w h e n h e h e a r d t h e c h i e fc lerk excla im a loud “Oh!” ,

w h i c h s o u n d e d l i k e t h esoughing of the wind. Nowhe also saw him - he was the

n e a r e s t t o t h e d o o r - h i sh a n d p r e s s e d a g a i n s t h i s

o p e n m o u t h a n d s l o w l yre t rea t ing as i f dr iven by a

s teady and inv is ib le fo rce .G r e g o r ’s m o t h e r , h e r h a i r

s t i l l d i s h e v e l l e d f r o m b e dd e s p i t e t h e c h i e f c l e r k ’ sb e i n g t h e r e , l o o k e d a t h i s

f a t h e r. T h e n s h e u n f o l d e dh e r a r m s , t o o k t w o s t e p s

forward towards Gregor ands a n k d o w n o n t o t h e f l o o r

in to he r sk i r t s t ha t sp readthemselves out around her as

her head disappeared downonto her breas t . His fa ther

looked host i le , and clenchedh i s f i s t s a s i f w a n t i n g t oknock Gregor back in to h is

r o o m . T h e n h e l o o k e duncer ta in ly round the l iv ing

room, covered h is eyes wi thhis hands and wept so tha t

h is powerful ches t shook.

So Gregor did not go into theroom, but leant against theinside of the other door which

was still held bolted in place.In this way only half of his

body could be seen, along withhis head above it which he leant

over to one side as he peered[looked keenly] out at the others.

Meanwhile the day had becomemuch l igh te r ; pa r t o f the

endless, grey-black building onthe other side of the street -which was a hospital - could be

seen qui te c lear ly wi th theaus tere and regular l ine of

windows piercing its façade;the rain was still falling, now

t h r o w i n g d o w n l a rg e ,individual droplets which hit

the ground one at a time. Thewashing up from breakfast layon the t ab l e ; t he re was so

m u c h o f i t b e c a u s e , f o rGregor ’s father, breakfast was

the most important meal of theday and he would stretch it out

for severa l hours as he sa t

3534

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

for hours. On the wall justo p p o s i t e h u n g ap h o t o g r a p h o f G r e g o rf r o m t h e t i m e o f h i smili tary service, showinghim as a l ieutenant and,with a carefree smile andh i s h a n d o n h i s s w o r d ,demanding respect for hisbearing and uniform. Thedoor to the foyer was open,and s ince the apa r tmen tdoor was a lso open, onec o u l d s e e o u t t o t h elanding and the top of thestairs leading down.

“Well now,” said Gregor,well aware that he alone hadremained calm, “I will getdressed immediately, packmy samples, and be on myway. Will you all, will youlet me go catch my train?Now you see, sir, I’m notstubborn and I’m happy towork; traveling is difficultbut I couldn’t live withoutit. Where are you going, sir?To the office? Yes? Will yourepo r t on eve ry th ingt ru th fu l l y? A man cansuddenly be incapable ofwork ing , bu t th i s i s t hep rec i s e momen t t or emember h i s pa s tpe r fo rmance and t oconsider that la ter, af terresolving his difficulties, hewould work all the harderand more diligently. I am sodeep ly ob l i ga t ed t o t heChief, as you well know.And bes ides , I amresponsible for my parentsand sister. I am in a toughbind but I’ll work myselfback out of it. Please do notmake it more difficult thanit already is. I beg you tospeak up fo r me in t heo ff i ce ! No one l i ke straveling salesmen, I know.They think we make a slewof money and lead charmedlives. There’s no particularreason for them to furtherexamine this prejudice. Butyou, sir, you have a betterperspective than the rest ofthe office, an even betterpe r spec t i ve , i n a l lconfidence, than the Chiefh imse l f , who , i n h i scapacity as [18] employer,

Gregorio, colgaba un retra-to de éste, hecho durante suservicio militar, y que [31]le representaba con uniformede teniente, la mano puestaen la espalda, sonriendo des-preocupadamente, con unaire que parecía exigir res-peto para su indumento y suactitud. Esa habitación dabaal recibimiento; por la puer-ta abierta veíase la del piso,también abierta, el rellano dela escalera y el arranque deesta última, que conducía alos pisos inferiores.

—Bueno -dijo Gregoriomuy convencido de ser elúnico que había conservadosu serenidad-. Bueno, me vis-to al momento, recojo elmuestrario y salgo de viaje.¿Me permitiréis que salga deviaje, verdad? Ea, señor prin-cipal, ya ve usted que no soytestarudo y que trabajo congusto. El viajar es cansado;pero yo no sabría vivir sinviajar. ¿Adónde va usted, se-ñor principal? ¿Al almacén?¿Sí? ¿Lo contará todo talcomo ha sucedido? Puedeuno tener un momento de in-capacidad para el trabajo;pero entonces es precisamen-te cuando deben acordarselos jefes de lo útil que uno hasido y pensar que, una vezpasado el impedimento, vol-verá a ser tanto más activo ytrabajará con mayor celo. Yo,como usted sabe muy bien, leestoy muy obligado al jefe.Por otra parte, también ten-go que atender a mis padresy a mi hermana. Cierto quehoy me encuentro [32] en ungrave aprieto. Pero trabajan-do sabré salir de él. Usted nome haga la cosa más difícilde lo que ya es. Póngase demi parte. Ya sé yo que al via-jante no se le quiere. Todoscreen que gana el dinero aespuertas, y además que se dala gran vida. Cierto es que nohay ninguna razón especialpara que este prejuicio des-aparezca. Pero usted, señorprincipal, usted está más en-terado de lo que son las co-sas que el resto del personal,incluso, y dicho sea en con-fianza, que el propio jefe, el

ras leyendo varios periódi-cos. Justo en la pared de en-frente colgaba una fotogra-fía de Gregor durante su ser-vicio militar, en la cual, ves-tido de alférez, la mano enla espada y sonriendo des-preocupadamen te , pa rec í ae x i g i r r e s p e t o h a c i a s up o r t e y s u u n i f o r m e . L apuerta que daba al vestíbuloes taba ab ier ta ; y como lapuerta del piso también loestaba, se veían el rellano yel arranque de la escaleraque conducía hacia abajo.

«Bueno» , d i jo Gregor,perfectamente consciente deser el único que había man-tenido la calma, «me vestiréahora mismo, empaquetaré elmuestrario y me iré. Me de-jaréis partir, ¿verdad que sí?Ya ve usted, señor gerente,que no soy tozudo y me gus-ta trabajar; viajar es moles-to, pero no podría vivir sinhacerlo. ¿Adónde va ustedahora, señor gerente? ¿A laoficina? ¿Sí? ¿Presentará us-ted un informe fiel de todo loocurrido? Alguien puede es-tar incapacitado para trabajaren un momento dado, pero esprecisamente entonces cuan-do hay que acordarse de susrendimientos an te r iores ypensar que más adelante, unavez superado el impedimen-to , volverá a t rabajar conmayor ahínco y aplicación.Le debo muchísimo al señordirector, y usted lo sabe muybien. Por otra parte, tengo lacarga de mis padres y de mihermana. Estoy metido en unaprieto, pero ya saldré de él.Eso sí, no me complique las[39] cosas más de lo que es-tán. ¡Póngase de mi parte enla oficina! Ya sé que los via-jantes no son muy bien vis-tos. Se piensa que ganan undineral y se dan la gran vida.Y es cierto que no hay nin-guna razón especial para re-visar este prejuicio. Sin em-bargo, usted, señor gerente,tiene una visión de conjuntosuperior a la del resto delpersonal, superior incluso -yque esto quede entre noso-tros- a la del propio señor di-rector, que en su condición de

hours on end by readingvar ious newspapers . Theo p p o s i t e w a l l s p o r t e d aphotograph of Gregor fromh i s m i l i t a r y d a y s : i ts h o w e d h i m a s alieutenant, hand on sword,w i t h a c a r e f r e e s m i l e ,demanding respect for hisbearing and his uniform. Thevestibule door was open, andsince the apartment door wasopen too, one could see allthe way out to the landing andthe top of the descendingstairs. [133]

“Wel l , ” sa id Gregor,quite aware of being the onlyone who had kept calm, “I’llbe dressed in a minute, packup my samples, and catch mytrain. Would you all, wouldyou al l le t me go on theroad? Well, sir, you can seeI am not s tubborn and Ienjoy working. Traveling isarduous, but I could not livewithout it. Why, where areyou go ing , s i r? To theoff ice? Righ t? Wi l l youreport all this accurately? Aman may be temporar i lyincapacitated, but that isprecisely the proper time toremember h i s pas tachievements and to bear inmind that later on, once theobstacle is eliminated, he issure to work all the harderand more intently. After all,I am so deeply obligated tothe director, you know thatvery well. And then, I haveto take care of my parentsand my sister. I’m in a tightspot, but still I’ll work myway out again. So pleasedon’t make th ings moredifficult for me than theyalready are. Put in a goodword for me at the office!People don’t like a travelingsalesman, I know. They thinkhe makes barrels of moneyand has a wonderful life.They simply have no specialreason to examine the i rprejudice. But you, sir, youhave a better notion of whatit’s all about than the rest ofthe staff, why, than even-thisi s s t r i c t ly be tween us -abetter notion than even thedirector, who, as owner of

p ro long fo r hou r s byread ing a va r i e ty o fnewspapers. Hanging on thewa l l oppos i t e was aphotograph of Gregor fromhi s a rmy days , wh ichshowed him as a lieutenant,hand on sword, a carefreesmile on his lips, invitingrespect for his bearing anduniform. The door to thehallway was open, and sincethe front door was open too,it was possible to see outonto the landing and the topof the stairs.

‘Right,’ said Gregor, wellaware that he was the onlyone to have re ta ined hiscomposure, ‘I shall now getdressed, pack my samplesand be off: Are you willing,are you willing to let me go?You can see, sir, that I amnot stubborn and that I likemy work ; t r ave l l ing i swearisome, but I couldn’tlive without it. Where areyou go ing , s i r? To theoffice? Yes? Will you makea faithful report of all this?A man might for a momentbe unable to work, but that’sprec i se ly the t ime toremember h i s pas tach ievements and toconsider that later on, oncethe obs tac le has beenremoved, he will be sure towork with increased energyand concen t ra t ion . I amdeeply beholden to the headof the firm, as you are wellaware. On the other hand, Ihave my parents and mysister to think about. I’m ina tight spot, but I’ll work myway out of it. Don’t makethings harder for me thanthey already are. Speak upfor me in the f i rm!Travelling salesmen aren’twell-liked, I know. Peoplethink they earn a fortune andlive in clover. They have noparticular reason to revisesuch a prejudice. But you,sir, you have a better view ofthings than the rest of thestaff and, between you andme, than the head of the firmhimself who, in his capacityas employer, can eas i lyallow his judgement to err,

entières par la lecture ded i v e r s j o u r n a u x . S u r l ac l o i s o n on pouva i t vo i rGrégoire photographié enlieutenant, comme au tempsde son service, souriant, lamain sur son sabre, heureuxde vivre, et semblant parson allure exiger le respectde sa tenue. La porte étantouver te , on découvrai t àtravers celle du vestibulel ’ e s p a c e q u i s ’ é t e n d a i tau -de l à du pa l i e r e t l e sp r e m i è r e s m a r c h e s d el’escalier. ‘

Grégoire déclara,conscient d’être le seul à avoirconservé son calme :«Je vaism’habiller tout de suite, rangermes échantillons et partir.Voulez-vous me laisser partir?Voulez-vous? Vous voyezbien, monsieur le Gérant, queje n’y mets pas d’entêtement;les voyages sont pénibles, sansdoute, mais je ne saurais m’enpasser. Où allez-vous donc,monsieur le Gérant? Aumagasin? Oui? Leurferez-vous de tout un rapportfidèle? On peut se trouver uninstant dans l’incapacitéd’accomplir sa besogne, maisc’est alors le bon moment pourse rappeler ses anciens travauxet se mettre en tête que,l’obstacle franchi, onapportera deux fois plus decoeur à l’ouvrage. Je dois tantà monsieur le Directeur, vousle savez bien. J’ai mes parentset ma soeur à ma charge. Jesuis dans une mauvaise passe,mais j’en sortirai par le travail.Seulement ne me rendez [27]pas la chose trop difficile; ellel’est déjà suffisamment.Prenez mon parti au magasin.Je sais bien qu’on n’aime pasle voyageur. On croit qu’ilgagne un argent fou et qu’ilmène une vie de pacha; et jecomprends que la situationactuelle n’encourage pas àrevenir sur ce préjugé. Maisvous, monsieur le Gérant, vousqui jugez mieux descirconstances que le reste dupersonnel, mieux quemonsieur le Directeurlui-même, soit dit entre nous(car il peut, en sa qualitéd’employeur, se laisser

pendant des heures à l i redivers journaux. Au mur d’en

face é ta i t accrochée unephotographie de Gregor, du

temps de son service militaire;elle le représentait en

sous-lieutenant, la main sur sonépée, souriant d’un air

insouciant, semblant exiger lerespect pour son maintien etpour son uniforme. La porte du

vestibule était ouverte et, commela porte de l’appartement était

ouverte elle aussi, on apercevaitle pal ier e t les premières

marches de l’escalier.

« Bon », dit Gregor, tout à faitconscient d’être le seul à avoirconservé son calme, « je vais

t ou t de su i t e m’hab i l l e r,emballer la collection et m’en

a l l e r. Vous vou lez b i en melaisser partir? vous voulez bien?

Vous voyez, monsieur le fondéde pouvoir, que je ne suis pas

têtu et que j’aime le travail; lesvoyages sont pénibles, mais je

ne pourrais pas m’en passer. Oùal lez-vous donc, monsieur lefondé de pouvoir? Au magasin?

Oui? Allez-vous faire un compterendu f idèle de tout? I l peut

arriver qu’on soit dans l’instantincapable de t ravai l ler, mais

c’est aussi le bon moment pourse rappeler tout ce qu’on a fait

autrefois et pour penser que,l’obstacle une fois franchi, on net r ava i l l e r a ensu i t e qu ’avec

enco re p lu s de zè l e e td ’ app l i c a t i on . J ’ a i t an t

d ’ob l i ga t i ons enve r s M. l edirecteur, vous le savez pourtant

bien. J’ai d’autre part le souci demes parents et de ma soeur. Je

suis dans une mauvaise passe,ma i s j e m’en so r t i r a i .

Seulement, ne me rendez pas leschoses encore plus di ff ic i lesqu’elles ne le sont. Prenez mon

parti au magasin! On n’aime pasles voyageurs, je le sais bien. On

pense qu’ils gagnent un argentfou et qu’ils mènent la belle vie.

C’e s t pa r ce qu ’on n ’ a pa sl’occasion de remettre ce préjugé

en ques t i on . Ma i s vous ,monsieur le fondé de pouvoir,vous avez une meilleure vision

de l’ensemble que le reste dupersonnel et même, entre nous

soit dit, une vision plus juste queM. le directeur lui-même, qui, en

tant qu’employeur, peut ê t re

reading a number of differentn e w s p a p e r s . O n t h e w a l l

exac t ly oppos i te the re wasphotograph of Gregor when

he was a l i eu t enan t i n t hearmy, his sword in his hand

and a carefree smile on hisf a c e a s h e c a l l e d f o r t h

respect for his uniform andb e a r i n g . T h e d o o r t o t h eentrance hal l was open and

as the front door of the f latwas also open he could see

o n t o t h e l a n d i n g a n d t h estairs where they began their

way down below.

“Now, then”, said Gregor,well aware that he was the onlyone to have kept calm, “I’ll get

dressed straight away now, packup my samples and set off. Will

you please just let me leave?You can see”, he said to the

ch ie f c l e rk , “ tha t I ’m no tstubborn and like I like to do

my job; being a commercialtraveller is arduous but without

travelling I couldn’t earn myliving. So where are you going,in to the office? Yes? Will you

report everything accurately,then? It’s quite possible for

someone to be t emporar i lyunable to work, but that’s just

the r ight t ime to rememberwhat’s been achieved in the past

and consider that later on, oncethe d i ff i cu l ty has beenremoved, he will certainly work

with all the more diligence andconcen t ra t ion . You’ re we l l

aware that I’m seriously in debtto our employer as wel l as

having to look after my parentsand my s i s t e r, so tha t I ’m

trapped in a difficult situation,but I will work my way out of

i t again. Please don’t makethings any harder for me thanthey are already, and don’t take

sides against me at the office. Iknow that nobody l ikes the

travellers. They think we earnan enormous wage as well as

having a soft time of it. That’sjust prejudice but they have no

particular reason to think betteri t . But you, sir, you have abetter overview than the rest of

the staff, in fact, if I can say thisin confidence, a better overview

than the boss himself - it’s veryeasy for a businessman like him

to make mistakes about his

3736

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

al lows his opinion to beeasi ly swayed against anemployee. You know verywe l l t ha t a t r ave l i ngsalesman, out of the officefor almost the entire year,c an ea s i l y f a l l p r ey t ogossip, coincidences, andunfounded g r i evancesagains t which he cannotposs ib ly de fend h imse l fbecause he a lmost neverhears about them exceptwhen returning home froman exhaus t i ng t r i p ; hepersonally suffers the grimconsequences, the causes ofwh ich he can no l onge rdetermine. Sir, do not leavewithout giving me a word toshow that you think me atleast partially right!”

But with Gregor’s firstwords the head clerk hadalready turned away andwi th gap ing l ip s s implyl o o k e d b a c k o v e r h i st w i t c h i n g s h o u l d e r a tG r e g o r . A n d d u r i n gGregor ’s speech he did nots tand s t i l l for a momentbut crept s tep-by-step tothe door, h is eyes neverl e a v i n g G r e g o r , a s i fo b e y i n g s o m e s e c r e ti n j u n c t i o n t o l e a v e t h eroom. He was already inthe foye r , and f rom thes u d d e n m o v e m e n t w i t hwhich he took his last stepfrom the living room, onemight believe he had justburned the sole of his foot.In the foyer, however, hestretched his right hand farout toward the stairs as ifs o m e s u p e r n a t u r a ldeliverance were awaitinghim there.

Gregor realized that hemust on no account let thehead clerk leave in this frameof mind or his position in thef i rm would be ser iouslyjeopardized. The parents didnot understand this so well;they had convincedthemselves over the yearsthat Gregor was set for life atthis firm, and besides, theywere so preoccupied with thecurrent problem that they hadlost all sense of the future.

cual, en su cualidad de amo,se equivoca con frecuenciarespecto de un empleado. Us-ted sabe muy bien que el via-jante, como está fuera del al-macén la mayor parte delaño, es fácil pasto de habla-durías y víctima propicia decoincidencias y quejas infun-dadas, contra las cuales no lees cómodo defenderse, yaque la mayoría de las vecesno llegan a su conocimiento,y que únicamente al regresarreventado de un viaje es cuan-do empieza a notar directa-mente las funestas consecuen-cias de una causa invisible.Señor principal, no se vaya sindecirme algo que me pruebeque me da usted la razón; porlo menos en parte.

Pero, desde las primeraspalabras de Gregorio, el prin-cipal había dado media vuel-ta, y contemplaba a aquél porencima del hombro, [33]convulsivamente agitado conuna mueca de asco en los la-bios. Mientras Gregorio habla-ba, no permaneció un momen-to tranquilo. Retiróse hacíala puerta sin quitarle ojo deencima, pero muy lenta-mente, como si una fuerzam i s t e r i o s a l e i m p i d i e s eabandonar aquella habita-ción. Llegó, por fin, al re-cibimiento, y, ante la pron-titud con que alzó por úl-t i m a v e z e l p i e d e ls u e l o , d i f i é r a s e q u eh a b í a p i s a d o l u m b r e .A l a r g ó e l b r a z o d e r e -c h o e n d i r e c c i ó n d el a e s c a l e r a , c o m o s ie s p e r a s e e n c o n t r a ra l l í m i l a g r o s a m e n t el a l i b e r t a d .

Gregorio comprendió queno debía de ningún modo dejarmarchar al principal en ese es-tado de ánimo, pues si no supuesto en el almacén estaba se-riamente amenazado. No locomprendían los padres tanbien como él, porque, en eltranscurso de los años, habíanllegado a hacerse la ilusión deque la posición de Gregorio enaquella casa solo con su vidapodía acabar; además, con lainquietud del momento, y sus

empresario puede dejarse in-fluir fácilmente en contra deun empleado. También sabemuy bien que un viajante, alpasarse casi todo el año fue-ra de la oficina, puede servíctima fácil de habladurías,arbitrariedades y quejas in-fundadas contra las que le estotalmente imposible defen-derse, pues la mayoría de lasveces ni se entera , y solocuando vuelve a casa, ex-hausto, de algún viaje, em-pieza a sentir en carne pro-pia las funestas consecuen-cias cuyas causas resultan yainescrutables. Señor gerente,no se vaya sin haberme dichoalgo para demostrarme que,al menos mínimamente, meda usted la razón».

Pero el gerente ya se ha-bía vuelto al oír las prime-ras pa labras de Gregor, alque solo miraba por encimael hombro, agitado por untemblor convulsivo y con loslabios fruncidos. Y mientrasGregor le hablaba no se que-dó quieto un instante, sinoque fue retrocediendo, sinperderlo de vista, hacia lapuerta, aunque muy paulati-namente, como si una prohi-bición secreta le impidieseabandonar la habitación. Yaestaba en el vestíbulo, y ajuzgar por la [40] brusque-dad con que ret i ró e l pie a lsa l i r de la sa la de es tar, sehabr ía d icho que acababade quemarse l a sue l a de lzapato . A1 l legar a l ves t í -bulo es t i ró la mano dere-cha en di rección a la esca-lera , como s i a l l í lo aguar-d a s e a l g u n a r e d e n c i ó nul t ra terrena.

Gregor comprendió que enningún caso debía permitirque el gerente se fuera en eseestado si no quería que supuesto en la empresa corrieseun serio peligro. Los padresno entendieron tan bien todoaquello; en el curso de esoslargos años habían llegado alconvenc imien to de queGregor tenía la vida asegura-da en esa empresa, y estabanademás tan agobiados con laspreocupaciones de aquel mo-

the firm, is easily swayedagainst an employee. Youalso know very well that atraveling salesman, beingaway from the office most ofthe year, can so easily fallvictim to gossip, coincidences,and unwarranted complaints,and he cannot poss ib lydefend h imse l f s ince healmost never finds out aboutthem, except perhaps whenhe re tu rns f rom a t r ip ,exhausted, and personallysuffers [134] their awfulconsequences a t homewi thout fa thoming the i rinscrutable causes. Sir, pleasedo not leave without sayingsomething to show that youagree with me at least tosome small extent!”

But the office manager hadalready turned away atGregor’s very first words, andhe only looked back at himover his twitching shoulderand with gaping lips. Indeedduring Gregor’s speech, themanager did not halt for evenan instant. Rather, withoutlosing sight of Gregor, heretreated toward the door,but only very gradually, asif there were some secretban on leaving the room.H e w a s a l r e a d y i n t h evestibule, and to judge byhis abrupt movement whenhe finally pulled his leg out ofthe parlor, one might havethought he had just burned thesole of his foot . In thevest ibule, however, hestretched out his right handvery far, toward the staircase,as if some unearthlyredemption were awaiting himthere.

Gregor realized he muston no account allow the officemanager to leave in this frameof mind; if he did, Gregor’sposition at the office would bethoroughly compromised. Theparents did not quiteunderstand this. During theselong years, they had becomeconvinced that he was set upfor l ife at this f irm, andbesides they were sopreoccupied with theirimmediate problems as to

to the disadvantage of anemployee. And you knowvery well that the travelling[17] salesman, who is out ofthe office practically all yearround , can fa l l p rey togossip, coincidences andunfounded compla in t s ,aga ins t which he’scompletely unable to defendhimself, since in most caseshe knows no th ing a t a l labout them, or only finds outfor himself when he has justreturned exhausted from at r ip and hears o f therepercussions at home, whenit’s too late to discover theircause. Sir, don’t go awaywithout telling me that youthink I ’m at leas t par t lyright!’

But the chief clerk hadalready turned away atGregor’s very first words,merely staring back at himwith curled l ips over hisquivering shoulder. Andduring Gregor’s speech henever stood still for a momentbut, without letting Gregorout of his sight, kept movingaway towards the door, onlyvery gradually though, as ifthere were some secretinjunction against leaving theroom. He was already in thehallway, and to judge from thesudden movement with whichhe finally stepped from theliving-room, one might havethought he had just scorchedthe sole of his foot. Once inthe hall, however, he stretchedout his right hand far in frontof him towards the stairs, asif an almost supernaturaldeliverance were awaitinghim there.

Gregor realised that hecould in no circumstancesallow the chief clerk to departin this frame of mind if hisposition in the firm were notto be seriously endangered.His parents did not understandthese things too well; in thecourse of many years they hadformed the conviction thatGregor was set up for life inthis firm; and besides, theywere so preoccupied withtheir own immediate worries

influencer facilement aupréjudice d’un employé), vousn’ignorez pas, vous, que levoyageur, qui n’est presquejamais au magasin de toutel’année, se trouve souventvictime d’un simple racontar,d’un hasard, d’une réclamationgratuite, et qu’il lui estabsolument impossible de sedéfendre puisqu’il ne saitmême pas qu’on l’accuse,puisqu’il ne l’apprend qu’enrevenant épuisé de son voyage,quand les tristes conséquencesd’une affaire aux causes délaquelle il ne peut plus remonterle font pâtir dans son proprecorps! Monsieur le Gérant, nepartez pas sans un geste qui memontre que vous me donnez aumoins un petit peu raison.»

Mais le gérant , auxpremiers mots de Grégoire,s’était détourné pour ne plusle regarder qu’en faisant lamoue par-dessus son épauletout agitée d’un tremblementconvulsif. Pendant le discoursde Grégoire, au lieu d’écouterfroidement, il s’était retiré -tout en le gardant à vue - petità petit vers la porte; on eût ditqu’une loi secrète lui [28]interdisait de quitter la pièce.I l avait déjà gagné levestibule, et, quand il sortit ledernier pied de la salle àmanger, ce fut d’unmouvement si brusquequ ’ o n e û t p u c r o i r e q u el e p l a n c h e r l u i b r û l a i tl e s s o u l i e r s . P u i s i ll a n ç a d e l o i n s a m a i nv e r s l a r a m p e c o m m es i q u e l q u e d é l i v r a n c es u r n a t u r e l l el ’ a t t e n d a i t a u b a s d el ’ e s c a l i e r .

Grégoire comprit qu’il nefallait à aucun prix le laisserpartir dans cet état s’il tenaità conserver son pos te .Malheureusement sesparents voyaient moins clairdans la situation; depuis letemps que leur fils était dansce commerce, ils s’étaientancrés dans l ’ idée queGrégoire était casé pour lavie, et leurs soucis présentsabsorbaient trop leur âmepour qu’ i l s t rouvassen t

amené à avoir le jugement fausséen défaveur d’un employé. Vous

n’ignorez pas que le voyageur,qu i n ’e s t p re sque j ama i s au

magasin de toute l’année, estfacilement victime de potins, de

hasards, de réclamations dénuéesde fondement, contre lesquels il

lui est absolument impossible dese défendre, puisqu’il ne saitmême pas qu’on l’accuse; et que

c’est seulement quand il revientchez lui, épuisé par son voyage,

qu’il en découvre à ses dépensles conséquences, sans même

parvenir jamais à en deviner lescauses. Ne partez pas, monsieur

l e f ondé de pouvo i r, s ansm’avo i r d i t un mo t qu i meprouve que vous me donnez

raison, au moins pour une toutepetite partie!»

Mais le fondé de pouvoir,

dès les premiers mots deGregor, s’était détourné, avec

une moue de dégoût, pour neplus le regarder que par-dessus

son épaule , agi tée d’untremblement nerveux. Etpendant le discours de Gregor,

i l ne res ta pas un ins tantimmobile; sans le perdre de

vue, il battit en retraite vers lapor te , mais à pet i t s pas ,

comme si une interdict ionmystérieuse l’empêchait de

quitter la pièce. Ii était déjàdans le vestibule et, quand ilfit le dernier pas hors de la

salle de séjour, ce fut d’unmouvement si brusque qu’on

aurait pu croire que le plancherbrûla i t la semel le de ses

soul iers . Arr ivé dans levestibule, il tendit la main

droite loin de lui, du côté dul’escalier, comme si l’attendait

là quelque secours proprementsurnaturel.

Gregor comprit qu’il nefallait en aucun cas laisser le

fondé de pouvoir partir dans cetétat, si sa position au magasin

ne devait pas être à tout jamaiscompromise. Ses parents ne

voyaient pas les choses ainsi;au cours de ces longues années,ils s’étaient installés dans la

conviction que Gregor étaitcasé dans cette affaire pour sa

vie entière et, en outre, ilsavaient trop à faire de leurs

soucis présents pour pouvoir

employees and judge them moreharshly than he should. And

you’re also well aware that wetravel lers spend a lmost the

whole yea r away f rom theoff ice , so that we can very

easily fall victim to gossip andchance and g round less

complaints , and i t ’s a lmostimpossible to defend yourselffrom that sort of thing, we don’t

usually even hear about them,or if at all it’s when we arrive

back home exhausted from atrip, and that’s when we feel the

harmful effects of what’s beengoing on without even knowing

what caused them. Please, don’tgo away, a t l eas t f i r s t saysomething to show that you

grant that I’m at least partlyright!”

B u t t h e c h i e f c l e r k h a d

t u r n e d a w a y a s s o o n a sGregor had s tar ted to speak,

a n d , w i t h p r o t r u d i n g l i p s ,only s tared back at h im over

h i s t r embl ing shou lde r s a she lef t . He did not keep s t i l lfo r a moment whi le Gregor

w a s s p e a k i n g , b u t m o v e ds t e a d i l y t o w a r d s t h e d o o r

wi thou t t ak ing h i s eyes o ffh i m . H e m o v e d v e r y

g r a d u a l l y, a s i f t h e r e h a db e e n s o m e s e c r e t

p roh ib i t i on on l eav ing theroom. I t was on ly when heh a d r e a c h e d t h e e n t r a n c e

ha l l tha t he made a suddenm o v e m e n t , d r e w h i s f o o t

f rom the l i v ing room, andrushed fo rward in a pan ic .

In the ha l l , he s t r e t ched h i sr igh t hand fa r ou t towards

the s t a i rway as i f ou t the re ,t h e r e w e r e s o m e

supe rna tu ra l fo rce wa i t i ngto save h im.

Gregor realised that it wasout of the question to let the

chief c lerk go away in thismood if his position in the firm

was not to be put into extremedanger. That was something his

parents did not understand verywell; over the years, they hadbecome convinced that this job

would provide for Gregor forhis entire l i fe, and besides,

they had so much to worryabout at present that they had

lost sight of any thought for the

3938

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

But Gregor did have thisforesight. The head clerkh a d t o b e d e t a i n e d ,c a l m e d , p e r s u a d e d , a n dult imately won over; thevery future of Gregor andhis family depended on i t .If only the sister had beenthere! She was perceptive;she had already begun tocry when Gregor was st i l llying quietly on his back.And the head clerk, thatl a d i e s ’ m a n , w o u l dc e r t a i n l y h a v e l e t h e rguide him; she would haveclosed the apartment doorand assuaged his fears inthe foyer. But the sister wasnot there and Gregor wouldhave to handle the situationhimself. And without stoppingto think that he still had noidea what powers ofmovement he had or even tothink that verypossibly-indeed probably-hiswords would once again beunintelligible, he let go of thewing of the door and flunghimself through the opening;desiring to go toward the headclerk, who was already on thelanding and ludicrously [19]clutching the banister with bothhands, Gregor instead, whilegroping for support, fell with alittle cry onto his numerous littlelegs. This had barely happenedwhen, for the first time thatmorning, he felt a sense ofphysical well-being: The littlelegs had firm ground beneaththem, he was delighted to note thatthey were completely under hiscommand, they even strained tocarry him off wherever he mightdesire, and he already believedthat the final alleviation of allhis grief was imminent. But atthat same moment, as he laythere rock ing f rom h isrestrained movement not farfrom his mother-in fact justin front of her-she, who hadseemed so self-absorbed,suddenly sprang up witharms wide and f ingersoutstretched, shouting:“Help, for God’s sake, help!”She bent her head down as ifto see Gregor better butinstead ran contradictorily andmadly backward and, havingforgotten that the laden table

consiguientes quehaceres,habíanse olvidado de toda pru-dencia. Pero no así Gregorio,que se percataba de que era in-dispensable retener al principal,apaciguarle, convencerle, con-quistarle. De ello dependía elporvenir de Gregorio y de lossuyos. ¡Si siquiera estuviese ahí[34] la hermana! Era muy lista;había llorado cuando aún yacíaGregorio tranquilamente sobrela espalda. De seguro que elprincipal, galante con el bellosexo, se hubiera dejado llevarpor ella a donde ella hubieraquerido. Habría cerrado la puer-ta del piso y le habría quitado elsusto en, el mismo recibimien-to. Pero no estaba la hermana,y Gregorio tenía que arreglár-selas él solo. Y, sin pensar quetodavía no conocía sus nuevasfacultades de movimiento, nitampoco que lo más posible, yhasta lo más seguro, era que nohabría logrado darse a com-prender con su discurso, aban-donó la hoja de la puerta en quese apoyaba, deslizóse por elhueco formado en la aberturade 1a otra, con intención deavanzar hacia el principal, queseguía cómicamente agarrado ala barandilla del rellano. Masinmediatamente cayó en tierra,intentando, con inútiles esfuer-zos, sostenerse sobre sus innu-merables y diminutas patas, yexhalando un ligero quejido. Alpunto sintióse, por primera vezen aquel día, invadido por unverdadero bienestar: las patitas,apoyadas en el suelo,obedecíanle perfectamente. Lonotó con la natural alegría, y vioque se esforzaban en llevarle allídonde él deseaba ir, dándole lasensación de haber llegado alcabo de sus [35] sufrimientos:Mas, en el preciso momentoen que Gregorio, a causa delmovimiento contenido, se ba-lanceaba a ras de tierra, nolejos y enfrente de su madre,ésta, no obstante hallarse tansumida en sí, dio de prontoun brinco y se puso a gritar,extendiendo los brazos y sepa-rando los dedos: «¡Socorro!¡Por amor de Dios! ¡Socorro!»Inclinaba la cabeza como paraver mejor a Gregorio; pero depronto, como para desmentireste supuesto, desplomóse ha-

mento que perd ie ron todosentido de la previsión. PeroGregor sí que lo tenía. Ha-bía que retener al gerente,calmarlo, convencerlo y, porúltimo, conquistarlo; de ellodependía, en definit iva, elfuturo de Gregor y de su fa-milia. ¡Si la hermana hubie-ra estado allí! Era una chicainteligente; ya había lloradocuando Gregor aún yac í atranquilamente sobre la es-palda. Y seguro que el geren-te, aquel mujeriego impeni-tente, se habría dejado llevarpor ella; tras cerrar la puer-ta del piso, la hermana le ha-bría quitado el miedo con-versando con él en el vestí-bulo. Pero al no estar ella ahí,Gregor tenía que actuar solo.Y sin pensar que aún no co-nocía del todo su actual capa-cidad de movimiento, sin pen-sar tampoco que era posible -eincluso probable- que no hu-bieran comprendido su últimodiscurso, abandonó el batien-te de la puerta, se impulsó[41] a través de la aberturacon la intención de acercarseal gerente, que ya se habíaaferrado ridículamente conambas manos a la barandilladel rellano, y se desplomóenseguida, mientras buscabaun asidero, sobre sus numero-sas patitas, lanzando un levegrito. En cuanto esto ocurrió,sintió por primera vez esamañana un bienestar físico;las pati tas se apoyaban ensuelo firme y obedecían a laperfección, según notó muycontento; hasta se esforzabanpor trasladarlo a donde él qui-siera, por lo que consideróinminente la curación defini-tiva de todos sus males . Peroen ese mismo instante, mien-tras se balanceaba con conte-nido movimiento allí en elsuelo, nada lejos y justo en-frente de su madre, esta, queparecía tan concentrada en símisma, pegó un salto bruscoy, con los brazos extendidosy los dedos estirados, excla-mó: «¡Auxilio! ¡Por el amorde Dios, auxilio!». Mantuvola cabeza agachada, como siquisiera ver mejor a Gregor,aunque contradiciendo esegesto retrocedió absurdamen-

have lost al l sense offoresight. Gregor, however,did possess such foresight.The office manager had to beheld back, calmed down,cajoled, and finally won over;Gregor’s future and that of hisfamily hinged on it! If onlythe sister had been here! Shewas intel l igent; she hadalready started to cry whenGregor was still lying calmlyon his back. And [135] theoffice manager, that ladies’man, would certainly have lether take him in hand: shewould have shut the apartmentdoor, kept him in thevestibule, and talked him outof his terror. But the sisterwas not there, so Gregor hadto act on his own. Forgettingthat he was as yetunacquainted with his currentpowers of movement and alsothat once again his words hadpossibly, indeed probably, notbeen understood, he left thewing of the door andlumbe r e d t h r o u g h t h eopening . He in tended toh e a d t o w a r d t h e o f f i c em a n a g e r , w h o w a slud ic rous ly c lu tch ing thebanister on the landing withboth hands. But Gregor,fumbling for support, yelpedas he flopped down upon hismany tiny legs. The instantthis happened, he fel t aphysical ease and comfort forthe first time that morning.His tiny legs had solid groundunderneath, and he wasdelighted to note that theywere utterly obedient—theyeven strove to carry him offto wherever he wished; and healready believed that the finalrecovery from all sufferingswas at hand. He lay on thefloor, wobbling because ofhis checked movement, notthat far from his mother, whoseemed altogether self-absorbed. But at that samemoment, she unexpectedlyleaped up, stretched her armsfar apart, splayed her fingers,and cried, “Help! For God’ssake, help!” Next she loweredher head as if to see Gregormore clearly, but then, inself-contradict ion, shesenselessly backed away,

that they had completely lostthe ability to look ahead. ButGregor had this ability. Thechief c lerk must berestrained, calmed down,convinced and finally wonover; Gregor’s future and thatof his family depended on it!If only his sister had beenthere! She was clever; shehad already started to crywhen Gregor was still lyingcalmly on his [18] back. Andsurely the chief clerk, thisladies’ man, would haveallowed himself to be swayedby her ; she would haveclosed the front door andtalked him out of his fears inthe hall. But since his sisterwas not there, Gregor had toact on his own. And withoutstopping to think that he wasstill wholly unfamiliar withhis present powers oflocomotion, without stoppingto think that his words hadpossibly, even probably, notbeen understood again, he letgo of the wing of the door; heshoved himself through theopening; he wanted to get tothe chief clerk who was bynow, ridiculously, holdingonto the banisters with bothhands; but promptly fell, as hegroped for support, onto hisnumerous little legs with ashort cry. No sooner had thishappened than, for the firsttime that morning, he felt asense of physical well-being;his little legs had firm groundbeneath them; they obeyedhim completely, as he noted tohis joy; they were even eagerto carry him wherever hewanted to go; and he alreadybelieved that an end to all hissuffering was finally at hand.But at that very same moment,as he lay there on the groundrocking to and fro withrepressed motion, not far fromhis mother and directlyopposite her, she, who hadseemed so utterlyself-absorbed, suddenly leaptinto the air, arms stretchedout wide, fingers spread,crying, ‘Help, for God’s sake,help!’, craned her neckforward as if to see Gregorbetter, but in self-contradictionran frantically back instead;

encore la force de prévoir.Mais un pressen t imenthabitait le tueur de Grégoire.I l fa l la i t a r rê ter, calmer,convaincre et finalementconquérir le gérant, il y allaitde l’avenir de Grégoire et desa famille. Ah! si sa soeur avaitété là! Elle comprenait,celle-là, elle qui avait déjàcommencé à pleurer quand iln’était encore que couché surle dos, plein d’insouciance! Etle gérant, qui aimait les dames,l’aurait certainement écoutée;il se serait laissé guider parelle, elle aurait fermé la porteet lui aurait prouvé dans levestibule l’inanité d e s af rayeur. Mais voi là , e l len’é ta i t jus tement pas là ;t o u t e s l e s n é g o c i a t i o n sincombaien t à Grégoi re .Et sans même s’inquiéterd e s a v o i r s ’ i l p o u r r a i tal ler bien loin- ni si sondiscours avait été compris- c e q u i s e m b l a i t p e uv r a i s e m b l a b l e [ 2 9 ] - i labandonna son battant dep o r t e , p a s s a p a rl’ouverture pour rattraperl e g é r a n t ( q u i s ecramponnait déjà des deuxm a i n s à l a rampe d’unefaon tout à fait ridicule),chercha vainement un appuiet tomba sur ses pattes grêlesen poussant un petit cri. Ilressenti t aussi tôt pour lapremière fois de la matinéeune impression de bien-êtrephysique; il avait pied sur leso l f e rme , i l r emarquajoyeusement que ses patteslui obéissaient à merveillee t b rû la ien t même de l eporter où il voudrait; et déjàil se prenait à croire que lafin de ses maux était venue.Ma i s t and i s qu ’ i l s eba lança i t sur p lace sousl’influence de son besoin decourir, tout près de sa mèregisante, il la vit subitementfaire un bond, tout évanouiequ’e l le parût , lancer sesb ra s dans l ’ e space enécarquillant les doigts, ethu r l e r : «Au secou r s , àl’aide, à l’aide!» après quoielle pencha la tête commepour mieux le voir, puis,contradiction flagrante, semit à reculer follement sans

penser à l’avenir. Mais Gregory pensait. Il fallait arrêter,

calmer, convaincre le fondéde pouvoir et finalement le

gagner à sa cause, il y allaitde l’avenir de Gregor et de sa

famille. Si seulement sa soeurava i t é té l à ! E l le é ta i t

intelligente, elle s’était miseà pleurer déjà lorsque Gregorétait encore tranquillement

couché sur le dos. Et le fondéde pouvoir, qui aimait bien les

dames, se serait certainementlaissé convaincre par elle; elle

aura i t f e rmé la por te del’appartement et lui aurait

mont ré dans l e ves t ibu lel’inanité de sa frayeur. Maissa soeur n’était précisément

pas là; Gregor devait agirseul. Et, sans penser qu’il

i g n o r a i t l u i - m ê m e q u e l l eé t a i t s a c a p a c i t é d e

m o u v e m e n t , s a n s s e d i r equ’il était possible, et même

probable , que son dernierd i s c o u r s n ’ a i t p a s é t é

compr i s , i l abandonna l ebattant de la porte, se glissapar l’ouverture et voulut se

dir iger vers le fondé depouvoir qui s ’é ta i t déjà

agrippé ridiculement des deuxmains à la rampe du palier,

mais il retomba aussitôt, encherchant un appui, sur l’une de

ses pattes, en poussant un petitcri. A peine cela se futil produitqu’il ressentit pour la première

fois dans cette matinée uneimpression de bien-être

physique; ses pattes reposaientsur un sol solide; elles lui

obéissaient à merveille, commeil le remarqua avec plaisir, et ne

demandaient même qu’àl’emmener où il voulait; et il se

prenait déjà à croire que la fin deses maux était proche. Mais, aumême moment, alors qu’il se

balançait sur place en retenant sonmouvement tout près de l’endroit

où se trouvait sa mère et qu’ilavançait sur le plancher juste en

face d’elle, celleci, qu’on eût ditabîmée en elle-même, se releva

d’un bond, lança les bras en l’airen écarquillant les doigts ethurla : « Au secours, seigneur

Dieu, au secours!» ; après quoi,elle garda la tête penchée pour

mieux le voir, puis, encontradiction avec ce geste, se

rejeta comme une folle en

future . Gregor, though, d idthink about the fu ture . The

ch ie f c l e rk had to be he ldb a c k , c a l m e d d o w n ,

conv inced and f ina l ly wonover ; t he fu tu re o f Gregor

a n d h i s f a m i l y d e p e n d e do n i t ! I f o n l y h i s s i s t e r

w e r e h e r e ! S h e w a s c l e v e r ;s h e w a s a l r e a d y i n t e a r sw h i l e G r e g o r w a s s t i l l

l y i n g p e a c e f u l l y o n h i sb a c k . A n d t h e c h i e f c l e r k

w a s a l o v e r o f w o m e n ,s u r e l y s h e c o u l d p e r s u a d e

h i m ; s h e w o u l d c l o s e t h ef r o n t d o o r i n t h e e n t r a n c e

h a l l a n d t a l k h i m o u t o f h i ss h o c k e d s t a t e . B u t h i ssis ter was not there, Gregor

w o u l d h a v e t o d o t h e j o bh i m s e l f . A n d w i t h o u t

consider ing that he s t i l l wasnot famil iar wi th how wel l

he could move about in h isp r e s e n t s t a t e , o r t h a t h i s

speech s t i l l might no t - o rp r o b a b l y w o u l d n o t - b e

unders tood, he le t go of thed o o r ; p u s h e d h i m s e l fthrough the opening; tr ied to

reach the chief c lerk on thel and ing who , r i d i cu lous ly,

w a s h o l d i n g o n t o t h eban i s t er w i t h b o t h h a n d s ;

but Gregor fell immediatelyover and, with a little scream as

he sought something to holdonto, landed on his numerousl i t t le legs . Hardly had that

happened than, for the first timethat day, he began to feel alright

with his body; the little legs hadthe solid ground under them; to

his pleasure, they did exactly ashe told them; they were even

making the effort to carry himwhere he wanted to go; and he

was soon believing that all hissorrows would soon be finallyat an end. He held back the urge

to move but swayed from sideto side as he crouched there on

the floor. His mother was notfar away in front of him and

s e e m e d , a t f i r s t , q u i t eengrossed in herself, but then

she suddenly jumped up withher arms outstretched and herfingers spread shouting: “Help, for

pity’s sake, Help!” The way she heldher head suggested she wanted to see

Gregor better, but the unthinking wayshe was hurrying backwards showed

that she did not; she had forgotten that

4140

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

stood behind her, sat downo n i t t h o u g h t l e s s l y a n dh a s t i l y , s e e m i n g l yo b l i v i o u s t o t h e l a r g eoverturned coffee pot nextto her from which coffeewas pour ing in a s teadystream onto the carpet .

“ M o t h e r, M o t h e r , ”G r e g o r s a i d s o f t l y, a n dlooked up at her. The headc l e r k h a d m o m e n t a r i l yslipped his mind and hecould no t he lp snappinghis jaws in the air at thes i g h t o f t h e f l o w i n gc o ff e e . T h i s c a u s e d t h emother to scream again ;s h e f l e d f r o m t h e t a b l eand fel l into the father ’sarms as he rushed to her.Bu t Grego r now had not i m e t o w a s t e o n h i sp a r e n t s ; t h e h e a d c l e r kwas a l ready on the s ta i rs ,w i t h h i s c h i n o n t h eban i s t e r he was look ingb a c k o n e l a s t t i m e .Gregor broke into a run tobe sure to catch him; theh e a d c l e r k m u s t h a v esuspected this because heleaped down several stepsand disappeared; he wass t i l l y e l l i n g , “ A a a h h ! ”which rang throughout thewhole staircase.U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e h e a dc l e r k ’s f l i g h t s e e m e d t ot o t a l l y c o n f u s e t h ef a t h e r , w h o u n t i l n o wh a d r e m a i n e d r e l a t i v e l yc a l m , f o r i n s t e a d o fg o i n g a f t e r t h e h e a dc l e r k o r a t l e a s t n o th i n d e r i n g G r e g o r ’spursui t , he se ized in h isr i g h t h a n d t h e h e a dc l e r k ’s w a l k i n g s t i c k(which along with his hata n d o v e r c o a t h a d b e e nl e f t b e h i n d o n a c h a i r )a n d w i t h h i s l e f t h a n dg r a b b e d a l a r g enewspaper f rom the tablea n d , s t a m p i n g h i s f e e t ,proceeded to brandish thew a l k i n g s t i c k a n dn e w s p a p e r i n o r d e r t odrive Gregor back into hisr o o m . N o p l e a o fG r e g o r ’ s h e l p e d , n o ri n d e e d w a s a n y p l e au n d e r s t o o d ; h o w e v e r

cia atrás, cayendo inerte sobrela mesa, y no habiendo recor-dado que estaba aún puesta,quedó sentada en ella, sin dar-se cuenta de que a su lado elcafé chorreaba de la cafeteravolcada, derramándose por laalfombra.

— ¡ M a d r e ! ¡ M a d r e !- m u r m u r ó G r e g o r i o ,m i r á n d o l a d e a b a j oa r r i b a . U n m o m e n t oe s f u m ó s e de su memoriael principal; y no pudo pormenos, ante el café verti-do, de abrir y cerrar repe-tidas veces las mandíbulasen el vacío. Nuevo alaridode la madre, que, huyendode la mesa , se ar rojó enbrazos del padre, que co-rría a su encuentro. Pero yano podía Gregorio dedicarsu atención a sus padres; elprincipal estaba en la esca-lera y, con la barbilla apo-yada sobre la baranda, di-rigía una última mirada aa q u e l c u a d r o . G r e g o r i otomó impulso para dar le[36] alcance, pero él algodebió figurarse , pues, deun salto, bajó varios esca-lones y desapareció, no sinan tes l anzar unos g r i tosque resonaron por toda laescalera.Para colmo de desdicha ,esta fuga del principal pa-rec ió t ras to rnar t ambiénpor completo al padre, quehas t a en tonces s e hab í amantenido re la t ivamentesereno; pues, en lugar deprecipitarse tras el fugiti-vo, o por lo menos permitirque así lo hiciese Gregorio,empuñó con la diestra elbastón del principal -queéste no se había cuidado derecoger, como tampoco susombrero y su gabán, olvi-dados en una silla- y, ar-mándose con la otra manode un gran periódico, quee s t a b a s o b r e l a m e s a ,preparóse , dando fuer tespatadas en el suelo, esgri-miendo papel y bastón, ahacer retroceder a Gregorioh a s t a - e l i n t e r i o r d e s ucuarto. De nada le sirvierona este último sus súplicas,que no fueron entendidas; y,

te; había olvidado que tenía de-trás la mesa puesta, se dejó caerencima, como distraída, nadamás llegar a ella, y no parecióadvertir que, a su lado, el café dela gran cafetera, volcada, empe-zaba a chorrear profusamentesobre la alfombra.

«¡Madre , m a d r e ! » , d i j oG r e g o r e n v o z b a j a , ya l z ó l a m i r a d a h a c i ae l l a . E l g e r e n t e s e l e h a -b í a borrado por un momentode la mente, pero en cambio nopudo evitar, a la vista del caféque se derramaba, abrir y ce-rrar varias veces las mandíbu-las [42] como intentando mor-der el vacío. A1 verlo, la ma-dre volvió a gritar, salió hu-yendo, se apartó precipitada-mente de la mesa y cayó en losbrazos del padre, que ya corríaa su encuentro. Pero Gregor notenía ahora tiempo para sus pa-dres; el gerente ya estaba en laescalera, y con la barbilla porencima de la baranda miró porúltima vez hacia atrás. Gregortomó impulso para estar másseguro de darle alcance, peroalgo debió de barruntar el ge-rente, pues bajó varios pelda-ños de un salto y desapareció.«¡Uh!», alcanzó aún a gritar,y su grito resonó por toda laescalera.Por desgracia, la huida delg e r e n t e t a m b i é n p a r e c i ódesconcertar por completoal padre, que hasta enton-ces se había mantenido re-lativamente sereno, pues envez de echar a correr detrásdel fugit ivo o, al menos, deno impedir que lo hicieraGregor, cogió con la manoderecha e l bas tón de l ge-rente, que este había deja-do en una si l la junto con elsombrero y el gabán, con lai z q u i e r d a a g a r r ó u n g r a nperiódico que había sobrela mesa y, dando fuertes pa-tadas en el suelo, obligó aGregor a retroceder a su ha-bitación agitando el bastóny el periódico. Ningún rue-g o l e s i r v i ó d e a y u d a aGregor, n ingún ruego fuec o m p r e n d i d o , y p o r m á sque girase humildemente lacabeza, el padre pataleabacon mayor fuerza todavía.

forgetting the covered tablebehind her, hurriedly sat downupon it without thinking, andapparently failed to notice thatnext to her the large coffeepot hadbeen knocked over and wasdischarging a torrent of coffee fullforce upon the carpet. [136]

“Mother, Mother , ”Gregor murmured, looking upat her. For an instant, theoffice manager had entirelyslipped h i s m i n d ; o n t h eo t h e r h a n d , G r e g o rc o u l d n o t h e l ps n a p p i n g h i s j a w s af e w t i m e s a t the s igh t o ft h e f l o w i n g coffee. Thisprompted t he mother toscream again, flee from thetable, and collapse into thefather ’s arms as he camedashing up to her. But Gregorhad no time for his parents:the off ice manager wasalready on the stairs; with hischin on the banister, he tookone final look back. Gregorbroke into a run, doing hisbest to catch up with him.The off ice manager musthave had an inkling of this, forhe jumped down several stepsat a time and disappeared.However, he did shout, “Ugh!”and his shout rang through theentire stairwell.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h ef a t h e r, w h o s o f a r h a ds t a y e d r e l a t i v e l yc o m p o s e d , s e e m e dthoroughly bewildered bythe office manager’s flight.F o r , i n s t e a d o f r u s h i n gaf ter h im or a t leas t notprevent ing Gregor f rompursuing him, the father,w i t h h i s r i g h t h a n d ,grabbed the cane that theoff ice manager, togetherwith a hat and overcoat ,had forgot ten on a chairand , w i th h i s l e f t hand ,t o o k a l a rg e n e w s p a p e rfrom the table. Stampinghis feet, he brandished thecane and the newspaper atGregor in order to dr ivehim back into his room. Nop l e a d i n g f r o m G r e g o rhelped, indeed no pleadingwas understood; no matterhow humbly Gregor turnedhis head, the father merely

forgot that the table with thebreakfast things was behind her;sat down on it hastily, absent-mindedly, when she reached it; andseemed quite unaware that thecoffee was pouring onto the carpetin a steady stream out of the bigoverturned pot.

‘Mother, mother , ’ sa idGregor sof t ly, and lookedup a t her. For a momenth e h a d c o m p l e t e l yforgotten about the chiefclerk, though at the sight ofthe coffee pouring out hecou ldn ’ t [ 19 ] r e s i s tsnapping at the air severaltimes with his jaws. At thishis mother let out anotherscream, fled from the tableand fell into the arms of hisfather who came rushing upto her. But Gregor now hadno time for his parents; thechief clerk was already onthe stairs; his chin on thebanister, he was taking a lastlook back. Gregor dartedforwards to be as sure aspossible of catching up withhim; the chief clerk musthave suspected something,for he leapt down severalsteps and disappeared; hewas still yelling ‘Ugh!’, andit echoed through the wholestaircase.Unfortunately, his father,who till then had remainedr e l a t i v e l y c o m p o s e d ,seemed qui te bewilderedby the chief clerk’s fl ight,f o r i n s t e a d o f r u n n i n ga f t e r t h e c h i e f c l e r kh i m s e l f o r a t l e a s t n o tobstructing Gregor in hispu r su i t , he s e i zed in h i sr i g h t h a n d t h e c h i e fc l e rk ’s cane , wh ich hadbeen left behind on a chairwith his hat and overcoat,p i c k e d u p w i t h h i s l e f thand a l a rge newspape rf r o m t h e t a b l e a n d ,s t a m p i n g h i s f e e t a n dbrandishing both cane andnewspaper, began to driveG r e g o r b a c k i n t o h i sroom. Gregor ’s entreat ieswere to no a v a i l , n o n ew ere even unde r s tood ;however humbly he turnedhis head, his father onlystamped his feet harder. On

songer à la table encorecouverte, la heurta, s’assitdessus en toute hâte à la façond’une personne distraite, etsembla ne pas s’apercevoirqu’auprès d’elle la cafetièrerenversée répandait un fleuvesur le tapis.

« M a m a n , m a m a n » ,s o u f f l a l e f i l s e n l e v a n tl e s y e u x . L e g é r a n t l u ié t a i t c o m p l è t e m e n tp assé de l’esprit : voyantl e c a f é s e r é p a n d r e ,Grégoire ne put s’empêcherd’esquisser plusieurs foisdans le vide le mouvement demâchoires de quelqu’un quimange. Là-dessus la mère seremit à crier, abandonna [30]brusquement la table e ttomba dans les bras du pèrequi accourai t au-devantd’elle. Mais Grégoire n’avaitplus le temps de s’occuperd’eux; le gérant était déjàdans l’escalier; le menton surla rampe il jetait un dernierregard en arrière. Grégoireprit son élan pour tâcher de leramener; le gérant, soupçonnantsans doute quelque chose,sauta d’un bond plusieursmarches e t d isparut enpoussant un : «Ouh!. . .ouh!...» qui retentit dans toutela cage de l’escalier.Ce t t e f u i t e eu t l emalheureux résultat de faireperdre complètement la têteau père qui, jusque-là, étaitresté relativement maître del u i ; a u l i e u d e c o u r i rlui-même après le gérant,ou tout au moins de ne pasentraver Grégoire dans sapoursuite, il empoigna de lamain droite la canne que levisiteur avait abandonnée surune chaise avec son pardessuset son chapeau, saisit de lamain gauche un journal quitraînait sur la table et se miten devoir de taper des piedstout en agitant le journal et lacanne pour repousserGrégoire dans ses quartiers.Nulle prière n’y fit, nulled’ailleurs ne fut comprise;Grégoire avait beau tournervers lui une tête suppliante,si humble qu’il se montrâtson père n’en prenait noteque pour redouble r ses

arrière en perdant la tête, sans serappeler que la table mise se

trouvait derrière elle; arrivée prèsde la table, dans sa hâté et sa

distraction, elle s’assit dessus, sansparaître s’apercevoir que, de la

grande cafetière renversée, un flot decafé se répandait sur le tapis.

« Mère, mère!», dit Gregorà voix basse, en levant les

yeux vers elle. Le fondé depouvoir lui était pour l’instant

sorti de l’esprit; mais, à lavue du café qui coulait, il ne

put s’empêcher de happer àplusieurs reprises dans le vide

avec ses mandibu les .Là-dessus, sa mère se remit àcrier, s’écarta de la table et

tomba dans les bras du pèrequ i se p réc ip i ta i t à sa

rencontre. Mais Gregor, en cetinstant, n’avait pas le temps

de s’occuper de ses parents; lefondé de pouvoir était déjà

dans l ’escal ier ; le mentonposé sur l a rampe , i l se

retournait une dernière fois.Gregor pr i t son é lan pourtâcher d ’ê t re sûr de l e

rattraper; le fondé de pouvoiravait dû pressentir quelque

chose, car il sauta plusieursmarches e t d i sparu t en

poussant un « Ouh !» , quiretenti t dans toute la cage

d’escalier.Mais cette fuite du fondé depouvoir eut le malheureux

r é s u l t a t q u e l e p è r e , q u ié t a i t r e s t é j u s q u ’ a l o r s

relativement maître de lui ,perd i t soudain la tê te ; au

lieu de rattraper le fondé depouvoi r ou tout au moins

d ’ empêcher Gregor de lepoursuivre, il saisit de la main

droite la canne du fondé depouvoir, que celui-ci avaitlaissée sur une chaise avec

son chapeau et son pardessus,pri t de la main gauche un

grand journal qui traînait surla table et en tapant des pieds,

i l se mi t en devoi r, enbrandissant la canne et le

journal, de ramener Gregordans sa chambre . Aucuneprière de Gregor n’y faisait

rien, aucune de ses prières neparvenait d’ailleurs à se faire

comprendre ; Gregor avai tbeau tourner humblement la

tête vers lui, son père tapait

the table was behind her with all thebreakfast things on it; when she reached

the table she sat quickly down on itwithout knowing what she was doing;

without even seeming to notice that thecoffee pot had been knocked over and

a gush of coffee was pouring down ontothe carpet.

“ M o t h e r , m o t h e r ” ,s a i d G r e g o r g e n t l y ,

l o o k i n g u p a t h e r . H eh a d c o m p l e t e l y

f o r g o t t e n t he chief c lerkfo r t he moment , bu t cou ld

not help himself snapping inthe a i r wi th h is jaws a t the

s ight of the f low of coffee .T h a t s e t h i s m o t h e rs c r e a m i n g a n e w, s h e f l e d

from the table and in to thea r m s o f h i s f a t h e r a s h e

rushed towards her. Gregor,though, had no t ime to spare

f o r h i s p a r e n t s n o w ; t h ec h i e f c l e r k h a d a l r e a d y

reached the s ta i rs ; wi th h isc h i n o n t h e b a n i s t e r, h e

l o o k e d b a c k f o r t h e l a s tt ime. Gregor made a run forhim; he wanted to be sure of

reaching him; the chief clerkmust have expected something,

a s h e l e a p t d o w n s e v e r a ls t e p s a t o n c e a n d

d i s a p p e a r e d ; h i s s h o u t sr e s o u n d i n g a l l a r o u n d t h e

s ta i rcase .The f l ight of the chief c lerks e e m e d , u n f o r t u n a t e l y, t o

p u t G r e g o r ’s f a t h e r i n t o apanic as wel l . Unt i l then he

h a d b e e n r e l a t i v e l y s e l fcontro l led , but now, ins tead

o f r u n n i n g a f t e r t h e c h i e fclerk himself , or a t leas t not

impeding Gregor as he rana f t e r h i m , G r e g o r ’s f a t h e r

seized the chief clerk’s s t ickin h is r ight hand ( the chiefc lerk had lef t i t behind on a

chair, a long with his hat andovercoat ) , p icked up a large

n e w s p a p e r f r o m t h e t a b l ewi th h is le f t , and used them

to drive Gregor back into hisroom, s tamping h is foo t a t

h i m a s h e w e n t . G r e g o r ’sappeals to his fa ther were ofn o h e l p , h i s a p p e a l s w e r e

s i m p l y n o t u n d e r s t o o d ,h o w e v e r m u c h h e h u m b l y

t u r n e d h i s h e a d h i s f a t h e rmerely s tamped his foot a l l

the harder. Across the room,

4342

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

humbly he turned his head, thefather merely stamped his feetall the more forcefully. Acrossthe room the mother, despitethe cool weather, had thrown[20] open a window and wasleaning far out of it with herface buried in her hands. Astrong draft swept in from thestreet to the staircase, thewindow curtains swelled, thenewspapers on the tablerustled, stray pages flutteredover the floor. The fatherdrove Gregor backrelentlessly, hissing like asavages As Gregor was asyet unpracticed in movingb a c k w a r d , i t w a s v e r ys l o w g o i n g . I f o n l yG r e g o r h a d b e e npermit ted to turn around,he would have been in hisroom at once, but he wasafraid to make the fa theri m p a t i e n t b y t h i st ime-consuming rotat ion,a n d a t a n y m o m e n t t h est ick in the fa ther ’s handthreatened to deal a fa ta lb low to the back o r thehead. In the end, however,the re remained no o therc h o i c e , f o r G r e g o ro b s e r v e d t o h i s h o r r o rthat he could not controlh i s d i r e c t i o n w h e nmoving backward, and soh e b e g a n a s q u i c k l y a sp o s s i b l e , w h i c h w a sac tua l ly ve ry s lowly, tot u r n h i m s e l f a r o u n d .P e r h a p s t h e f a t h e rr e c o g n i z e d h i s g o o dintent ions because he didnot interfere ; ins tead heo c c a s i o n a l l y e v e nd i r e c t e d t h e m o v e m e n tfrom a dis tance with thetip of his stick. If only thef a t h e r w o u l d q u i t t h a tinfernal hiss ing! I t madeG r e g o r c o m p l e t e l y l o s ehis head. He was almostturned al l the way aroundwhen, distracted by theh i s s i n g , h e m a d e amis take and turned backt h e o t h e r w a y f o r as t r e t c h . W h e n h es u c c e s s f u l l y e n d e d u pheadf i r s t in f ront of thedoorway, i t was obviousthat his body was too wideto get through as it was .

por mucho que volvió sumiso lacabeza hacia su padre, solo consi-guió hacerle redoblar su enérgicopataleo. La madre, por su parte, apesar del tiempo desapacible, ha-bía bajado el cristal de una de lasventanas y, violentamente inclina-da hacia afuera, cubríase el rostrocon las manos. Entre el aire de lacalle y el de la escalera establecióseuna corriente fortísima; las [37]cortinas de la ventana se ahueca-ron; sobre la mesa los periódicosagitáronse, y algunas hojas suel-tas volaron por el suelo. El padre,inexorable, apremiaba la retiradacon silbidos salvajes. P e r oGregor io carec ía aún depráctica en la marcha ha-cia atrás, y la cosa iba muydespacio. ¡Si siquiera hu-biera podido volverse! Enun dos por t r e s s e hub ie -s e e n c o n t r a d o e n s uc u a r t o . P e r o t e m í a , c o ns u l e n t i t u d e n d a r l av u e l t a , i m p a c i e n t a r a lp a d r e , c u y o b a s t ó n e r -g u i d o a m e n a z a b ad e s l o m a r l e o a b r i r l e l ac a b e z a . F i n a l m e n t e , s i nembargo, no tuvo más re-medio que volverse , puesa d v i r t i ó c o n r a b i a q u e ,c a m i n a n d o h a c i a a t r á s ,l e e r a impos ib l e conse r-va r su d i r ecc ión . As í e sq u e , s i n d e j a r d e m i r a rangust iosamente hacia supadre , i n i c ió una vue l t alo más r áp idamen te quep u d o , e s d e c i r , c o n e x -t r ao rd ina r i a l en t i t ud . E lpad re deb ió de pe rca t a r -se de su buena vo lun tad ,p u e s d e j ó d e a c o s a r l e ,d i r ig i endo inc luso de l e -jo s con l a pun ta de l bas -tón e l mov imien to g i r a -t o r i o . ¡ S i a l m e n o s h u -b i e se ce sado e se i r r e s i s -t i b l e s i l b ido ! Esto era loque a G r e g o r i o l e h a c í ap e r d e r p o r c o m p l e t o l ac a b e z a . C u a n d o y a i b a at e r m i n a r l a v u e l t a ,a q u e l s i l b i d o l e e q u i v o -c ó , h a c i é n d o l e r e t r o c e -d e r o t r o p o c o . P o r f i nl o g r ó v e r s e f r e n t e a l ap u e r t a . P e r o e n t o n c e sc o m p r e n d i ó q u e s u [ 3 8 ]c u e r p o e r a d e m a s i a d oa n c h o p a r a p o d e r f r a n -q u e a r l a s i n m á s n i m á s .

Al ot ro lado, y pese al tiem-p o f r í o , l a m a d r e h a b í aab ie r to de pa r en pa r unav e n t a n a , y a s o m á n d o s emucho por e l l a se cubr ióla ca ra con l as manos . En-t re la ca l le y la esca lera sec reó una fue r t e co r r i en tede [43] a i r e , l a s co r t inasde l a ven tana se abomba-ron , l o s pe r iód icos sobrela mesa se ag i taron , y al-gunas hojas sueltas revolo-tearon por el suelo. Inexo-rable, el padre seguía aco-sando y lanzaba s i lb idosc o m o u n s a l v a j e . P e r oGregor no tenía aún ningu-na práct ica en caminar ha-c ia a t rás y la cosa iba muylentamente. De haber podi-do dar la vuel ta , ensegui-da habr ía es tado en su ha-bi tac ión, pero temía impa-cientar a l padre por su len-t i tud a l g i rarse , y ese bas-tón en la mano paterna loamenazaba a cada ins tantecon un golpe morta l en laespalda o la cabeza. Al f i -n a l , s i n e m b a rg o , n o l eq u e d ó o t r o r e m e d i o , p u e sadv i r t i ó con ho r ro r que a lr e t r o c e d e r n o e r a c a p a zs i q u i e r a d e m a n t e n e r l abuena d i recc ión ; y así , en-t re incesantes y angust io-sas miradas de reojo a supadre , empezó a d a r s e l av u e l t a l o m á s r á p idamen-te posible , aunque, en rea-l idad , lo hac í a c o n g r a nl e n t i t u d . Qu izá e l pad renotara su buena volun t a d ,p u e s n o s o l o n o s e l oimpidió , s ino que hasta di-r igió de lejos el movimien-to giratorio c o n l a p u n -t a d e s u b a s t ó n . ¡ S ih u b i e r a d e j a d o d e e m i -t i r e s e s i l b i d o i n s o p o r -t a b l e , q u e l e h a c í a per -d e r l a c a b e z a a G r e g o r !E s t e s e h a b í a g i r a d o y ac a s i d e l t o d o c u a n d o ,a t e n t o s i e m p r e a a q u e ls i l b i d o , s e e q u i v o c ó yv o l v i ó a r e t r o c e d e r u np o c o . P e r o c u a n d o a l f i ns e e n c o n t r ó f e l i z m e n t ec o n l a c a b e z a f r e n t e a lv a n o d e l a p u e r t a , r e s u l -t ó q u e s u c u e r p o e r ad e m a s i a d o a n c h o p a r ap a s a r s i n m á s p o r e l l a .

s tamped h i s fee t a l l themore forcefu l ly . Acrossthe room, the mother hadf l u n g o p e n a w i n d o wdespite the cool weather,and leaning way out, sheb u r i e d h e r f a c e i n h e rhands. A strong draft arosebetween the street and thestairwell, [137] the windowc u r t a i n s f l e w u p , t h enewspapers rustled on thetable, stray pages wafteda c r o s s t h e f l o o r . T h efather charged pi t i les s l y ,s p e w i n g h i s s e s l i k e asavage . S ince Gregor asy e t h a d n o p r a c t i c e i nmoving backwards, it wasreally slow going. Had heo n l y b e e n p e r m i t t e d t owhee l a round , he wouldhave been inside his roomat once. But he was afraidi t w o u l d t a k e t o o l o n g ,trying the father’s patiencee v e n m o r e - a n d a t a n ymoment now the cane inthe fa ther ’s hand threat-e n e d t o d e a l t h e l e t h a lblow to Gregor’s back orhead. Ultimately, however,Gregor had no choice, forhe rea l i zed wi th d i smaythat he did not even knowh o w t o s t a y t h e c o u r s ewhen backing up. And so,whi le cons tant ly dar t ingfearful side glances at hisfather, he began rotating asswiftly as he could, thoughhe was actually very slow.P e r h a p s t h e f a t h e rs e n s e d G r e g o r ’ s g o o di n t e n t i o n , f o r h e d i d n o ti n t e r f e re , i n s t e a d , h eoccasionally even steeredthe pivoting mot ion f roma d is tance wi th the t ip ofh i s c a n e . I f o n l y t h ef a t h e r w o u l d s t o p t h a tu n b e a r a b l e h i s s i n g ! I tm a d e G r e g o r l o s e h i shead a l toge the r. He hadswung around almost fullyw h e n , c o n s t a n t l ydistracted by those hisses,he actually miscalculateda n d b r i e f l y s h i f t e d t h ewrong way. And then, assoon as he finally managedt o g e t h i s h e a d t o t h edoorway, his body provedt o o b r o a d t o s q u e e z ethrough al l that readi ly.

the other s ide of the roomh i s m o t h e r h a d t h r o w no p e n a w i n d o w d e s p i t et h e c o o l w e a t h e r , a n d ,l ean ing a long way ou t ,w a s p r e s s i n g h e r f a c ein to her hands . A s t rongd r a u g h t w a s c r e a t e db e t w e e n t h e s t r e e t a n dthe s tairwell , the curtainsbi l lowed, the newspaperso n t h e t a b l e r u s t l e d ,s e v e r a l s h e e t s b l e wa c r o s s t h e f l o o r .R e l e n t l e s s l y h i s f a t h e rd rove h im back, h iss ingl i k e a s a v a g e . G r e g o r ,h o w e v e r , s t i l l had nopract ice in walkingbackwards, and was makingvery slow progress. If onlyGregor had been allowed toturn round, he could havereached his room in no timeat all, but he was frightenedof making his fa therimpat ient by sotime-consuming a turn, and atany moment the cane in hisfather ’s hand threatened todeal [20] him a deadly blowon the back or the head.Finally, however, Gregor hadno alternative, for he noticedwith horror that in reverse hecould not even keep going inone direction; so he nowbegan, with repeated andanguished sideways glancesat his father, to turn aroundas quickly as he could, whichwas in reali ty very slowly.P e r h a p s h i s f a t h e r w a sa w a r e o f h i s g o o dintentions, because he didnot hinde r h i m i n t h i s ,b u t o c c a s i o nally, from adistance, even directed theoperation with the t ip ofhis stick. If only his fatherhad not kept making thoseintolerable hissing noises!It threw Gregor into utterconfusion. He had almostturned himself completelyround when, with his mindc o n t i n u a l l y o n t h i shissing, he made an errora n d s t a r t e d t u r n i n g t h eo ther way. But when hehad f inal ly succeeded inf a c i n g t h e d o o r w a y, i tbecame clear that his bodyw a s t o o b r o a d t o p a s st h r o u g h a s i t w a s . H i s

piétinements. Dans la salle àmanger, malgré le froid, 1amère avait ouvert la fenêtretoute grande, se penchaitau-dehors l e p lus lo inpossible et pressait son visageentre ses mains. Un grandcourant d’air balaya l’espace,de la salle à l’escalier; lesrideaux se gonflèrent, lesjournaux [31]se froissèrent,quelques feui l les vinrentvo l t ige r audessus duparque t . Mais l e pè reimpitoyable traquait son filsen poussant des sifflementsde Sioux, et Grégoire, quin’étai t pas entraîné à lamarche arrière, ne progressaitque bien lentement. S’il avaitpu se retourner il aurait euv i te fa i t de regagner sachambre, mais il craignaitd’impatienter son père par lalenteur de sa conversion etredouta i t à tou t ins tan tquelque coup, mortel pour satête ou son échine, de cebâton menaçant. Bientôt lechoix ne fut plus possible :Grégoi re cons ta ta avecépouvante que , lorsqu’ i lmarchait en arrière, il n’étaitpas maître de sa direction,e t t o u t e n o b s e r v a n t d ecôté l’at t i tude de son pèresur lequel il jetait sans cesseun regard angoissé , i lcommença son mouvementt o u r n a n t a v e c t o u t e l avi tesse possible , c’est -à -dire, hélas! très lentement.Peu t -ê t re l e p è r er e m a r q u a -t - i l s a b o n n ev o l o n t é c a r , a u l i e ud’entraver la manoeuvre,i l l a d i r i g e a d e l o i n e naidant de temps en tempsG r é g o i r e d u b o u t d e s ac a n n e . S i s e u l e m e n t i la v a i t v o u l u c e s s e r c esiff lement insupportable!G r é g o i r e e n p e r d a i tcomplètemet les sens . I lava i t p resque terminé saconversion quand, à forced’entendre ça, il se trompadans l a manoeuvre e tréduisit l’angle déjà décrit.Lorsque enfin, à sa grandejoie, il se trouva bien enface de l’ouverture de laporte, il découvrit que soncorps était trop large pourpasser sans accroc. Il ne

des p ieds encore p lusfurieusement. Làbas, sa mère,

malgré le temps frais, avaitouvert la fenêtre toute grande

et restait penchée au-dehors,la tête dans ses mains. Entre

la rue et la cage d’escalier, ungrand couran t d ’a i r se

produis i t , l es r ideaux desfenêtres se soulevèrent, l’airagita les journaux posés sur la

tab le , que lques feu i l l esvo l t igè ren t jusque sur l e

parque t . Le père chassa i tGregor impitoyablement, en

poussant des sifflements desauvage, et Gregor, qui ne

s’était pas encore exercé àmarcher à recu lons , nepouvait se déplacer que très

lentement. Si Gregor avait pufaire demi-tour, il se serait

trouvé rapidement dans sachambre, mais i l craignait

d’exaspérer son père par lalen teur de ce mouvement

tournant et redoutait à toutins tan t l e coup de bâ ton

mortel qui pouvait l’atteindredans le dos ou sur la tête.Mais bientôt, i l n’eut plus

d’au t re ressource , ca r i ls’aperçut avec effroi qu’en

marchant ainsi à reculons, ilne parvena i t même pas à

garder l a d i rec t ion ; i lcommença donc, en jetant

sans cesse de côté et d’autredes regards angoissés vers sonpère, à faire demi-tour aussi

rapidement qu’il le pouvait,c’est-à-dire malgré tout fort

lentement. Peut-être son pèreaperçut-i l cette marque de

bonne volonté, car il ne cherchapas à le gêner, mais dirigea au

contraire le mouvementtournant en l’accompagnant

de loin de la pointe de sacanne. Si seulement il avaitb i en vou lu ce s se r c e t

in suppor t ab le s i f f l emen t !Gregor en perdait tout à fait

la tê te. Il s’était déjà presqueentièrement retourné quand,

à f o r c e d ’ e n t e n d r e c esifflement, il commit même

une erreur et se retourna unpetit peu du mauvais côté.M ais quand i l fu t enfin

heureusement parvenu à placersa tête en face de l’ouverture de

la porte, il apparut que soncorps était trop large pour

passer sans dommage:

d e s p i t e t h e c h i l l y w e a t h e r,G r e g o r ’ s m o t h e r h a d

p u l l e d o p e n a w i n d o w,l e a n t f a r o u t o f i t a n d

p r e s s e d h e r h a n d s t o h e rf a c e . A s t r o n g d r a u g h t o f

a i r f l e w i n f r o m t h e s t r e e tt o w a r d s t h e s t a i r w a y, t h e

c u r t a i n s f l e w u p , t h en e w s p a p e r s o n t h e t a b l ef l u t t e r e d a n d s o m e o f

t h e m w e r e b l o w n o n t o t h ef l o o r. N o t h i n g w o u l d s t o p

G r e g o r ’ s f a t h e r a s h ed r o v e h i m b a c k , m a k i n g

h i s s i n g n o i s e s a t h i m l i k ea w i l d m a n . G r e g o r h a d

n e v e r h a d a n y p r a c t i c e i nmoving backwards and wasonly able to go very s lowly.

I f G r e g o r h a d o n l y b e e na l l o w e d t o t u r n r o u n d h e

would have been back in h isroom s t ra ight away, but he

was afraid that i f he took thet i m e t o d o t h a t h i s f a t h e r

w o u l d b e c o m e i m p a t i e n t ,and there was the threa t of

a le tha l b low to h is back orhead f rom the s t i ck in h i sfa ther ’s hand any moment .

Eventual ly, though, Gregorr e a l i s e d t h a t h e h a d n o

c h o i c e a s h e s a w, t o h i sd i s g u s t , t h a t h e w a s q u i t e

i n c a p a b l e o f g o i n gbackwards in a s t raight l ine;

so he began , as qu ick ly asposs ib le and wi th f requenta n x i o u s g l a n c e s a t h i s

f a t h e r , t o t u r n h i m s e l fround. I t went very s lowly,

bu t pe rhaps h i s fa ther wasa b l e t o s e e h i s g o o d

intent ions as he d id nothingto hinder him, in fac t now

and then he used the t ip ofhis s t ick to g ive d i rec t ions

from a d is tance as to whichw a y t o t u r n I f o n l y h i sf a t h e r w o u l d s t o p t h a t

unbearab le h i s s ing! I t wasm a k i n g G r e g o r q u i t e

confused. When he had nearlyfinished turning round, sti l l

l istening to that hissing, hemade a mis take and turned

himself back a lit t le the wayh e h a d j u s t c o m e . H e w a spleased when he finally had

h i s h e a d i n f r o n t o f t h edoorway, but then saw that it

was too narrow, and his bodywas too broad to get through

it without further difficulty.

distracted 1 : mentally confused, troubled, or remote 2 : maddened or deranged especially by grief or anxiety 1 confuso, perplejo, aturdido, 2 desconsuelo [distress], turbado,

4544

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

N a t u r a l l y i t d i d n o to c c u r t o t h e f a t h e r i nh i s p r e s e n t m o o d t oo p e n t h e o t h e r w i n g o ft h e d o o r t o g i v e G r e g o ra w i d e e n o u g h p a s s a g e .H e w a s f i x e d o n t h ei d e a o f g e t t i n g G r e g o rb a c k i n h i s r o o m a sq u i c k l y a s p o s s i b l e .A n d h e w o u l d n e v e rh a v e a l l o w e d t h ee l a b o r a t e p r e p a r a t i o n st h a t G r e g o r n e e d e d t op u l l h i m s e l f u p r i g h t a n dp e r h a p s a t t e m p t t o g ot h r o u g h t h e d o o r t h a tw a y. R a t h e r , h e d r o v eG r e g o r f o r w a r d , a s i ft h e r e w e r e n o o b s t a c l e ,w i t h a c o n s i d e r a b l ea m o u n t o f n o i s e ; i t n ol o n g e r s o u n d e d l i k e j u s to n e f a t h e r b e h i n d h i ma n d now i t was rea l ly nolonger a joke, and Gregor— c o m e w h a t m a y —t h r u s t h i m s e l f i n t o t h ed o o r w a y . O n e s i d e o fh i s b o d y r o s e u p a n dh e l a y a t a n a n g l e i nt h e d o o r w a y , o n e o fh i s f l a n k s w a ss c r a p e d r a w a n d t h ew h i t e d o o r w a s s t a i n e dw i t h u g l y b l o t c h e s , h ew a s s o o n s t u c k f a s t a n dc o u l d n o t m o v e o n h i so w n , t h e l i t t l e l e g s o no n e s i d e h u n gt r e m b l i n g i n m i d a i r a n do n t h e o t h e r s i d e t h e yw e r e p i n n e d p a i n f u l l yt o t h e f l o o r - w h e n h i sf a t h e r g a v e h i m at e r r i f i c s h o v e f r o mb e h i n d a n d h e f l e w ,b l e e d i n g p r o f u s e l y ,f a r i n t o t h e r o o m .T h e d o o r w a ss l a m m e d s h u t w i t ht h e s t i c k , t h e n a l lw a s s t i l l .

Al padr e , e n a q u e l l a s ua c t u a l d i s p o s i c i ó n d eá n i m o , n o s e l e o c u r r i ón a t u r a l m e n t e a b r i r l ao t r a h o j a p a r a d e j a r e s -p a c i o s u f i c i e n t e . S o l ou n a i d e a l e e m b a r g a b a :l a d e q u e G r e g o r i o h a -b í a d e m e t e r s e c u a n t oa n t e s e n s u h a b i t a c i ó n .T a m p o c o h u b i e r a é lp e r m i t i d o n u n c a l o se n o j o s o s p r e p a r a t i v o sque Gregor io neces i t abap a r a i n c o r p o r a r s e y, d ees t e modo , pasa r po r l apue r t a . Como s i no ex i s -t i e s e p a r a e s t o n i n g ú nimped imen to , empu jaba ,pues , á Gregor io con e s -t r é p i t o c r e c i e n t e .Gregor io sent ía t ras de s íuna voz que pa rec í a im-p o s i b l e f u e s e l a d e u npadre . ¡Cualquiera se an-d a b a c o n b r o m a s !G r e g o r i o - p a s a s e l oque pasase - se apre tu jóen e l marco de la puer ta .Se i rgu ió de medio lado;ahora yacía atravesado enel umbral, con su costadocompletamente deshecho.En la nitidez de la puerta,imprimiéronse unas man-chas repulsivas. Gregorioquedó allí atascado, impo-sibi l i tado en absoluto dehacer por sí solo el menormovimiento. Las patitas deuno de los lados colgabanen el aire, y las del otroeran dolorosamente pren-sadas contra el suelo... Enes to , e l padre dio le pordetrás un golpe enérgico ysalvador, que lo prec ip i tód e n t r o d e l c u a r t o , s a n -g r a n d o e n a b u n d a n c i a .[39] Luego, la puer ta fuecer rada con e l bas tón , ytodo vo lv ió por f in a l at ranqui l idad .

Por c ier to que a l padre , enel es tado en que se hal la-ba , no se le ocurr ió n i re-m o t a m e n t e a b r i r l a o t r ahoja de la puer ta para pro-curar le [44] espacio suf i -c iente a Gregor. Su obse-s ión era s implemente quee s t e t e n í a q u e v o l v e r l om á s r á p i do p o s i b l e a s uh a b i t a c i ó n . Ta m p o c o h u -b i e r a pe rmi t i do nunca loscomplicados prepara t ivosque Gregor neces i t aba ha -ce r pa ra e rgu i r se y, qu izá ,p a s a r a s í p o r e l q u i c i o d el a p u e r t a . A n t e s b i e n , yc o m o s i n o h u b i e s e n i n -g ú n i m p e d i m e n t o , l oa p r e m i a b a h a c i a d e l a n t eh a c i e n d o a ú n m á s r u i d o ;la voz que resonaba de t rásd e G r e g o r y a n o p a r e c í asenc i l l amente la de un sim-ple padre; la cosa ya no esta-ba para bromas y Gregor selanzó -pasase lo que pasa-s e - h a c i a e l qu ic io de l apuer ta . Uno d e l o s l a d o sd e s u c u e r p o se i rguió, yé l quedó d e t r a v é s e n e lv a n o d e l a p u e r t a , c o n u nf l a n c o t o t a l m e n t e e x -c o r i a d o q u e d e j ó e n l ap u e r t a b l a n c a u n a s m a n -chas r epu l s ivas ; p ron to sea t a s c ó d e v e r a s y y a n oh u b i e r a p o d i d o m o v e r s eso lo - l a s pa t i t a s de uno del o s l a d o s t e m b l a b a n s u s -p e n d i d a s e n e l a i r e , y l a sd e l o t r o h a b í a n q u e d a d od o l o r o s a m e n t e o p r i m i d a scon t r a e l suelo- , cuando elpadre le dio por det rás ungolpe violento y realmen-t e l i b e r a d o r, q u e l o h i z osal tar, sangrando en abun-dancia , has ta muy adentrode su habi tac ión. La puer-ta fue luego cerrada con e lbas tón, y por f in se h izo e ls i lencio .

Naturally, in the father ’sp r e s e n t m o o d , i t n e v e reven remotely crossed hism i n d t o p u s h b a c k t h eother wing of the door andc r e a t e a p a s s a g e w i d eenough for Gregor. He waso b s e s s e d s i m p l y w i t hforcing Gregor back intoh i s r o o m a s f a s t a sp o s s i b l e . N o r w o u l d h ee ve r have s t ood fo r t heintricate preparations that[138] Gregor needed forho i s t ing h imse l f on enda n d p e r h a p s p a s s i n gt h r o u g h t h e d o o r w a y i nthat posture. Instead, as ifthere were no hindrance,the f a the r d rove Gregorf o r w a r d w i t h a g r e a tuproar: behind Gregor theyell ing no longer soundedl ike the voice of merelyone father. Now i t w as d oo r d i e , a n d G r e g o r -come what might-jammedinto t h e d o o r w a y. Wi t ho n e s i d e o f h i s b o d yh e a v i n g u p , h e s p r a w l e dl ops ided i n t he open ing .H i s o n e f l a n k w a sb r u i s e d r a w, u g l ys p l o t c h e s r e m a i n e d o nt h e w h i t e d o o r , a n d h ew a s s o o n w e d g e d i n a n du n a b l e t o b u d g e o n h i so w n . T h e t i n y l e g s o nh i s o n e s i d e w e r ed a n g l i n g a n d t r e m b l i n gi n m i d a i r a n d t h e t i n yl e g s o n h i s o t h e r s i d ew e r e p a i n f u l l y c r u s h e dagainst the floor. But nowthe f a ther gave h im apowerful shove f rombehind-a true deliverance.And Gregor, b leed ingheavily, flew far into hisroom. The door wasslammed shut with the cane,and then the apartment wasstill at last. [139-140]

fathe r , o f course , in h i spresent s ta te of mind, didn o t e v e n c o n s i d e ropening the other wing ofthe door in order to giveGregor sufficient room top a s s t h r o u g h . H e w a sobsessed by the one ideaof gett ing Gregor back toh i s r o o m a s q u i ck ly aspossible. He would neverhave countenanced theelaborate preparations thatwould have been necessaryfor Gregor to assume anup r igh t pos i t i on andperhaps in that way passthrough the door. Instead hedrove Gregor on, as if therewere no obs tac le , wi thexceptional loudness; i t nolonge r sounded l i ke t hevo ice o f a s ing le f a the rbehind Gregor; i t was nowb e y o n d a j o k e , a n dGregor t h r u s t h i m s el f -come w h a t m a y - i n t ot h e d o o r w a y . O n es i d e o f h i s b o d yr o s e u p , h e l a yl o p s i d e d i n t h ed o o r w a y , o n e o f h i sf l a n k s w a s r u b b e dq u i t e r a w , t h e w h i t ed o o r w a s s t a i n e d w i t hu g l y b l o t c h e s , s o o n h ew o u l d b e s t u c k f a s tu n a b le to move una ided ,h i s l i t t l e l e g s o n o n es i d e h u n g q u i v e r i n g i nt h e a i r , t h o s e o n t h eo t h e r w e r e s q u a s h e dp a i n f u l l y a g a i n s t t h ef l o o r - a t w h i c h p o i n th i s f a t h e r [ 2 1 ] d e a l th i m a t r u l y l i b e r a t i n gb l o w f r o m b e h i n d , a n d ,b l e e d i n g p r o f u s e l y , h ef l e w f a r i n t o h i s r o o m .T h e d o o r w a s t h e ns l a m m e d s h u t w i t h t h ec a n e , a n d a t l a s t t h e r ew a s s i l e n c e .

vint nature l l ement pas àl ’ e s p r i t d u p è r e , d a n sl ’ h u m e u r o ù i l s et rouva i t , d ’ouvr i r l ’au t reb a t t a n t [ 3 2 ] d e l a p o r t ep o u r p e r m e t t r e àG r é g o i r e d e p a s s e r . I lé t a i t e n p r o i e à l ’ i d é ef i x e , i l f a l l a i t q u eG r é g o i r e rentrâti m m é d i a t e m e n t . J ama i s i ln ’ a u r a i t s u p p o r t é l e spréparations de longue haleinedon t Grégo i r e au ra i t eubesoin pour se dresser etessayer de passer debout.G r é g o i r e l ’ e n t e n d a i ttempêter derrière lui, sansdou te pour l e pousse r àpasser comme s’il n’y avaite u a u c u n o b s t a c l e ; c ev a c a r m e r é s o n n a i tmaintenant comme la voixd e c e n t m i l l e p è r e s , c en ’ é t a i t p l u s l e m o m e n td e plaisanter, et Grégoire-arrive que pourra - s ej e t a d a n s l ’ o u v e r t u r ed e l a p o r t e . I l yd e m e u r a d a n s u n ep o s i t i o n oblique, le corpslevé d’un côté et le flanc râpépar le bois du chambranledont la peinture blanche secouvrit de vilaines tachesbrunes; il était pris et nepouvait s’en tirer seul; d’uncôté ses pattes flottaient enl’air, vibrant dans le vide, del’au t r e e l l e s s ’ é t a i e n tdouloureusement coincéessous son corps ; a lo r s l epère lui envoya de derrièreun coup sol ide qui ce t tefois procura à Grégoire unvéri table soulagement; i ld é c r i v i t u n e t r a j e c t o i r eassez longue et tomba aum i l i e u d e l a c h a m b r e ,perdent son sang. La portefut fermée d’un coup decanne et le si lence se mitenfin à régner.

Naturel lement , dans l ’é tatd’esprit où il se trouvait alors,

son père fut bien éloigné depenser par exemple à ouvrir

l’autre battant de la porte,pour o f f r i r à Gregor un

passage suffisant. Son idéefixe était seulement de faire

ren t re r Gregor dans sachambre auss i v i t e quepossible. Jamais il n’aurait

to lé ré l es p répara t i f scompliqués dont Gregor avait

besoin pour se mettre deboutet essayer de franchir la porte

de cette manière. Il poussaitau contraire Gregor, comme

s’ i l n ’y ava i t eu aucunobstacle en faisant plus debruit encore qu’auparavant.

Gregor avait l’impression queson père n’était plus seul,

mais que p lus ieurs pèress’étaient ligués contre lui. Ce

n’é ta i t v ra iment p lus l emoment de p la isanter e t

Gregor se j e t a d a n sl’ouverture de la porte, sans

se soucier du res t e . Un cô téd e s o n c o r p s s e r e d r e s s a ,i l r e s t a p r i s d e t r a v e r s

d a n s l ’ o u v e r t u r e d e l ap o r t e , u n d e s e s f l a n c s

é ta i t en t i è rement écorché ;de v i l a ines t a c h e s b r u n e s

r e s t è r e n t s u r l a p o r t eb l a n c h e ; b i e n t ô t , i l s e

t r o u v a c o i n c é e ti n c a p a b l e d e b o u g e r ;d ’ u n c ô t é , s e s p a t t e s

s ’ a g i t a i e n t e n l ’ a i r , d el ’ a u t r e e l l e s é t a i e n t

p r e s s é e s c o n t r e l ep l a n c h e r ; s o n p è r e l u i

l a n ç a p a r - d e r r i è r e u nc o u p q u i p a r v i n t à l e

d é l i v r e r , i l f u t p r o j e t éj u s q u ’ a u m i l i e u d e l a

c h a m b r e , e n p e r d a n t s o ns a n g e n a b o n d a n c e . L ap o r t e f u t e n c o r e f e r m é e

d’un coup de canne , pu i sl e s i l ence se f i t en f in .

I n h i s p r e s e n t m o o d , i to b v i o u s l y d i d n o t o c c u r t o

h i s f a the r t o open t he o the ro f t h e d o u b l e d o o r s s o t h a t

G r e g o r w o u l d h a v e e n o u g hs p a c e t o g e t t h r o u g h . H e

w a s m e r e l y f i x e d o n t h ei d e a t h a t G r e g o r s h o u l d b e

g o t b a c k i n t o h i s r o o m a sq u i c k l y a s p o s s i b l e . N o rwould he ever have a l lowed

G r e g o r t h e t i m e t o g e th i m s e l f u p r i g h t a s

p r e p a r a t i o n f o r g e t t i n gt h r o u g h t h e d o o r w a y. W h a t

h e d i d , m a k i n g m o r e n o i s et h a n e v e r , w a s t o d r i v e

G r e g o r f o r w a r d s a l l t h eh a r d e r a s i f t h e r e h a d b e e nn o t h i n g i n t h e w a y ; i t

s o u n d e d t o G r e g o r a s i ft h e r e w a s n o w m o r e t h a n

one fa ther behind him; it wasnot a p l e a s a n t e x p e r i e n c e ,

and Gregor pushed himself intothe doorway witho u t r e g a r d

f o r w h a t m i g h th a p p e n . O n e s i d e

o f h i s b o d yl i f t e d i t s e l f , h el a y a t a n a n g l e in the

doorway, o n e f l a n k s c r a p e do n t h e w h i t e d o o r a n d w a s

p a i n f u l l y i n j u r e d ,l e a v i n g v i l e b r o w n

f l e c k s o n i t , s o o n h e w a ss t u c k f a s t a n d w o u l d n o t

h a v e b e e n a b l e t o m o v ea t a l l b y h i m s e l f , t h el i t t l e l e g s a l o n g o n e s i d e

h u n g q u i v e r i n g i n t h e a i rw h i l e t h o s e o n t h e o t h e r

s i d e w e r e p r e ssed painful lya g a i n s t t h e g r o u n d .

T h e n h i s f a t h e r g ave hima hef ty shove f rom behind

w h i c h r e l e a s e d h i m f r o mwhere he was held and sent

h i m f l y i n g , a n d h e a v i l yb l e e d i n g , d e e p i n t o h i sr o o m . T h e d o o r w a s

slammed shut with the s t ick,then, f ina l ly, a l l was quie t .

4746

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

[21] II

I T WA S T W I L I G H TW H E N G r e g o r a w o k ef r o m h i s d e e p s l u m b e r .E v e n w i t h o u t b e i n gdis turbed he doubted hew o u l d h a v e s l e p t m u c hla te r, a s he f e l t so we l lres ted , bu t i t s eemed tohim that a furtive step anda cautious shutt ing of thef o y e r d o o r h a d r o u s e dh i m . T h e g l o w o f t h eelectric street lamps shonei n p a l e p a t c h e s o n t h eceil ing and upper parts ofthe fu rn i tu re , bu t whereGregor slept i t was dark.S l o w l y , s t i l l g r o p i n gawkwardly with his anten-nas , wh ich he was on lynow learning to appreciate,he pushed himself over tothe door to see what hadbeen happening. His lef tside felt like a single longunpleasantly taut scar andhe actually had to limp onhis two rows of legs. Onel i t t le leg , moreover, hadb e e n s e r i o u s l y i n j u r e ddur ing the course of themorn ing’s even t s - i t wasnearly a miracle that onlyo n e h a d b e e n h u r t - a n dd r a g g e d b e h i n d h i mlifelessly.

Only when he reached thedoor did Gregor discover whathad actually tempted himthere: the smell of somethingedible. For there stood a bowlfilled with fresh milk in whichsmall slices of white breadwere floating. He could havealmost laughed for joy, as hewas even hungrier than in themorning, and immediatelyplunged his head, almost up tothe eyes, into the milk. But hequickly withdrew it indisappointment; not only waseating difficult on account of histender left side-and eating had tobe a collaboration of the wholeheaving body-but he did notcare a t a l l fo r the mi lk ,which was otherwise hisfavorite drink and surely thereason his sister had set itout for him. In fact, it wasalmost in revulsion that heturned away from the bowl

II

Hasta el anochecer, nodespertó Gregorio de aquelsueño tan pesado, semejan-te a un desvanecimiento. Nohabría tardado mucho endespertar por sí solo, puesya había descansado bastan-te, pero le pareció que ledespertaba el rumor de unospasos furtivos y el ruido dela puerta del recibimiento,cerrada con cuidado. El re-flejo del tranvía eléctricoponía franjas de luz en el te-cho de la habitación y laparte superior de los mue-bles; pero abajo, donde es-taba Gregorio, reinaba laoscuridad. Lenta y todavíatorpemente, tanteando consus tentáculos, cuyo valorya entonces comprendió,desl izóse hasta la puertapara ver lo que había ocu-rrido. Su lado izquierdo erauna única, larga y repugnan-te llaga. Andaba cojeando,alternativa y simétricamente,sobre cada una de sus dosfilas de patas. Por otra par-te , una de es tas úl t imas,herida en el accidente depor la mañana - ¡milagrofue que las demás saliesenilesas! -, arrastrábase sinvida.

[40] Al llegar a la puer-ta, comprendió que lo queallí le había atraído era elo lor de a lgo comest ib le .Encontró una escudilla lle-na de leche azucarada, en lacual nadaban t roci tos depan blanco. A poco si suel-ta a reír de gozo, pues teníaaún más hambre que por lamañana. Al momento, zambu-lló la cabeza en la leche casihasta los ojos; mas. prontohubo de retirarla desilusiona-do, pues no solo la dolenciade su lado izquierdo le hacíadificultosa la operación (paracomer tenía que poner todo elcuerpo en movimiento), sinoque, además, la leche, quehasta entonces fuera su bebi-da predilecta -por eso, sinduda, habíala colocado allí lahermana-, no le gustó nada.Se apartó casi con repugnan-cia de la escudilla, y se arras-

[45] II

Solo al caer la tarde sedespertó Gregor de su pesadosueño, similar a un desvane-cimiento. Sin duda se habríadespertado no mucho más tar-de y aunque no lo hubieranmoles tado, pues se sent íasuficientemente repuesto ydescansado, pero le parecióque unos pasos furtivos y elruido de la puerta que daba alvestíbulo, cerrada con grancautela, lo habían despertado.La luz de las farolas eléctri-cas se reflejaba, pálida , enpuntos aislados del techo y enla parte alta de los muebles,pero abajo, donde estaba Gre-gor, no había sino oscuridad.Tanteando aún torpementecon sus antenas , que solo en-tonces aprendió a valorar, sedeslizó con lentitud hacia lapuerta para ver qué había ocu-rrido. Su costado izquierdoparecía una única y larga ci-catriz que le producía tironesdesagradables , y tuvo queavanzar renqueando sobre sudoble hilera de patas. Una deestas, además, había quedadoseriamente lesionada durantelos incidentes de la mañana-era casi un milagro que hu-biese s ido solo una- , y searrastraba sin vida.

Solo al llegar a la puertaadvirtió lo que en realidad lohabía atraído hacia ella: erael olor a algo comestible. Por-que ahí había una escudillallena de leche azucarada en laque nadaban rodajitas de [46]pan blanco. Estuvo a punto dellorar de alegría, pues teníaaún más hambre que p o r l am a ñ a n a , y a l i n s t a n t esumergió la cabeza en la lechecasi hasta la altura de los ojos. Peropronto volvió a sacarla desilusio-nado; y es que no solo comer lecreaba dificultades debido a la le-sión en su costado izquierdo -po-día comer únicamente si todo elcuerpo colaboraba jadeando-,sino que, encima, la leche,hasta entonces su bebida pre-dilecta -seguro que por esose la había traído la herma-na-, no le gustó nada estavez; es más, se apartó casicon asco de la escudilla y

II

It was almost dusk bythe t ime Gregor emergedfrom his comatose sleep.He would cer ta inly havea w o k e n n o t m u c h l a t e re v e n w i t h o u t b e i n gd i s t u r b e d , f o r h e f e l tsuf f i c ien t ly wel l r es ted ;yet it seemed to him as ifhe had been a roused byf l e e t i n g s t e p s a n d acau t ious shu t t ing o f thevestibule door. The glowf r o m t h e e l e c t r i cs t r e e t l a m p s p r o d u c e dpallid spots on the ceilingand the higher parts of thef u r n i t u r e , b u t d o w n b yGregor it was dark. Slowly,still clumsily groping withhis feelers , which he wasjust learning to appreciate,he lumbered toward thedoor to see what had beeng o i n g o n . H i s l e f t s i d eappeared to be one long,u n p l e a s a n t l y t i g h t e n i n gscar, and he actually had tol imp on his two rows ofl e g s . O n e t i n y l e g ,moreover, had been badlyhurt during that morning’se v e n t s ( i t w a s a l m o s tmiraculous that only oneh a d b e e n h u r t ) a n d i tdragged along lifelessly.

Only upon reaching thedoor did Gregor discover whathad actually enticed him: it wasthe smel l of somethingedible. For there stood a bowlfull of fresh [141] milk withtiny slices of white breadfloating in it. He practicallychortled for joy, being evenhungrier now than in themorning, and he promptlydunked his head into the milkuntil it was nearly over his eyes.Soon, however, he withdrew hishead in disappointment. Notonly did the bruises on his leftside make it difficult for him toeat-he could eat only if hisentire wheezing body joinedin-but he did not care for themilk, even though it had alwaysbeen his favorite beverage,which was no doubt why hissister had placed it in his room.As a matter of fact, he turnedaway from the bowl almost with

It was not until dusk thatGregor woke from his deep,comalike sleep. He wouldcertainly have woken notmuch la ter even wi thoutbeing disturbed, for he feltsu f f i c i en t l y r e s t ed andrefreshed, but it seemed toh im th a t h e h a d b e e nroused by hu r r i ed s t epsand a cautious closing ofthe door that led into theh a l l . T h e l i g h t o f t h ee l e c t r i c s t r e e t l a m p sfl ickered pall idly on theceiling and the upper partsof the furniture, but downwhere Gregor lay i t wasdark. Slowly, still gropinga w k w a r d l y w i t h h i sfeelers, which he was onlynow beginning to appreciate,he dragged himself over tothe door to see what hadbeen happening there. Hisleft side felt like one long,unpleasantly tautening scar,and he was r educed t olimping on his twin rows oflegs. One leg, moreover,had been seriously damagedin t he cou r se o f t hemorning’s events - it wasalmost a miracle that onlyone had been damaged - andtrailed limply after him.

Only when he reached thedoor did he notice what hadactually lured him there; it wasthe smell of something to eat.For there stood a bowl brimmingwith sweetened milk in whichlittle slices of white bread werefloating. He could almost havelaughed for joy, because he waseven hungrier than he had been inthe morning, and he promptlydipped his head into the milk,almost up to his eyes. But hesoon drew it back again indisappointment; not merelybecause eating caused himdifficulties due to his tender leftside - and he [22] could only eatif his whole panting bodyparticipated - but because he didnot care for the milk at all,despite it normally being hisfavourite drink, for whichreason his sister had certainlyput it down for him. Indeed heturned away from the bowl with

[33] II

Grégoire ne sortit qu’aucrépuscule d’un sommeil deplomb semblable à la mort.Même s’i l n’eût pas étédérangé il ne se serait sansdoute pas réveillé beaucoupplus tard, car il avait eu saration de repos complète; illui sembla néanmoins qu’ilavait été troublé par un bruitde pas furtifs et le grincementprudent d’une clef dans laserrure du vestibule. Le refletdu tramway électrique posaitçà et là des taches blafardessur le plafond et le haut desmeubles, niais en bas, dans lazone de Grégoire, c’était lanuit. Pour savoir ce qui s’étaitpassé il se traîna lentementvers la porte en tâtantgauchement autour de lui avecses antennes dont i lcommençait à apprécier enfinl’utilité. Son côté gauche luifaisait l’effet de n’être qu’unelongue cicatrice irritante ettoute une rangée de ses pattesboitait. L’une d’elles avait étésérieusement endommagée aucours des incidents de lamatinée - et c’était miraclequ’elle fût la seule -el lesuivait le mouvement entraînant par terre à la façond’un membre mort.

Ce ne fut qu’une foisdevan t l a po r t e qu ’ i lcomprit ce qui l’avait attiré: une odeur de nourriture.[34] Il y avait là un bol delait sucré où nageaient depe t i t s morceaux de pa i nblanc. Il en aurait presqueri de p l a i s i r t a n t s o na p p é t i t a v a i t a u g m e n t éd e p u i s l e m a t i n ; i lfourra donc sa tê t ejusqu’au x y e u x d a n sl’écuelle, mais il la retirav i t e a v e c d é c e p t i o n c em a l h e u r eux cô té gauchelui causait des difficultés ,ca r i l ne pouva i t mange rqu ’en ronf la nt de tout lecorps; e t puis i l ne pouvaitplus souffrir le lait, qui étaitautrefois sa boisson préféréeet que sa soeur lui avait sansdoute servi par une attentionparticulière; il se détournap re sque avec dégoû t de

11 En 1832 se extendió en Franciauna gran epidemia de cólera.

II

Ce n’est qu’au crépuscule queGregor sor t i t d ’un sommei l

semblable à la pâmoison. Il seserait sans doute de toute manière

évei l lé peu après , même s’ i ln’avait pas été dérangé, car il se

sentait suffisamment reposé etavait eu son saoul de sommeil,mais i l lu i sembla avo i r é té

éveillé par des pas furtifs et parle bruit qu’on faisait en fermant

avec précaut ion la por te quimenait au vestibule. La lueur des

réverbères électriques se déposaitfaiblement sur le plafond et sur

la partie supérieure des meubles,mais en bas, là où était Gregor,tout était plongé dans l’ombre.

Lentement, il se trama du côté dela por te , en t â tan t encore

maladroitement autour de luiavec ses antennes , don t i l

commença i t seu lement àcomprendre l’utilité, pour voir ce

qui s’était passé. Son côté gauchelu i fa i sa i t l ’e f fe t d ’ê t re une

longue cicatrice, qui le t irai tdésagréablement et sur ses deuxrangées de pa t tes , i l é ta i t

proprement obligé de boiter. Unede ses pattes avait d’ailleurs été

sérieusement blessée au cours desincidents de la matinée - et c’était

un miracle que ce fût la seule; lav ie s ’en é ta i t r e t i rée e t e l l e

traînait par terre.

C’est seulement quand il fut

parvenu à la porte qu’il remarquace qui l’avait attiré de ce côté-là

c’était l’odeur de quelque chosede comestible. Il y avait là une

jatte remplie de lait sucré, danslequel nageaient de petites tranches

de pain blanc. Il se serait presquemis à rire de plaisir, car sa faim

était encore plus grande que lematin et il plongea aussitôt satête presque jusqu’aux yeux

dans le lait. Mais il la retira bienvite avec déception : non

seulement il avait de la peine àmanger à cause de son

malheureux côté gauche -pour manger, i l devait , en

haletant , faire un effort ducorps entier -, mais en outre, ilne pouvait plus sentir le lait, qui

était autrefois sa boissonpréférée et que sa soeur avait

sans doute placé là pour cetteraison; il se détourna de la jatte

presque avec répugnance et

II

It was not until it was gettingdark that evening that Gregor

awoke from his deep and coma-l i k e s l e e p . H e w o u l d h a v e

woken soon afterwards anywaye v e n i f h e h a d n ’t b e e n

disturbed, as he had had enoughsleep and felt fully rested. Buthe had the impression that some

hurried steps and the sound ofthe door leading into the front

room being carefully shut hadwoken him. The light from the

e l e c t r i c s t r e e t l a m p s s h o n epalely here and there onto the

c e i l i n g a n d t o p s o f t h ef u r n i t u r e , b u t d o w n b e l o w,where Gregor was, it was dark.

He pushed himself over to thedoor, feeling his way clumsily

with his antennae - of whichhe w a s now beg inn ing to

learn the value - in order tos e e w h a t h a d b e e n

h a p p e n i n g t h e r e . T h ew h o l e o f h i s l e f t s i d e

seemed l ike one, painful lys t r e t c h e d s c a r , a n d h el i m p e d b a d l y o n h i s t w o

rows o f l egs . One o f t helegs had been badly injured

i n t h e e v e n t s o f t h a tmorning - i t was near ly a

miracle that only one of themh a d b e e n - a n d d r a g g e d

along l i fe lessly.

It was only when he had reached the

door that he realised what it actuallywas that had drawn him over to it; it

was the smell of something to eat. Bythe door there was a dish filled

with sweetened milk with littlepieces of white bread floating in

it. He was so pleased he almostlaughed, as he was even hungrier

than he had been that morning, andimmediately dipped his head intothe milk, nearly covering his eyes

with it. But he soon drew his headback again in disappointment; not

only did the pain in his tender leftside make it difficult to eat the

food - he was only able to eat ifhis whole body worked together

as a snuffling whole - but themilk did not taste at all nice.Milk like this was normally

his favouri te drink, and hiss i s t e r had ce r t a in ly l e f t i t

there for him because of that,but he turned, almost against

his own will , away from the

4948

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

and crawled back to themiddle of the room.

In the l iving room, asGregor could see through thecrack in the door, the gaswas lit; although the fatherusually l iked to read theafternoon paper at this hourin a loud voice to the motherand sometimes to the sisteras well , not a sound washeard. Well , perhaps thiscustom of reading that thesister had told him about[22] and wrote of in herlet ters had been recentlydiscontinued. But it was sos i l en t everywhere , eventhough the apartment wascertainly not empty. “What aquiet life the family has led,”Gregor said to himself, andfelt, as he stared pointedlyinto the darkness, a greatsurge of pride that he hadbeen able to provide hisparents and his sister such alife and in such a beautifulapartment. But what if all thetranquillity, all the comfort,al l the contentment werenow to come to a horrifyingend? So as not to dwell onsuch thoughts , Gregorstarted to move and begancrawling up and down theroom.

Once dur ing the longevening, one of the s idedoors and then the otherwas opened a small crackand qu i ck ly shu t aga in ;someone had apparen t lyhad the urge to come in buthad then thought better ofi t . Gregor now sta t ionedhimself directly before thel i v i n g r o o m d o o r ,determined to persuade thehesitant visitor to come inor at least discover who itmight be, but the door wasn o t o p e n e d a g a i n a n dGregor waited in vain. Thatmorning, when the doors hadbeen locked, they all wantedto come in; now after he hadopened the one door and theo thers had been openedduring the day, no one cameand the keys were now on theother side.

tró de nuevo hacia el centrode la habitación.

P o r l a r e n d i j a d e l apuerta vio que el gas esta-ba encendido en el come-dor. Pero, contrariamente alo que sucedía siempre, nose oía al padre leer en altavoz a la madre y a la her-mana el diario de la noche.No se sentía el menor rui-do. Quizá esta costumbre,de la que siempre le habla-ba la hermana en sus cartas,hubiese últimamente des-apa rec ido . Pe ro todo entorno estaba silencioso, yeso que, con toda seguri-dad, la casa no estaba va-cía. - ¡Qué vida más tran-quila parece [41] llevar mifamilia! -pensó Gregorio.Y, mientras sus miradas sec l a v a b a n e n l a s o m b r a ,sintióse orgulloso de haberpodido proporcionar a suspadres y hermana tan sose-gada existencia, en marcotan lindo. Con pavor pensóal punto que aquella tran-quilidad, aquel bienestar yaquel la alegría tocaban a sutérmino... Para no dejarse ex-traviar por estos pensamien-tos, prefirió agitarse física-mente y comenzó a arrastrar-se por el cuarto.

En el curso de la nocheentreabrióse una vez una delas hojas de la puerta, y otravez la o t ra : a lguien , s induda, necesitaba entrar, yvacilaba. Gregorio, en vis-ta de ello, paróse contra lamisma puerta que daba alcomedor, dispuesto a atraerhacia el interior al indecisovisitante, o por lo menos aaveriguar quién fuera éste.Pero la puerta no volvió aabrirse, y esperó en vano.En las primeras horas de lamañana, cuando se hallabala puerta cerrada, todos ha-bían hecho por ent rar, yahora que él había abiertouna puerta, y que las otrashabían sido también abier-tas, sin duda, durante el día,ya no venía nadie, y las lla-ves quedaban por fuera, enlas cerraduras.

regresó a rastras al centrode la habitación.

En la sala de estar, segúnpudo ver Gregor por la rendi-ja de la puerta, la luz de gasestaba encendida; pero mien-tras que a esa hora del día elpadre solía leer en voz alta ala madre, y a veces también ala hermana, el periódico de latarde, ahora no se oía el me-nor ruido. Puede que última-mente hubieran abandonadoesas lecturas en voz alta, so-bre las cuales la hermanasiempre le hablaba y escribía.Pero el silencio era total tam-bién alrededor, pese a que, sinduda, el piso no estaba vacío.«¡Qué vida tan apacible havenido llevando la familia!»,se dijo Gregor y, mirando fi-jamente en la oscuridad, sesintió muy orgulloso de haberpodido proporcionar a sus pa-dres y hermana una vida se-mejante en una vivienda tanhermosa. Pero ¿qué pasaríaahora si toda aquella calma,todo ese bienestar, toda esasatisfacción tuvieran de pron-to un final terrible? Para noextraviarse pensando en esascosas, [47] Gregor prefirióponerse en movimiento y re-correr a rastras la habitaciónde un extremo a otro.

Una vez, durante ese largoatardecer, se entreabrió una de lashojas de la puerta, y otra vez laotra, hasta dejar una pequeña ren-dija, pero se habían cerrado denuevo a toda prisa; alguien sin-tió necesidad de entrar, probable-mente, pero se lo pensó demasia-do. Gregor se detuvo entoncesjusto ante la puerta que daba a lasala de estar, decidido a hacerentrar como fuera al indeciso vi-sitante o, por lo menos, a averi-guar quién era; pero la puerta yano volvió a abrirse y Gregoraguardó en vano. Esa misma ma-ñana, cuando las puertas estabancerradas con llave, todos habíanquerido entrar en su habitación,y ahora que él había abierto unade las puertas y las otras habíansido abiertas sin duda a lo largodel día, no venía nadie; y eso quelas llaves también estaban pues-tas por fuera.

loathing and crawled back tothe middle of the room.

In the parlor, as Gregorcould see through the doorcrack, the gaslight was lit. Butwhile at this time of day hisfather would usually take uphis newspaper, an afternoondaily, and read it in a raisedvoice to the mother andsometimes also to the sister,not a sound was to be heard.Well, perhaps this practice ofreading aloud, which thesister had always told Gregorabout and written him about,had recently been discardedaltogether. Yet while the entireapartment was hushed, it wasanything but deserted.

“My, what a quiet life thefamily used to lead,” Gregorthought to himself, and as hepeered into the darkness, hefelt a certain pride that hehad managed to provide hisparents and his sister withsuch a life in such a beautifulapartment. What if now allca lm, a l l p rosper i ty, a l lcontentment should come toa horr ifying end? Ratherthan lose himself in suchrumina t ions , Gregorpreferred to start moving,and so he crept up and downthe room. [142]

Once, during the longevening, one side door andthen the other was openeda t iny crack and quicklyshut again: somebody hadapparently felt an urge toc o m e i n , b u t h a d t h e nthought the be t te r o f i t .Gregor halted right at theparlor door, determined tos o m e h o w b r i n g i n t h ehesitant visi tor or at leastf ind out who i t was. Butt h e d o o r w a s n o tr e o p e n e d , a n d G r e g o rw a i t e d i n v a i n . T h a tmorning, when the doorsh a d b e e n l o c k e d ,everybody had wanted tocome in; but now that hehad opened one door, andthe rest had clearly beeno p e n e d d u r i n g t h e d a y,nobody came, and the keyswere on the other side.

repugnance and crawled backinto the middle of the room.

In the living-room the gashad already been l i t , asGregor could see through thecrack in the door, but whereasat this time of day his fatheralways used to read aloudextracts from his eveningpaper to his mother andsometimes his sister as well,everything now was utterlysilent. Maybe this custom ofreading aloud, which his sisterwas always telling him aboutand mentioning in letters, hadrecently been discontinued.But it was just as silent in allthe rooms, even though theapartment was surely notempty. ‘What a quiet life thefamily has been leading,’Gregor said to himself, andfelt so proud, as he sat therestaring into the darkness, thathe had been able to providehis parents and sister with alife of this sort in such apleasant apartment. But whatif all the peace, the prosperity,the contentment were now tocome to a terrible end? Inorder not to lose himself insuch thoughts, Gregor choseto move about, and crawledback and forth across theroom.

During the long evening,first one of the side-doorsand then the other wasopened slightly and quicklyshut again; somebody hadpresumably needed to comein, but had had too manymisgivings . Gregor nowstationed himself directly infront of the living-room door,determined somehow to gethis hesitant visitor into theroom, or at least to discoverwho it might be; but the doorwas not opened again andGregor waited in vain. In themorning, when the doors hadbeen locked, everyone hadwanted to come in; now,when he had opened one doorand the others had clearlybeen opened [23] during theday, no one came any more,and the keys, moreover, werenow on the outside.

l ’ écue l l e e t r e tou rna aumilieu de la chambre.

Le gaz flambait dans lasalle à manger, on pouvait levoir par les rainures de laparte; c’était le moment où,d’ordinaire, le père lisait à safamille le journal del’agrès-midi; cette foisGrégoire n’entendit rien.Peut-être cette lecturetraditionnelle, dont sa soeur luifaisait toujours des récits dansses conversations et dans seslettres, avait-elle disparu cesderniers temps des habitudesde la maison. Mais partoutrégnait le même silence, etcependant il y avait sûrementdu monde dans l’appartement.«Quelle vie tranquille a menéela famille!» pensa Grégoire enregardant fixement dans lenoir, et il se sentit très fier, carc’était à lui que ses parents etsa soeur devaient une si calmeexistence dans un si belappartement. Qu’allait-ilarriver maintenant, si cettepaix, cette satisfaction, cebien-être finissaient avec perteet fracas? Pour ne pass’abandonner à ces réflexionslugubres, Grégoire préféra[35] prendre un peu d’exerciceet fit les cent pas sur sonventre.

Une fois, au cours de lasoirée, il vit s’entrouvrir laporte de gauche, et une foisl a po r t e de d ro i t e ;quelqu’un avait bien senti lebesoin d’entrer, mais avaitt r ouvé l ’ en t r ep r i s e t r opchanceuse . Grégo i r e s erésolut donc à faire haltedevant la porte de la salle àmanger, décidé à entraînercomme il pourrait le visiteurhésitant ou tout au moins àl’identifier; mais la porte nes’ouvrit plus et l’attente deGrégo i r e fu t va ine . Lema t in , quand l e s po r t e sé t a i en t f e rmées , t ou t l emonde voulait envahir sachambre , e t ma in t enan tqu’on ava i t r éuss i à l e souvrir personne ne venait levoir; on avait même mis lesclefs dans les serrures, del’extérieur.

rampa jusqu’au milieu de lachambre.

Dans la salle de séjour, on

avait allumé le gaz, commeGregor s’en rendit compte par

la fente de la porte; mais, alorsque son père avait l’habitude,

à cette heure du jour, de lire àhaute voix à sa mère et à sasoeur son journal , qui

paraissait l ’après-midi, onn’entendait aujourd’hui aucun

bruit. Peut-être cette lecture,dont sa soeur ne cessait de lui

parler dans ses conversationset dans ses lettres, avait-elle

été abandonnée les dernierstemps. Mais partout régnait lemême silence, bien que la

maison n’ait certainement pasété vide . « Quel le v ie

tranquille menait notre famille», pensa Gregor et, tout en

regardant fixement dans lenoir, il éprouvait une grande

fierté d’avoir pu procurer unetelle vie dans un aussi joli

appartement à ses parents et àsa soeur. Mais qu’al lai t - i larriver maintenant, si cette

tranquillité, cette satisfaction,ce bien-être allaient s’achever

dans l’horreur? Pour ne pass’abandonner à ces pensées,

Gregor préféra prendre dumouvement et se mit à ramper

de-ci de-là dans la pièce.

Une fois pendant cette longue

so i r ée , on en t rouv r i t , pu i sreferma vivement une des portes

latérales; un peu plus tard, onrecommença avec l’autre porte;

que lqu’un ava i t v i s ib l emen tenvie d’entrer, mais finalement

les hési tat ions l’emportaient .Gregor s’arrêta tout près de la

porte de la salle de séjour, biendéc idé à f a i r e en t r e r d ’uneman iè r e ou d ’une au t r e l e

visiteur hésitant ou du moins àsavo i r qu i c ’ é t a i t ; ma i s on

n’ouvrit plus la porte et Gregora t t end i t en va in . Le ma t in ,

lorsque toutes les portes étaientfermées, tout le monde avai t

voulu entrer et maintenant qu’ilavait lui-même ouvert l’une despo r t e s e t qu ’on ava i t

certainement dû ouvrir les autresau cours de la journée, personne

ne venait et on avait mis les clefsà l’extérieur.

d ish and crawled back intothe centre of the room.

Through the crack in the

door, Gregor could see tha tthe gas had been l i t in the

l i v i n g r o o m . H i s f a t h e r a tth is t ime would normal ly be

sa t wi th h is evening paper,reading i t out in a loud voicet o G r e g o r ’s m o t h e r , a n d

somet imes to h is s i s ter, butthere was now not a sound to

b e h e a r d . G r e g o r ’s s i s t e rwou ld o f t en wr i t e and t e l l

h im about th is reading, butmaybe his father had lost the

habi t in recent t imes . I t wasso quiet a l l around too, eventhough there must have been

somebody in the f la t . “Whata quie t l i fe i t i s the family

l e a d ” , s a i d G r e g o r t ohimself , and, gazing into the

darkness , fe l t a grea t pr idethat he was able to provide

a l i fe l ike that in such a niceh o m e f o r h i s s i s t e r a n d

parents . But what now, i f a l lt h i s p e a c e a n d w e a l t h a n dc o m f o r t s h o u l d c o m e t o a

h o r r i b l e a n d f r i g h t e n i n ge n d ? T h a t w a s s o m e t h i n g

that Gregor d id not want toth ink about too much, so he

s t a r t e d t o m o v e a b o u t ,c r a w l i n g u p a n d d o w n t h e

room.

Once dur ing that long

evening, the door on one side ofthe room was opened very

slightly and hurriedly closedagain; later on the door on the

other s ide d id the same; i tseemed that someone needed to

enter the room but thought betterof it. Gregor went and waited

immediate ly by the door,resolved ei ther to bring thetimorous visitor into the room in

some way or at least to find outwho it was; but the door was

opened no more that night andGregor wai ted in vain. The

previous morning while thedoors were locked everyone had

wanted to get in there to him, butnow, now that he had opened upone of the doors and the other

had clearly been unlocked sometime during the day, no-one

came, and the keys were in theother sides.

1.2

5150

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

It was late into the nightbefore the light went out inthe living room, and it wasnow obv ious t ha t t heparents and the sister hadstayed-awake unt i l then,because he could clearlydiscern that all three weretiptoeing away. Certainly noone wou ld come in t oGrego r un t i l morn ing ,the re fo re he had a l ongundisturbed time to ponderhow best to reorder his life.Bu t t he high-ce i l inged ,spacious room in which hewas forced to lie flat on thef loor f i l l ed h im wi th anunaccountable dread; it was,a f t e r a l l , h i s own roomwhich he had inhabited forf i ve yea r s , and w i th ana lmos t i nvo lun t a rymovement—and not withouta faint feeling of shame—hescurried under the sofa ,whe re , de sp i t e h i s backbeing s l i g h t l y s q u a s h e dand being unable to raiseh i s h e a d , h e f e l timmediately cozy and onlyregretted that his body wastoo wide to fit completelyunderneath the sofa.

T h e r e h e s t a y e d t h ew h o l e n i g h t ,s o m e t i m e s d o z i n g b u tt h e n waking up with as tar t f rom hunger pa ins ;sometimes he worried andenter tained vague hopes,but i t a l l led h im to thesame conclusion: For nowhe must l ie low and t ry,through patience and [23]the greatest consideration,to help his family bear thei n c o n v e n i e n c e h e w a sbound to cause them in hispresent condition.

So early in the morningthat it was almost still night,Gregor had an opportunityto test the strength of hisnew resolut ions, becausethe s i s t e r , nea r ly fu l l ydressed, opened the doorfrom the foyer and eagerlypee red i n . She d id no timmediately find him, butwhen she no t i ced h imunderneath the sofa-well, hehad to be somewhere, he

Muy entrada la noche, seapagó la luz del comedor.Pudo Gregorio comprenderpor [42] ello que sus padres ysu hermana habían velado has-ta entonces. Sintió que se ale-jaban de puntillas. Hasta porla mañana no entraría ya segu-ramente nadie a ver aGregorio; éste tenía tiemposobrado para pensar, sin temora ser importunado, acerca decómo le convendría ordenar enadelante su vida. Pero aquellahabitación fría y alta de t e -c h o , e n d o n d e h a b í a d ep e r m a n e c e r e c h a d o d eb r u c e s , l e d i o m i e d o ,s i n q u e l o g r a s e e x p l i -c a r s e e l p o r q u é , p u e se r a l a s u y a , l a h a b i t a -c i ó n e n q u e v i v í a d e s d eh a c í a c i n c o a ñ o s . . .B r u s c a m e n t e , y c o nc i e r t o r u b o r , p r e c i p i t ó s ed e b a j o d e l sofá , en donde,no obstante sentirse algoestrujado, por no poder le-vantar la cabeza, se encon-tró en seguida muy bien, la-mentando únicamente nopoder introducirse allí porcompleto a causa de su ex-cesiva corpulencia.

Así permaneció toda lanoche , pa r t e en unsem i s u e ñ o , d e l q u e l edespertaba con sobresaltoel hambre, y parte tambiénpresa de preocupaciones yesperanzas no muy defini-das, pero cuya conclusiónera siempre la necesidad,por de pronto, de tener cal-ma y paciencia y de hacer loposible para que la familia,a su vez, soportase cuantasmolestias él, en su estadoactual, no podía por menosde causar.

[ 4 3 ] M u y d e m a ñ a n a-apenas si clareaba el día-tuvo Gregorio ocasión deexperimentar la fuerza deestas resoluciones. Su her-mana, ya cas i ar reglada,abrió la puerta que daba alrecibimiento y miró ávida-mente hacia el interior. Alprincipio, no le vio; peroal divisarle luego debajodel sofá - ¡en algún sitio ha-bía de estar, santo Dios! ¡No

La luz de la sala de estarse apagó ya muy entrada lanoche, y así resultó fácil com-probar que los padres y la her-mana habían estado despiertoshasta entonces, pues según po-día oírse perfectamente, los tresse alejaban de puntillas en aquelmomento. Seguro que hasta lamañana siguiente no entraríanadie a ver a Gregor; tenía,pues, mucho tiempo para pen-sar con calma cómo reorganizarsu vida a partir de entonces. Peroaquella habitación alta y esp a -c i o s a , e n c u y o s u e l o s ev e í a o b l i g a d o a y a c e rt u m b a d o , l e d a b a m i e d o ,s i n q u e l o g r a s e e x p l i c a r -s e e l p o r q u é , p u e s e r a s uhab i t ac ión , donde l l evaba[ 4 8 ] y a c i n c o a ñ o s v i -v i e n d o . Y v o l v i é n d o s e d em a n e r a s e m i i n c o n s c i e n t ey no s in c i e r t a ve rgüenza ,se metió a toda prisa bajo el sofá,donde, pese a que la espalda lequedó un poco estrujada y yano podía levantar la cabeza,se s int ió enseguida muy agusto, y solo lamentó que sucuerpo fuese demasiado an-cho para poder instalarlo porentero bajo el sofá.

Allí permaneció toda lanoche, que pasó, en parte, su-mido en un duermevela delque el hambre lo arrancabauna y otra vez, y en parte tam-bién perdido entre preocupa-ciones y confusas esperanzasque lo llevaron siempre a laconclusión de que por ahoratendría que actuar tranquila-mente y, con paciencia y mu-cha consideración, hacer so-portables a su familia las mo-lestias que se vería obligadoa causarle en vista de su esta-do actual.

Ya a la madrugada siguien-te, aún casi de noche, tuvoGregor la oportunidad de po-ner a prueba la firmeza de lasresoluciones que acababa detomar, pues la hermana, vesti-da casi del todo, abrió la puer-ta desde el vestíbulo y miródentro con aire expectante.N o l o d e s c u b r i ó e n s e -g u i d a , p e r o c u a n d o l ov i o d e b a j o d e l s ofá -¡DiosSanto, en algún sitio tenía

It was not until late atnight that the light in theparlor was put out. Gregorcould easi ly tel l that theparents and the sister hadstayed up this long, for, ashe could clearly discern, allthree of them were tiptoeingoff. Since nobody would bev i s i t i ng Grego r un t i lmorning, he had lots of timeto reflect undisturbed and tof igu re ou t how torestructure his life. But thefree, high-ceilinged roomwhere he was forced to lieflat on the floor terrifiedhim without his being ableto pinpoint the cause; afterall, it was his room and hehad been living there forthe last five years. Turningh a l f i n v o l u n t a r i l y a n dno t w i thou t a f a in t s enseo f e m b a r r a s s m e n t , h escurried under the settee,wh e r e , e v e n t h o u g h h i sback was a b i t squashedand he cou ld no t l i f t h i sh e a d , h e i n s t a n t l y f e l tv e r y c o z y, r e g r e t t i n go n l y t h a t h i s b o d y w a stoo b road to squeeze ina l l t he way.

There he remained forthe rest of the night, eitherdrowsing and repeatedlyy a n k e d a w a k e b y h i sh u n g e r, o r e l s e f r e t t i n gamid vague hopes, al l ofwhich, however, [143] ledto his concluding that fornow he would have to l ielow and, by being patientand u t t e r ly cons ide ra t e ,help the family endure theinconveniences that , as i thappened, he was forcedt o c a u s e t h e m i n h i spresent state.

By early morning-it wasstill almost n igh t -Gregorhad a chance to tes t thestrength of the resolutionshe had just made, for thes i s t e r, a l m o s t f u l l yd r e s s e d , o p e n e d t h ev e s t i b u l e d o o r a n dsuspenseful ly peered in .She did not find him rightaway, but when she noticedhim under the settee(goodness , he had to be

It wasn’t until late in theevening that the light wasturned off in the living-room,and it quickly became clearthat his parents and his sisterhad stayed up all that time, forall three of them could now bedistinctly heard moving awayon tiptoe. Certainly no onewould now come into Gregor’sroom until morning; hetherefore had a long time toconsider in peace and quiethow best to reorganise his life.But the highceilingedspacious room, in which hewas obliged to lie flat on thefloor, filled him with ananguish he could not accountfor, since it was, after all, theroom he had lived in for thepast five years - and with ahalf-conscious change ofdirection and not without aslight feeling of shame hescuttled under the couchwhere, although his back wasa little squashed and he couldnot raise his head any more, heimmediately felt quitecomfortable and was onlysorry that his body was toobroad to fit completely beneaththe couch.

There he s tayed thew h o l e n i g h t , e i t h e rdozing and being continuallyjolted awake by pangs ofhunger, or in worries andvague hopes, all of which,however, l ed to theconclusion that for the timebeing he had to stay calmand, by exercising patienceand being as considerate aspossible to his family, makebearable the uripleasantnessesthat he was compelled tocause them in his presentcondition.

By early next morning -it was still almost night -Gregor had an opportunityto test the firmness of hisnew resolve, for his sister,a l m o s t f u l l y d r e s s e d ,opened the door from thehal l and looked uneasi lyin. She d i d n o t s e e h i mi m m e d i a t e l y , b u t w h e nshe spot ted h im benea ththe couch - good heavens,he had to be somewhere, he

La lumière ne s’éteignitque très tard dans la salle,et il fut facile à Grégoired e c o n s t a t e r q u e s e sparents et sa soeur avaientvei l lé jusqu’alors , car i ll e s e n t e n d i t p a r t i r t o u st r o i s s u r l a p o i n t e d e sp i e d s . N a t u r e l l e m e n tp e r s o n n e n e v i n t p l u schez lui jusqu’au matin etil eut tout le temps désirablepour méditer l’organisationde sa nouvelle v i e ; m a i sc e t t e g r a n d e chambreo ù i l é t a i t o b l i g é d er e s t e r à p l a t s u r l e s o ll u i f a i s a i t p e u r s a n sq u ’ i l p û t e nc o m p r e n d r e l a c a u s e ,c a r i l y habi ta i t d e p u i sc i n q a n s e t , p a r u nr é f l e x e p r e s q u ei n c o n s c ie n t d o n t i l e u tcependant un peu honte, ilse glissa hâtivement sous le canapé;il s’y trouva tout de suite trèsbien quoiqu’il eût le dos unpeu aplati et ne pût lever[36] la tê te ; i l regret ta i tseulement que son corpsfû t t r op l a r ge pou r ê t r eremisé sous le meuble enentier.

Ce fu t l à qu ’ i l pa s satoute la nuit, tantôt plongédans un demi-sommeil dontl e s a ffres de l a f a im l er éve i l l a i en t en su r sau t ,t an tô t r emâchan t soninquiétude et ses vaguesespérances pour f in i rtoujours par conclure queson devoi r é ta i tprovisoirement de se tenircoi et de rendre supportableaux siens, par sa patience etses égards, les désagrémentsque sa s i tua t ion leurimposait malgré lui.

De bon mat in i l eu tl ’occas ion de met t re àl’épreuve la fermeté de sesréso lu t ions récen tes ; i lfaisait encore presque nuit;sa soeur, déjà à peu prèsvêtue, ouvri t la porte duvestibule et regarda aveccuriosité. Elle ne découvritpas tout de suite Grégoire,mais quand elle l’aperçutsous le canapé - il faut bienqu’i l soi t quelque part ,

L a l u m i è r e n e s ’ é t e i g n i tdans la sal le que tard dans la

nuit et i l lui fut dès lors faci lede constater que ses parents et

sa soeur étaient restés tout cetemps-là à vei l ler, car on les

entendi t for t b ien s ’é lo ignertous les t rois sur la pointe des

pieds. I l é tai t sûr maintenantque personne n’entrerai t chezGregor avant le matin; i l avait

d o n c u n b o n m o m e n t p o u rm é d i t e r à s o n a i s e s u r l a

nouvel le organisat ion de sonexistence. Mais cet te grande

c h a m b r e v i d e , o ù i l é t a i tobl igé de res ter couché à p la t

s u r l e s o l , l u i f a i s a i t p e u r,sans qu’ i l pû t en dev ine r l ara i son , car c ’é ta i t l a chambre

où i l l ogea i t depu i s c inq ans- e t à l a s u i t e d ’ u n e

d é c i s i o n à d e m i c o n s c i e n t ee t n o n s a n s u n e l é g è r e

h o n t e , i l p a r t i t v i v e m e n tse coucher sous le canapé , où

i l se sent i t aussi tôt tout à fai tà son aise, bien que son dos fût

un peu se r ré e t qu’ i l lu i fû timpossible de relever la tête;i l regrettait seulement que son

c o r p s f û t t r o p l a r g e p o u rp o u v o i r t r o u v e r p l a c e t o u t

ent ier sous le canapé.

I l r e s t a l à t o u t e l a n u i t ,qu’i l passa pour une part dans

un demi-sommeil, dont la faimle t irait sans cesse en sursaut,mais pour une par t auss i au

milieu des soucis et de vaguesespé rances , qu i l e mena ien t

tous à cette conclusion que lemieux était provisoirement de

se tenir tranquille et d’essayerpar de la patience et de grands

m é n a g e m e n t s d e r e n d r esupportables à sa famil le les

d é s a g r é m e n t s q u e s o n é t a tactuel ne pouvait éviter de luicauser.

D e b o n m a t i n - i l f a i s a i t

encore presque nuit - , Gregore u t l ’ o c c a s i o n d e m e t t r e à

l ’ é p r e u v e l a f o r c e d e sr é s o l u t i o n s q u ’ i l v e n a i t d e

p r e n d r e , c a r l a p o r t e d uvestibule s’ouvrit et sa soeur,déjà tout habillée, passa la tête

avec une a t t en t ion inqu iè te .Elle ne le trouva pas tout de

s u i t e e t , l o r s q u ’ e l l e l ed é c o u v r i t s o u s l e c a n a p é -

pardieu ! i l fal lai t bien qu’i l

It was not until late at nightthat the gaslight in the living

room was put out, and now itwas easy to see that parents and

sister had stayed awake all thatt i m e , a s t h e y a l l c o u l d b e

dist inctly heard as they wentaway toge the r on t ip - toe . I t

was c lear tha t no-one wouldcome into Gregor ’s room anymore until morning; that gave

h im p len ty o f t ime to t h inku n d i s t u r b e d a b o u t h o w h e

would have to re-arrange hislife. For some reason, the tal l ,

emp ty room whe re he wasf o r c e d t o r e m a i n m a d e

h i m f e e l u n e a s y a s h e l a yt h e r e f l a t o n t h e f l o o r ,e v e n t h o u g h h e h a d b e e n

l i v i n g i n i t f o r f i v e y e a r s .H a r d l y a w a r e o f w h a t h e

w a s d o i n g o t h e r t h a n as l i g h t f e e l i n g o f s h a m e ,

h e h u r r i e d u n d e r t h ec o u c h . I t p r e s s e d d o w n

o n h i s back a l i t t l e , and hew a s n o l o n g e r a b l e t o l i f t

h is head, but he nonethelessf e l t i m m e d i a t e l y a t e a s ea n d h i s o n l y r e g r e t w a s

t h a t h i s b o d y w a s t o ob r o a d t o g e t i t a l l

u n d e r n e a t h .

He spent the whole night there.Some of the time he passed in

a l i g h t s l e e p , a l t h o u g h h ef r e q u e n t l y w o k e f r o m i t i nalarm because of his hunger,

and some of the time was spentin wor r i e s and vague hopes

which, however, always led tothe same conclusion: for the

t i m e b e i n g h e m u s t r e m a i ncalm, he must show patience

and the greatest considerationso that his family could bear the

unpleasantness that he, in hispresent condition, was forced toimpose on them.

G r e g o r s o o n h a d t h e

o p p o r t u n i t y t o t e s t t h estrength of his decisions, as

early the next morning, almostbefore the night had ended, his

sis ter, nearly ful ly dressed,opened the door from the frontroom and looked anxiously in.

She did not see him straightaway, but when she did notice

him under the couch - he hadto be somewhere, for God’s

sake, he couldn’t have flown

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

couldn’t have just f lownaway-she was so start ledtha t , unab l e t o con t ro lherself , she slammed thedoor shut from the outside.But , as i f regre t t ing herbehav io r, she i n s t an t l yreopened it and tiptoed in asthough she were vis i t ingsomeone ser ious ly i l l oreven a stranger. Gregor hadpushed his head forward tothe edge of the sofa and waswatching her. Would shenotice that he had left themilk untouched not fromany lack of hunger and bringsomething he liked better?If she did not do so on herown, he would rather starvethan b r ing i t t o he rattention, although he wasextremely hard-pressed notto dart out from under thesofa and throw himself athe r f ee t t o beg fo rsomething good to eat. Butthe sister immediately andwith surprise noticed thebowl, still full except for alittle milk that had spilleda round i t , and p rompt lypicked it up, not with barehands of course but with ar ag , and ca r r i ed i t ou t .Gregor was exceed ing lycu r ious a s t o wha t shewould bring instead, and headvanced a l l so r t s o ftheories. But he could neverhave guessed what in thegoodness of her heart thesister actually did. To findout his likes and dislikes,she b rough t h im a wideselection all spread out onan old newspaper. Therewere o ld , ha l f - ro t t envegetables, bones coveredwith congealed white saucef rom suppe r t he n igh tbefore , some rais ins anda lmonds , a cheese t ha tGrego r had dec l a r edinedible two days before,dry bread, bread with butter,and bread with butter andsa l t . Bes ide th i s she se tdown the bowl , nowpresumably reserved forGrego r ’s exc lu s ive u se ,which she had filled withwater. And it was out of del-i c acy, knowing Grego rwou ld no t e a t i n he r

iba a haber volado! - se asus-tó tanto, que, sin poderse do-minar, volvió a cerrar lapuerta. Mas debió arrepen-tirse de su proceder, puestornó a abrir al momento yentró de puntillas, como sifuese la habitación de un en-fermo de gravedad o la de unextraño. Gregorio, con lacabeza casi asomada fueradel sofá, la observaba. ¿Re-pararía en que no había pro-bado la leche y, compren-diendo que ello no era porfalta de apetito, le traería decomer otra cosa más adecua-da? Pero, si por ella mismano lo hacía, él prefería mo-rirse de hambre antes quellamarle la atención sobreesto, no obstante sentir unasganas tremendas de salir dedebajo del sofá, arrojarse asus pies y suplicarle le tra-jese algo bueno de comer.Pero la hermana, asombrada,advirtió inmediatamente quela escudilla estaba intacta;únicamente se había vertidoun poco de leche. Recogióésta en seguida; verdad queno con la mano, sino [44] va-liéndose de un trapo, y se lallevó. Gregorio sentía unagran curiosidad por ver loque iba a traerle en sustitu-ción, haciendo respecto aello muchas y muy distintasconjeturas. Mas nunca hu-biera adivinado lo que labondad de su hermana le re-servaba. A fin de ver cuál erasu gusto, le trajo un surtidocompleto de alimentos y losextendió sobre un periódicoviejo: allí había legumbresatrasadas, medio podridasya; huesos de la cena de lavíspera, rodeados de salsablanca cuajada; pasas y al-mendras; un pedazo de que-so , que dos d ías an tesGregorio había declarado in-comible; un panecillo duro;otro untado con mantequilla,y otro con mantequilla y sal.Añadió a esto la escudilla,que por lo visto quedabadestinada a Gregorio defini-tivamente, pero ahora esta-ba llena de agua. Y por deli-cadeza (pues sab ía queGregorio no comería estan-do ella presente) retiróse

que estar, no podía haberseido volando!-, se asustó tan-to que, sin poder dominarse,volvió a cerrar la puerta. Perocomo si se arrepintiese de sureacción, al instante la abrióde nuevo y entró de puntillas,como si estuviese en el cuar-to de un enfermo grave o in-cluso de un extraño. Gregorhabía sacado la cabeza casihasta el borde del sofá y la[49] observaba. ¿Se dar íacuenta de que no había toca-do la leche, aunque no preci-samente por falta de apetito,y le t raer ía otra cosa másacorde con sus gustos? Si nolo hacía de forma espontánea,él preferiría antes morirse dehambre que hacérselo notar,pese a que sentía unas ganasenormes de salir de debajodel sofá, arrojarse a los piesde la hermana y rogarle quele trajera algo bueno de co-mer. Pero la hermana reparósorprendida en la escudillatodavía llena, de la que solose había derramado un pocode leche, la levantó de inme-diato, aunque no directamen-te con las manos, sino con unpaño, y se la llevó. A Gregorle entró una enorme curiosi-dad por saber qué le traería acambio, e hizo las más di-versas conjeturas al respecto.Pero nunca hubiera podidoadivinar lo que su bondadosahermana hizo realmente. Paraponer a prueba sus gustos letrajo un amplio surtido, tododispuesto sobre un periódicoviejo. Había verduras pasa-das y medio podridas, huesossobrantes de la cena, rodea-dos de una salsa blanca quese había endurecido, unascuantas pasas y almendras,un queso que, dos días antes,Gregor había calificado deincomestible, un panecil loseco, una rebanada untadacon mantequilla y otra conmantequilla y sal. A todo esoañadió además la escudilla,p robab l emen te r e se rvadapara Gregor y nadie más apartir de entonces, en la quehabía echado agua. Y por de-l i c adeza , pues s ab í a queGregor no comería delante deella, se retiró a toda prisa yhasta cerró con llave, solo

somewhere, he couldn’t justhave flown away), she was sostartled that unable to controlherself she slammed the doorfrom the outs ide . But ,apparently regret t ing herbehavior, she ins tant lyreopened the door andtiptoed in as if visiting a verys ick pat ient or even as t ranger. Gregor, havingpushed his head ,forward tothe very edge of the settee,was watching her. Would shenotice that he had barelytouched the milk, though byno means for lack of hunger,and would she bring in someother kind of food more to histaste? If she did not do so onher own, he would ratherstarve to death than point itout to her, even while he felta tremendous urge to scootout from under the settee,throw himself at her feet, andbeg her for some good food.But the sister, with somesurprise, instantly noticed thefull bowl, from which only alittle milk had splattered allaround. She promptly pickedup the bowl, though not withher bare hands, but with arag, and carr ied i t away.Gregor was extremelycurious as to what she wouldreplace it with, and all sortsof conjectures ran throughhis mind. [144] But he wouldnever have hit on what thesister actually did in thegoodness of her hear t .Hoping to check his likes anddislikes, she brought him awhole array of food, a l lspread out on an oldnewspaper. There were old,half-rotten vegetables, somebones left over from supperand coated with a solidifiedwhite sauce, a few raisins andalmonds, some cheese thatGregor had declared inedibletwo days ago, dry bread,bread and butter, and saltedbread and but ter.Furthermore, along with allthose things, she broughtsome water in the bowl ,which had probably beenassigned to Gregor for good.And sensing that Gregorwould not eat in front of her,she discreetly hurried away,

couldn’t just have flown away- she got such a fright that shelost control of herself andslammed [24] the door shutagain from the outside. But, asif regretting her behaviour, sheimmediately opened the dooragain and tiptoed into theroom, as though she werevisiting someone seriously ill,or even a stranger. Gregor hadstuck his head out almost to theedge of tire couch, and wasobserving her. Would shenotice that he had left the milkstanding, though not becausehe had no appetite, far from it,and would she bring in someother food that suited himbetter? If she didn’t do so ofher own accord, he wouldrather starve than bring it toher attention, although in facthe felt a tremendous urge todart out from under the couch,throw himself at his sister’sfeet and beg her to bring himsomething good to eat. Hissister, however, noticedimmediately, and withastonishment, the still-fullbowl, from which only a littlemilk had splattered all around,picked it up, admittedly riotwith her bare hands but with acloth, and carried it out.Gregor was extremely curiousto know what she would bringinstead, and indulged in allmanner of speculation. Butnever could he have guessedwhat his sister in the goodnessof her heart actually did. Inorder to find out what he liked,she brought him a wholeselection of things, all spreadout on an old newspaper: old,half-rotten vegetables; bonesleft over from supper,surrounded by congealedwhite sauce; some raisins andalmonds; some cheese that twodays earlier Gregor haddeclared inedible; a slice ofdry bread, a slice of bread andbutter, and another spread withbutter and salted. In additionto all this she also put downthe bowl, which had probablybeen permanently assigned toGregor, and into which she hadpoured some water. And out ofa sense of delicacy, since sheknew that Gregor would noteat in her presence, she hastily

voyons; il ne s’est pourtantpas envolé!...» - elle éprouvaune frayeur qu’elle ne réussitpas à maîtriser et sortit enfaisant claquer la porte. Puis,se repentant de son geste, ellela rouvrit aussitôt et rentra surla pointe des pieds commedans la chambre d’un étrangerou d’un grand malade.Grégoire, ayant avancé la têtepresque jusqu’au bord ducanapé, l ’observait .Remarquerait-elle qu’il avaitlaissé le lait et que ce n’étaitpas par manque d’appétit? Luiapporterait-elle autre chose deplus conforme à ses goûts? Siel le ne le faisai t pasd’elle-même, il aimerait [37]mieux mourir de faim qued’att irer son at tentionlà-dessus malgré l’envie qui ledévorait de s’échapperbrusquement de sa cachette,de se jeter aux pieds de sasoeur et de lui demanderquelque chose de mangeable.Mais la soeur remarqua toutde suite l’écuelle pleine ets’en étonna; il était tombé toutautour quelques gouttes delait; elle ramassa le récipient- sans le toucher, avec unchiffon de papier - etl’emporta dans la cuisine.Grégoire at tendait aveccuriosi té ce qu’el le luidonnerait en échange et secreusait la tête pour deviner.Mais jamais i l n’eûtsoupçonné jusqu’où alla labonté de sa soeur. Pours’orienter sur les goûts de sonfrère, elle apporta tout unchoix de comestibles étaléssur un vieux journal. Il y avaitlà des trognons de légumes àmoitié pourris, des os du dînerde la veille couverts d’unesauce blanche f igée , desraisins de Corinthe, desamandes, un fromage queGrégoire avait déclaréimmangeable quelques joursauparavant, un pain rassis,une tartine de beurre salée etune autre sans sel . Ellecompléta le tout par l’écuellequi semblait définitivementaffectée à Grégoire depuis laveille et qu’elle avait remplied’eau. Puis, pensant que sonfrère ne mangerait pas devantelle, elle poussa la délicatesse

soit quelque part, i l ne pouvaitpour tant pas s ’ê t re envolé! -

e l le éprouva une te l le te r reurqu’e l l e ne pu t pas maî t r i se r

ses mouvements e t so r t i t enfaisant claquer la porte . Mais,

comme s i e l le se repenta i t des o n a t t i t u d e , e l l e r o u v r i t

aussi tôt e t revint sur la pointedes pieds, comme el le l ’aurai tfa i t chez un grand malade ou

m ê m e c h e z u n é t r a n g e r .G r e g o r a v a i t a v a n c é l a t ê t e

j u s q u ’ a u b o r d d u c a n a p é e tl ’ o b s e r v a i t . A l l a i t - e l l e

r e m a r q u e r q u ’ i l n ’ a v a i t p a stouché au la i t - e t pas du tout

parce qu’ i l n’avai t pas fa im -e t a l l a i t - e l l e a p p o r t e r u n ea u t r e n o u r r i t u r e q u i l u i

convînt davantage? Si e l le nele fa isa i t pas d’e l le -même, i l

a imai t mieux mour i r de fa imq u e d ’ a t t i r e r l à - d e s s u s s o n

at tent ion; en dépi t de l ’enviequ i l e t ena i l l a i t , i l n ’ au ra i t

v o u l u p o u r r i e n a u m o n d eso r t i r de sous l e canapé , s e

je ter aux p ieds de sa soeur e tl a s u p p l i e r d e l u i a p p o r t e rq u e l q u e c h o s e d e b o n à

m a n g e r . M a i s s a s o e u rr e m a r q u a a u s s i t ô t a v e c

é t o n n e m e n t l a j a t t e p l e i n e ,autour de laquel le un peu de

l a i t s ’ é t a i t r é p a n d u ; e l l e l aramassa immédiatement , mais

sans l a t ouche r d i r ec t emen te t , en s’aidant d’un torchon,elle la porta dehors. Gregor se

demandait avec la plus grandec u r i o s i t é c e q u ’ e l l e

a p p o r t e r a i t à l a p l a c e e t s ec r e u s a i t l a t ê t e p o u r

l ’ imag ine r. Ma i s i l n ’ au ra i tj a m a i s p u d e v i n e r j u s q u ’ o ù

irai t la bonté de sa soeur. Afinde connaître son goût , e l le lui

a p p o r t a t o u t u n c h o i x d ec h o s e s c o m e s t i b l e s , q u ’ e l l ea v a i t é t a l é e s s u r u n v i e u x

j o u r n a l . I l y a v a i t l à d e slégumes à moit ié pourris , des

os du dîner de la vei l le , dansu n e s a u c e b l a n c h â t r e f i g é e ;

d e s r a i s i n s s e c s e t d e sa m a n d e s ; u n f r o m a g e q u e

G r e g o r a v a i t d é c l a r éimmangeab le l ’ avan t -ve i l l e ;un pain rassis, deux tartines de

b e u r r e , l ’ u n e s a l é e , l ’ a u t r en o n . E l l e j o i g n i t à c e l a l a

j a t t e , q u i s e m b l a i t u n e f o i spour toutes destinée à Gregor,

qu’elle avait cette fois remplie

away - she was so shockedthat she lost control of herself

and s lammed the door shutagain from outside. But she

s e e m e d t o r e g r e t h e rbehaviour, as she opened the

door again straight away andc a m e i n o n t i p - t o e a s i f

entering the room of someones e r i o u s l y i l l o r e v e n o f astranger. Gregor had pushed

his head forward, right to thee d g e o f t h e c o u c h , a n d

watched her. Would she noticethat he had left the milk as it

was, real ise that i t was notfrom any lack of hunger and

bring him in some other foodthat was more suitable? If shedidn’t do it herself he would

rather go hungry than draw herattention to it, although he did

feel a ter r ib le urge to rushforward from under the couch,

throw himself at his sister ’sfeet and beg her for something

g o o d t o e a t . H o w e v e r, h i ss i s te r no t iced the fu l l d i sh

immediately and looked at itand the f ew d rops o f mi lksplashed around it with some

s u r p r i s e . S h e i m m e d i a t e l ypicked it up - using a rag, not

her bare hands - and carried itou t . Gregor was ex t remely

curious as to what she wouldbring in its place, imagining

the wildest possibilities, buthe never could have guessedw h a t h i s s i s t e r, i n h e r

goodness, actually did bring.In order to test his taste, she

brought him a whole selectionof things, all spread out on an

old newspaper. There wereold , hal f - rot ten vegetables ;

bones from the evening meal,covered in white sauce that

had gone hard; a few raisinsand almonds; some cheese thatGregor had declared inedible

two days before; a dry roll andsome bread spread with butter

and salt. As well as all that shehad poured some water into

the dish, which had probablybeen permanently set aside for

Gregor ’s use, and placed i tb e s i d e t h e m . T h e n , o u t o fcons ide ra t ion fo r Gregor ’s

feelings, as she knew that hew o u l d n o t e a t i n f r o n t o f

he r, s h e h u r r i e d o u t a g a i na n d e v e n t u r n e d t h e k e y i n

t h e l o c k s o t h a t G r e g o r

5554

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

presence, that she hurriedlyremoved herself and eventurned the key in the lock toindicate to Gregor that hewas free to indulge himselfa s comfo r t ab ly a s hepleased. Gregor’s little legswhizzed toward the food.Hi s wounds mus t havealready been fully healed,he felt no more injury; hem a r v e l e d a t t h i s a n dthought about when he hadcut his finger with a knifeover a month ago and howthis [[24] wound had stillbothered him just the daybefore yesterday. “Have Ibecome less sensitive?” hethought, sucking greedily atthe cheese, to which he wasi n i t i a l l y a n d p r i m a r i l ydrawn before all the otherf o o d . Wi t h t e a r s o fg r a t i t u d e h e q u i c k l ydevoured , one a f te r theo ther, the cheese , thevegetables, and the sauce;the fresh food on the otherhand did not appeal to himand he even dragged what hedid want to eat a bit fartheraway. He had long finishedwi th every th ing and laydrowsily on the same spotwhen the sister, to signifyher return, slowly turned thekey in the lock. This jerkedhim into action, as he wasdozing, and he rushed backunder the sofa. But he trulyhad to force himself, evenfor the short time that thesister was in the room, tos t ay benea th t he so fa ,because he had b loa t edslightly from the large mealand he could barely breathein such strict confinement.In between minor bouts ofsu ffoca t ion , he wa tchedwith bulging eyes as theunsuspecting sister swept upno t on ly t he r ema in ingscraps but even what Gregorhad not touched, as if theynow had no more use, anddumped it all quickly into abucket that she covered witha wooden lid and carriedaway. Hardly had she turnedher back when Gregor cameout from under the sofa,s t re tched , and puf fedhimself out.

cuan pronto pudo, y echó lal lave , s in duda para queGregorio comprendiese quepodía ponerse a sus anchas.Al ir Gregorio a comer, suspatas produjeron como unzumbido. Por otra parte, lasheridas debían de habersecurado ya por completo, por-que no sintió ninguna moles-tia; lo cual no dejó de sor-prenderle, pues recordó quehacía más de un mes sor-prenderle, había [45] heri-do con un cuchillo en undedo y que la antevísperatodavía le dolía bastante.-¿Si tendré yo ahora menossens ib i l i dad que an t e s?-pensó, mientras comenzabaa chupar con glotonería elqueso, que fue lo que prime-ro y con más fuerza le se-dujo. Rápidamente, con losojos arrasados en lágrimasde alegría, devoró sucesiva-mente el queso, las legumbres y lasalsa. En cambio, los alimentosfrescos no le gustaban; su olor mis-mo le era insoportable, hasta elpunto de arrastrar lejos aquellascosas que quería comer. Ya hacíatiempo que había terminado.Hallábase perezosamente extendi-do en el mismo sitio, cuando la her-mana, para anunciarle, sin duda,que debía retirarse, hizo girar len-tamente la llave. A pesar de estarmedio dormido, Gregorio se so-bresaltó y corrió a ocultarse de nue-vo debajo del sofá. Mas permane-cer allí aunque solo el breve tiem-po en que la hermana estuvó en elcuarto, costóle ahora gran esfuer-zo de voluntad; pues, a consecuen-cia de la copiosa comida, su cuer-po habíase abultado algo y apenassi podía respirar en aquel reduci-do espacio. Presa de un leve aho-go miraba, con los ojos un pocosalidos de sus órbitas, a su herma-na, completamente ajena a lo que[46] le sucedía, barrer con una es-coba, no solo los restos de la co-mida, sino también los alimentosque Gregorio no había siquieratocado, como si éstos no pudie-sen ya aprovecharse. Y vio tam-bién cómo lo arrojaba todo vio-lentamente a un cubo, que cerróluego con una tapa de madera,llevándoselo por fin. Apenas sehubo marchado, Gregorio salióde su escondrijo, se desperezó yrespiró.

para [50] que é l se d iesecuenta de que podía sentirsecompletamente a sus anchas.Las pati tas le zumbaban aGregor cuando se dirigió acomer. Por lo demás, sus he-ridas debían de haberse cura-do del todo, ya no sentía nin-guna molestia, y se asombróal recordar que, hacía algomás de un mes, se había he-cho un pequeño corte en eldedo con un cuchillo y esaherida aún le había dolidobas t an t e l a an t ev í spe r a .«¿Tendré ahora menos sensi-bilidad que antes?», pensó, yse puso a chupar ávidamenteel queso, que fue, entre todoaquello, lo que primero y conmás fuerza lo atrajo. Rápida-mente y con lágrimas de sa-tisfacción en los ojos fue de-vorando uno tras otro el que-so, la verdura y la salsa; losalimentos frescos, en cambio,no le gustaron, ni siquierapodía soportar su olor e in-cluso apartó un poco lo quele apetecía comer. Ya habíaterminado hacía rato y seguíaperezosamente tumbado en elmismo sitio, cuando la her-mana, para indicarle que de-bía retirarse, empezó a girarlentamente la llave. Eso losobresaltó al instante, pese aque estaba casi adormilado, yvolvió a esconderse a todaprisa bajo el sofá. Pero lecostó un gran esfuerzo devoluntad quedarse ahí siquie-ra el breve tiempo que la her-mana estuvo en la habitación,pues la abundante comida lehabía abultado un poco elvientre y apenas podía respi-rar en aquella estrechez. En-tre leves ataques de asfixia ycon los o jos un t an todesorbitados vio cómo la her-mana, totalmente ajena a loque le estaba ocurriendo, sepuso a barrer con una escobano solo los [51] restos, sinoincluso los a l imentos queGregor no había tocado, comosi estos tampoco pudieran yautilizarse, tiró todo precipita-damente en un cubo, lo cubriócon una tapa de madera y selo llevó. En cuanto ella se diola vuelta, Gregor salió de de-bajo del sofá, se desperezó yrespiró hondamente.

even turning the key, just toshow him that he could makehimself as comfortable as hewished. Gregor’s tiny legswhirred as he chargedtoward the food. His wounds,incidental ly, must havehealed up by now, he felt nohandicap anymore, whichwas astonishing; for, as herecalled, after he had nickedhis finger with a knife over amonth ago, the injury hadstill been hurting the daybefore yesterday. “Am I lesssensi t ive now?” hewondered, greedily suckingat the cheese, which hadpromptly exerted a moreemphatic attraction on himthan any of the other food.His eyes watered wi thcontentment as he gulpeddown the cheese , thevegetables, and the sauce inrapid success ion. Bycontrast, he did not relish thefresh foods, he could noteven stand their smells, andhe actual ly dragged thethings he wanted to eat ashort distance away. He wasalready done long since andwas simply lazing in the samespot when the sister, to signalthat he should withdraw,s lowly turned the key.Startled, he jumped [145] upthough he was almost dozing,and scuttered back under thesettee. However, it took a lotof self-control to remainthere even during the fewshort moments that the sisterspent in the room, for hisbody was slightly bloatedfrom the ample food and hecould scarcely breathe inthat cramped space. Amidshort fits of suffocation, hes ta red wi th somewhatbulg ing eyes whi le theunsuspecting sister, wieldinga broom, swept up not onlythe leftovers but also theuntouched food, as if this toowere now unusable; she thenhastily dumped everythingin to a pa i l , shu t t ing i t swooden l id and carryingeverything out. No soonerhad she turned her back thanhe skulked out from under thesettee and began stretchingand puffing up.

withdrew and even turned thekey in the lock to let Gregorknow that he could makehimself as comfortable as hewished. Gregor’s [25] littlelegs whirred as he made hisway to the food. His wounds,moreover, must havecompletely healed by now, forhe felt no further impediment,which astonished him, and heremembered how more than amonth earlier he had cut hisfinger ever so slightly with aknife and how this finger hadstill been hurting him only theday before yesterday. ‘Might Ihave grown less sensitive?’ hethought, already suckinggreedily on the cheese whichhad attracted him immediatelyand more forcibly than all theother food. In quick successionand with tears of contentmentwelling in his eyes, hedevoured the cheese, thevegetables and the sauce; thefresh food, on the other hand,did not appeal to him, hecouldn’t even stand the smelland he actually dragged thethings he did not wish to eat alittle further off: He had longfinished everything and wasjust lying lazily on the samespot when, as a sign that heshould withdraw, his sisterslowly turned the key. Thatimmediately made him start,despite the fact that he wasalmost dozing off, and hescuttled back beneath thecouch. But it took enormousself-control to stay under thecouch, even for the short timethat his sister was in the room,since the copious meal hadbloated his body a little and hecould hardly breathe in thatcramped space. In betweenbrief bouts of suffocation hewatched with slightly bulgingeyes as his unsuspecting sistertook a broom and swept up notonly the remains of what he hadeaten but even the food that Gregorhad not touched, as if it too werenow unusable, and then dumpedeverything hastily into a bucketwhich she covered with a woodenlid, before carrying everything out.She had hardly turned her backwhen Gregor came out fromunder the couch to stretch anddistend his belly.

jusqu’à se retirer en fermantla porte à clef de façon à bienlui montrer qu’il pouvaitprendre toutes ses aises.Maintenant que la table étaitmise, Grégoire ressentait dansses pattes un trémoussementgénéral . D’ail leurs sesblessures devaient êtreguéries car il [38] n’éprouvaitplus la moindre gêne; il enresta même tout étonné ensongeant qu’à son époquehumaine, il y avait un mois, ils’était fait au doigt une légèrecoupure dont il avait encoresouffert l ’avant-veil le .«Serais-je devenu moinssensible?» pensa-t-il; maisdéjà il s’était mis à sucer lefromage qui l’avait attiré,entre tous les autres aliments,d’une façon subite etimpérieuse. I l avalasuccessivement comme ungoulu le fromage, les légumeset la sauce, avec des yeuxmouil lés de sat isfaction;quant aux odeurs fraîches iln’en faisait aucun cas, leurodeur lui répugnait même, etpour manger, il les éloignaitdes autres. Il avait fini depuislongtemps et restai tparesseusement à digérer à lamême place quand sa soeur semit à tourner lentement la clefpour lui donner le signal de laretraite. Il en ressentit unegrande frayeur malgré sademisomnolence et se hâta deregagner le canapé. Il lui falutbeaucoup de courage pourrester dessous pendant le temps,cependant très court, que sasoeur mit à faire la chambre; sonrepas copieux lui avait arrondile ventre et il pouvait à peinerespirer dans son réduit. Entredeux petits accès d’étouffementil vit, les yeux gonflés de larmes,sa soeur qui, sans penser à mal,balayait avec les restes de sonrepas les choses auxquelles iln’avait pas touché comme sil’on ne pouvait plus rien enfaire; elle se dépêcha de toutjeter dans un seau qu’elleferma d’un couvercle de boiset qu’elle emporta à la hâte.Elle n’eut pas plus tôt tournéles talons que Grégoire [39]sortit de sa cachette pours’étirer et rendre à son ventreson volume normal.

d’eau. Et par délicatesse, parcequ’el le savai t que Gregor ne

mangerait pas devant elle, elles ’ é l o i g n a p r o m p t e m e n t e t

tourna même la clef pour queGregor vît bien qu’il pouvait

prendre tou tes ses a i ses . Aum o m e n t d ’ a l l e r v e r s l a

nourriture, les pattes de Gregorse mirent à s’agiter avec bruit.S e s b l e s s u r e s d e v a i e n t ê t r e

d’ailleurs entièrement guéries,il ne sentait plus aucune gêne;

i l s ’ e n é t o n n a e n s o n g e a n tqu’i l s’étai t fai t au doigt une

l é g è r e c o u p u r e a v e c u ncouteau, i l y avai t plus d’un

mois, et que cet te blessure lef a i s a i t enco re sou f f r i r deuxj o u r s p l u s t ô t . « S e r a i s - j e

devenu moins sens ib le? » ,pensa- t - i l , e t dé jà i l l écha i t

goulûment le fromage, qui l’avaitaussitôt attiré le plus fortement

au milieu des autres aliments. Ildévora successivement le fromage,

les légumes et la sauce, et lasatisfaction lui faisait verser des

larmes; mais il n’avait en revancheaucun goût pour les nourrituresfraîches, il n’en pouvait même pas

supporter l’odeur et il traîna même unpeu à l’écart les choses qu’il voulait

manger. I l avai t f ini depuislongtemps et paressait encore à la

même place, quand sa soeur, pourlui faire comprendre que le moment

était venu de se retirer, tournalentement la clef dans la serrure. Ilsursauta immédiatement, bien

qu’il fût à moitié endormi et sehâta de regagner le canapé. Il lui

fallut un grand effort sur luimêmepour y rester pendant le bref

moment que sa soeur passa dansla chambre, car le repas copieux

lui avait un peu gonflé le ventre,il se sentait à l’étroit et avait

peine à respirer. Au milieu depetites crises d’étouffement, lesyeux un peu exorb i tés , i l

regardait faire sa soeur qui, sanspouvoi r r i en comprendre ,

ramassa i t avec un ba la i nonseulement ses restes, mais aussi

les nou rr i tures auxquel les i ln’avait pas touché, comme si elles

étaient devenues, elles aussi,inutilisables, et jetait vivement letout dans un baquet, qu’elle

recouvrit d’un couvercle de bois, etqu’elle emporta à la hâte. Elle avait

à peine tourné les talons que Gregorsortit de sous le canapé, pour s’étirer

et laisser son ventre se gonfler.

w o u l d k n o w h e c o u l d m a k et h i n g s a s c o m f o r t a b l e f o r

h i m s e l f a s h e l i k e d .G r e g o r ’ s l i t t l e l e g s

w h i r re d [ z u m b a r ] , a t l a s th e could ea t . What’s more ,

h i s i n j u r i e s m u s t a l r e a d yhave comple t e ly hea l ed a s

h e f o u n d n o d i f f i c u l t y i nmoving. This amazed him, asmore than a month earlier he

had cu t h i s f inge r s l igh t lywith a knife , he thought of

how his finger had still hurtt h e d a y b e f o r e y e s t e r d a y.

“Am I less sensi t ive than Iu s e d t o b e , t h e n ? ” , h e

t h o u g h t , a n d w a s alreadysucking greedily at the cheesewhich had immediately, almost

compe l l ing ly , a t t r ac ted h imm u c h m o r e t h a n t h e o t h e r

f o o d s o n t h e n e w s p a p e r .Quickly one after another, his

eyes water ing with pleasure ,he consumed the cheese, the

vegetables and the sauce; thefresh foods, on the other hand,

he didn’t l ike a t al l , and evend r a g g e d t h e t h i n g s h e d i dwant to ea t a l i t t le way away

f r o m t h e m b e c a u s e h ec o u l d n ’ t s t a n d t h e s m e l l .

L o n g a f t e r h e h a d f i n i s h e deat ing and lay le thargic in the

same place , h is s i s te r s lowlyturned the key in the lock as

a s ign to him that he shouldwithdraw. He was immediatelystart led, al though he h ad been

h a l f a s l e e p , a n d h e h u r r i e dback under the couch. But he

needed g rea t se l f - con t ro l tos tay there even for the shor t

t ime tha t h is s i s te r was in theroom, as ea t ing so much food

had rounded ou t h i s body al i t t l e a n d h e c o u l d h a r d l y

brea the in tha t nar row space .Half suffocat ing , he watchedwith bulging eyes as his s is ter

u n s e l f c o n s c i o u s l y t o o k abroom and swept up the le f t -

o v e r s , m i x i n g t h e m i n w i t ht h e f o o d h e h a d n o t e v e n

touched a t a l l a s i f i t cou ldn o t b e u s e d a n y m o r e . S h e

quickly dropped i t a l l in to ab i n , c l o s e d i t w i t h i t sw o o d e n l i d , a n d c a r r i e d

e v e r y t h i n g o u t . S h e h a dh a r d l y t u r n e d h e r b a c k

b e f o r e G r e g o r came out againf r o m u n d e r t h e c o u c h a n d

stretched himself.

5756

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

G r e g o r w a s f e dt w i c e d a i l y i n t h i sw a y , o n c e i n t h em o r n i n g w h i l e t h ep a r e n t s a n d t h e m a i ds t i l l s l e p t , a n d o n c ea f t e r d i n n e r w a s e a t e nw h i l e t h e p a r e n t sn a p p e d f o r a s h o r tt i m e a n d t h e s i s t e rc o u l d s e n d t h e m a i d o ns o m e e r r a n d . T h ep a r e n t s c e r t a i n l y d i dn o t w a n t G r e g o r t os t a r v e , b u t p e r h a p s i tw a s a s m u c h a s t h e yc o u l d b e a r t o h e a ra b o u t i t , p e r h a p s t h es i s t e r w a n t e d t o s a v et h e m f r o m e v e n t h es m a l l e s t p o s s i b l ed i s c o m f o r t , a s t h e ys u r e l y h a d e n o u g h t ob e a r .

G r e g o r h a d n o i d e awhat excuse was used thatfirst morning to put off thed o c t o r a n d l o c k s m i t h ,because as no one couldu n d e r s t a n d h i m , n o o n et h o u g h t , i n c l u d i n g t h es i s t e r , t h a t h e c o u l dunders tand them, and sohe had to content himself ,whenever his sister was inthe room, with hearing asigh now and then or ana p p e a l t o t h e s a i n t s . Alittle time later, when shewas a bit more at ease-ofcourse i t was never aquestion of being completelyat ease-Gregor sometimescaught a remark that wasmeant k indly or a t l eas tcould be so cons idered .“ O h , h e e n j o y e d i tt o d a y, ” s h e s a i d w h e nG r e g o r h a d e a t e n w e l l ,o r w h e n h e h a d [ 2 5 ] n o t ,which was more frequentlythe case , she would sayalmost sadly, “It’s all beenleft again.”

Although Gregor could getno news directly, he overhearda great deal from theneighboring rooms, and as soonas he heard voices he would runover to the corresponding doorand press his entire body againstit. There was no conversation,

De e s t a mane ra r ec i -b ió Gregor io d i a r i amen-t e s u c o m i d a ; u n a v e zp o r l a m a ñ a n a , c u a n d otodav ía do rmían lo s pa -d r e s y l a c r i a d a , y o t r ad e s p u é s d e l a l m u e r z o ,m i e n t r a s l o s p a d r e ss e s t e a b a n u n r a t o y l acr iada sa l ía a a lgún reca-do , a que l a mandaba l ah e r m a n a . S e g u r a m e n t eno quer ían tampoco e l losque Gregor io se mur i e sede hambre ; pe ro t a l vezn o h u b i e r a n p o d i d o s o -po r t a r e l e spec t ácu lo desus comidas , y e ra me jo rque so lo l a s conoc ie senpo r l o qu e l e s d i j e r a l ah e r m a n a . Ta l v e z t a m -b ién que r í a é s t a ahor ra r -l e s una pena más , sob relo que ya su f r í an .

A Gregorio le fue completa-mente imposible averiguar conqué disculpas habían despedidoaquella mañana al médico y alcerrajero. Como no se hacíacomprender de nadie, nadiepensó, ni siquiera la hermana,que [47] él pudiese comprendera los demás. No le quedó, pues,otro remedio que contentarse,cuando la hermana entraba en sucuarto, con oírla gemir e invo-car a todos los santos. Más ade-lante, cuando ella se hubo acos-tumbrado un poco a este nuevoestado de cosas (no puede, na-turalmente, suponerse que seacostumbrase por completo),pudo Gregorio advertir en ellaalguna intención amable, o, porlo menos, algo que se podíaconsiderar como tal. -Hoysí que le ha gustado -decía,cuando Gregorio había co-mido opíparamente; mien-tras que en el caso contra-rio, cada vez más frecuen-te, solía decir casi con tris-teza: -Vaya, hoy lo ha de-jado todo.

Mas, aun cuando Gregoriono podía saber directamenteninguna noticia, prestó atencióna lo que sucedía en las habita-ciones contiguas, y tan prontosentía voces, corría hacia lapuerta que correspondía al ladode donde provenía. y se pegaba

D e e s t e m o d o l e f u el l e g a n d o c a d a d í a s u c o -m i d a , u n a v e z p o r l a m a -ñ a n a , c u a n d o l o s p a d r e s yl a c r i a d a a ú n d o r m í a n , yl a s e g u n d a v e z d e s p u é sd e l a l m u e r z o f a m i l i a r ,pues los padres hac ían en-t o n c e s u n a b r e v e s i e s t a yl a h e r m a n a m a n d a b a a l ac r i ada a hace r a lgún r eca -d o . S i n d u d a e l l o s t a m p o -c o q u e r í a n q u e G r e g o r s em u r i e s e d e h a m b r e , a u n -q u e q u i z á l e s h a b r í a r e -s u l t a d o i n s o p o r t a b l e s a -b e r s o b r e s u s c o m i d a smás de lo que pud ie ra l l e -ga r l e s de o ídas , o qu izá l ahermana quer ía ahor ra r lesu n a p e n a m á s b i e n d ep o c a m o n t a , p u e s , d e h e -c h o , b a s t a n t e e s t a b a n y apadec i endo .

Con qué excusas habíandespedido esa primera maña-na al médico y al cerrajeroes algo que Gregor no pudoaveriguar, pues como no leentendían, nadie, ni siquie-ra la hermana, pensaba queél pudiera entender a los de-más; y así, cuando la herma-na estaba en su habitación,él tenía que conformarse conoír de rato en rato sus suspi-ros e invocaciones a los san-tos. Solo más tarde, cuandoella se hubo acostumbradoun poco a todo -nunca podríadecirse, claro está, que lle-gase a acos tumbrarse porcompleto-, Gregor captaba aveces algún comentario ama-b l e o q u e p o d í ainterpretarse como tal. «Se[52] ve que hoy le ha gustado»,decía cuando Gregor había dadobuena cuenta de la comida,mientras que, en el caso contra-rio, que empezó a repetirse conmayor frecuencia, solía decircasi con tristeza: «Esta vez havuelto a dejarlo todo».

Pero aunque Gregor no po-día enterarse directamente deninguna novedad, aguzando eloído captaba algo de lo que sedecía en las habitaciones con-tiguas, y en cuanto oía voces,corría hacia la puerta en cues-tión y se pegaba a ella con todo

Tha t was how Gregorrece ived h i s food eve ryd a y : o n c e i n t h em o r n i n g , w h e n t h ep a r e n t s a n d t h e m a i dwere s t i l l a s leep , and thes e c o n d t i m e a f t e r t h ef a m i l y - l u n c h , f o r t h epa ren t s wou ld then t akea b r i e f n a p w h i l e t h es i s t e r w o u l d s e n d t h emaid out on some er rand.W h i l e t h e p a r e n t sc e r t a i n l y d i d n o t w a n tGregor t o s t a rve e i t he r,t h e y m a y n o t h a v ee n d u r e d k n o w i n g m o r ea b o u t h i s e a t i n g t h a nf r o m h e a r s a y , o r t h esis ter may have wished tospare them some-perhapsonly sl ight-grief , for theyw e r e r e a l l y s u f f e r i n genough as i t was .

Gregor could not find outwhat excuses they had come upwith to get the doctor and thelocksmith out of the apartment;for since he was notunderstood, no one, includingthe sister, assumed that hecould understand them. Andso, whenever she was in hisroom, he had to contenthimself with occasionallyhearing her sighs and herappeals to the saints. It was[146] only later, when she hadgotten a bit accustomed toeverything (naturally therecold be no question of her everbecoming fully accustomed),Gregor sometimes caught aremark that was meant to befriendly or might beinterpreted as such. “Hecertainly enjoyed it today,” shewould say when Gregor hadpolished off a good portion of thefood; while in the opposite event,which was gradually becomingmore and more frequent, she wouldsay almost sadly: “Now once againnothing’s been touched.”

But while Gregor couldlearn no news directly, he wouldeavesdrop, picking up a fewthings from the adjacent rooms,and the instant he heard voices,he would promptly scuttle overto the appropriate door,squeezing his entire body

This was how Gregorn o w r e c e i v e d h i s f o o de a c h d a y, o n c e i n t h em o r n i n g w h i l e h i sp a r e n t s a n d t h e m a i dw e r e s t i l l [ 2 6 ] a s l e e p ,and aga in when everyonehad had lunch , fo r t henhis paren ts took anothers h o r t n a p a n d t h e m a i dwas sen t on some er rando r o t h e r b y h i s s i s t e r .They sure ly d id no t wanth im to s ta rve e i ther, bu tp e r h a p s t h e o n l y w a yt h e y c o u l d b e a r t o f i n do u t a b o u t h i s e a t i n gh a b i t s w a s b y h e a r s a y ,p e r h a p s h i s s i s t e r e v e nw a n t e d t o s p a r e t h e mwhat was possibly merelya minor d is t ress , for theyw e r e r e a l l y s u f f e r i n genough as i t was .

What pretexts had been usedon that first morning to get thedoctor and the locksmith out ofthe apartment, Gregor was quiteunable to discover, for since theothers could not understandwhat he said, it did not occur toanyone, not even his sister, thathe might be able to understandother people, and so when hissister was in his room he had tocontent himself with hearing herintermittent sighs andinvocations to the saints. It wasonly later, when she had begunto get used to everything - therecould never of course be anyquestion of a completeadjustment - that Gregorsometimes seized on a remarkthat was meant to be friendly orcould be so interpreted. ‘Hereally liked his food today,’ shewould say when Gregor hadlicked his bowl clean, and whenthe opposite was true, whichgradually occurred more andmore frequently, she would sayalmost sadly: ‘He’s lefteverything again.’

But although Gregor couldnot discover anything directly,he did overhear a fair amountfrom the adjoining rooms, andwhenever he heard voices hewould run at once to theappropriate door and press hiswhole body against it.

C’es t a ins i qu’ i l fu tnourri tous les jours : lematin, avant le réveil desparents et de la bonne, etl ’agrès-midi , à la f in dudéjeuner, au moment où lesparents faisaient la sieste;quan t à l a bonne , à cemoment la soeur trouvaittoujours une course pourelle. Certainement les autresnon plus ne voulaient pasqu’il mourût de faim, maisi ls a imaient mieux neconnaître ses repas que parouï-dire; ils n’en auraientpeut-être pas supporté la vue;peut-être aussi n’étaient-ilspas si dégoûtés peut-être lajeune f i l le tenai t -e l lesimplement à leur épargner lamoindre peine. Il fallait bienreconnaître qu’ils avaientassez de malheurs.

Grégoire ne put jamaisapprendre quel prétexte on avaittrouvé le premier jour pour sedébarrasser du médecin et duserrurier; car, personne neréussissant à le comprendre,personne, sans excepter sa soeur,n’imaginait qu’il pût comprendreles autres; il devait donc secontenter, quand elle venait danssa chambre, de l’écouterinvoquer les saints entre deuxsoupirs. Ce ne fut que beaucoupplus tard, une fois Grete résignéeà cette situation nouvelle - àlaquelle elle ne s’habitua jamaisvraiment - ce ne fut quebeaucoup plus tard que Grégoiresurprit parfois, sur les lèvres dela jeune fille, une réflexion quitémoignait de la gentillesse oupermettait d’en supposer. Quandil avait fait table nette, elle disait: «Ça lui a plu aujourd’hui»;[40] d’autres fois, quand iln’avait pas montré d’appétit,ce qui devint de plus en plusfréquent, elle déclarait d’unton presque triste :«Il a encoretout laissé.»

Mais, s’il ne pouvaitapprendre directement lesnouvelles, Grégoire écoutait cequi se disait dans la salle àmanger; dès qu’il entendaitparler quelque part il courait àla porte la plus propice et s’ycollait de tout son corps. Dans

C ’ e s t a i n s i q u e G r e g o r

r e ç u t d é s o r m a i s t o u s l e sjour s l a nour r i tu re , une fo i s

le mat in , quand ses parents e tla bonne dormaient encore , la

deux ième fo i s ap rès l e r epasg é n é r a l d e m i d i , c a r l e s

p a r e n t s f a i s a i e n t à c emoment - l à encore une pe t i t es i e s t e e t l a soeur envoya i t l a

b o n n e f a i r e q u e l q u ecommiss ion . I l s ne vou la i en t

c e r t a i n e m e n t p a s , e u x n o np l u s , l a i s s e r G r e g o r m o u r i r

d e f a i m , m a i s p e u t - ê t r en ’ a u r a i e n t - i l s p a s s u p p o r t é

d ’ê t r e in fo rmés de ses r epasautrement que par ouï -di re ; i le s t p o s s i b l e a u s s i q u e l a

soeur a i t vou lu l eu r épa rgneru n e s o u r c e d e t r i s t e s s e

p e u t - ê t r e m i n e u r e , c a r i l sa v a i e n t d é j à b i e n a s s e z à

souf f r i r.

Gregor ne put jamais savoirgrâce à quels prétextes on s’était

débarrassé, le premier matin, dumédecin et du serrurier; en effet,comme on ne le comprenait pas,

personne, même pas sa soeur, nepensait qu’il était capable de

comprendre les autres et il devaitse contenter, quand sa soeur était

dans sa chambre, de l’entendrede temps en temps soupirer ou

invoque r l e s s a in t s . C ’e s tseulement plus tard, quand elles e fu t un peu hab i t uée à l a

s i t u a t i o n - à l a q u e l l en a t u r e l l e m e n t i l é t a i t

impossible de s’habituer tout àf a i t - , q u e G r e g o r p a r v i n t

q u e l q u e f o i s à s a i s i r u n eremarque qui exprimait de la

gentillesse ou qui permettait àtout le moins d’être interprétée

d e l a s o r t e . « E h b i e n !aujourd’hui cela lu i a plu » ,disait-elle, quand Gregor avait

fait honneur au repas ou bien,dans le cas contra i re , qui se

p r o d u i s a i t d e p l u s e n p l u sfréquemment : « Voilà qu’il a

encore tout laissé.»

Mais, si Gregor ne pouvaitapprendre directement aucunenouvelle, il parvenait à glaner

des informations dans les piècesvoisines et, dès qu’il entendait

parler, il se précipitait aussitôtsur la porte en question et s’y

collait de tout son long. Dans les

T h i s w a s h o w G r e g o r

received his food each dayn o w, o n c e i n t h e m o r n i n g

w h i l e h i s p a r e n t s a n d t h emaid were s t i l l as leep, and

t h e s e c o n d t i m e a f t e re v e r y o n e h a d e a t e n t h e i r

meal at midday as his parentswould sleep for a l i t t le whilethen as wel l , and Gregor ’s

s is ter would send the maida w a y o n s o m e e r r a n d .

Gregor ’s fa ther and mothercertainly did not want him to

starve ei ther, but perhaps i twould have been more than

they could stand to have anym o r e e x p e r i e n c e o f h i sfeeding than being told about

i t , a n d p e r h a p s h i s s i s t e rwanted to spare them what

d i s t r e s s s h e c o u l d a s t h e yw e r e i n d e e d s u f f e r i n g

enough.

I t w a s i m p o s s i b l e f o rGregor to find out what they

had told the doctor and thelocksmith that first morning toget them out of the flat . As

nobody could understand him,nobody, not even his sister,

t h o u g h t t h a t h e c o u l dunderstand them, so he had to

be content to hear his sister ’ssighs and appeals to the saints

as she moved about his room.It was only later, when she hadbecome a little more used to

eve ry th ing - t he re was , o fcourse, no question of her ever

becoming ful ly used to thesituation - that Gregor would

somet imes ca tch a f r iendlyc o m m e n t , o r a t l e a s t a

c o m m e n t t h a t c o u l d b econstrued as friendly. “He’s

enjoyed his dinner today”, shemight say when he had diligentlycleared away all the food left for

him, or if he left most of it, whichslowly became more and more

frequent, she would often say,sadly, “now everything’s just been

left there again”.

A l though Gregor wasn ’table to hear any news directlyhe did listen to much of what

was said in the next rooms, andwhenever he hea rd anyone

s p e a k i n g h e w o u l d s c u r r ystraight to the appropriate door

a n d p r e s s h i s w h o l e b o d y

5958

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

especially early on, that didnot concern him even if onlyindirectly. At every meal fortwo whole days there wered iscuss ions about wha tshould be done, but th issame theme was a l sodeba ted be tween mea ls ,because there were always atleast two family membershome since no one wanted tobe alone in the apartmentand it certainly could not bele f t empty under thecircumstances. Furthermore,on the very first day, thecook-it was not entirely clearwhat and how much sheknew of the situation-beggedthe mother on her knees tobe discharged immediately,and when she took her leavea quarter of an hour later, shewas tearfully thankful for thedismissal, as if it were thegreatest service they hadever conferred upon her, andwith no prompting swore adreadfu l oa th never tobreathe to anyone a word ofwhat had happened.

Now the sister also hadto cook, as did the mother,b u t t h i s w a s n o t m u c htrouble, as the family atealmost nothing. Again anda ga in G reg o r he a rd o n ee n c o u r a g i n g a n o t h e r i nvain to eat and receivingn o a n s w e r b u t : “ T h a n kyou, I’ve had enough,” orsome th ing ve ry s im i l a r.Perhaps they did not drinke i t h e r . T h e s i s t e r o f t e nasked the father whetherhe would have some beera n d k i n d l y o f f e r e d t op r o c u r e i t h e r s e l f , a n dwhen the f a the r d id no treply she sugges ted tha ts h e c o u l d s e n d t h ejanitor ’s wife to fetch it to offsetany hesitation, but then in the end thefather answered with a firm “No,” andit was discussed no further.

In the course of the veryf i r s t d a y, t h e f a t h e re x p l a i n e d t h e f a m i l y ’sf i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n a n dp r o s p e c t s t o b o t h t h emother and the sister. Nowand then he rose from thetable to get some receipt or

a ella cuan largo era. Particu-larmente en los primeros tiem-pos, todas las conversacionesse referían a él, aunque no cla-ramente. Durante dos días, entodas las comidas hubo delibe-raciones acerca de la conductaque cumplía observar en ade-lante. Mas también fuera de lascomidas hablábase de lo mis-mo, pues como ninguno de losmiembros de la familia [48]quería permanecer solo en casa,y como tampoco querían dejarésta abandonada, siempre habíaallí por lo menos dos personas.Ya el primer día, la criada -porcierto que todavía no se sabíaexactamente hasta qué puntoestaba enterada de loocurridohabíale suplicado derodillas a la madre que la des-pidiese en seguida, y al mar-charse, un cuarto de hora des-pués, agradeció con lágrimasen los ojos el gran favor quese le hacía, y, sin que nadie selo pidiese, comprometióse,con los más solemnes juramen-tos, a no contar a nadie abso-lutamente nada.

La he rmana tuvo queponerse a guisar con la ma-dre; lo que, en realidad, nol e d a b a m u c h o t r a b a j o ,p u e s a p e n a s s i c o m í a n .Gregorio los oía continua-mente an imarse en vanounos a otros a comer, sien-do un «gracias, tengo bas-tante», u otra frase por elestilo, la respuesta invaria-ble a estos requerimientos.Tampoco bebían casi nada.Con frecuencia preguntabala hermana al padre si que-ría cerveza, brindándose air el la misma a buscarla.Callaba el padre, y enton-ces e l la añadía que tam-bién podían mandar a laportera . Pero el padre res-pondía finalmente un «no»que no admitía replica, no sehablaba más del asunto.

Ya el primer día expuso elpadre a la madre [49] y a la her-mana la verdadera situacióneconómica de la familia y lasperspectivas que ante ésta seabrían. Dé cuando en cuandolevantábase de la mesa parabuscar en su pequeña caja de

su cuerpo. Sobre todo en losprimeros días no hubo ningu-na conversación que, siquieraveladamente, no se refiriese aél de un modo u otro. Durantedos días se pudo escuchar entodas las comidas deliberacio-nes acerca de cómo había quecomportarse ahora; pero tam-bién entre las comidas se ha-blaba del mismo tema, puessiempre había en casa dosmiembros de la familia comomínimo, ya que nadie queríaquedarse solo en el piso y enningún caso podían abando-narlo totalmente. Ya el primerdía, la criada -no estaba deltodo claro qué y cuánto sabíade lo ocurrido- había rogadoa la madre, de rodillas, que ladespidiera de inmediato, ycuando se marchó al cabo deun cuarto de hora, con lágri-mas en los ojos, agradeció eldespido como el favor másgrande que hubieran podidohacerle, y, sin que se lo pidie-ran, hizo el solemne juramen-to de no revelarle absoluta-mente nada a nadie.

A partir de entonces la her-mana tuvo que ayudar a lamadre en la cocina, lo cual, adecir verdad, [53] tampocosuponía un gran esfuerzo, puesno comían casi nada. Todo elt iempo escuchaba Gregorcómo uno animaba en vano acomer al otro y no recibía másrespuesta que un «Gracias, yano quiero más» o algo pareci-do. Quizá tampoco bebíannada. A menudo la hermanapreguntaba al padre si le ape-tecía cerveza, y se ofrecíaamablemente a ir a buscárse-la ella misma; y cuando elpadre callaba, ella, para ven-cer cualquier reparo, añadíaque también podía mandar ala portera ; pero a l f ina l e lpadre lanzaba un «No» ro-t u n d o ; y n o v o l v í a a h a -blarse del asunto .

Ya en el transcurso del pri-mer día el padre expuso tantoa la madre como a la hermanala situación económica y lasperspectivas de la familia. Derato en rato se levantaba de lamesa y sacaba de su pequeñacaja de caudales Wertheim

against it. During the earlyperiod in particular, noconversation took place that wasnot somehow about him, evenif only in secret. For two wholedays, every single meal wasfilled with discussions aboutwhat they ought to do; but evenbetween meals, they keptharping on the same theme, forthere were always at least twofamily members in theapartment, since plainly nobodywished to stay home alone andthey could by no means all goout at the same time.Furthermore, on the very firstday, the maid-it was not quiteclear how much she knew aboutwhat had occurred-had imploredthe mother on bended knees todismiss her immediately. Then,saying goodbye a quarter hourlater, she had tearfully thankedthem for the dismissal as if itwere the most benevolent deedthat they had ever done for her;and without being asked, shehad sworn a dreadful oath thatshe would never breathe a singleword to anyone. [147]

So now the s i s te r,together with the mother,also had to do the cooking;but this was not much of abother, for they ate next tono th ing . Over and over,Gregor heard them urgingone another to eat, though inva in , r ece iving no otheranswer than, “Thanks, I’ve hadenough,” or something similar.They may not have drunkanything e i ther. The s i s te rwould often ask the father if hewould like some beer and shewarmly offered to go and get itherse l f ; when he fa i led torespond, she anticipated anymisg iv ings o n h i s p a r t b ysaying she could also send thejanitor’s wife. But then thefather would finally utter anemphatic “No,” and the subjectwas no longer broached.

In the course of the veryfirst day, the father laid outthei r overal l f inancia lcircumstances and prospectsto both the mother and thesister. From time to time, herose from the table to fetchsome document or notebook

Especially in the early days therewas no conversation that did notin someway, if only clandestinely,refer to him. For two wholedays there were consultations tobe heard at every meal abouthow they should now proceed;but the same topic was alsodiscussed between meals, for atleast two members of the [27]family were always at home,p robab ly because no onewanted to be at home alone andbecause leaving the apartmentcompletely empty was out ofthe question. Besides, the maidhad on the very first day - it wasnot quite clear what or howmuch she knew of what hadhappened - gone to his motherand begged her on bended kneesto be dismissed at once, andwhen she took her leave aquarter of an hour later, shethanked them in tears for herdismissal, as if it had been thegreatest favour ever conferredon her, and vowed, without anyprompting, a fearful oath thatshe would never breathe a wordto anyone.

Now Gregor’s sister, withher mother’s help, had to dothe cooking as well; althoughthat did not of course involvemuch work since they atepractically nothing. Time andagain Gregor heard one of themvainly exhorting the other toeat, and never getting any otheranswer than, ‘Thank you, I’vehad enough,’ or somethingsimilar. They didn’t seem todrink anything either. Hissister often asked his father ifhe wanted a beer, and kindlyoffered to fetch it herself, andwhen his father made no replyshe said, in order to removeany misgivings he might have,that she could send thejanitor ’s wife to fetch it,whereupon his father uttereda decisive ‘No’, and that wasthe last they heard of it.

In the course of the veryfirst day his father explainedfully the family’s financialsituation and prospects toboth mother and sister. Fromtime to time he rose from thetable and took some receipt ornotebook out of his small

les premiers temps surtout il n’yeut guère de conversation quine roulât plus ou moinsdirectement sur son compte. Deuxjours durant, les repas furentconsacrés à délibérer de la nouvelleattitude à observer à son égard, cequi n’empêchait pas entre ces mêmesrepas de disserter encore sur cethème, car maintenant la maisonrestait gardée en permanence pardeux membres de la famille,personne ne voulant y demeurer seulni surtout l’abandonner sanssurveillance. Quant à la bonne, onne savait au juste ce qu’elle avaitappris de l’événement : tout ce qu’onpouvait dire c’est que dès le premierjour elle s’était traînée sur les genouxpour supplier la mère de la chasserimmédiatement, qu’elle avait priscongé de la famille un quart d’heureaprès en versant des pleurs dereconnaissance, qu’elle avait remerciéde son renvoi comme du plus grandtémoignage de bonté qu’elle eût reçudans la maison et qu’elle s’étaitspontanément engagée par unserment terrible à ne jamais riendévoiler à personne, non, non,jamais, au grand jamais.

Maintenant [41] c’étaient lascieur et la mère qui devaient secharger de la cuisine; cela ne leurdonnait d’ailleurs pas grand mal,car l’appétit avait disparu de lamaison. Grégoire entendait à toutmoment l’un des membres de safamille en exhorter vainement unautre à manger. C’était toujoursla même réponse : «Merci. Jen’ai plus faim ou quelquechose d’analogue. Peut-êtreaussi ne buvait-on pas.Souvent la soeur demandait aupère s’il ne voulait pas de labière, elle s’offrait de bon coeurà aller en chercher, et, devant lesilence du père, elle déclarait,pour lui enlever tout scrupule,qu’elle pouvait charger laconcierge de la commission,mais le père répondait par un anon irréfutable et il n’en étaitplus question.

Dans le courant de lapremière journée, M. Samsaexposa à sa femme et à saf i l l e l a s i tua t ion e t l e sperspectives financières duménage. De temps en tempsil se levait de table pour allerchercher quelque papier ou

premiers temps surtout, il n’yavait aucune conversation qui ne

portât plus ou moins, fût-ce à motscouverts, sur son compte. Pendant

deux jours, tous les conciliabulespendant les repas portaient sur la

conduite à tenir et, entre les repas,on reprenait le même sujet, car il

y avait toujours au moins deuxmembres de la famille à la maison;personne ne voulait probablement

y rester seul et il était encoremoins quest ion de la isser la

maison vide. Quant à la bonne,dès le premier jour sans qu’on

pût comprendre clairement cequ ’e l l e conna i s s a i t de s

événements et comment elle lesavait appris - elle avait suppliéla mère à genoux de lui donner

immédiatement son congé et, enf a i s a n t s e s a d i e u x u n q u a r t

d ’ h e u r e p l u s t a r d , e l l eremerciait de son renvoi comme

s’il s’était agi du plus grand desbienfai ts dont el le ai t jamais

bénéficié et, sans qu’on le luie û t d e m a n d é , e l l e s ’ é t a i t

engagée par un serment solen-n e l à n e j a m a i s r é v é l e r àpersonne la moindre chose.

C’est sa soeur désormais qui

devait, avec sa mère, se charger dela cuisine. Il est vrai que cela ne

leur donnait pas beaucoup de mal,car on ne mangeait presque rien.

A tout moment, Gregor entendaitun membre de la famil le enexhorter vainement un autre à

prendre de la nourr i ture; i ln’obtenait pas d’autre réponse que

: « Merci, j’ai assez », ou une autrephrase de ce genre. On avait aussi

l’impression qu’on ne buvait pasdavantage. La soeur demandait

souvent à son père s’il voulait dela bière et lui proposait gentiment

d’aller en chercher elle-même.Quand son père ne répondait pas,elle disait, pour lui retirer tout

scrupule , qu’el le pouvai tégalement envoyer la concierge ,

mais son père finissait par dire: « Non » d’un ton ferme et on

n’en parlait plus.

Dès le premier jour, le pèreavait fai t à la mère en mêmetemps qu’à la soeur un exposé

sur sa si tuation de fortune etsur les perspectives d’avenir.

De temps en temps, il se levaitde table et allait chercher dans

le pet i t cof fre-for t Wertheim

against it. There was seldomany conversation, especially at

first, that was not about him insome way, even i f on ly in

secret. For two whole days, allthe talk at every mealtime was

about wha t they should donow; but even between meals

they spoke about the samesubject as there were always atl e a s t t w o m e m b e r s o f t h e

f a m i l y a t h o m e - n o b o d yw a n t e d t o b e a t h o m e b y

themselves and it was out ofthe question to leave the flat

entirely empty. And on the veryfirst day the maid had fallen to

her knees and begged Gregor’smother to let her go withoutdelay. It was not very clear

how much she knew of whath a d h a p p e n e d b u t s h e l e f t

within a quarter of an hour,tearful ly thanking Gregor ’s

mother for her dismissal as ifshe had done her an enormous

s e r v i c e . S h e e v e n s w o r eemphatically not to tell anyone

the slightest about what hadhappened, even though no-onehad asked that of her.

Now Gregor’s sister also had

to help his mother with thecooking; a l though that was

not so much bother as no-oneate very much. Gregor often

heard how one of them wouldunsuccessful ly urge anotherto eat , and receive no more

answer than “no thanks, I’vehad enough” o r some th ing

s imi lar. No-one drank verymuch either. His sister would

s o m e t i m e s a s k h i s f a t h e rwhether he would like a beer,

hoping for the chance to goand fetch it herself. When his

fa ther then sa id no th ing shew o u l d a d d , s o t h a t h ew o u l d n o t f e e l s e l f i s h , t h a t

s h e c o u l d s e n d t h ehousekeeper for it, but then his

father would close the matterwith a big, loud “No”, and no

more would be said.

Even before the f irst dayh a d c o m e t o a n e n d , h i sf a t h e r h a d e x p l a i n e d t o

Gregor ’s mother and s i s te rw h a t t h e i r f i n a n c e s a n d

p r o s p e c t s w e r e . N o w a n dthen he s tood up f rom the

table and took some receipt

6160

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

notebook from the smal lsa fe he had managed torescue from the collapse ofh i s b u s i n e s s f i v e y e a r searlier. He could be heardopening the compl ica tedlock, removing the desireddocument, and closing i ta g a i n . T h e f a t h e r ’sexplanations were the firstencouraging news Gregorh a d h e a r d s i n c e h i scaptivity. He had been ofthe opinion tha t noth inghad been salvaged from thefather ’s business; at leastthe father had said nothingt o t h e [ 2 6 ] c o n t r a r y ,although Gregor had alsonever asked him. Gregor’sonly concern at that timehad been to do whatever hecould to have the familyf o r g e t a s q u i c k l y a sp o s s i b l e t h e f i n a n c i a lm i s f o r t u n e t h a t h a dp lunged t hem in to t o t a ldespair. And so he began tow o r k w i t h c o n s u m i n genergy and was promoted,almost overnight , from aminor clerk to a travelings a l e s m a n w i t h m u c hgreater potent ia l to earnmoney, and his success wassoon transformed, by wayof commission, into cashthat he could then lay ont h e t a b l e b e f o r e t h eastonished and del ightedf a m i l y. T h o s e h a d b e e nhappy times and they hadnever returned, at least notwith the same bri l l iance,even though Gregor laterearned enough to meet thee x p e n s e s o f t h e e n t i r efami ly and d id so . Theyhad simply grown used toi t , b o t h t h e f a m i l y a n dG r e g o r ; t h e m o n e y w a sg r a t e f u l l y a c c e p t e d a n dg l a d l y g i v e n b u t i t n ol o n g e r b r o u g h t a n ypar t i cu la r warmth . Onlythe sister remained close toG r e g o r , a n d i t w a s h i ssecret plan that she, whou n l i k e G r e g o r g r e a t l yloved music and played theviolin movingly, should besent to the Conservatoryn e x t y e a r d e s p i t e t h ec o n s i d e r a b l e e x p e n s e i twas sure to incur, which

caudales -salvada de la quiebracinco años antes- algún docu-mento o libro de notas. Se oíael ruido de la complicada ce-rradura al abrirse o volverse acerrar, después de haber saca-do el padre lo que buscaba.Estas explicaciones fueron, encierto modo, la primera noticiaagradable que le fue dado oír aGregorio desde su encierro. Élsiempre había creído que a supadre no le quedaba absoluta-mente nada del antiguo nego-cio. El padre, al menos, nadale había dicho que pudiese des-vanecer esta idea. Verdad esque tampoco Gregorio le habíapreguntado nada sobre el par-ticular. Por aquel entonces,Gregorio solo había pensado enponer cuantos medios estuvie-sen a su alcance para hacer ol-vidar a los suyos, lo más rápi-damente posible, la desgraciamercantil que los sumiera a to-dos en la más completa deses-peración. Por eso había él co-menzado a trabajar con talahínco, convirtiéndose en pocotiempo, de dependiente sin im-portancia, en todo un viajantede comercio, con harto mayo-res posibilidades de ganar di-nero, y cuyos éxitos profesio-nales [50] patentizábanse inme-diatamente bajo la forma decomisiones contantes y sonan-tes, puestas sobre la mesa fa-miliar ante el asombro y la ale-gría de todos. Fueron aquéllos,tiempos hermosos de veras.Pero no se habían repetido, almenos con igual esplendor, noobstante llegar más tardeGregorio a ganar lo suficientepara llevar por sí solo el pesode toda la casa. La costumbre,tanto en la familia, que recibíaagradecida el dinero deGregorio, como en éste, que loentregaba con gusto, hizo queaquella primera sorpresa y pri-mera alegría no volviesen aproducirse con el mismo calor.Únicamente la hermana perma-neció siempre estrechamenteunida a Gregorio, y como, con-trariamente a éste, era muy afi-cionada a la música y tocaba elviolín con mucha alma,Gregorio alimentaba la secretaesperanza de mandarla el añopróximo al Conservatorio, sinreparar en los gastos que esto

-que había salvado de la quie-bra de su negocio, ocurridacinco años antes- algún res-guardo o una libreta de pedi-dos. Se oía cómo abría e lcomplicado cerrojo y volvía acerrarlo después de sacar loque buscaba. Estas explica-ciones del padre fueron, enparte, la primera cosa agrada-ble que Gregor escuchó des-de el inicio de su cautiverio.Él había pensado s iempreque al padre no le quedabaabsolutamente nada de aquelnegocio, al menos el padre nole había dicho lo contrario, sibien es cierto que Gregor tam-poco se lo había preguntado.Por entonces, la única preocu-pación de Gregor había sidohacer todo lo posible para quela familia olvidase cuanto an-tes el desastre financiero quelos había sumido a todos [54]en la más absoluta desespera-ción. Y así había empezado atrabajar con un fervor muyparticular y, casi de la nochea la mañana , de s impledependiente había pasado ase r un v ia jan te que , porsupuesto, tenía muchas másposibilidades de ganar dinero,y cuyos éxitos laborales setraducían al momento en co-misiones en metálico que po-dían ponerse sobre la mesa decasa para asombro y alegría dela familia. Habían sido buenostiempos y nunca se habían re-petido -al menos con aquelesplendor-, aunque más tardeGregor llegó a ganar tantodinero que estaba en condicio-nes de cargar con los gastosde toda la familia, y es lo quehacía. Ya se habían acostum-brado a ello, tanto la familiacomo el propio Gregor; ellosaceptaban el dinero agradeci-dos y él lo entregaba gustoso,pero aquel calor especial yano había vuelto a darse. Solola hermana había permaneci-do muy unida a Gregor, cuyopropósito secreto era enviar-la al conservatorio el año si-guiente -a diferencia de suhermano, a ella le gustabamucho la música y tocaba elviolín con sentimiento-, sinpreocuparse por los elevadosgastos que inevitablementeocasionaría y que ya intenta-

from his small strongbox,which he had salvaged afterthe collapse of his businessfive years earlier. They heardhim opening the complicatedlock and then shutt ing i tagain af ter removingwhatever he had been lookingfor. The father’s explanationswere to some extent the firstpleasant news that Gregor gotto hear s ince hisimprisonment. He had beenunder the impression that thefather had failed to rescueanything from his business-atleast, the father had told himnothing to the contrary, nor,admittedly, had Gregor everasked him. Gregor’s soleconcern at that time had beento do whatever he could tomake the family forget asquickly as poss ible thebusiness catastrophe that hadplunged them all into utterdespair. And so he hadthrown himself into his jobwith t remendous [148]fervor, working his way up,almost overnight, from minorclerk to traveling salesman,who, natural ly, had analtogether different earningpotent ia l and whoseprofessional triumphs wereinstantly translated, by wayof commissions, into cash,which could be placed on thetable a t home for theastonished and del ightedfamily. Those had beenlovely times, and they hadnever recurred, at least notwith that same luster, eventhough Gregor waseventually earning so muchmoney that he was able tocover and indeed did coverall the expenditures of thefamily. They had s implygrown accustomed to this,both the family and Gregor;they accepted the moneygratefully, he was glad tohand it over, but no greatwarmth came of it. Only thesister had remained close toGregor; and since she, unlikeGregor, loved music andcould play the viol inpoignantly, he was secretlyplanning to send her to theconservatory next yearregardless of the great

Wertheim safe that he hadheld onto even after thecollapse of his business fiveyears earlier. He could beheard opening thecomplicated lock and closingit again once he had taken outwhat he was looking for.These explanations by hisfather were to some extent thefirst encouraging news he hadheard since his imprisonment.[28] He had always assumedthat his father had been leftwith nothing at all from thatbusiness, at least his fatherhad never told him anythingto the contrary, and Gregorhimself had never asked him.Gregor’s sole concern in thosedays had been to doeverything in his power tohelp his family forget asquickly as possible thecommercial disaster that hadplunged them all into utterdespair. And so he had set towork with quite exceptionalzeal and r isen almostovernight from junior clerk totravelling salesman, in whichcapacity he naturally hadmany more possibilities ofearning money, since hissuccesses could beimmediately translated byway of commission into readycash that could be laid on thetable at home before theastonished and delighted eyesof his family. Those had beenwonderful times, which hadnever been repeated, at leastnot so gloriously, althoughGregor subsequently earnedso much money that he was ina position to meet the entirefamily’s expenses andactually did so. They hadsimply got used to it, thefamily as well as Gregor; theyaccepted the money withgratitude, he gave it withpleasure, but no specialfeelings of warmth wereengendered any more. Onlyhis sister had remained closeto Gregor, and it had been hissecret plan that she, who,unlike him, loved music andcould play the violin mostmovingly, should be sent nextyear to the conservatoire,regardless of the greatexpense it would entail and

livret de versement dans lecoffre-fort Wertheim qu’ilavait sauvé du naufrage cinqannées auparavant, lors de lafaillite de son commerce. Onl’entendait ouvrir la serrurecompliquée et la refermeraprès avoir pr is ce qu’ i lcherchait. Rien, depuis sacaptivité, n’avait fait plus deplaisir à Grégoire que cesexplications financières, toutau moins sur certains points.Il s’était toujours imaginéque M. Samsa n’avait pusauver le moindre pfennig desa débâcle; en tout cas lepère n’avait jamais rien ditpour le détromper, et [42]Grégoi re ne l ’ava i t pasinterrogé; il s’était contentéde mettre tout en oeuvrepour faire oublier aux siensle p lus v i t e poss ib le l edésastre qui les désespéraittous. Il s’était lancé dans let rava i l avec une a rdeursplendide; petit commis, ilava i t é té , du jour aulendemain, pour ainsi dire,promu au grade de voyageuravec tous les bénéfices del’emploi; grâce au- systèmede la provision, les succèss’étaient t raduits tout desui te en argent comptantqu’on pouvait étaler chez soisur l a t ab le , devan t unefamil le é tonnée et ravie .Temps heureux... on n’enavait plus retrouvé l’éclat,bien que Grégoire eût gagnépar la suite de quoi nourrirtous les Samsa, comme il lefit en effet. Tout le mondes’y était habitué, les sienscomme lui; sa famille prenaitl’argent avec gratitude, deson cô té , i l l e donna i tvolontiers, mais l’opérationne s ’accompagna i t p lusd’effusions part iculières.Seule la soeur avait conservép lus de t endresse pour-Grégoire qui projetait ensecret de la faire admettre auConserva to i re l ’annéesuivante, sans regarder auxf ra i s cons idérab les del’entreprise qu’il tâcheraitde couvrir d’une autre façon,car, différent de lui sur cepoint, Grete aimait beaucoupla mus ique . CeConservatoire revenait assez

qu’il était parvenu à sauver dudésastre de son entreprise, cinq

ans plus tôt, un document ou unregistre. On l’entendait ouvrir

la serrure compliquée du coffree t l a r e f e r m e r a p r è s a v o i r

trouvé ce qu’il cherchait. Cesexpl icat ions que donnai t son

père é ta ient sans doute pouru n e p a r t l a p r e m i è r e c h o s eagréable que Gregor entendait

depuis le début de sa captivité.Il avait toujours pensé que son

père n’avait rien pu sauver dutout de ce t te en t repr ise ; son

père, à tout le moins n’avai tjamais cherché à le détromper

e t G r e g o r d ’ a i l l e u r s n e l u iposa i t aucune ques t ion à ces u j e t . L e s o u c i d e G r e g o r

n ’ a v a i t t o u j o u r s é t é e n c etemps-là que de faire oublier le

plus vite possible à sa famillel a c a t a s t r o p h e q u i l ’ a v a i t

p r i v é e d e t o u t e s p o i r. E t i ls ’ é t a i t l ancé dans l e t r ava i l

a v e c u n e a r d e u r t o u t epart icul ière; de pet i t commis

qu’il était , i l était d’un jour àl’autre devenu voyageur, ce quioffra i t nature l lement de tout

autres possibilités de salaire ets e s s u c c è s p r o f e s s i o n n e l s

s’é ta ient auss i tô t t radui ts ena r g e n t l i q u i d e , q u ’ o n l u i

remettait à titre de provision etqu’il pouvait étaler chez lui sur

l a t ab le , devan t une fami l l eétonnée et ravie. C’étaient debelles années et i l ne s’en était

p l u s t r o u v é d e p u i s q u i l e u rf u s s e n t c o m p a r a b l e s e t q u i

f u s s e n t d u m o i n s a u s s ibrillantes, bien que Gregor eût

e n s u i t e g a g n é t e l l e m e n td’argent qu’il fut en mesure de

s u b v e n i r a u x b e s o i n s d e l afamille entière, ce qu’il fit en

effet. Tout le monde s’y étaithabitué, la famille aussi bienq u e G r e g o r ; o n a c c e p t a i t

l’argent avec gratitude et lui ledonnait volontiers, mais il ne

régnait plus autant de chaleurque dans les premiers temps.

S e u l e s a s o e u r é t a i t r e s t é ea s s e z p r o c h e d e G r e g o r , e t

comme, cont ra i rement à lu i ,elle aimait la musique et jouaitbien du violon, i l avait conçu

s e c r è t e m e n t l e p l a n d el’envoyer l’année suivante au

Conservatoire, sans se soucierd e s f r a i s é l e v é s q u e c e l a

e n t r a î n e r a i t e t q u ’ o n

or document from the l i t t lecash box he had saved from

h i s b u s i n e s s w h e n i t h a dcollapsed f ive years earl ier.

Gregor heard how he openedt h e c o m p l i c a t e d l o c k a n d

then closed i t again after heh a d t a k e n t h e i t e m h e

wanted . What he heard h i sfather say was some of thefirst good news that Gregor

heard since he had f irs t beenincarcerated in his room. He

had thought that nothing ata l l r e m a i n e d f r o m h i s

father’s business, a t least hehad never told him anything

d i ff e r e n t , a n d G r e g o r h a dn e v e r a s k e d h i m a b o u t i ta n y w a y. T h e i r b u s i n e s s

misfor tune had reduced thef a m i l y t o a s t a t e o f t o t a l

despa i r, and Gregor ’s on lyconcern at that time had been

to arrange things so that theycould al l forget about i t as

quickly as possible. So thenhe started working especially

hard, with a fiery vigour thatr a i s e d h i m f r o m a j u n i o rs a l e s m a n t o a t r a v e l l i n g

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e a l m o s tovern ight , b r ing ing wi th i t

the chance to earn money inquite different ways. Gregor

c o n v e r t e d h i s s u c c e s s a twork straight into cash that

he could lay on the table athome for the benefi t of hisa s t o n i s h e d a n d d e l i g h t e d

family. They had been goodt i m e s a n d t h e y h a d n e v e r

come again, at least not witht h e s a m e s p l e n d o u r, e v e n

t h o u g h G r e g o r h a d l a t e rearned so much that he was

in a position to bear the costsof the whole family, and did

bear them. They had even gotused to i t , both Gregor andt h e f a m i l y, t h e y t o o k t h e

money with grat i tude and hew a s g l a d t o p r o v i d e i t ,

al though there was no longermuch warm affect ion given

i n r e t u r n . G r e g o r o n l yremained close to his s is ter

n o w. U n l i k e h i m , s h e w a sv e r y f o n d o f m u s i c a n d ag i f t e d a n d e x p r e s s i v e

v io l in i s t , i t was h i s sec re tp l a n t o s e n d h e r t o t h e

conservatory next year eventhough i t would cause great

expense that would have to

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

would just have to be metin some other way. DuringGregor ’s short stays in thec i t y, t h e C o n s e r v a t o r ywould o f ten come up inc o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h es i s t e r b u t a l w a y s a s abeautiful dream that couldn e v e r b e r e a l i z e d . T h eparents were displeased tohear even these innocentallusions, but Gregor hadvery definite ideas abouti t a n d i n t e n d e d t oa n n o u n c e h i s p l a n o nChristmas Eve.

S u c h w e r e t h ethoughts , u t ter ly use lessin his present condi t ion,that went through his heada s h e s t o o d l i s t e n i n g ,g l u e d t o t h e d o o r .Sometimes, from generalweariness he could l istenno longer and careless lylet his head slump againstthe door, but he promptlyr e c o v e r e d b e c a u s e e v e nt h e s m a l l n o i s e h e h a dmade had been heard int h e n e x t r o o m a n d h a dsilenced them all. “What’she up to now?” the fathers a i d a f t e r a w h i l e ,obviously turning towardthe door, and only then didt h e i n t e r r u p t e d c o n -versation resume.

Gregor was now verythoroughly informed-becausethe father tended to repeat hisexplanations, partly becausehe had not dealt with thesematters himself in a long timeand par t ly because themother d id not a lwaysunderstand the first time-anddiscovered that despite thedisaster a sum, admittedlyvery small, remained fromthe old days and hadincreased slightly in the [27]meant ime due to theuntouched in teres t . Andbesides that , the moneyGregor brought home everymonth-he had kept only a fewguilder for himself-had notbeen entirely depleted andhad now accumulated into asmall capital sum. Behind thedoor Gregor nodded his heademphatically, delighted to learn

había forzosamente de acarrear,y de los cuales ya se resarciríapor otro lado. Durante las bre-ves estancias de Gregorio juntoa los suyos, la palabra «Conser-vatorio» sonaba a menudo en lascharlas con la hermana, perosiempre como añoranza de unlindo sueño, en cuya realizaciónno se podía ni pensar. A los pa-dres, estos ingenuos proyectosno les hacían [51] ninguna gra-cia; pero Gregorio pensaba muyseriamente en ello, y tenía deci-dido anunciarlo solemnementela noche de Navidad.

Todos estos pensamien-tos, completamente inútilesya, agitábanse en su mentemient ras é l , pegado a lapuerta, escuchaba lo que sedecía al lado. De cuando encuando, la fatiga impedíaleprestar atención, y dejabacaer con cansancio la cabe-za contra la puerta. Mas alpunto tornaba a erguirla,pues, incluso el levísimo rui-do que este gesto suyo ori-ginaba, era oído en la habi-tación contigua, haciendoenmudecer a todos.

—Pero, ¿qué hará otra vez?-decía al poco el padre, miran-do sin duda hacia la puerta.

Y, pasados unos momentos,reanudábase la interrumpidaconversación.

De este modo supo, pues,Gregorio, con gran satisfac-ción -el padre repetía y recal-caba sus explicaciones, en par-te porque hacía tiempo que élmismo no se había ocupado deaquellos asuntos, y en partetambién porque la madre tar-daba en entenderlosque, a pe-sar de la desgracia, aún lesquedaba del antiguo esplendoralgún dinero; verdad es quemuy escaso, pero que algo ha-bía ido aumentando desde en-tonces, gracias a los interesesintactos. Además, el dinero[52] entregado todos los me-ses por Gregorio -él se reser-vaba únicamente una ínfimacantidad- no se gastaba porcompleto, y había ido a su vezformando un pequeño capital.A través de la puerta, Gregorioaprobaba con la cabeza, con-tento de esta inesperada pre-

ría compensar de otra mane-ra. A menudo, durante las bre-ves estancias de Gregor en laciudad, el conservatorio semencionaba en las conversa-ciones con la hermana, aun-que solo como un sueño her-moso en cuya realización nocabía ni pensar; a los padresno les hacía la menor graciaescuchar esas inocentes alu-siones, pero Gregor pensabaseriamente [55] en ello y sehabía propuesto anunciarlocon toda solemnidad en No-chebuena.

Tales eran los pensamien-tos, perfectamente inútilesdada su actual situación, quecruzaron por su mente mien-tras estaba allí erguido, pe-gado a la puer ta y con e loído atento. A veces, la fati-ga le impedía escuchar y de-jaba caer con negligencia lacabeza contra la puerta, peroal momento volvía a alzarla,pues incluso el levísimo rui-do que así producía se oía enla habitación de al lado y ha-c í a e n m u d e c e r a t o d o s .«¡Qué estará haciendo aho-ra!», decía el padre al cabode un rato, vuelto sin dudahacia la puerta, y solo des-p u é s s e r e a n u d a b a g r a -dualmente la conversacióninterrumpida.

Gregor pudo así enterarsecon lujo de detalles -pues elpadre repetía a menudo susexplicaciones, en parte porqueél mismo llevaba ya muchotiempo sin ocuparse de esascosas, y en parte también por-que la madre no lo entendíatodo a la primerade que, pesea todas las desgracias, aún lesquedaba de los viejos tiemposun patrimonio -cierto es quemuy pequeño- y que los inte-reses acumulados habían cre-cido un poco a lo largo deaquellos años. Además, el di-nero que Gregor traía cadames a casa -él mismo no sehabía reservado sino unoscuantos florines- no se habíaconsumido del todo y se ha-bía convertido en un pequeñocapital. Gregor, detrás de supuerta, aprobaba con fervor,contento ante tan inesperada

expense that it was bound toenta i l and that wouldcertainly be made up for insome other way. DuringGregor’s brief stays in thecity, the conservatory wasoften mentioned in his talkswith the sister, but only as a lovelydream that could never possiblybe realized; nor did the parentscare to hear these innocentreferences. But Gregor’s ideas onthe subject were very definite andhe intended to make thesolemn announcement onChristmas Eve.

Such were the thoughts,quite futile in his presentcondition, that ran throughhis mind as he clung uprightto the door, eavesdropping.Some t imes he was sothoroughly exhausted thathe could no longer listen.H i s head wou ld t heninadvertently bump againstt he [149 ] doo r, bu t heprompt ly pu l led i t e rec tagain; for even that slighttap had been heard in thenext room, causing everyoneto stop talking. “What’s heup to now!?” the f a the rwould say af ter a whi le ,obviously turning towardthe door, and only then didthe interrupted conversationgradually resume.

Gregor now l ea rnedprecisely enough (for thefather would often repeath i s exp l ana t i ons , pa r t l ybecause he himself had notdealt with these matters ina l ong t ime and pa r t l ybecause the mother did nota lways unde r s t andeverything right off) thatdespite the disaster, someassets , albeit a very t inysum, had survived from theold days, growing bit by bitbecause of the untouchedinterest. Furthermore, sincethe money that Gregor hadbrought home every month(keeping only a l i t t le forh imsel f ) had never beenfu l l y spen t , i t hadaccumulated into a smallprincipal. Gregor, behindhis door, nodded eagerly,delighted at this unexpected

which he would somehowmeet. During Gregor’s shortstays in town, theconservatoire would oftencrop up in conversations withhis sister, but never asanything more than a beautifuldream which could notpossibly be fulfilled, and theirparents did not even like tohear these innocent allusions;Gregor, however, had veryfixed ideas on the subject, andintended to make the solemnannouncement on ChristmasEve.

Such were the thoughts,utterly futile in his present[29] condit ion, thatpassed through his mind as heclung there upright, glued tothe door, and l istened.Sometimes out of generalexhaustion he could not payattention any longer and lethis head bump carelesslyagainst the door, but heimmediately held it up again,for even the tiny noise thismade had been heard in thenext room and reduced themall to silence. ‘What on earthis he up to now,’ said hisfather after a while, obviouslyturning towards the door, andonly then would theinterrupted conversat iongradually be resumed.

Gregor now becamethoroughly acquainted - for hisfather was in the habit ofrepeating himself frequently inhis explanations, partlybecause he had not concernedhimself with these matters forquite some time and partlybecause his mother could notalways grasp things on firsthearing - with the fact that,despite all their misfortune, asum of money, admittedly verysmall, was still intact from theold days, which in the interimhad increased a little with theuntouched interest. Butbesides that, the money Gregorhad brought home every month- he had kept only a fewgulden for himself - had notall been used up and hadaccumulated into a modestcapital. Gregor noddedvigorously behind his door,

f réquemment dans lesentretiens de la soeur et duf rè re , quand Grégoi retrouvait quelques jours àpasser dans sa famille; ilsn’en par la ient guère quecomme d’un rêve impossibleà réa l i se r ; l e s pa ren t sn’a imaien t pas l eursinnocentes allusions à cesujet, mais Grégoire pensaità la chose de la façon la [43]plus sérieuse et se promettaitde , l e déc la re rsolennellement à la veilléede Noël.

C’étaient des idées de cegenre, des idées parfaitementdéplacées dans sa situationprésente, qui lui trottaient par latête tandis qu’il se tenait collécontre la porte, debout, pourécouter les conversations. Il luiarrivait de se trouver si fatiguéqu’il ne pouvait plus rienentendre; alors il se laissait aller,sa tête frappait contre la porte,mais il la redressait aussitôt, carle moindre bruit étaitimmédiatement remarqué de lasalle à manger et suivi d’untemps de silence. «Qu’est-cequ’il peut encore fabriquer?»disait le père au bout d’unmoment, en se tournant sansdoute vers la chambre; et laconversation interrompue nereprenait que lentement.

Le père recommençaittoujours ses explications, pourse remémorer des détailsoubliés ou les fairecomprendre à sa femme qui nesaisissait pas toujours dupremier coup. Grégoire appritdonc amplement par sesdiscours que, malgré tous leursmalheurs, les parents avaientpu sauver de leur ancien avoirune certaine somme, assezmaigre à vrai dire, mais quis’était grossie depuis desintérêts épargnés. On n’avaitpas non plus dépensé toutl’argent que Grégoire, ne seréservant que quelques florins,versait tous les mois à safamille, ce qui avait permisd’économiser un petit capital.Grégoire, derrière sa porte,p r o c é d a i t à d e sh o c h e m e n t s d e t ê t econva incus , i l é ta i t tou t

p a r v i e n d r a i t b i e n à c o u v r i rd’une manière ou d’une autre.

C e C o n s e r v a t o i r e r e v e n a i tf r é q u e m m e n t d a n s l e s

entretiens entre le frère et lasoeur, pendant les brefs séjours

que Gregor faisait à la ville; ilsn’en parlaient que comme d’un

b e a u r ê v e , à p e u p r è si r réa l i sab le , e t même cesinnocentes allusions n’étaient

guère approuvées des parents,mais Gregor y pensait de la façon

la plus précise et il avait forméle p ro je t de l ’annoncer

solennellement le soir de Noël.

Des pensées de ce genre ,for t inu t i les dans sa s i tua t ionprésen te , l u i passa ien t pa r l a

t ê t e lo r squ’ i l r e s t a i t debou t ,c o l l é à l a p o r t e , à é c o u t e r.

Q u e l q u e f o i s , s a l a s s i t u d eé t a i t t e l l e q u ’ i l n e p o u v a i t

m ê m e p l u s é c o u t e r ; i ll a i s s a i t a l o r s s a t ê t e

n é g l i g e m m e n t c o g n e r c o n t r el a p o r t e , m a i s i l n e t a r d a i t

pas à se r ep rendre , ca r mêmele pe t i t b ru i t qu ’ i l ava i t ainsiprovoqué avait été entendu à

côté et tout le monde s’était tu.« Que fabrique-t-i l encore? » ,

demandait le père au bout d’unmoment , en se tournant sans

doute vers l a por te , e t c ’es tseulement ensui te que la

conve r sa t i on un momen tinterrompue pouvait reprendre.

G r e g o r a p p r i t a l o r s , p l u squ’il n’était besoin - car son

père avait coutume de se répétersouvent dans ses explications,

d ’une pa r t pa rce qu’ i l ava i tc e s s é d e p u i s l o n g t e m p s d e

s ’occupe r de ces a ff a i r e s e td’autre part aussi parce que la

mère ne comprenait pas tout dup r e m i e r c o u p - , q u e m a l g r éleurs déboires, il leur restait de

l ’ anc i en t emps une fo r tune ,assez peu considérable à vrai

d i r e , m a i s q u e l e s i n t é r ê t saccumulés avaient entre-temps

un peu augmentée. On n’avaitp a s n o n p l u s d é p e n s é t o u t

l ’ a rgen t que Grego r , qu i neg a r d a i t p o u r l u i - m ê m e q u equelques florins, apportait tous

les mois, et on avait de la sortec o n s t i t u é u n p e t i t c a p i t a l .

G r e g o r , d e r r i è r e s a p o r t e ,approuvait vivement de la tête,

t o u t h e u r e u x d e c e t t e

be made up for in some otherway. During Gregor ’s short

p e r i o d s i n t o w n ,conversat ion with his s is ter

w o u l d o f t e n t u r n t o t h econservatory but i t was only

ever ment ioned as a lovelyd ream tha t cou ld neve r be

rea l i sed . The i r pa ren t s d idnot l ike to hear this innocentt a l k , b u t G r e g o r t h o u g h t

a b o u t i t q u i t e h a r d a n ddec ided he would l e t them

know what he planned witha grand announcement of i t

on Christmas day.

That was the sort of totallyp o i n t l e s s t h i n g t h a t w e n tt h r o u g h h i s m i n d i n h i s

present state, pressed uprighta g a i n s t t h e d o o r a n d

l is tening. There were t imeswhen he simply became too

t i red to cont inue l i s ten ing ,w h e n h i s h e a d w o u l d f a l l

wearily against the door andhe would pull it up again with

a start, as even the slightestn o i s e h e c a u s e d w o u l d b eh e a r d n e x t d o o r a n d t h e y

would all go silent. “What’st h a t h e ’s d o i n g n o w ” , h i s

f a t h e r w o u l d s a y a f t e r awhi le , c lea r ly hav ing gone

over to the door, and on lythen would the in te r rup ted

conversation slowly be takenup again.

When explaining things, hisfather repeated himself several

times, partly because it was along time since he had been

occupied with these mattersh imsel f and par t ly because

Gregor ’s mothe r d id no tunders tand everyth ing f i rs t

t ime . F rom these repea tedexplanations Gregor learned, tohis pleasure, that despite all

their misfortunes there was stillsome money available from the

old days. It was not a lot, but ithad not been touched in the

meantime and some interest hadaccumulated. Besides that, they

had not been using up all themoney that Gregor had beenbringing home every month,

keep ing on ly a l i t t l e fo rhimself, so that that, too, had

been accumulating. Behind thedoor, Gregor nodded wi th

enthusiasm in his pleasure at

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

of this unexpected frugalityand foresight. Of course heactually could have used thisextra money to further pay offthe father’s debt to the Chief,thus bringing much closer theday he could have rid himself ofthis job, but doubtless thingswere better this way, the way hisfather had arranged them.

However, t h i s moneyw a s b y n o m e a n ssuff ic ient to suppor t thefamily on the interest; thep r i n c i p a l m i g h t s u p p o r tthe family for a year, ortwo at the most . So i t wasjust a sum that should notbe touched, put as ide fore m e r g e n c i e s , a n d t h emoney to l ive on woulds t i l l n e e d t o b e e a r n e d .N o w t h e f a t h e r w a scer ta in ly hea l thy bu t ano l d m a n w h o h a d n o tworked in f ive years andcould not be expected tod o m u c h ; d u r i n g t h e s ey e a r s , t h e f i r s t l e i s u r et i m e i n h i s l a b o r i o u sa lbe i t unsuccess fu l l i f e ,h e h a d g a i n e d a l o t o fweight and become qui tes luggish as a resul t . Andh o w s h o u l d t h e e l d e r l ym o t h e r e a r n a l i v i n g ,when she su f f e r ed f romas thma and even a walkt h r o u g h t h e a p a r t m e n tw a s t r y i n g , l e a v i n g h e rgasping for breath everyother day on the sofa bya n o p e n w i n d o w ? A n ds h o u l d t h e s i s t e r w o r k ,s t i l l a chi ld of seventeenw h o s e l i f e h a d b e e n s op l e a s a n t u n t i ln o w - d r e s s i n g n i c e l y ,s l e e p i n g l a t e , h e l p i n gw i t h t h e h o u s e w o r k ,e n j o y i n g a f e w m o d e s ta m u s e m e n t s , a n d a b o v eal l p laying the viol in? Atf i r s t , w h e n e v e r t h econversation turned to then e e d t o e a r n m o n e y,Gregor le t go of the doora n d t h r e w h i m s e l f o n t ot h e c o o l l e a t h e r s o f anearby, he fe l t so f lushedwith shame and gr ief .

He often lay there throughthe whole night, not sleeping

visión e insospechado ahorro.Cierto que con este dinero so-brante podía él haber pagadopoco a poco la deuda que supadre tenía con el jefe, y ha-berse visto libre de ella muchoantes de lo que creyera; peroahora resultaban sin duda me-jor las cosas tal como su pa-dre las había dispuesto.

Ahora bien, este dinero erade todo punto insuficientepara permitir a la familia vi-vir tranquila de sus rentas;todo lo más bastaría tal vezpara uno o, a lo sumo, dosaños. Para más tiempo ¡nipensarlo! Por tanto, era esteun capitalito al que en reali-dad no se debía tocar, y queconvenía conservar para casode necesidad. El dinero parair viviendo, no había más re-medio que ganarlo. Pero ocu-rría que el padre, aunque es-taba bien de salud, era ya vie-jo y llevaba cinco años sin tra-bajar; por lo tanto, poco po-día esperarse de él: en estoscinco años que habían consti-tuido los primeros ocios de sulaboriosa, pero fracasadaexistencia, había ido asimilan-do mucha grasa, y se habíapuesto [53] excesivamentepesado. ¿Incumbiríale acasotrabajar a la madre, que pade-cía de asma, que se fatigabacon solo andar un poco porcasa, y que un día sí y otrotambién tenía que tenderse enel sofá, con la ventana abier-ta de par en par, porque le fal-taba la respiración?¿Corresponderíale a la herma-nó, todavía una niña, con susdiecisiete años, y cuya envi-diable existencia había con-sistido, hasta entonces, enemperifollarse, dormir todo loque le pedía el cuerpo, ayu-dar en los quehaceres domés-ticos, participar en alguna queotra modesta diversión, y, so-bre todo, tocar el violín?Cada vez que la conversaciónvenía a parar a esta necesidadde ganar dinero, Gregorio aban-donaba la puerta y, encendido depena y de vergüenza, arrojábasesobre el fresco sofá de cuero.

A menudo pasábase a l l ítoda la noche, s in pegar

muestra de previsión y aho-rro. Cierto es que con ese di-nero sobrante habría podido[56] amortizar la deuda que elpadre t en ía con e l j e fe ,aproximando el día en el quehubiera podido liberarse de suempleo. Pero ahora era mejorasí, sin duda, tal y como elpadre lo había dispuesto.

No obstante, ese dinerono bastaba en absoluto paraque la familia pudiera vivirde los intereses; quizá habríabastado para mantenerla unaño o, a lo sumo, dos, perono más. Solo era, pues, unasuma que en realidad no de-bía tocarse y convenía man-tener en reserva para un casode necesidad; el dinero paravivir había, en cambio, queganárselo. Ahora bien, el pa-d re , aunque s ano , e r a unhombre viejo, que llevaba yacinco años sin trabajar y tam-poco podía confiar mucho ensus fuerzas; en el curso deesos cinco años, que habíansignificado las primeras va-caciones de su esforzada aun-que infructuosa vida, habíaengordado y se había vueltolento y torpe. ¿Tendría acasoque ganar dinero la ancianamadre, que padecía asma y secansaba ya con solo atrave-sar el piso, y que un día sí yotro también tenía que tum-barse en el sofá con la venta-na abierta debido a sus difi-cul tades respirator ias? ¿Odebería hacerlo la hermana,todavía una niña a sus dieci-siete años, que había llevadohasta entonces una vida en-vidiable, una vida que con-sistía en ir siempre muy aci-calada, dormir mucho, ayudaren las tareas de la casa, to-mar parte en alguna que otradiversión modesta y, sobretodo, tocar el violín? Cuan-do la conversación recalabaen la necesidad de ganar di-ne ro , Gregor abandonaba[57] la puerta y se lanzabasobre la fría butaca de cueroque había junto a ella, puesse sentía arder de vergüenzay de tristeza.

A menudo yacía allí no-ches enteras sin dormir un

thr i f t and p rudence .Ac tua l ly, he cou ld haveapplied this surplus towardsettling the father’s debt tothe director, thereby bringingthe day when he could havebeen rid of that job a lotcloser; but now, the way thefather had arranged thingswas better, no doubt.

Of course this sum wasby no means large enoughfor the family to live off theinterest; it might suffice tokeep them going for one, atmost two years, and that wasall . I t was simply moneythat real ly should not bedrawn on and that ought tobe pu t a s ide fo remergenc i e s , wh i l e t hemoney to live on had to beea rned . Bu t t he f a the r,though still healthy, was anold man, who had not donea lick of work in five years[150] and in any case couldnot be expected to take onvery much. During thosefive years, his first vacationin an a rduous and ye tunsuccessful l ife, he hadgrown very fat, becomingrather clumsy. And shouldperhaps the old mother go towork - she , who su ff e r edfrom asthma, who found its t r enuous j u s t wa lk ingthrough the apartment, andwho spent every other dayon the sofa, gasping for airby the open window? Orshou ld t he s i s t e r go t owork-she, who was still ach i l d a t s even t een andshou ld ce r t a in ly keepen joy ing he r l i f e s ty l e ,which consisted of dressingn ice ly, s l e ep ing l a t e ,l end ing a hand wi th thehousekeeping, going out toa few modest amusements,and above all, playing theviolin? At first, wheneverthe conversation turned tothis need to earn money,Gregor would always let goo f t he doo r and t h rowhimself on the cool leathersofa nearby, for he felt quitehot with shame and grief.

Often he would lie there allthrough the long night, not getting a

delighted at this unexpectedforesight and thrift. He couldin fact have used this surplusmoney to pay off more of hisfather’s debts to his boss, thusbringing much closer the daywhen he could quit his job, butas things stood, the way hisfather had arranged it wasundoubtedly better.

Yet this money was by nomeans suf f ic ient for thefamily even to considerl iving off the interest ; i tmight have suff iced tosupport them for one, or atmost two years, but that wasall. It was therefore merely asum that should not actuallybe touched but rather putas ide for an emergency;money to live on had to beearned. Now Gregor’s father,though in good [30] health,was an old man who had notworked for five years, andcould not in any case beexpected to take on too much;during those five years, thefirst holiday of his arduousyet unsuccessful life, he hadput on a lot of fat and hadconsequently become verysluggish. And was Gregor’sold mother now supposed togo out and earn money when,suffering as she did fromasthma, she found it a straineven to walk round the flatand spent every other daylying on the sofa by the openwindow gasping for breath?And was his sister now to goout to work, who at seventeenwas still a child and whoseway of life no one wouldhave begrudged her,consis t ing as i t d id ofdressing prettily, sleepinglate, helping in the house,enjoying a few modestamusements and above allplaying the violin? Wheneverthe conversation turned tothis need to earn money,Gregor would first let go ofthe door and then throwhimself down on the coolleather sofa beside it, for hefelt quite hot with shame andgrief.

Often he would lie there allnight long, not sleeping a wink

heureux de cette [44] prévoyancein a t t e n d u e . Sans doute, grâce àces réserves, aurait-il pu amortirplus rapidement la dette contractéepar le père envers son directeur, ce quiaurait considérablement rapproché ladate de sa délivrance; mais, étantdonné les circonstances, il valaitbeaucoup mieux que M. Samsa eût agicomme il avait fait.

Le malheur était que cetargent ne suffirait pas à safamille pour vivre des seulsintérêts; cela irait un an,deux au plus, ce serait tout.Cette épargne consti tuaitdonc une somme à laquelleil ne fallait pas toucher, etqu’on devait réserver pourun besoin pressant : quant àl’argent nécessaire à la vie,i l f a l l a i t se met t re à l egagner. Or le père, malgré sasanté, n’en était pas moinsun vieil homme qui avaitcessé tout travail depuis cinqans et ne pouvait se livrer àde folles espérances; durantces cinq années de repos,premières vacances d’uneexistence toute consacrée aulabeur et à l ’ insuccès, i lavait pris pas mal de ventreet se trouvait bien alourdi.Quant à l a v ie i l l e mère ,qu’aurait-elle pu faire avecson asthme? C’était déjà ungros effort pour elle que dese traîner dans la maison;elle passait la moitié de sontemps sur le sofa à étoufferdevant la fenêtre ouverte. Et.l a soeur? Une enfan t dedix-sept ans si bien faitepour l ’ex i s tence qu’e l l eava i t menée jusque- là ,s’habiller gentiment, biendormir, aider au ménage,prendre par t à que lquesmodestes divertissements,jouer du violon surtout -était-ce à elle de gagner del ’ a rgen t? Quand [45 ] l aconversation tombait sur cesujet, Grégoire commençaittoujours par lâcher sa portepour aller se coucher sur leso fa de cu i r don t l afraîcheur était douce à soncorps tout brûlant de peineet de honte.

I l y p a s s a i t s o u v e n td e s n u i t s d ’ i n s o m n i e à

prévoyance et de cette économie,qu’il ne soupçonnait pas. A vrai dire,

il aurait pu, grâce à cet argentexcédentaire, continuer à amortir la

dette que son père avait contractéeenvers son patron et le jour où il aurait

pu se libérer de son poste se seraitconsidérablement rapproché, mais la

façon dont son père en avait disposéétait sans nul doute préférable.

En tout cas , cet argent nesuffisait absolument pas pour

permettre à la famille de vivre desintérêts; il eût permis tout au plus

de l’entretenir un an ou deux.C’était donc une somme qu’on ne

devait pas attaquer et qu’il fallaitconserver pour le cas où on seserai t t rouvé un jour dans le

besoin, pas autre chose; quant àl’argent pour la vie courante, il

fallait continuer à le gagner. Or,le père . se por ta i t b ien,

assurément, mais c’était un homeâgé, qui avait cessé tout travail

depuis cinq ans et, en tout cas, ilne devait pas présumer de ses

forces; ces cinq années avaient étéles premières vacances qu’il aitprises dans une vie de labeur, et

pourtant rarement couronnée desuccès; i l avai t beaucoup

engraissé e t s ’é ta i t déjàpassablement encroûté. Et ce

n’était certainement pas sa vieillemère qui allait gagner de l’argent

avec son asthme, elle pour qui undéplacement à t raversl’appartement représentait déjà un

effort et qui tous les deux joursrestait assise sur le sofa à étouffer

devant la fenêtre ouverte. Et c’està sa soeur qu’on allait demander

de gagner de l’argent? à dix-septans, c’était encore une enfant,

qu’on n’allait certes pas priver dela vie qu’el le avai t menée

jusqu’ici et qui avait consisté às’habiller gentiment, à faire lagrasse matinée, à donner un coup

de main au ménage, à participer àde modestes divertissements et

surtout à jouer du violon. Quandla conversation venait à évoquer

la nécessité de gagner de l’argent,Gregor était le premier à laisser

retomber la porte et allait se jeter,pour y trouver un peu de fraîcheur,sur le canapé de cuir qui se

trouvait à côté, tant il était brûlantde confusion et de tristesse.

C’est là qu’il restait souvent

tout au long des nuits, sans dormir

th i s unexpec ted thr i f t andcaution. He could actually have

used th is surplus money toreduce his father’s debt to his

boss, and the day when he couldhave freed himself from that job

would have come much closer,but now it was certainly better

the way his father had donethings.

T h i s m o n e y , h o w e v e r ,was ce r ta in ly no t enough to

e n a b l e t h e f a m i l y t o l i v eo f f t h e i n t e r e s t ; i t w a s

e n o u g h t o m a i n t a i n t h e mf o r , p e r h a p s , o n e o r t w o

y e a r s , n o m o r e . T h a t ’s t os a y , i t w a s m o n e y t h a ts h o u l d n o t r e a l l y b e

t o u c h e d b u t s e t a s i d e f o remergenc ies ; money to l ive

o n h a d t o b e e a r n e d . H i sf a t h e r w a s h e a l t h y b u t o l d ,

a n d l a c k i n g i n s e l fconf idence . Dur ing the f ive

y e a r s t h a t h e h a d n o t b e e nw o r k i n g - t h e f i r s t h o l i d a y

i n a l i f e t h a t h a d b e e n f u l lo f s t r a i n a n d n o s u c c e s s -h e h a d p u t o n a l o t o f

w e i g h t a n d b e c o m e v e r ys l o w a n d c l u m s y. Wo u l d

G r e g o r ’ s e l d e r l y m o t h e rn o w h a v e t o g o a n d e a r n

m o n e y ? S h e s u ff e r e d f r o ma s t h m a a n d i t w a s a s t r a i n

f o r h e r j u s t t o m o v e a b o u tt h e h o m e , e v e r y o t h e r d a yw o u l d b e s p e n t s t r u g g l i n g

f o r b r e a t h o n t h e s o f a b yt h e o p e n w i n d o w. Wo u l d

h i s s i s t e r h a v e t o g o a n de a r n m o n e y ? S h e w a s s t i l l

a c h i l d o f s e v e n t e e n , h e rl i f e u p t i l l t h e n h a d b e e n

v e r y e n v i a b l e , c o n s i s t i n go f w e a r i n g n i c e c l o t h e s ,

s l e e p i n g l a t e , h e l p i n g o u ti n t h e b u s i n e s s , j o i n i n g i nw i t h a f e w m o d e s t

p l e a s u r e s a n d m o s t o f a l lp l a y i n g t h e v i o l i n .

W h e n e v e r t h e y b e g a n t ot a l k o f t h e n e e d t o e a r n

m o n e y , G r e g o r w o u l da l w a y s f i r s t l e t g o o f t h e

d o o r a n d t h e n t h r o wh i m s e l f o n t o t h e c o o l ,l e a t h e r s o f a n e x t t o i t , a s

h e b e c a m e q u i t e h o t w i t hs h a m e a n d r e g r e t .

He would often lie there the

whole n ight through, not

6766

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

a wink, just scrabbling on theleather for hours. Or, notshying from the great effort,he would push a chair over tothe window, climb up to thesill, and lean, propped up onthe chair, against thewindowpanes, evidently insome vague remembrance ofthe freedom he had oncefound in gazing out . Foractually he now saw thingsjust a short distance awaybecoming dimmer each day;he could no longer make outthe hospital opposite, whosesight he used to curse forhaving seen it all too often,and if he were not so certainthat he lived on the quiet butdecidedly urban CharlotteStreet, he could have believedthat he was gazing out the [28]window at a barren wastelandwhere the ashen sky mergedindistinguishably with thegray earth. The observantsister had needed to notice thechair standing by the windowonly twice; whenever shestraightened the room afterthat, she carefully replacedthe chair at the window andnow even left the innercasements open.

If only Gregor had beenable to speak with the sisterand thank her for everythingshe was obliged to do forhim, he could have bornehe r min i s t r a t i ons moreeas i l y ; a s i t was t heyoppressed him. The sistercertainly tried to lessen thegeneral awkwardness of thes i t ua t i on a s much a spossible, and as time wentby she naturally succeededmore and more, howeverwi th t he pa s s ing t imeGregor too saw everythingmore c l ea r l y. He r ve ryentrance was terr ible forhim. Hardly had she enteredwhen she rushed directly tothe window without takingthe time to close the door—although she was usually socareful to shield everyonefrom the sight of Gregor’sroom—tore t he w indowopen with hasty hands as ifa lmos t su f foca t i ng , andstayed there awhile, even

ojo, arañando el cuero horatras hora. A veces tambiéntomábase el trabajo excesivode empujar una butaca hastala ventana, y, trepando por elalféizar, permanecía de pie enla butaca y apoyado en la ven-tana, sumido, sin duda, en susrecuerdos, pues antañointeresábale siempre mirarpor la ventana aquella. Pau-latinamente, las cosas máscercanas dibujábansele conmenos claridad. El hospital[54] de enfrente, cuya vistahabía maldecido con frecuen-cia, ya no lo divisaba; y, deno haber sabido, sin que ellopudiese dejar lugar a dudas;que vivía en una calle tranqui-la, aunque completamente ur-banizada, hubiera podidocreer que su ventana daba aun desierto, en el cualfundíanse indistintamente elcielo y la tierra por igual gri-ses. Tan solo dos veces pudoadvertir la hermana, siemprevigilante, que la butaca se en-contraba junto a la ventana. Yya, al arreglar la habitación,aproximaba ella misma la bu-taca. Más aún: dejaba abier-tos los primeros dobles cris-tales.

De haber siquiera podidoGregorio conversar con suhermana; de haberle podidodar las gracias por cuanto porél hacía, le hubieran sido másleves estos trabajos que oca-sionaba, y que de este modotanto le hacían sufrir. Sinduda, la hermana hacía cuan-to podía para borrar lo dolo-roso de la situación, y, a me-dida que transcurría el tiem-po, iba consiguiéndolo mejor,como es natural. Pero tambiénGregorio, a medida que pasa-ban los días, veíalo todo conmayor claridad. Ahora, la en-trada de la hermana era paraél algo terrible. Apenas den-tro de la habitación, y sin cui-darse siquiera de cerrar pre-viamente [55] las puertas,como antes, para ocultar a to-dos la vista del cuarto, corríaderecha a la ventana, y laabría violentamente, cual si sehallase a punto de asfixiarse;y hasta cuando el frío era in-tenso, permanecía allí un rato,

solo instante, rascando e lcuero horas y horas. O bien nose arredraba ante el gran es-fuerzo que suponía empujaruna silla hasta la ventana, tre-par luego al antepecho y, bienafianzado en la silla, apoyar-se en él, sin duda para recor-dar vagamente la sensaciónliberadora que antes solía pro-curarle mirar por la ventana.Pues, en efecto, de día en díaveía cada vez con menos cla-r idad hasta las cosas muypoco alejadas; ya ni siquieralograba distinguir el hospitalde enfrente, cuya visión ex-cesivamente frecuente habíamaldecido en otros tiempos;y de no haber sabido que vi-vía en la tranquila, aunquecéntrica, Charlottenstrassehabría podido creer que suventana daba a un desierto enel que el cielo gris y la tierra grisse unían indiferenciadamente.A la atenta hermana le bastócon ver dos veces la silla jun-to a la ventana para, cada vezque terminaba de arreglarla habitación, volver a po-ne r l a exac tamen te en e sesitio y, a partir de entonces,d e j a r i n c l u s o a b i e r t a l acontraventana interior.

De haber podido Gregorhablar con su hermana y agra-decerle todo lo que tenía quehacer por él, habría soporta-do más fácilmente sus servi-cios; así, en cambio, estos lohacían sufrir. Cierto es que lahermana hacía cuanto podíapor disimular lo penoso detoda la situación, y cuantomás tiempo pasaba, [58] na-turalmente más fácil le resul-taba, aunque también Gregorempezó a verlo todo muchomás claro con el tiempo. Ya lamanera de entrar de la herma-na le parecía horr ible . Encuanto entraba, y sin tomarsetiempo para cerrar la puerta-pese a que normalmente secuidaba mucho de ahorrarlesa todos el espectáculo de lahabitación de Gregor-, corríaderecha a la ventana, la abríade par en par con manos pre-surosas, como si estuviera apunto de asfixiarse, y, pormucho frío que hiciera, sequedaba allí un momento y

wink of sleep and merely scrabblingon the leather for hours on end.Or else, undaunted by the greateffort, he would shove a chairover to the window, clamber upto the sill, and, propped on thechair, lean against the panes,obviously indulging in somevague memory of the freedomhe had once found by gazingout the window. For actually,from day to day, even the thingsthat were rather close weregrowing hazier and hazier; hecould no longer even make outthe hospital across the street,the all-too-frequent sight ofwhich he used to curse. And ifhe had not known for sure thathe lived on Charlotte Street, aquiet but entirely urbanthoroughfare, he might havebelieved that he was staring ata wasteland in which [151] graysky and gray earth blurredtogether indistinguishably.Only twice had the observantsister needed to see the chairstanding by the window; now,whenever she tidied up theroom she would push thechair back to thewindow-indeed, from then onshe would even leave theinside casement ajar.

If only Gregor could havespoken to her and thankedher for everything she had todo for him, he would haveendured her kind act ionsmore readily; but insteadthey caused h im grea tsuffering. Of course, shetried to surmount the overallembarrassment as much aspossible, and naturally, astime wore by, she succeededmore and more. However,Gregor too even tua l lygained a sharper sense ofthings. Her very entrancewas already terrible for him.No sooner had she steppedin than, without even takingt ime to c lose the door—careful as she usually was toprotect everyone else fromseeing Gregor’s room—shecharged straight over to thewindow and, as if almostsuffocating, yanked it openwith hasty hands, lingeringthere briefly no matter howchi l ly the wea ther and

but merely scratching at theleather for hours on end. Or, notshirking the huge effort ofpushing a chair to the window,he would crawl up to thewindow-sill and, propped up inthe chair, lean against thewindow, evidently responding toa vague memory of that senseof freedom which looking out ofthe window had once given him.For as the days went by he didin fact see things even a shortdistance away less and lessdistinctly; the hospital opposite,which he used to curse becausehe saw so much of it, he couldnow no longer see at all, andhad he not known perfectlywell that he lived in the quietbut decidedly urbanCharlottenstrasse, he might havethought that what he saw fromhis window was a wilderness inwhich the grey sky and greyearth were indistinguishablymingled. His thoughtful sisteronly needed to see the chair by[31] the window on twooccasions before she thereafter,each time she had finishedtidying his room, pushed itcarefully back beneath thewindow and even, from then on,left the inner casement open.

If only Gregor had beenable to speak to his sisterand thank her for everythingthat she had to do for him,he could have accepted herefforts more easily; but as itwas, they caused him pain.His sister certainly tried toease the embarrassment ofthe whole situation as muchas she could, and as timewent on she became moreand more successful , butwith time Gregor too saweve ry th ing much moreclearly. Her very entrancewas terrible for him. Themoment she c rossed thethreshold, without pausingto shu t t he doo r, eventhough she was other risemos t c a r e fu l t o spa reeve ryone t he s i gh t o fGregor ’s room, she r ans t r a igh t t o t he w indow,hastily tore it open, as if shewere a lmost suffocat ing,remained there a while, nomat te r how co ld i t was ,

racler le cuir pendant desheures. D’autres fois, sansplaindre sa peine, il poussaitson fauteuil vers la fenêtre,gagnait l’appui, et, bien étayépar son siège, s’appuyait à lacroisée, moins pour jouir dela vue qu’en souvenir del’impression de délivrancequ’il avait éprouvée autrefoisen regardant à travers lescarreaux; car, maintenant, ildevenait de jour en jour deplus en plus myope; il nepouvai t même plusapercevoir l ’hôpi tal d’enface, qu’il maudissait à sonépoque humaine parce qu’ille voyait trop, et s’il n’avaitsu per t inemment qu’ i lhabitait la Charlottenstrasse,une rue calme mais urbaine,il eût pu croire que sa fenêtredonnait sur un désert où leciel et la terre confondaientleurs gris. L’attentive soeurn’eut qu’à voir deux fois lefauteuil près de l a f enê t r ep o u r c o m p r e n d r e ;d é s o r m a i s , t o u t e s l e sf o i s q u ’ e l l e f i t l achambre , e l l e poussa l efauteuil près de la croiséed ont el le laissa même lebattant inférieur ouvert.

Si seulement Grégoireavait pu parler à sa soeur et laremercier de tout ce qu’ellefaisait pour lui, il aurait plusfacilement supporté sesservices, mais, condamné aumutisme, il en souffrait. Gretecherchait naturellement à luidissimuler le côté pénible [46]de la situation et plus le tempspassait, mieux elle jouait sonrôle, mais ne pouvaitempêcher que son frère ne vîtde plus en plus clair dans sonjeu. Sa seule appari t ioncausait à Grégoire une peinehorrible. A peine entrée, etmalgré le soin qu’elleapportait toujours à épargneraux autres la vue de cettechambre, el le ne prenaitmême pas le temps de fermerla porte; elle courait à lafenêtre, l’ouvrait en toutehâte, d’un seul coup, commepour éviter un étouffementimminent et demeurait là unmoment, si froid qu’il fît, àr e s p i r e r p r o f o n d é m e n t .

un seul instant, occupé à gratterle cuir pendant des heures. Ou

bien il ne reculait pas devant leg r a n d e f f o r t q u ’ i l d e v a i t

déployer pour pousser une chaisejusqu’à la fenêtre, se dresser

ensuite pour grimper jusqu’augarde-fou et là, bien calé sur son

siège, pour rester appuyé à lac ro i sée , en souveni rmanifestement de l’impression de

liberté qu’il éprouvait autrefoisquand il regardait par la fenêtre.

Car maintenant, il reconnaissaitde moins en moins claire ment

les objets, dès qu’ils étaient unpeu éloignés; i l ne parvenait

même plus à voir l’hôpital d’enface, qu’il détestait autrefois pourêtre trop habitué à le voir; et s’il

n’avait pas su pertinemment qu’ilhabitait la Charlottenstrasse, une

rue paisible mais urbaine, il auraitpu croire que sa fenêtre ne donnait

que sur un désert, où le ciel griset la terre grise se confondaient

indiscernablement. II avait suffià sa soeur, toujours attentive, de

voir deux fois la chaise près dela fenê t re pour l a remet t reexactement au même endroi t

après avoir fait la chambre; elleprit même l’habitude de laisser

désormais ouvert le battant de lafenêtre intérieure.

Si seulement Gregor avait pu

parler à sa soeur et la remercierde tout ce qu’elle faisait pourlui, il lui aurait été plus facile

de supporter les services qu’ellel u i r e n d a i t ; m a i s , d a n s l a

s i t u a t i o n a c t u e l l e , i l e ns o u f f r a i t . S a s o e u r e s s a y a i t

é v i d e m m e n t d e d i s s i m u l e rautant que possible ce que tout

c e l a a v a i t d e p é n i b l e e t ,na ture l lement , p lus le temps

passait, mieux elle y parvenait;mais, de son côté, Gregor, luiaussi , voyait les choses avec

u n e p r é c i s i o n t o u j o u r s p l u sgrande. Le moment déjà où elle

entrait dans la pièce était pourlui terrible. A peine était-elle

e n t r é e q u e , s a n s p r e n d r e l et e m p s d e f e r m e r l a p o r t e ,

malgré le soin qu’elle prenait àépar gner à tou t l e monde les p e c t a c l e d e l a c h a m b r e d e

Gregor, elle courait droit à lafenêtre et en toute hâte, comme

s i e l l e é t a i t s u r l e p o i n td’étouffer, elle l’ouvrait toute

grande, puis, même par grand

sleeping a wink but scratchingat the leather for hours on end.

Or he might go to all the effortof pushing a chai r to the

window, climbing up onto thesill and, propped up in the chair,

leaning on the window to stareout of it. He had used to feel a

great sense of freedom fromdoing this, but doing it now wasobviously something more

remembered than experienced,as what he actually saw in this

way was becoming less distinctevery day, even things that were

quite near; he had used to cursethe ever-present view of the

hospital across the street, butnow he could not see it at all,and if he had not known that he

lived in Charlottenstrasse, whichwas a quiet street despite being

in the middle of the city, hecould have thought that he was

looking out the window at abarren waste where the grey sky

and the grey ear th mingledinseparably. His observant sister

only needed to notice the chairtwice before she would alwayspush it back to its exact position

by the window after she hadtidied up the room, and even left

the inner pane of the windowopen from then on.

I f Gregor had only been

able to speak to his sister andthank her for al l that she hadto do for him i t would have

been easier for him to bear it;but as i t was i t caused him

pa in . H i s s i s t e r, na tu ra l ly,t r i ed a s f a r a s pos s i b l e t o

p r e t e n d t h e r e w a s n o t h i n gburdensome about i t , and the

longer i t went on, of course,the bet ter she was able to do

s o , b u t a s t i m e w e n t b yGregor was also able to seethrough it all so much better.

I t h a d e v e n b e c o m e v e r yu n p l e a s a n t f o r h i m , n o w,

w h e n e v e r s h e e n t e r e d t h er o o m . N o s o o n e r h a d s h e

c o m e i n t h a n s h e w o u l dquickly close the door as a

p r e c a u t i o n s o t h a t n o - o n ewould have to suffer the viewinto Gregor’s room, then she

w o u l d g o s t r a i g h t t o t h ewindow and pull i t hurriedly

open a lmost as i f she weresuffocat ing . Even i f i t was

cold, she would s tay at the

racler rascar, frotar

6968

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

when it was bitterly cold,breathing deeply. This bustleand racket of hers torturedGregor twice a day, and helay the entire time quakingunder the sofa, kn o w i n gv e r y w e l l t h a t s h ew o u l d h a v e s p a r e d h i mt h i s i f i t w e r e a t a l lp o s s i b l e t o r e m a i n i n ar o o m w i t h G r e g o r w i t ht h e w i n d o w s h u t .

Once, approximately amonth after Gregor’stransformation, when there wasno reason for the sister to beespecially alarmed at hisappearance, she came a littleearlier than usual and caughtGregor perfectly still, gazingout the window, thus giving hima particularly frightful aspect.It would not have surprisedGregor if she had not come in,as his position prevented herfrom immediately opening thewindow, but not only did shenot enter, she actually jumpedback and shut the door; astranger could easily havethought Gregor had been lyingin wait for her and meant to biteher. Gregor naturally hidhimself at once under the sofabut had to wait until noon forthe sister’s return, and then sheseemed much more uneasy thanusual. He concluded that thesight of him was still repulsiveto her and was bound to remainrepulsive, and that she musthave exercised great self-control not to take flight at thesight of even the smallestportion of his body protrudingfrom under the couch. To spareher from even these glimpses,he dragged the sheet to thesofa on his back [29] oneday—this required four hours’work-and laid it in such a wayas to conceal himself entirely,so the sister could not see himeven if she stooped down. Ifshe did no t f i nd the shee tneces sa ry, she ce r t a in lyc o u l d h a v e r e m o v e d i t ,b e c a u s e i t w a s c l e a re n o u g h t h a t G r e g o rc o u l d n o t p o s s i b l y b ep l e a s e d b y h i s t o t a lconf inement , bu t she le f tt he shee t a s i t was , andG r e g o r i m a g i n e d h e

respirando con fuerza. Talescarreras y estrépitos asusta-ban a Gregorio dos veces aldía. Y Gregorio, aunque segu-ro de que ella le hubiera evi-tado con gusto estas moles-tias, de haberle sido posiblepermanecer con las ventanascerradas en la habitación,quedaba temblando debajodel sofá todo el tiempo queduraba la visita.

Un día -ya había transcu-rrido un mes desde la meta-morfosis, y no tenía, por tan-to, la hermana ningún motivóespecial para sorprenderse delaspecto de Gregorio -entróalgo más temprano que de cos-tumbre, y se encontró a éstemirando inmóvil por-la venta-na, pero ya dispuesto a asus-tarse. Nada le hubiera extraña-do a Gregorio que su hermanano entrase, pues él, en la acti-tud en que estaba, le impedíaabrir inmediatamente la venta-na. Pero no solo no entró, sinoque retrocedió y cerró la puer-ta: un [56] extraño hubieracreído que Gregorio la acecha-ba para morderla. Claro es queGregorio se escondió al puntodebajo del sofá, pero hubo deesperar hasta el mediodía an-tes de ver tornar a su hermana,más intranquila que de costum-bre. Ello le dio a entender quesu vista seguía siéndole inso-portable a la hermana, que loseguiría siendo, y que ésta ha-bía de hacer un gran esfuerzode voluntad para no salir tam-bién corriendo al divisar la pe-queña parte del cuerpo que so-bresalía por debajo del sofá. Y, alfin de ahorrarle incluso esto, trans-portó un día sobre sus espaldas-trabajo para el cual precisó cua-tro horas- una sábana hasta el sofá,y la dispuso de modo que le tapa-ra por completo y que ya la her-mana no pudiese verle, pormucho que se a g a c h a s e .De no haber le parecido ae l l a c o n v e n i e n t e e s t earreglo, ella misma hubie-ra quitado la sábana, puesfácil era comprender que,para Gregorio, el aislarseno constituía ningún pla-cer. Mas dejó la sábana talc o m o e s t a b a , e i n c l u s oGregorio, al levantar sigi-

respiraba hondamente. Conesas carreras y ruidos asusta-ba a Gregor dos veces por día;este se pasaba todo el ratotemblando bajo el sofá, pesea saber perfectamente queella, de haber podido perma-necer con la ventana cerradaen una habitación en la que seencontrara su hermano, le ha-bría evitado muy gustosa todoaquello.

Una vez -ya había transcu-rrido un mes desde la transfor-mación de Gregor y no habíaninguna razón concreta paraque su aspecto despertase elasombro de la hermana-, estavino un poco antes de lo habi-tual y encontró a Gregor mi-rando aún por la ventana, in-móvil y en una postura idealpara inspirar espanto. AGregor no le habría sorprendi-do que no entrase, pues al es-tar allí le impedía abrir de in-mediato la ventana, pero ellano solo no entró, sino que re-trocedió bruscamente y cerróla puerta; un extraño hubierapodido pensar que él la estabaacechando con la intención demorderla. [59] Por supuestoque Gregor se escondió al ins-tante bajo el sofá, pero tuvoque esperar hasta el mediodíaa que ella regresase, y le pare-ció mucho más intranquila quede costumbre. De ello dedujoque su aspecto aún le resulta-ba insoportable y que así se-guiría siendo, y que ella debíade hacer un gran esfuerzo parano salir corriendo nada másver esa pequeña parte de sucuerpo que sobresalía por deba-jo del sofá. Para ahorrarle inclu-so esta visión, un día arrastrósobre su espalda la sábana hastael sofá -tarea que le exigió cua-tro horas- y la dispuso de mane-ra que lo cubriese por completoy l a h e r m a n a n o p u d i e r averlo aunque se agachase.S i , a j u i cio de ella, esa sá-bana no hubiera sido necesa-ria, habría podido retirarla,pues era bastante claro quea Gregor no podía hacerlemucha gracia aislarse de ma-nera tan total y definitiva;pero la dejó tal como esta-ba , y Gregor has t a c r eyócaptar una mirada de grati-

inhaling deeply. This dina n d d a s h i n g t e r r i f i e dG r e g o r t w i c e a d a y.Throughout her vis i ts hew o u l d c o w e r u n d e r t h esettee, fully realizing thatshe would certainly havepreferred to spare him thisdisturbance if only she hadb e en ab le to keep thewindow shut while staying inthe same room with him.

Once-something like amonth had passed sinceGregor’s metamorphosis, andthere was truly no special reasonwhy the sister should still bealarmed by his appearance-sheturned up a bit earlier than usualand caught Gregor staring outthe window, motionless [152]and terrifyingly erect. He wouldnot have been surprised if shehad refused to come in since hisposition prevented her fromopening the windowimmediately. But not only didshe not come in, she actuallyrecoiled and closed the door; anoutsider might have honestlythought that Gregor had meantto ambush her and bite her.Naturally he hid under the setteeat once, but then had to wait untilnoon for his sister to return, andshe seemed far more upset thanusual. It thus dawned on him thathis looks were still unbearableto her and were bound to remainunbearable, which meant that itmust have taken a lot ofself-control for her not to runaway upon glimpsing even thetiny scrap of his body thatprotruded from under the settee.So one day, hoping to spare hereven this sight-the job took himfour hours-he got the sheet onhis back and lugged it over tothe settee, arranging it in sucha way that it concealed himentirely, thereby preventingthe sister from seeing himeven when she stooped down.A f t e r a l l , i f s h ec o n s i d e r e d t h e s h e e tu n n e c e s s a r y, s h e c o u l dh a v e r e m o v e d i t , f o r i tw a s p l a i n t h a t G r e g o rcould not possibly enjoyc u t t i n g h i m s e l f o f f s othoroughly. But she l e f tthe shee t jus t as i t was ,a n d o n c e , h e e v e n

b rea th ing deep ly. Sheterrified Gregor twice dailywi th a l l t h i s c r a sh ingaround; he spent the wholetime trembling beneath thecouch, even though he knewper f ec t l y we l l t ha t shewould certainly have sparedhim this, if only she hadbeen capable of staying in aroom occupied by Gregorwith the window closed.

Once, it must have been amonth since Gregor’stransformation, and there wasno particular reason now forhis sister to be astonished athis appearance, she came alittle earlier than usual andcaught Gregor, motionlessand at his most terrifying,looking out of the window. Itwould not have surprisedGregor if she had not come in,because his posit ionprevented her from openingthe window at once, but notonly did she not come in, sheeven sprang back and shut thedoor; a stranger might almosthave thought that Gregor hadbeen lying in wait for her,intending to bite her. Gregorof course [32] immediately hidhimself beneath the couch, but hehad to wait until noon before hissister returned, and she seemedmuch more restless than usual. Herealised from this that the sight ofhim was still unbearable to her andwas bound to remain unbearable,and that it probably requiredenormous self-control on her partnot to run away at the sight ofeven the small portion of hisbody that jutted out from under thecouch. And in order to spare her thissight, he managed one day - the tasktook him four hours - to carry the bedsheeton his back over to the couch and drapeit in such a way that he was nowcompletely covered, making itimpossible for his sister to seehim, even if she bent down .H a d s h e c o n s i d e r e d t h i ss h e e t u n n e c e s s a r y , s h ec o u l d o f c o u r s e h a v eremoved it, for it was clearenough that it gave Gregorn o p l e a s u r e t o c l o s ehimself off so completely,but she left the sheet theway i t was , and Grego reven thought he detected a

D e u x f o i s p a r j o u r e l l eépouvanta i t Grégoi re dec e t t e c o u r s e e t d e c ef r a c a s ; i l r e s t a i t àfrissonner sous son canapépendant tout le temps que duraitla séance; il savait bien que sasoeur lui eût épargné ce supplicesi elle avait pu réussir d’unefaçon quelconque à rester lafenêtre fermée dans une pièce oùil se trouvait.

Un jour - il devait y avoirun mois depuis lamétamorphose de Grégoire, etsa soeur n’avait plus grandmotif de s’étonner de sonaspect - elle arriva un peu plustôt que d’habitude et le trouvaen train de regarder par lafenêtre, immobile et dans uneposition bien faite pour inspirerla terreur. Si elle s’étaitcontentée de ne pas entrer, celan’eût pas étonné Grégoire, caril l’empêchait par sa positiond’ouvrir la fenêtre; mais, noncontente de ne pas entrer, elleeut un sursaut en arrière etferma la porte à clef; unétranger aurait pu penser queGrégoire épiait l’arrivée de sasoeur pour [47] la mordre. Il secacha naturellement aussitôtsous le canapé, mais il dutattendre jusqu’à midi le retourde Grete, et, quand elle vint,elle avait l’air beaucoup plusinquiet que d’habitude. Ils’aperçut par là que son aspectn’avait pas cessé d’inspirer de larépugnance à la pauvre fille, qu’ilen serait toujours ainsi et qu’elledevait même se faire grandementviolence pour ne pas s’enfuir à laseule vue du petit morceau deGrégoire qui dépassait le canapé.Pour lui en épargner le spectacleil prit un drap du lit sur son dos,le transporta sur le sofa, travail quilui demanda quatre heures, et ledisposa de telle sorte que sasoeur ne pût rien voir sous lemeuble, même en se baissant.Si e l l e a v a i t t r o u v é l aprécaut ion super f lue e l lea u r a i t p u f a i r ed i s p a r a î t r e l e d r a p , c a re l l e p e n s a i t b i e n q u eG r é g o i r e n e s e m u r a i tpas ainsi pour son plaisir,mais elle laissa le drap à sap l a c e e t G r é g o i r e , e né c a r t a n t p r u d e m m e n t l e

froid, elle restait près de la fenêtre àrespirer profondément. Deux fois par

jour, elle épouvantait Gregor à courirpareillement et à faire tout ce bruit; il

restait tout ce temps-là à frissonners o u s s o n c a n a p é , t o u t e n

s a c h a n t f o r t b i e n q u ’ e l l el u i a u r a i t é p a r g n é c e

s u p p l i c e , s i s e u l e m e n t e l l ea v a i t p u r e s t e r , l a f e n ê t r ef e r m é e , d a n s l a p i è c e o ù i l

s e t r o u v a i t .

Un jour - i l pouvait s’êtreécoulé un mois depuis la

métamorphose de Gregor et sasoeur n’avait donc plus grand

motif de s’étonner de son aspect,elle arriva un jour plus tôt qu’àl’ordinaire, elle trouva Gregor en

train de regarder par la fenêtre; ilétait dressé de tout son haut,

immobile, dans une position bienfaite pour inspirer la terreur.

Gregor ne se serait pas étonné siel le n’étai t pas entrée, car i l

l ’empêchai t par sa posi t iond’ouvrir tout de suite la fenêtre;

mais elle ne se contenta pas de nepas entrer, elle recula épouvantéeet ferma la por te à c lef ; un

étranger aurait vraiment pu penserque Gregor s’était mis à l’affût

pour la mord re . I l a l l anaturellement se cacher aussitôt

sous le canapé, mais i l fallutattendre midi avant que sa soeur

ne revint, l’air beaucoup plusinquiet qu’à l’ordinaire. Il enconclut que son aspect n’avait pas

cessé de lu i insp i re r de l arépugnance, qu’il en serait encore

ainsi à l’avenir et que, dès que laplus petite partie de son corps

dépassait du canapé, elle devaitse faire violence pour ne pas

immédiatement prendre la fuite.Afin de lui épargner ce spectacle,

il prit un jour le drap de lit, letira sur son dos jusque sur lecanapé - ce qui lui demanda quatre

bonnes heures de t rava i l - e t ledisposa de manière à être entièrement

couvert, afin que sa soeur ne pût plusrien voir, même en se baissant. Si

el le avai t est imé que ce drapn ’ é t a i t p a s n é c e s s a i r e , e l l e

aura i t toujours pu le re t i rer,car i l étai t bien évident que cen’était pas pour son plaisir que

G r e g o r s e c o u p a i t a i n s i d ur e s t e d u m o n d e ; m a i s e l l e

laissa le drap tel qu’i l é tai t e tGregor crut même surprendre

c h e z e l l e u n r e g a r d d e

window breathing deeply for alittle while. She would alarm

Gregor twice a day wi th thisr u n n i n g a b o u t a n d n o i s e

making; he would stay underthe couch shivering the whole

while, knowing full well thatshe would certainly have liked

to spare him this ordeal, but itwas impossible for her to be inthe same room with him with

the windows closed.

One day, about a month afterGregor’s transformation when

his sister no longer had anyparticular reason to be shocked

at his appearance, she came intothe room a little earlier thanusual and found him still staring

out the window, motionless,and just where he would be

most horrible. In i tself , hissister ’s not coming into the

room would have been nosurprise for Gregor as it would

have been difficult for her toimmediately open the window

while he was still there, but notonly did she not come in, shewent straight back and closed

the door behind her, a strangerwould have thought he had

threatened her and tried to biteher. Gregor went straight to

hide himself under the couch,of course, but he had to wait

until midday before his sistercame back and she seemedmuch more uneasy than usual.

It made him realise that she stillfound h i s appearance

unbearable and would continueto do so, she probably even had

to overcome the urge to fleewhen she saw the little bit of

him that protruded from underthe couch. One day, in order to

spare her even this sight, hespent four hours carrying thebedsheet over to the couch on his

back and arranged it so that hewas completely covered and his

sister would not be able to seehim even if she bent down . If

she did n o t t h i n k t h i s s h e e tw a s n e c e s s a r y t h e n a l l

s h e h a d t o d o w a s t a k e i to f f a g a i n , a s i t w a s c l e a re n o u g h t h a t i t w a s n o

p l e a s u r e f o r G r e g o r t o c u th i m s e l f o f f s o

c o m p l e t e l y. S h e l e f t t h es h e e t w h e r e i t w a s .

G r e g o r e v e n t h o u g h t h e

X

XX XX

cower v. intr. 1 crouch or shrink back, esp. in fear; cringe. 2 stand or squat in a bent position. cower agazaparse, agacharse, amedrentarse, acobardarse, alebrarse=echarse en le suelo pegándose contra él como las liebres.

7170

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

c a u g h t a g r a t e f u l l o o konce when he cau t ious lyra i sed the shee t a l i t t l ewi th h i s head to s ee howthe s i s t e r was t ak ing thenew arrangement .

Dur ing the f i r s t twoweeks, the parents could notbring themselves to enter hisroom and he often heardthem praising the efforts ofthe sister, whereas earlierthey had frequently beenannoyed with her becauseshe appeared to them to be asomewhat useless girl. Now,however, both the father andthe mother o f ten wai tedoutside Gregor’s room whilethe sister cleaned up inside,and as soon as she steppedout she had to report fully tothem on exactly how theroom looked, what Gregorhad ea ten , how he hadbehaved th i s t ime , andwhether perhaps some slightimprovement wasnoticeable. Incidentally, themother wanted to v i s i tGregor relatively soon butthe father and the sister puther o ff wi th log ica la rguments tha t Gregorlistened to very attentivelyand approved ofwholeheartedly. But later shehad to be held back by force,and when she cried out: “Letme go to Gregor, he’s myunfortunate son! Can’t youunderstand that I must go tohim?” Gregor then thoughtthat i t would perhaps bebeneficial if the mother didcome in, not every day ofcourse, but maybe once aweek; she unders toodeverything much better thanthe sister, who for all herpluck was still just a childand may have ul t imatelyundertaken such a difficultt ask ou t o f ch i ld i shrecklessness.

Gregor ’s desire to seethe mo the r was soonfu l f i l l ed . Dur ing t heday t ime Grego r d id no twant to show himself at thewindow, i f on ly ou t o fcons ide ra t i on fo r h i sparents, but he could not

losamente con la cabezauna punta de ésta, para vercómo la hermana acogía lanueva disposición , creyóadivinar en ella una mira-da de grati tud.

Durante las dos primerassemanas, no pudieron [57]los padres decidirse a entrara verle. Él los oyó a menu-do ensalzar los trabajos dela hermana, cuando hastaentonces solían, por el con-trario, reñirle, por parecer-les una muchacha, comoquien dice, inútil. Mas, confrecuencia, ambos, el padrey la madre, esperaban antela habitación de Gregorio,mientras la hermana la arre-glaba, y, en cuanto sal íaé s t a , hab ía de con ta r l e sexactamente cómo estaba elcuarto, lo que Gregorio ha-bía comido, cuál había sidosu actitud, y si se advertíaen él alguna mejoría . Lamadre, cierto es, quiso vi-sitar a Gregorio en seguida,y entonces el padre y la her-mana la detuvieron con ra-zones que Gregorio escuchócon la mayor atención, yaprobó por entero. Pero másadelante fue menester impe-d í r s e lo po r l a f ue r za , ycuando exc l amaba :«¡Dejadme entrar a ver aGregorio! ¡Pobre hijo mío!¿No comprendéis que nece-s i t o en t r a r a ve r l e?» ,Gregorio pensaba que talvez conviniera que su madreentrase, claro que no todoslos días, pero, por ejemplo,una vez a la semana: ella eramucho más comprens ivaque la hermana, quien, apesar de todo su valor, nodejaba de ser, al fin y alcabo, solo una niña, quequizá solo por l igereza in-fant i l se había echado so-bre los hombros tan pe-nosa carga.

[58] Poco había de tardar enrealizarse el deseo de Gregoriode ver a su madre. Durante eldía, por consideración a sus.padres, no se asomaba a laventana. Pero... poco podíaarrastrarse por aquellos dosmetros cuadrados de suelo.

tud cuando, en a lgún mo-m e n t o y m u y c a u t e -losamente, levantó un pocola sábana con la cabeza paraver cómo había asumido lahermana el nuevo arreglo .

Durante las dos primerassemanas, los padres no lo-graron decidirse a entrar enla habitación, y él escuchabaa menudo cómo reconocíanplenamente el actual trabajode la hermana, cuando hastaentonces se habían enfadadomuchas veces con ella por-que les parec ía una chicaalgo inútil. Pero ahora, am-bos, el padre y la madre, so-lían esperar ante la habita-ción de Gregor mientras lahermana la arreglaba, [60] yen cuanto el la sal ía , teníaque contarles con todo lujode detalles qué aspecto teníael cuarto, qué había comidoGregor, cómo se había com-portado esta vez y si acasose notaba una pequeña mejo-ría. La madre, además, qui-so entrar a verlo relat iva-mente pronto, pero el padrey la hermana la disuadieron,al principio con argumentosracionales que Gregor escu-c h ó c o n g r a n a t e n c i ó n yaprobó por completo. Mástarde, sin embargo, hubo queretenerla por la fuerza, y sie n t o n c e s e x c l a m a b a :« ¡Dejadme en t ra r a ver aGregor, mi pobre hijo! ¿Nocomprendéis que debo entrara verle?», Gregor pensabaque quizá sería bueno que lamadre entrase, no todos losdías, por supuesto, pero síuna vez por semana; ella loentendía todo mucho mejorque la hermana, quien pesea su gran valor no era másque una niña y, en úl t imainstancia, quizá solo habíaaceptado una tarea tan difí-cil por pura ligereza infan-til.

El deseo de Gregor de vera su madre se vio pronto sa-tisfecho. Durante el día, y porconsideración hacia sus pa-dres, no quería asomarse a laventana, pero tampoco podíamoverse mucho por los esca-sos metros cuadrados del sue-

b e l i e v e d h e c a u g h t agra te fu l g lance when hec a u t i o u s l y l i f t e d i t asmidgen [pizca] with his headto see how his sister wastaking this innovation.

Dur ing the f i r s t twoweeks, the parents could notget themselves to come intohis room, and he often heardthem expressing their greatappreciation of the sister’sefforts, whereas earlier theyhad often been cross with herfor be ing , they fe l t , asomewhat useless [153] girl.But now both the father andthe mother would frequentlywait outside Gregor’s doorwhile the sister tidied upinside, and upon reemerging,she promptly had to rendera detailed account of whatthe room looked like, whatGregor had eaten, how hehad behaved this time, andwhether he was perhapsshowing some s l igh timprovement. The mother,incidentally, wanted to visitGregor relatively soon. Atfirst, the father and the sistertried to reason with her, andGregor pa id very c loseattention to their arguments,approving of themwholehear ted ly. La te r,however, the mother had tobe held back forcibly, andwhen she then cried out, “Letme go to Gregor, he’s myunhappy son! Don’t youunderstand I have to go tohim?” Gregor felt it might bea good idea if she did comein after all-not every day,naturally, but perhaps once aweek: she was much better ateverything than the sister,who, for all her courage, wass t i l l a ch i ld and mightult imately have taken onsuch a demanding taskpure ly ou t o f t eenagecapriciousness.

Gregor’s wish to see hismother came true shortly.During the day, if only out ofconsideration for his parents,he did not want to appear atthe window. On the otherhand, he could not creep veryfar around the few square

look of gratitude when, inorder to see how his sisterw a s t a k i n g t h e n e wa r r a n g e m e n t , h ecautiously raised the sheeta little with his head.

For the first fortnight hisparents could not bringthemselves to enter his room,and he often heard themw h o l e h e a r t e d l yacknowledging the work hissister was now doing, whereasbefore they had frequentlybeen annoyed with her becauseshe seemed to them asomewhat unhelpful girl. Butnow both of them, his fatherand his mother, often waitedoutside Gregor’s room, whilehis sister cleaned it out, and assoon as she emerged, she hadto give them a detailed accountof how the room looked, whatGregor had eaten, how he hadbehaved this time, and whetherhe had perhaps shown a slightimprovement. His mother,incidentally, wanted to visitGregor relatively early on, buthis father and sister succeededat first in dissuading her withrational arguments, to whichGregor [33] listened mostattentively and withunreserved approval. Later,though, she had to berestrained by force, and whenshe cried out: ‘Let me see myGregor, my own unhappy son!Don’t you understand that Imust go to him?’, Gregorthought it might be a goodthing after all if his mothercame in, not every day ofcourse, but perhaps once aweek; she really didunderstand everything somuch better than his sisterwho, for all her courage, wasstill only a child and hadperhaps, when all was said anddone, only taken on so hard atask out of childishrecklessness.

Gregor’s wish to see hismother was soon fulfilled.During the day Gregor did notwant to show himself at thewindow, i f only out ofconsideration for his parents,but neither could he crawlvery much on the few square

r ideau avec la t ê te pourobserver l’ impression quecausait à sa soeur le nouvelagencement , c ru t mêmesa i s i r dans ses yeux unregard de reconnaissance.

Pendant la premièrequinzaine, les parentsn’avaient pu prendre sur euxde venir lui rendre visite, et illeur entendit souvent louer lezèle de sa soeur, en qui ilsn’avaient vu jusqu’alorsqu’une jeune fille inutile etdont i ls se plaignaientsouvent. Maintenant il arrivaitfréquemment au père et à lamère d’attendre à la porte dela chambre de Grégoire queleur fille eût fini de nettoyerpour se [48] faire raconterminutieusement à sa sortiedans quel état elle avait trouvéla pièce, ce que Grégoire avaitmangé, ce qu’il avait fait departiculier cette fois-là; ils luidemandaient encore s’il n’yavait pas un léger mieux àconstater. La mère se montraitd’ai l leurs relat ivementimpatiente de voir Grégoire,mais le père et la fille laretenaient par des argumentsqu’il écoutait d’une façon trèsattentive et qu’il approuvaitpleinement. Plus tard,pourtant, il fallut employer laforce, et quand la mère se mità crier : «Laissez-moi doncvoir Grégoire, c’est monpauvre fils malheureux! Vousne comprenez donc pas qu’ilfaut que je le voie!» Grégoirepensa qu’il serait peut-êtrebon que sa mère vînt chez luisinon tous les jours, ce quieût été folie, du moins unefois par semaine parexemple; elle devait mieuxcomprendre les choses que sasoeur qui n’é ta i t qu’unef i l le t te malgré tout soncourage et n’avait qui sait? -assumé sa lourde tâche quepar légèreté d’enfant.

Le désir qu’il éprouvait devoir sa mère ne tarda pas à seréaliser. Grégoire évitaitpendant la journée de se montrerà la fenêtre, ne fût-ce que parégard pour ses parents, mais sespromenades sur le plancher nelui fournissaient pas de

r e c o n n a i s s a n c e , u n j o u rqu’avec p récau t ion , i l ava i t

sou levé l é g è re m e n t l e d r apa v e c s a t ê t e p o u r v o i r

comment sa soeur apprécia i tsa nouvelle organisat ion .

P e n d a n t l a p r e m i è r e

q u i n z a i n e , l e s p a r e n t sn’avaient pu prendre sur euxd’entrer dans la chambre et i l

les entendit souvent louer sansréserve le travail de sa soeur,

a l o r s q u ’ a u t r e f o i s i l ss’irritaient fréquemment contre

e l le , pa rce qu’ i l s es t imaien tqu’e l le n’é ta i t bonne à r ien .

M a i n t e n a n t , i l s r e s t a i e n tsouvent tous les deux, le pèrec o m m e l a m è r e , d e v a n t l a

chambre de Gregor, pendantq u e s a s a e u r y f a i s a i t l e

ménage, et , à peine était-elles o r t i e q u ’ e l l e d e v a i t l e u r

raconter exactement de quoi lachambre avait l’air, si Gregor

avait mangé, comment il s’étaitcomporté cette fois-là et si on

constatait un léger mieux. Sam è r e m a n i f e s t a d ’ a i l l e u r srelativement tôt le désir d’aller

voir Gregor, mais le père et las o e u r l ’ e n d i s s u a d è r e n t a u

débu t pa r de s a rgumen t s der a i s o n , q u e G r e g o r é c o u t a i t

avec grande attention et qu’ilapprouva i t p l e inement . P lus

t a r d c e p e n d a n t , i l f a l l u t l aretenir de force et quand elles’écriait : « Laissezmoi donc

voir Gregor mon pauvre f i ls ,qui est si malheureux! Vous ne

comprenez donc pas qu’il fautque j’aille le voir?» , i l pensait

q u ’ i l s e r a i t p e u t - ê t r e b o nmalgré tout que sa mère vienne

c h e z l u i , p a s t o u s l e s j o u r sn a t u r e l l e m e n t , m a i s p a r

exemple une fois par semaine;elle s’y entendait malgré toutmieux que sa soeur, qui n’était

finalement qu’une petite fille,en dépit de tout son courage et

qui n’avait peut-être au fonda s s u m é c e t r a v a i l q u e p a r

légèreté enfantine.

Le désir qu’avait Gregor dev o i r s a m è r e f u t b i e n t ô tsatisfait. Pendant la journée, il

ne voulait passe montrer à lafenêtre, ne fût-ce que par égard

pour ses parents; ses quelquesm è t r e s c a r r é s d e p l a n c h e r

é ta ien t peu de chose pour y

g l i m p s e d a l o o k o fg r a t i t u d e o n e t i m e w h e n

h e c a r e f u l l y l o o k e d o u tf r o m u n d e r t h e s h e e t t o

s e e h o w h i s s i s t e r l i k e dt h e n e w a r r a n g e m e n t .

For the first fourteen days,

Gregor ’s paren ts could notbring themselves to come intothe room to see him. He would

often hear them say how theyappreciated all the new work

h i s s i s t e r w a s d o i n g e v e nthough, before, they had seen

h e r a s a g i r l w h o w a ss o m e w h a t u s e l e s s a n d

frequently been annoyed withher. But now the two of them,father and mother, would often

both wait outside the door ofGregor’s room while his sister

tidied up in there, and as soonas she went out again she would

have to tell them exactly howeverything looked, what Gregor

had eaten, how he had behavedthis time and whether, perhaps,

any slight improvement couldb e s e e n . H i s m o t h e r a l s ow a n t e d t o g o i n a n d v i s i t

Gregor relatively soon but hisf a t h e r a n d s i s t e r a t f i r s t

p e r s u a d e d h e r a g a i n s t i t .Gregor listened very closely

to all this, and approved fully.Later, though, she had to be

he ld back by fo rce , wh ichmade her cal l out : “Let mego and see Gregor, he is my

unfor tunate son! Can’t youu n d e r s t a n d I h a v e t o s e e

h i m ? ” , a n d G r e g o r w o u l dthink to himself that maybe

i t w o u l d b e b e t t e r i f h i smother came in, not every day

o f c o u r s e , b u t o n e d a y aw e e k , p e r h a p s ; s h e c o u l d

understand everything muchbetter than his sister who, forall her courage, was still just

a child af t e r a l l , a n d r e a l l ym i g h t n o t h a v e h a d a n

a d u l t ’s a p p r e c i at ion o f theb u r d e n s o m e j o b s h e h a d

taken on.

Gregor ’s wish to see hism o t h e r w a s s o o n r e a l i s e d .Out of considerat ion for his

p a r e n t s , G r e g o r w a n t e d t oa v o i d b e i n g s e e n a t t h e

window during the day, thef e w s q u a r e m e t e r s o f t h e

floor did not give him much

7372

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

room to crawl abou t , i t wash a r d t o j u s t l i e q u i e t l y

th rough the n igh t , h i s foods o o n s t o p p e d g i v i n g h i m

any p leasure a t a l l , and so ,to en te r t a in h imse l f , he go t

in to the habit of crawling upa n d d o w n t h e w a l l s a n d

ce i l ing . He was e spec ia l lyf o n d o f h a n g i n g f r o m t h eceiling; it was quite different

from lying on the f loor; hecould breathe more freely; his

body had a light swing to it;a n d u p t h e r e , r e l a x e d a n d

a l m o s t h a p p y, i t m i g h thappen that he would surprise

even himself by letting go ofthe ceiling and landing on thefloor with a crash. But now,

of course, he had far betterc o n t r o l o f h i s b o d y t h a n

before and, even with a falla s g r e a t a s t h a t , c a u s e d

himself no damage. Very soonhis sister noticed Gregor’s new

way of entertaining himself -he had, af ter al l , lef t t races

of the adhesive from his feet ashe crawled about - and got itinto her head to make it as easy

as possible for him by removingthe furniture that got in his way,

especially the chest of drawersand the desk. Now, this was not

something that she would beable to do by herself; she did

not dare to ask for help fromher father; the sixteen year oldmaid had carried on bravely

since the cook had left but shec e r t a i n l y w o u l d n o t h a v e

helped in this, she had evenasked to be allowed to keep

the kitchen locked at all timesand never to have to open the

door unless it was especiallyimportant; so his sister had no

choice bu t to choose sometime when Gregor’s father wasnot there and fetch his mother

to help her. As she approachedthe room, Gregor could hear his

mother express her joy, but onceat the door she went silent. First, of

course, his sister came in and lookedround to see that everything in the

room was alright; and only then didshe let her mother enter. Gregor hadhurriedly pulled the sheet down

lower over the couch and put morefolds into it so that everything really

looked as if it had just been throwndown by chance. Gregor also

refrained, this time, from spying

Descansar tranquilo le eraya difícil durante la noche.La comida, muy pronto dejóde producirle la menor ale-gría, y así fue tomando, paradistraerse, la costumbre de tre-par zigzagueando por las pare-des y el techo. En el techo,particularmente, era dondemás a gusto se encontraba;aquello era cosa harto distintaque estar echado en el suelo;allí se respiraba mejor, el cuer-po sentíase agitado por una li-gera vibración. Pero acontecióque Gregorio, casi feliz, y alt i empo d i v e r t i d o ,d e s p r e n d i ó s e d e l t e c h o ,con gran sorpresa suya, yse fue a estrellar cont ra elsue lo . Mas , como puedesuponerse, su cuerpo habíaadquirido una resistenciamucho mayor que antes, y,pese a la fuerza del golpe,no se lastimó. La hermanaadvirtió inmediatamente elnuevo entretenimiento deGregorio -tal vez dejase ésteal trepar, acá y acullá, rastrode su babilla-, e imaginó alpunto facilitarle todo lo po-sible los medios de trepar,quitando los muebles que loimpedían, y, principalmenteel baúl y la mesa de escribir.[59] Pero esto no podía lle-varlo a cabo ella sola; tam-poco se atrevía a pedir ayu-da al padre: y en cuanto a lacriada, no había que contarcon ella, pues esta moza, deunos sesenta años, aunque sehabía mostrado muy valientedesde la despedida de su an-tecesora, había suplicado,como favor especial, que lefuese permitido mantenersiempre cerrada la puerta dela cocina, y no abrirla sinocuando la llamasen. Por tan-to, solo quedaba el recurso debuscar a la madre en ausen-cia del padre. La madre acu-dió dando gritos de júbilo. Perose quedó muda en la mismapuerta. Como es natural, prime-ro se cercioró la hermana de quetodo estaba en orden, y tan sololuego la dejó pasar. Gregorio sehabía apresurado a bajar la sá-bana más que de costumbre, demodo que formara abundantespliegues. La sábana parecíaefectivamente haber sido arro-

crawl around very far inthe few square meters offloor, nor could he bear tol ie still even at night, andeating gave him scantpleasure, so as a distraction heacquired the habit of crawlingcrisscross over the walls andceiling. He especially likedhanging from the ceiling; itwas entirely different fromlying on the floor, he couldbreathe more freely and a mildtingling r an th rough h i sbody, and in the near joyfuloblivion in which Gregorfound himself up [30] thereh e c o u l d , t o h i s o w ns u r p r i s e , l o s e h o l d a n dplunge to the f loor. Butn a t u r a l l y h e n o w h a dmuch more con t ro l overh is body than before andwas not harmed by evenso grea t a fa l l . The sisteri m m e d i a t e l y n o t icedGregor ’s newfoundentertainment—after all hedid leave behind the stickytraces of his crawling hereand there—and she got it intoher head to allow Gregor thewidest crawling spacepossible by the removal ofthe furniture that hinderedhim, namely the bureau andthe desk. She was not ,however, able to do thisalone; she did not dare askfor the father ’s help and themaid would certainly nothelp her because, althoughshe, a girl of about sixteen,had had the courage to stayon after the cook’s departure,she had asked for thepr ivi lege of keeping thekitchen door locked at alltimes and opening it onlyupon specific requests. Thisleft the sister no choice butto ask the mother at a timewhen the father was out. Themother d id come wi thexc lama t ions o f exc i t edde l i gh t bu t f e l l s i l en toutside the door to Gregor’sroom. Naturally the sisterf i rs t checked to see thateverything was in order inthe room and only then ad-mitted the mother. Gregorhad very hastily pulled thesheet down lower in tighterf o l d s s o t h a t i t r e a l l y

r a m p e r, l a s t a t i o n a l l o n g é el u i p a r a i s s a i t d é j à p é n i b l e

p o u r l a n u i t ; i l n ’ é p r o u v ab i e n t ô t p l u s l e m o i n d r e

plais i r à manger; aussi avait-ilp r i s l ’ h a b i t u d e , p o u r s e

distraire, de se promener sur lesmurs et au plafond. C’est au

plafond qu’il se tenait le plusvo lon t i e r s ; c ’é ta i t beaucoupmieux que d’être couché sur le

plancher ; on y respira i t p lusl ibrement, on se sentai t dans

tous ses membres agréablementbalancé; et, dans l’état d’heureux

abandon o ù i l s e t r o u v a i tl à -h a u t , i l l u i a r r i v a i t , à s a

p r o p r e s u r p r i s e , d e s el a i s s e r t o m b e r p o u rr e b o n d i r s u r l e p l a n c h e r .

M a i s i l c o m m a n d a i tm a i n t e n a n t s o n c o r p s

n a t u r e l l e m e n t b e a u c o u pm i e u x q u ’ a u d é b u t e t n e s e

f a i s a i t p a s d e m a l , m ê m ee n t o m b a n t d e s i h a u t . Sa

soeur remarqua tout de suite lenouveau passetemps qu’il avait

t rouvé - i l la issai t d’ai l leursd e s t r a c e s d e c o l l e s u r s o npassage - et elle se mit en tête

de faciliter autant que possibleses mouvements en retirant les

m e u b l e s q u i p o u v a i e n t l egêner, c’est-à-dire sur tout la

commode e t le bureau. Maiselle n’était pas en mesure de le

faire toute seule; elle n’osaitpas demander de l’aide à sonp è r e e t o n n e p o u v a i t p a s

a t t e n d r e d e s e c o u r s d e l abonne, car cette enfant pouvait

avoi r se ize ans ; e l le to léra i tvaillamment la situation depuis

q u ’ o n a v a i t d o n n é c o n g é àl’ancienne cuisinière, mais elle

a v a i t d e m a n d é l a f a v e u r d er e s t e r b a r r i c a d é e d a n s l a

cuisine et de n’ouvrir que surun ordre exprès; i l ne restai tdonc pas d’autre ressource à la

s o e u r q u e d e f a i r e u n e f o i sappel à sa mère, en l’absence du

père. La mère arriva donc dansu n e g r a n d e e x c i t a t i o n e t e n

poussant des exclamations dejoie, qui cessèrent cependant

quand elle fut arrivée devant lachambre de Gregor. La soeurv é r i f i a n a t u r e l l e m e n t t o u t

d ’abord s i tou t é t a i t en bonordre avant de laisser entrer sa

mère . Gregor s ’é ta i t hâ té detirer son drap plus bas encore

qu’à l’ordinaire et de le laisser

compensations bien copieuses;rester couché? même pendant lanuit il ne le supportait guère; iln’éprouva bientôt plus aucunplaisir à manger, et il finit parprendre l’habitude de se promenerdans tous les sens, pour se distraire,sur les murs et sur le plafond. [49]C’était surtout le plafond qu’ilaimait, pour s’y laisser pendre;c’était tout autre chose que sur leplancher : la respiration devenaitplus libre, un léger mouvementd’oscillation vous traversait lecorps, et dans l’état d’euphorie__ __ _ qui saisissait là-haut Gr é g o i r e , i l l u ia r r i v a i t à s a p r o p r es u r p r i s e d e l â c h e r l ep l a f o n d e t d e s ’ a p l a t i rs u r l e s o l . M a i sm a i n t e n a n t , s a c h a n tm i e u x u t i l i s e r l e sr e s s o u r c e s d e s o nc o r p s , i l r é u s s i s s a i t àr e n d r e c e s c h u t e si n o f f e n s i v e s . Sa soeur eutvite fait de remarquer sonnouveau passe-temps; illaissait d’ailleurs çà et là auxmurs sur son passage destraces de sa colle; et Grete semit en tête de lui faciliter sespromenades en faisantdisparaître les meubles les plusgênants, c’est-à-dire surtout lecoffre et le bureau .Malheureusement elle n’étaitpas assez forte pour en venir.seule à bout et n’osaitdemander l’aide du père; quantà la bonne, elle aurait refusécertainement, car, si cetteenfant de seize ans «tenait»vaillamment depuis le départde l’ancienne cuisinière,c’était sous réserve de pouvoirse barricader continuellementdans la cuisine et de n’ouvrirque sur un ordre exprès; il nerestait donc plus à la jeune fillequ’à faire appel à sa mère unjour où le père serait absent.La mère arriva en poussantdes exclamations de joiequi s’arrêtèrent devant laporte de Grégoire. La soeurvint opérer une inspectionpréalable, et ne laissa entrerla mère que quand ce fut bienfini. Grégoire s’était dépêchéde rabaisser le drap encoreplus que d’habitude et de luifaire une [50] foule de plis defaçon à donner à l’ensemble

yards of floor, even at nighthe found it difficult to liestill , eating soon stoppedgiving him the s l ightes tpleasure , and so foramusement he acquired thehabit of crawling all over thewalls and ceiling. He waspar t icular ly par t ia l tohanging from the ceiling; itwas quite different from lyingon the f loor ; one couldbreathe more freely; a mildvibration coursed through hisbody; and in the almost happyabsent-mindedness whichG r e g o r e x p e r i e n c e d u pt h e r e , i t s o m e t i m e shappened that to his ow ns u r p r i s e h e l e t g o a n dc r a s h e d t o t h e f l o o r .B u t n o w o f c o u r s e h eh a d h i s b o d y u n d e rm u c h b e t t e r c o n t r o lt h a n b e f o r e a n d e v e ns u c h a g r e a t f a l l d i d h i mn o h a rm. His sister noticedat once the new pastime thatGregor had discovered forhimself - after all, he leftbehind traces of his stickysubstance even when crawling- and decided to give Gregoras much crawling-space aspossible by removing thefurniture which stood in hisway, especially the chest ofdrawers and the desk. But shewas unable to do this on herown; she dared not ask herfather to help; the maid wouldmost certainly not have helped,for [34] although this girl ofabout sixteen had been bravingit out since the dismissal of theprevious cook, she had askedas a favour to be allowed tokeep the kitchen locked at alltimes and open it only whenspecifically called on to do so;so his sister had no alternativebut to fetch his mother whenher father was out. And hismother did come, utteringcries of excitement and joy,though she fell silent at thedoor of Gregor’s room. First,of course, his sister checkedwhether all was well within;only then did she let hermother enter. Gregor had veryhastily pulled the sheet downeven lower, creating morefolds - the whole thing reallydid look like a sheet that had

meters of the floor, he foundit hard to lie still even atnight, and eating soon gavehim no pleasure whatsoever.So, for amusement, he gotinto the habit of prowlingcrisscross over the wallsand ceiling. He particularlyl i ked hang ing f rom thece i l i ng . I t was qu i t edifferent from lying on thefloor: he could breathe morefree ly and a fa in t t inglequivered through his body.In h i s a lmos t b l i s s fu lwoolga ther ing [divaga-ciones] [15 4 ] u p t h e r e ,G r e g o r m i g h t , t o h i so w n s u r p r i s e , l e t g oa n d c r a s h d o w n o n t h ef l o o r . B u t s i n c e h en a t u r a l l y n o wc o n t r o l l e d h i s b o d yf a r m o r e e f f e c t i v e l yt h a n b e f o r e , h e w a sn e v e r h a r m e d b y t h a tg r e a t plunge. The s is teri n s tant ly not iced the newentertainment that Gregor hadfound for himself-after all, whencreeping, he occasionally lefttraces of his sticky substancebehind. And so, taking it into herhead to enable Gregor to crawl overthe widest possible area, shedecided to remove the obstructivefurniture-especially the wardrobeand the desk. However, there wasno way she could manage this alone.She did not dare ask her father forhelp, and the maid would mostcertainly not have pitched in; forwhile this girl, who was aboutsixteen, had been valiantly stickingit out since the cook’s departure, shehad asked for the special favor ofkeeping the kitchen door locked allthe time and opening it only whenspecifically called. As a result, thesister had no choice but to approachthe mother one day during thefather’s absence. And indeed, withcries of joyful excitement, themother came over, althoughfalling silent at the door toGregor’s room. Firs t ,naturally, the sister checkedinside to make sureeverything was in order; onlythen did she let the motherenter. Gregor had hurriedlypulled the sheet lower and intighter folds, truly making itlook as if it had been tossedcasually over the settee. This

lo, y estar echado tranquila-mente era algo que ya le cos-taba soportar durante la no-che. La comida dejó de pro-ducirle placer muy pronto, y,como distracción, adoptó lacostumbre de arrastrarse de unlado para otro por las paredesy el techo. Sobre todo le gus-taba quedarse arriba, colgadodel techo; era algo totalmente[61] distinto a yacer en elpiso, se respiraba con mayorlibertad, un leve balanceo lerecorría a uno el cuerpo, y enel casi feliz aturdimiento queembargaba a Grego r a l láarriba , podía ocurrir que,para su propia sorpresa, sedesprendiese y fuese a es-t r e l l a r s e c o n t r a e l s u e l o .Pero lo cierto es que ahoratenía un dominio de su cuer-po muy distinto del de an-tes, y no se hacía daño nisiquiera tras una caída tangrande. La hermana advirtióenseguida el nuevo entretenimien-to que Gregor había descubierto -alarrastrarse de un lado para otro ibadejando rastros de la sustancia vis-cosa que llevaba en el extremo delas patas-; y tuvo la idea de facili-tarle al máximo los desplazamien-tos sacando los muebles que pudie-ran impedírselos, en particular el ar-mario y el escritorio. Ahora bien,ella sola no estaba en condicionesde hacerlo, y no se atrevía a pedirleayuda al padre; la criada seguro queno la habría ayudado, pues aunqueesa chiquilla de dieciséis años ve-nía resistiendo valientemente des-de que despidieron a la cocinera an-terior, había pedido como favor es-pecial que le permitiesen mantenersiempre cerrada la puerta de la co-cina y abrirla tan solo si oía una lla-mada concreta. No le quedó más re-medio a la hermana, pues, que re-currir a la madre un día que el pa-dre no estaba. Con gritos deemocionada alegría se acercóla madre, pero enmudecióante la puerta del cuarto deGregor. Claro que la hermanase cercioró primero de que enla habitación todo estuvieraen orden, y solo después [62]hizo entrar a la madre. Gregorse había apresurado a exten-der la sábana un poco másabajo y formando más plie-gues, y el conjunto parecía deverdad solo una sábana arro-

7574

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

out from under the sheet; he gaveup the chance to see his mother

until later and was simply glad thatshe had come. “ Yo u c a n c o m e

i n , h e c a n ’t b e s e e n ” , s a i dh i s s i s t e r , o b v i o u s l y

l e a d i n g h e r i n b y t h e h a n d .T h e o l d c h e s t o f d r a w e r s

w a s t o o h e a v y f o r a p a i r o ff e e b l e w o m e n t o b eheav in g a b o u t , b u t G r e g o r

l i s t e n e d a s t h e y p u s h e d i tf r o m i t s p l a c e , h i s s i s t e r

a l w a y s t a k i n g o n t h eh e a v i e s t p a r t o f t h e w o r k

f o r h e r s e l f a n d i g n o r i n gh e r m o t h e r ’ s w a r n i n g s

t h a t s h e w o u l d s t r a i nh e r s e l f . T h i s l a s t e d av e r y l o n g t i m e . A f t e r

l a b o u r i n g a t i t f o rf i f t e e n m i n u t e s o r

m o r e h i s m o t h e r s a i di t w o u l d b e b e t t e r t o

l e a v e t h e c h e s t w h e r e i tw a s , f o r o n e t h i n g i t w a s

t o o h e a v y f o r t h e m t og e t t h e j o b f i n i s h e d

b e f o r e G r e g o r ’ s f a t h e rg o t h o m e a n d l e a v i n g i ti n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e

r o o m i t w o u l d b e i n h i sw a y e v e n m o r e , a n d f o r

a n o t h e r t h i n g i t w a s n ’ te v e n s u r e t h a t t a k i n g t h e

f u r n i t u r e a w a y w o u l dr e a l l y b e a n y h e l p t o

h i m . S h e t h o u g h t j u s t t h eo p p o s i t e ; t h e s i g h t o f t h eb a r e w a l l s s a d d e n e d h e r

r ight to her heart; and whywouldn’t Gregor feel the same

way about it, he’d been used tothis furniture in his room for a

long time and it would makehim feel abandoned to be i n an

e m p t y r o o m l i k e that.T h e n , q u i e t l y , a l m o s t

w h i s p e r i n g a s i f w a n t i n gGregor (whose whereaboutsshe did not know) to hear not

even the tone of her voice, asshe was conv inced tha t he

d i d n o t u n d e r s t a n d h e rw o r d s , s h e a d d e d “ a n d b y

t a k i n g t h e f u r n i t u r e a w a y,w o n ’ t i t s e e m l i k e w e ’ r e

s h o w i n g t h a t w e ’ v e g i v e nup a l l hope o f improvementand we’ re abandon ing h im

to cope fo r h imse l f? I th inki t ’ d b e b e s t t o l e a v e t h e

room exac t ly the way i t wasbefore so tha t when Gregor

comes back to us again he’ l l

j a d a a l l í p o r c a s u a l i -d a d . Ta m b i é n g u a r d ó s ee s t a v e z d e e s p i a r p o rd e b a j o ; r e n u n c i ó a v e ra s u m a d r e , g o z o s o ú n i -c a m e n t e d e q u e é s t a ,p o r f i n , h u b i e s e v e n i d o .

—Entra , que no se leve -di jo la hermana, ques i n d u d a c o n d u c í a a l amadre por la mano.

Y Gregorio oyó cómo lasdos frágiles mujeres [60] reti-raban de su sitio el viejo y har-to pesado baúl, y cómo la her-mana, siempre animosa, toma-ba sobre sí la mayor parte deltrabajo, sin hacer caso de lasadvertencias de la madre, quetemía se fatigase demasiado.

La operación duró bastante; verdades que, al cabo de un cuarto de hora, lamadre declaró que más va-lía dejar el baúl donde es-t a b a , e n p r i m e r l u g a rp o r q u e e r a m u y p e s a d o ,y n o a c a b a r í a n a n t e s d e lregreso de l padre , y ade -m á s p o r q u e , e s t a n d o e nm e d i o d e l a h a b i t a c i ó ne l b a ú l , l e c o r t a r í a e lp a s o a G r e g o r i o , y , e nf i n , p o r q u e n o e r a s e g u -r o q u e a G r e g o r i o l ea g r a d a r a q u e s e r e t i r a -s e n l o s m u e b l e s . A e l l al e p a r e c í a p r e c i s a m e n t eq u e d e b í a d e s e r t o d o l oc o n t r a r i o . L a v i s t a d el a s p a r e d e s d e s n u d a soprimíale el corazón. ¿Porqué no había de sentir Gregorio lamisma impresión, ya que estabaacostumbrado de antiguo a losmuebles de su cuarto? ¿Quién diceque no se sentiría como abando-nado en la habitación vacía?

—¿Y no parecería entonces-continuó muy quedo, casi enun susurro, cual si quisiese evi-tar a Gregorio, que no sabíaexactamente dónde se encon-traba, hasta el sonido de su voz,pues estaba convencida de queno entendía las palabras-, noparecería [61] entonces que, alretirar los muebles, indicába-mos que renunciábamos a todaesperanza de mejoría, y que loabandonábamos sin considera-ción ninguna a su suerte? Yocreo que lo mejor sería dejar elcuarto como antes, a fin deque Gregorio, al volver denuevo entre nosotros, lo en-

l o o k e d l i k e a s h e e tcasually thrown over thecouch. He refrained frompeeking out from under thesheet this time, renouncingthis very first sight of hismother, and was only gladshe had come at all. “Comein, you can’t see him,” saidt h e s i s t e r , e v i d e n t l yleading the mother by thehand. Gregor now heardt h e t w o f r a i l w o m e np u s h i n g t h e e x t r e m e l yheavy old bureau from itsplace and the sister takingon most of the work, notheeding the warnings ofthe mother, who feared shemight overexert herself. Ittook a very long time. Afterstruggling for a good quarterof an hour, the mother de-clared that they had betterleave the bureau where i twas; f irst , i t was just tooheavy, they would not bef i n i s h e d b e f o r e t h e f a -t h e r ’s a r r i v a l , a n dGregor’s every movementwould b e h i n d e r e d w i t hthe bu reau in t he midd leo f t he room, and second ,i t was no t a t a l l c e r t a int h a t r e m o v i n g t h ef u r n i t u r e w a s d o i n gG r e g o r a n y g r e a tse rv i ce . I t s eemed to he rt h a t t h e o p p o s i t e w a st r u e : T h e l o o k o f t h ee m p t y w a l l w a sheartrending, and wouldn’tGregor feel that same waysince he had been used tothe furniture for so long andmight feel bereft in the emptyroom. “And doesn’t it look,”concluded the mother verysoftly, in fact she practicallywhispered the whole time asif , not knowing Gregor ’sprecise [31] whereabouts, shedid not want him to hear eventhe sound of her voice, as shewas convinced that he couldnot understand the words,“and doesn’t i t look, byremoving all the furniture,like we’ve abandoned all hopeof his recovery and arecallously leaving him completelyon his own? I think it would bebest if we tried to keep the roomexactly as it was before, so thatwhen Gregor comes back to us

retomber dans ses plis; on eûtdit vraiment qu’on l’avait jeté

là par hasa rd sur l e canapé .Gregor s’interdit d’espionner à

travers le drap et renonça pourcette fois à apercevoir sa mère;

i l é t a i t d é j à s u f f i s a m m e n theureux qu’elle soit venue. « Tu

peux entrer, on ne le voit pas »,d i t l a j eune f i l l e qu i deva i tprobablement tenir sa mère par

la main . Gregor entendi t lesdeux femmes qu i e s saya ien t

avec l eu r s f a ib le s fo rces dedéplacer la viei l le commode,

assez lourde malgré tout; c’étaitla soeur qui prenait sur elle le

plus gros du travail, sans tenircompte des objurgations de samère, qui craignait qu’elle ne fît un

effort. Cela prit beaucoup de temps.Après un bon quart d’heure de

b e s o g n e , l a m è r e d é c l a r aq u ’ i l v a l a i t f i n a l e m e n t

m i e u x l a i s s e r l a c o m m o d el à o ù e l l e é t a i t ; d ’ a b o r d ,

e l l e é t a i t t r o p l o u r d e e te l l e s n ’ e n a u r a i e n t j a m a i s

f i n i a v a n t l e r e t o u r d up è r e e t s ’ i l f a l l a i t l al a i s s e r a u m i l i e u d e l a

p i è c e , o n n e f e r a i tq u ’ e m p ê c h e r t o u t à f a i t

G r e g o r d e b o u g e r ; e td ’ a u t r e p a r t , i l n ’ é t a i t p a s

s û r q u ’ e n r e t i r a n t l e sm e u b l e s o n l u i f i t p l a i s i r .

E l l e a v a i t l ’ i m p r e s s i o n d uc o n t r a i r e : q u a n t à e l l e ,l ’ a s p e c t d u m u r n u l u i

s e r r a i t l e coeur ; p o u r q u o iGregor n’aurait-il pas la même

i m p r e s s i o n ? i l é t a i t d e p u i sl o n g t e m p s h a b i t u é à s e s

meubles e t pour ra i t donc sesentir perdu dans une chambre

v ide . « E t dans ce cas - l à » ,dit-elle encore tout doucement

depuis le début, elle chuchotaitpresque, comme si elle voulaitév i te r que Gregor, dont e l l e

ignorai t le refuge, pût mêmeentendre le son de sa voix; car,

quant au sens de ses propos,elle était sûre qu’il ne pouvait

pas les comprendre - « et dansc e c a s - l à , e s t - c e q u e n o u s

n’aurions pas l’air, en retirantles meubles, de renoncer à toute spo i r de gué r i son e t de

l’abandonner sans réserve à sonsort? Je pense qu’i l voudrai t

m ieux l a i s s e r l a chambreexactement dans l’état où elle

é t a i t aupa ravan t , pou r que

l’air d’une simple naturemorte. Il renonça aussi pourcette fois à épier sous sondrap et à regarder sa mère;il se réjouirait simplementde sa venue. «Tu peux entrer,on ne le voit pas», dit lajeune fille; et elle amena lamère en la tenant par lama in . Grégo i re en tend i ta lo r s l e s deux f a ib l e sfemmes qui s’escrimaient àdéplacer le vieux coffre, unmeub le d ’un po idsimposant; la soeur tenait àassumer le plus lourd de lat âche , ma lg ré l e savertissements de la mèrequi craignait qu’elle ne sefît mal. Cela prit beaucoupde temps. I l y avait biend é j à q u a t r e h e u r e sq u ’ e l l e s s u a i e n t à l ab e s o g n e q u a n d l a m è r edéclara qu’il valait mieuxlaisser le coffre en place,qu’il était trop lourd pourel les, qu’el les n’auraientpas fini avant l’arrivée dup è r e e t q u e l e m e u b l e ,p a r v e n u a l o r s a u b e a um i l i e u d e l a c h a m b r e ,boucherait le passage danst o u s l e s s e n s ; e n f i n e tsurtout on ne savait pas siGrégoire serait satisfait del a d i s p a r i t i o n d e s o nmobilier. Pour son comptela mère pensait que non;l’aspec t du mur v ide lu is e r r a i t le coeur; pourquoiGrégoire n’aurait-il paséprouvé la même sensation, luiqui était habitué à ses meublesdepuis longtemps et qui sesentirait délaissé dans sachambre vide? «A quoi celaressemblerait-il?» conclut la mère àvoix très basse; elles s’étaitexprimée depuis le début parchuchotements, comme pouréviter à Grégoire, dont elle ignoraitle refuge, d’entendre, je ne dis pasle sens - elle était persuadée [51]qu’il ne comprenait pas - maismême le son de sa parole.

«Est-ce que nous n’aurionspas l’air, en enlevant lesmeubles, de dire que nousrenonçons à l’espoir de le voirguérir et que nousl’abandonnons méchamment àlui-même? Je crois que lemieux serait de conserver lachambre exactement comme

been randomly thrown overthe couch. Once again Gregorrefrained from peering outfrom under the sheet; on thisoccasion he denied himselfthe sight of his mother andwas simply happy that shehad come. ‘Come on, youcan’t see him,’ said his sister,evidently leading his motherby the hand. Gregor couldnow hear the two f ra i lwomen sh i f t ing the o ldheavy chest of drawers fromits place, with his sistercontinually bearing the mainburden and ignoring theanxious warnings of his mother,who was afraid she mightovertax herself. It took a very longtime. After they had been at it for whatmust have been a good quarterof an hour, his mother said itwould be bet ter to leavethe chest of drawers whereit was, for in the first placeit was simply too heavy andt h e y w o u l d n o t f i n i s hbefore his father arrived,and with the chest in themiddle of the room theywould be blocking Gregor’severy move, and secondly itwas by no means certain thatby removing the furniturethey were doing Gregor afavour. It seemed to her thatthe opposite was the case;she found the sight of theba re wa l l downr igh tdepressing; and why shouldn’tGregor share the same feeling,since he had long before grownused to these pieces of furnitureand would therefore feelabandoned in the empty [3.5]room. ‘And wouldn’t it look,’ hismother concluded very quietly,in fact she had been almostwhispering the whole time, as ifshe wanted to prevent Gregor,whose precise whereabouts shewas unaware of, from hearingeven the sound of her voice, forshe was convinced that he did notunderstand the words, ‘andwouldn’t it look as if byremoving the furniture we weregiving up all hope of him makinga recovery and were callouslyleaving him to his own fate? Ithink it would be best if we triedto keep the room in exactly thesame state as before, so that whenGregor returns to us he’ll find

time, Gregor also refrainedfrom peeping out from underthe sheet : he would gowithout seeing the mother fornow and was simply glad thatshe had come despi teeverything. “Come on, he’sout of sight,” said the sister,evidently [155] leading themother by the hand. Gregornow heard the two delicatewomen pushing the veryheavy old wardrobe from itsplace and the s is terconstantly insisting on doingthe major share of the work,ignoring the warnings fromthe mother, who was afraidshe wou l d o v e r e x e r th e r s e l f . I t t o o k a v e r ylong t ime. After probablyj u s t a q u a r t e r hour ofdrudging, the mother said itwould be better if they leftt h e wardrobe here . Fo ro n e t h i n g , i t w a s t o oheavy-they would not bedone before the fa ther ’sarrival; and if the wardrobestood in the middle of theroom, it would block Gre-g o r ’s m o v e m e n t s i n a l ld i r ec t i on s . S e c o n d l y, i twas not at all certain thatthey were doing Gregor af a v o r b y r e m o v i n g t h efurniture. She said that theopposite seemed to be thecase, the sight of the barew a l l l i t e r a l l y m a d e h e rh e a r t b l e e d . A n d w h ywouldn’t Gregor respond inthe same way since he waslong accustomed to thefurniture and would thereforefeel desolate in the emptyroom? “And isn’t that,” themother concluded very softly(in fact, she persistently almostwhispered, as if, not knowingGregor’s precise whereabouts,she wanted to keep him fromhearing the very sound of hervoice, convinced as she wasthat he did not understand thewords), “and if we remove thefurniture, isn’t that likeshowing him that we’ve givenup all hope of his improvementand that we’re callouslyleaving him to his owndevices? I believe it would bebest if we tried to keep theroom just as it was, so thatwhen Gregor comes back to us

jada casualmente sobre e lsofá . Es ta vez se abs tuvoademás de espiar por debajode la sábana, renunció a vera la madre y se alegró bas-tante de que por fin hubieravenido. «Ven, entra, que nose le ve», dijo la hermanaque, al parecer, llevaba a lamadre de la mano. Gregoroyó luego cómo esas dosmujeres débiles movían desu sitio el viejo y pesado ar-mario, y cómo la hermanainsistía en encargarse de laparte más ardua del trabajosin escuchar las adverten-cias de la madre, que temíaverla sometida a un esfuerzoex c e s i v o . L a o p e -r a c i ó n d u r ó b a s -t a n t e t i e m p o . Ya alcabo de un ra to de t rabajol a madre d i j o q u e s e r í am e j o r d e j a r e l a r m a r i od o n d e e s t a b a , e n p r i m e rl u g a r p o r q u e e r a m u yp e s a d o y n o p o d r í a na c a b a r a n t e s d e q u e v o l -v i e s e e l p a d r e , y d e j á n -d o l o e n m e d i o d e l a h a -b i t a c i ó n l e b l o q u e a r í a na G r e g o r t o d o s l o s c a -m i n o s , y e n s e g u n d o l u -g a r p o r q u e n o e r a n a d as e g u r o q u e l e h i c i e s e nu n f a v o r s a c a n d o l o sm u e b l e s . A e l l a l e p a r e -c í a m á s b i e n l o c o n t r a -r i o ; v e r l a p a r e d v a c í a l eo p r i m í a e l corazón ; po rq u é n o h a b r í a d e s e n t i rGregor lo mismo, ya que esta-ba acostumbrado hacía tiempoa los muebles de la habitacióny podría sentirse abandonadoen el cuarto vacío. «Además,¿no parecerá...?», concluyó lamadre en voz muy baja -dehecho hablaba casi susurran-do, como si quisiera impedirque Gregor, cuyo paradero[63] exacto ignoraba, oyese si-quiera el sonido de su voz,pues estaba convencida de queno entendía las palabras-, «¿noparecerá que al sacar los mue-bles le estamos demostrandoque hemos perdido toda espe-ranza de que mejore y lo aban-donamos a su suerte sin nin-guna consideración? Creo quelo mejor sería conservar lahabitación en el mismo esta-do en que estaba antes, para

7776

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

f ind eve ry th ing unchangedand he ’ l l be ab le to fo rg e t

the t ime in be tween a l l t h ee a s i e r ” .

H e a r i n g t h e s e w o r d s

f r o m h i s m o t h e r m a d eG r e g o r r e a l i s e t h a t t h e

l a c k o f a n y d i r e c t h u m a ncommunica t i on , a long wi tht h e m o n o t o n o u s l i f e l e d b y

t h e f a m i l y d u r i n g t h e s et w o m o n t h s , m u s t h a v e

m a d e h i m c o n f u s e d - h ec o u l d t h i n k o f n o o t h e r

w a y o f e x p l a i n i n g t oh i m s e l f w h y h e h a d

s e r i o u s l y w a n t e d h i s r o o me m p t i e d o u t . H a d h e r e a l l yw a n t e d t o t r a n s f o r m h i s

r o o m i n t o a c a v e , a w a r mr o o m f i t t e d o u t w i t h t h e

n i c e f u r n i t u r e h e h a di n h e r i t e d ? T h a t w o u l d

h a v e l e t h i m c r a w l a r o u n du n i m p e d e d i n a n y

d i r e c t i o n , b u t i t w o u l da l s o h a v e l e t h i m q u i c k l y

f o r g e t h i s p a s t w h e n h eh a d s t i l l b e e n h u m a n . H eh a d c o m e v e r y c l o s e t o

forge t t ing , and i t had on lyb e e n t h e v o i c e o f h i s

mother, unheard for so long,tha t had shaken him out of

i t . N o t h i n g s h o u l d b eremoved; everything had to

s tay; he could not do withoutthe good influence the furniturehad on his condition; and if the

furniture made it difficult forhim to crawl about mindlessly

that was not a loss but a greatadvantage.

His s i s te r, unfor tuna te ly,

d i d n o t a g r e e ; s h e h a db e c o m e u s e d t o t h e i d e a ,

n o t w i t h o u t r e a s o n , t h a ts h e w a s G r e g o r ’ ss p o k e s m a n t o h i s p a r e n t s

a b o u t t h e t h i n g s t h a tc o n c e r n e d h i m . T h i s m e a n t

t h a t h i s m o t h e r ’s a d v i c en o w w a s s u ff i c i e n t r e a s o n

f o r h e r t o i n s i s t o nr e m o v i n g n o t o n l y t h e

c h e s t o f d r a w e r s a n d t h ed e s k , a s s h e h a d t h o u g h t a tf i r s t , b u t a l l t h e f u r n i t u r e

a p a r t f r o m t h e a l l -i m p o r t a n t c o u c h . I t w a s

m o r e t h a n c h i l d i s hp e r v e r s i t y , o f c o u r s e , o r

t h e u n e x p e c t e d c o n f i d e n c e

cuentre todo en el mismoestado y pueda olvidar tan-to más fácilmente este pa-réntesis.

A l o í r e s t a s p a l a b r a sd e l a m a d r e , c o m p r e n -d i ó G r e g o r i o q u e l a f a l -t a d e t o d a r e l a c i ó n h u -m a n a d i r e c t a , u n i d a a l am o n o t o n í a d e l a e x i s -t e n c i a q u e l l e v a b a e n t r el o s s u y o s , h a b í a d e b i d ot r a s t o r n a r su inteligenciaen aquellos dos meses, pues,de otro modo, no podía expli-carse que él hubiese deseadover vaciar su habitación. ¿Esque él deseaba de verdad sécambiase aquella su muellehabitación, confortable y dis-puesta con muebles de fami-lia, en un desierto en el cualhubiera podido, es verdad,trepar en todas las direccionessin el menor impedimento,pero en el cual se hubiera, almismo tiempo, olvidado rápi-da y completamente de su pa-sada condición humana? Yaestaba él ahora muy cerca de ol-vidarse de ésta, y únicamentehabíale conmovido la voz de lamadre, no oída hacía ya tiempo.No, no había que retirar nada;todo tenía [62] que permanecertal cual; no era posible prescin-dir de la bienhechora influenciaque los muebles ejercían sobreél, y, aunque éstos impedían sulibre ejercicio, ello, en todocaso, antes que un perjuicio,debía ser considerado como unagran ventaja.

Por desgracia, la herma-na no compartía esta opinión,y, como se había acostumbra-do -cierto es que no sin mo-tivo- a actuar como peritofrente a los padres en todo loque a Gregorio se refería,bastóle la idea expuesta porla madre para insistir y decla-rar que no solo debían serretirados de allí el baúl y lamesa, en los que al principioúnicamente había pensado,sino también todos los demásmuebles, excepción hechadel indispensable sofá. Cla-ro es que a ello no le impul-saban únicamente su tozudezinfantil y aquella confianzaen sí misma, tan repentina

he can find everythingunchanged and forget that muchmore easily what happened inthe meantime.”

U p o n h e a r i n g t h em o t h e r ’ s w o r d s ,G r e g o r r e a l i z e d t h a tt h e l a c k o f a n y d i r e c th u m a n e x c h a n g e ,c o u p l e d w i t h t h em o n o t o n y o f t h ef a m i l y ’ s l i f e , m u s th a v e c o n f u s e d h i sm i n d ; h e c o u l d n o to t h e r w i s e e x p l a i n t ohimself how he could haveseriously wished to havehis room cleared out. Didhe rea l ly wish h is warmr o o m , c o m f o r t a b l yfurnished with old familyh e i r l o o m s , t o b e t r a n s -formed into a lair in whichhe would certainly be ablet o c r a w l f r e e l y i n a n ydirection, but at the priceof rapidly and completelyforgetting his human past?H e h a d i n d e e d b e e n s oc l o s e t o f o rg e t t i n g t h a to n l y t h e v o i c e o f t h emother, so long unheard,brought him to his senses.N o t h i n g s h o u l d b eremoved, everything muststay as it was, he could notdo wi thout the benef ic ia linf luence of the furni tureon h is s ta te of mind , andi f the furn i ture impededh i s s e n s e l e s s c r a w l i n gabou t , i t was no t a lossbut a grea t boon.

Unfortunately, however,t h e s i s t e r t h o u g h tdifferently; she had grownaccustomed, not ent i re lywithout reason, to beingespec ia l ly exper t in anydiscussion with her parentsconcerning Gregor, and sonow the mother ’s advicewas grounds enough for herto insist on removing notonly the bureau and desk,a s s h e h a d o r i g i n a l l yplanned, but also the rest oft h e f u r n i t u r e , w i t h t h ee x c e p t i o n o f t h eindispensable sofa . Thisdetermination of course didnot arise only from childishd e f i a n c e a n d t h e

Gregor t rouve tout inchangéquand il nous reviendra et oublie

ainsi plus facilement tout ce quise sera passé entre-temps.»

E n e n t e n d a n t c e s p r o p o s

de sa mère , Gregor se d i t quec e s d e u x m o i s a u c o u r s

desque l s aucun ê t r e huma inne lu i avai t adressé la parole ,e n m ê m e t e m p s q u e l a v i e

m o n o t o n e q u ’ i l m e n a i t a use in de sa f ami l l e ava ien t dû

lu i tr oub ler l ’ e s p r i t ; s i n o n ,i l n e p o u v a i t p l u s

c o m p r e n d r e c o m m e n t i la v a i t p u s é r i e u s e m e n t

s o u h a i t e r q u ’ o n v i d e s ac h a m b r e . Av a i t - i l v r a i m e n te n v i e q u e c e t t e p i è c e

c h a l e u r e u s e ,c o n f o r t a b l e m e n t r e m p l i e d e

v i e u x m e u b l e s d e f a m i l l e ,s o i t c h a n g é e e n u n r e p a i r e

d a n s l e q u e l i l p o u r r a i tc e r t e s r a m p e r l i b r e m e n t

d a n s t o u s l e s s e n s , m a i s a up r i x d ’ u n o u b l i r a p i d e e t

t o t a l d e s o n a n c i e n n ec o n d i t i o n d ’ h o m m e ? I l é t a i tdé j à t ou t p r è s de l ’ oub l i e r e t

i l a v a i t f a l l u l a v o i x d e s am è r e , q u ’ i l n ’ a v a i t p a s

e n t e n d u e d e p u i s s il o n g t e m p s p o u r q u ’ i l s e

r e s s a i s i s s e . I l n e f a l l a i t r i e nen lever ; tou t deva i t r e s t e r en

p lace ; i l ne pouva i t se passe rd e l a b o n n e i n f l u e n c e d e s e sm e u b l e s ; e t s i s e s m e u b l e s

e m p ê c h a i e n t s e s a b s u r d e sr e p t a t i o n s , c e n ’ é t a i t p a s u n

m a l , m a i s u n g r a n davan tage .

Ma i s l a soeu r fu t

malheureusement d’une autreop in ion ; e l l e ava i t p r i s

l’habitude, non sans raison, il estvrai, de se considérer, en face deses parents, comme experte pour

tout ce qui regardait les affairesde Gregor et il suffit, cette fois,

que sa mère ait formulé cet avis,pou r que Gre t e i n s i s t â t non

seulement sur l’éloignement del a commode e t du bu reau ,

comme ç’avait été au début sonintention, mais sui celui de tousles meubles, à l’exception de

l’indispensable canapé. Si ellefo rmula i t ce t t e ex igence , ce

n ’é t a i t na tu r e l l emen t pa sseulement par bravade enfantine

ni à cause de la confiance en

autrefois, pour que Grégoirene trouve aucun changementquand il nous reviendra et qu’iloublie plus facilement.»

E n e n t e n d a n t l e sm o t s d e s a m è r e ,G r é g o i r e r e c o n n u t q u el e s d e u x m o i s d e v i em o n o t o n e a u c o u r sd e s q u e l s p e r s o n n e n el u i a v a i t a d r e s s é l ap a r o l e a v a i e n t d û l u it ro u b l e r l e c e r v e a u ; i ln e p o u v a i t s ’ e x p l i q u e raut rement le dés i r qui lu ié t a i t v e n u d e p o s s é d e ru n e c h a m b r e v i d e .Av a i t - i l v r a i m e n t e n v i ed e l a i s s e r t r a n s f o r m e rc e t t e p i è c e c h a u d e ,c o n f o r t a b l e m e n t g a r n i ed e m e u b l e s d e f a m i l l e ,e n u n e c a v e r n e o ù i lp a i e r a i t d ’ u n o u b l ir ap ide e t comple t de sonhuman i t é pas sée l e d ro i td e b a t i f o l e r s u r l e smurs? C’es t que l ’oub l if a i s a i t dé j à son oeuv re ,e t , p o u r l ’ a r r a c h e r à s at o r p e u r , i l n ’ a v a i t p a smoins f a l l u que l a vo ixde sa mère qu ’ i l n ’ ava i tp l us en tendue depu i s s ilongtemps. Non, n’enlevezrien, tout doit rester, il nes a u r a i t s e p a s s e r d e l ab o n n e i n f l u e n c e d e s e sm e u b l e s e t s ’ i l sl’empêchent de se livrer àses divagations rampantes,ce ne sera pas un mal, maisun bien.

L a s o e u r n e f u tm a l h e u r e u s e m e n t p a sd e c e t a v i s ; e l l e a v a i tp r i s a v e c s e s p a r e n t sl ’ h a b i t u d e d e f a i r e[ 5 2 ] a u t o r i t é d a n s l aq u e s t i o n G r é g o i r e ; c en ’ é t a i t d ’ a i l l e u r s p a ss a n s r a i s o n , e t i l s u f f i tc e t t e f o i s - c i d u c o n s e i ld e l a m è r e p o u r l ad é c i d e r à é v a c u e r n o ns e u l e m e n t l e b u r e a u e tl e b a h u t , qui avaient constituéd’abord son unique objectif, maisencore tous les autres meubles, àl’exception de l’indispensablecanapé. Son exigence n’étaitd’ailleurs pas le résultat d’unesimple bravade enfantine ou de ce

everything the same and it willbe that much easier for him toforget what has happened in themeantime:

O n h e a r i n g h i sm o t h e r ’s w o r d s , G r e g o rr e a l i s e d t h a t t h e l a c k o fa l l d i r e c t h u m a nc o m m u n i c a t i o n ,t o g e t h e r w i t h am o n o t o n o u s l i f e i n t h emids t o f h i s fami ly, mus thave confused his mind inthe course of these last twomonths, for he could notexplain to himself in anyother way how he could haveseriously wished to have hisroom cleared out. Did hereally want to have his warmroom, comfor t ab lyfu rn i shed w i th f ami lyheirlooms, transformed intoa cave in which, admittedly,he would be able to crawlabout freely in all directionsbut at the cost of swiftly andtotally forgetting his humanpast? He was already on theverge of forgetting it, andonly his mother ’s voice ,which he had not heard forso long, had brought him tohis senses. Nothing should beremoved; everything had tostay; he could not do withoutthe beneficial influence of thefurniture on his state of mind;and if the furniture preventedhim from carrying on with hisaimless crawling around, thatwas no loss, but a greatadvantage.

But his sisterunfortunately thoughtotherwise; not without somejustification, she had grownaccustomed to taking on therole, vis-a-vis her parents, ofa particularly well-qualified[36] special ist wheneverGregor’s affairs were beingdiscussed, and so her mother’sadvice was now sufficientreason for her to insist on theremoval of not only the chestof drawers and desk, whichwas all she had been planningat first, but of every item offurniture, apart from theindispensable couch. It was,of course, more than childishdefiance and the self-confidence

he will find that nothing’s beenchanged and it will be mucheasier for him to forget whathappened.”

U p o n h e a r i n g t h emothe r ’s words , Grego rrea l ized [156] tha t in thec o u r s e o f t h e s e t w om o n t h s t h e l a c k o fh a v i n g a n y o n e t oc o n v e r s e w i t h , p l u s t h em o n o t o n o u s l i f e i n t h emids t o f the fami ly, mus th a v e b e f u d d l e d h i sm i n d , f o r t h e r e w a s n oo the r way to accoun t fo rh o w h e c o u l d h a v ese r ious ly longed to havehis room empt ied ou t . Didh e r e a l l y w a n t t h e w a r mroom, so cozily appointed withheirlooms , t ransformed intoa l a i r, w h e r e h e m i g h t , o fc o u r s e , b e a b l e t o c r e e p ,unimpeded, in any direction,though forgetting his humanpast swi f t ly and to ta l ly?By now, he was a l readyon the verge of forgetting,and had been brought ups h a r p l y o n l y b y t h emother’s voice af te r nothear ing it for a long time.N o t h i n g s h o u l d b eremoved, everything had toremain : he could not dowithout the positive effectsof the furniture on his stateo f m i n d . A n d i f t h efurni ture in terfered wi thh is sense less ly c rawl ingabout, then it was a greatasset and no loss.

Unfortunately, the sisterwas of a different mind; inthe discussions concerningGregor, she had gotten intothe habit-not without somejustification, to be sure-ofacting the great expert infront of the parents. So nowthe mother ’s advice wasagain reason enough for thesister to demand that theyr e m o v e n o t o n l y t h ewardrobe and the desk, inline with her original plan,but all the furniture exceptfor the indispensable set-tee. Her resoluteness was,na tura l ly, prompted notjust by childish defianceand the unexpected self-

que Gregor, cuando vuelva aestar con nosotros, lo encuentretodo igual y pueda olvidar másfácilmente este período ».

Al escuchar e s tas pa la -b r a s d e l a m a d r e , G r e g o rs e d i o c u e n t a d e q u e l af a l t a d e c u a l q u i e r r e l a -c i ó n d i r e c t a c o n e l l e n -g u a j e h u m a n o , u n i d a al a m o n ó t o n a v i d a q u el l e v a b a e n e l s e n o d e l af a m i l i a , h a b í a d e b i d o d et r a s t o r n a r sus facultadesmentales en el curso de esosdos meses; pues de lo contra-rio no lograba explicarse cómohabía podido desear seriamenteque vaciaran su cuarto. ¿Deverdad tenía ganas de que trans-formaran su cálida habitación,confortablemente decorada conmuebles heredados de su fami-lia, en una cueva en la que sinduda habría podido arrastrarsesin trabas en cualquier direc-ción, pero a costa de olvidar almismo tiempo, rápidamente ypor completo, su pasado huma-no? De hecho, ya estaba muypróximo a olvidarlo, y solo lavoz de la madre, que él llevabamucho tiempo sin escuchar, lohabía conmovido. Nada debíaser retirado; todo debía quedartal como estaba; no podía renun-ciar a la benéfica influencia delos muebles sobre su estado, ysi estos le impedían proseguir[64] con su absurdo arrastrarsede un lado para otro, no se tra-taba de ningún perjuicio, sino deuna gran ventaja.

Pero la hermana no com-partía, por desgracia, esta opi-nión; se había acostumbrado,y no sin cierta razón, a pre-sentarse como particularmen-te experta ante sus padrescuando discutían asuntos re-lacionados con Gregor, por loque ahora el consejo de lamadre fue motivo suficientepara que la hermana insistie-ra en sacar no solo el armarioy el escritorio, como habíapensado en un principio, sinotodos los muebles, exceptuan-do el imprescindible sofá. Porcierto que no eran solo unaterquedad infantil y esa con-fianza en sí misma que, demanera tan ardua e inespera-

7978

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

s h e h a d r e c e n t l y a c q u i r e d ,t h a t m a d e h e r i n s i s t ; s h e

h a d i n d e e d n o t i c e d t h a tG r e g o r n e e d e d a l o t o f

r o o m t o c r a w l a b o u t i n ,w h e r e a s t h e f u r n i t u r e , a s

f a r a s a n y o n e c o u l d s e e ,w a s o f n o u s e t o h i m a t a l l .

G i r l s o f t h a t a g e , t h o u g h ,d o b e c o m e e n t h u s i a s t i ca b o u t t h i n g s a n d f e e l t h e y

m u s t g e t t h e i r w a yw h e n e v e r t h e y c a n .

P e r h a p s t h i s w a s w h a tt e m p t e d G r e t e t o m a k e

G r e g o r ’ s s i t u a t i o n s e e me v e n m o r e s h o c k i n g t h a n i t

w a s s o t h a t s h e c o u l d d oe v e n m o r e f o r h i m . G r e t ewou ld p robab ly be t he on ly

one who wou ld da re en t e r ar o o m d o m i n a t e d b y G r e g o r

c r a w l i n g a b o u t t h e b a r ew a l l s b y h i m s e l f .

S o s h e r e f u s e d t o l e t h e r

m o t h e r d i s s u a d e h e r.G r e g o r ’s m o t h e r a l r e a d y

looked uneasy in his room,she soon s topped speak ingand helped Gregor ’s sister to

get the chest of drawers outwith what s trength she had.

T h e c h e s t o f d r a w e r s w a ssomething that Gregor could

do without i f he had to, butthe wri t ing desk had to stay.

Hardly had the two womenpushed the chest of drawers,g r o a n i n g , o u t o f t h e r o o m

than Gregor poked his headout from under the couch to

see what he could do abouti t . He meant to be as careful

and considerate as he could,but, unfortunately, i t was his

mother who came back f irs twhile Grete in the next room

had her arms round the chest,p u s h i n g a n d p u l l i n g a t i tfrom side to s ide by herself

without, of course, moving itan inch. His mother was not

used to the sight of Gregor,he might have made her i l l ,

so Gregor hurried backwardsto the far end of the couch.

In his startlement, though, hewas not able to prevent thes h e e t a t i t s f r o n t f r o m

m o v i n g a l i t t l e . I t w a se n o u g h t o a t t r a c t h i s

mother ’s attention. She stoodvery st i l l , remained there a

moment, and then went back

cuan difícilmente adquiridaen los últimos tiempos; tam-bién había observado queGregorio, además de necesi-tar mucho espacio para arras-trarse y trepar, no utilizabalos muebles en lo más míni-mo, y tal vez también, conaquel entusiasmo propio delas muchachas de su edad, an-heloso siempre de una oca-sión que le permita ejercitar-se, dejóse llevar secretamentepor el deseo de aumentar [63]lo pavoroso de la situación deGregorio, a fin de poder hacerpor él aún más de lo que hastaahora hacía. Y es que en uncuarto en el cual Gregorio hu-biese aparecido completamen-te solo entre las paredes des-nudas, seguramente no se atre-vería a entrar ningún ser huma-no fuera de Grete.

No le fue, pues, posiblea la madre hacerla desistirde su proyecto, y como enaquel cuarto sentía una grandesazón, no tardó en callar-se y en ayudar a la herma-na, con todas sus fuerzas, asacar el baúl. Bueno; del co-f r e , en ca so necesa r io ,Gregorio podía prescindir;pero la mesa tenía que que-darse allí. Apenas hubieronabandonado el cuarto lasdos mujeres, llevándose elcofre, al que se agarrabangimiendo, sacó Gregorio lacabeza de debajo del sofá,para ver el modo de inter-venir con la mayor conside-ración y todas las precaucio-nes posibles. Por desgracia,la madre fue la primera envolver, mientras Grete, en lahabitación de al lado, seguíaagarrada al cofre, zarandeán-dolo de un lado paró otro, aun-que sin lograr mudarlo, de si-tio. La madre no estaba acos-tumbrada a la vista deGregorio; podía haber enfer-mado al verlo de pronto; así esque Gregorio, asustado, retro-cedió a toda velocidad hasta elotro extremo del sofá; pero de-masiado [64] tarde para evitarque la sábana que le ocultaba seagitase un poco, lo cual bastópara llamar la atención de la ma-dre. Esta paróse en seco, que-dó un punto suspensa, y vol-

s e l f - con f idence she hadr e c e n t l y a n d s ounexpectedly developed atsuch a cost; she had in facto b s e r v e d t h a t G r e g o rn e e d e d m o r e r o o m t ocrawl , and as far as onecould see, he never usedt h e f u r n i t u r e . H e rd e t e r m i n a t i o n m a y a l s oh a v e a r i s e n f r o m t h eromantic enthusiasm of girlsher age that seeks expressionat every opportunity andtempted Grete to overplaythe horror of Gregor ’spredicament in order that shemight perform even moreheroically on his behalf thanpreviously. For in a roomwhere Gregor alone [32] ruledover the bare walls, no oneother than Grete was likely todare set foot.

And so she refused to beshaken from her resolve bythe mother, who seemedex t r eme ly anx ious andunsure of hersel f in th isroom and soon quieted andhelped the sister, to the bestof her abilities, to push thebureau outside. Now, in ap inch Grego r cou ld dowithout the bureau but thedesk must absolutely stay.And no soone r had t hewomen l e f t t he room,grunting and heaving withthe bureau , than Gregorpoked his head out f romunder the sofa to ascertainhow he could cautiously andtactfully intervene. But asluck would have it, it wasthe mother who returnedfirst while Grete was still inthe next room with her armsaround the bureau, rockingit and trying to shift it onher own but naturally notbudg ing i t an inch . Themothe r , howeve r, wasunaccustomed to Gregor’sappearance and i t mighthave s i ckened he r ; soGrego r pan i cked andscuttled back to the otherend of the sofa, but he couldnot prevent the sheet fromstirring a little in front. Thiswas enough to ca tch themother ’s eye. She froze,stood still for a beat, then

elle-même qu’elle avait acquiseces derniers temps de manière si

soudaine et au travers de tellesd i f f i cu l t é s ; e l l e ava i t au s s i

observé réellement que Gregorava i t b e s o i n d e b e a u c o u p

d ’ e s p a c e p o u r s a r e p t a t i o n ,mais que les meubles, autant

qu’on en pouvait juger, ne luiservaient au contraire à r ien.Mais i l était possible que fût

i n t e r v e n u a u s s i l ’ e s p r i tromanesque des jeunes filles de

son âge, qui cherche toujoursà se sat i s fa ire de toutes les

occasions; peut-être s’était-ellelaissé inciter à rendre pire encore

la situation de Gregor, afin depouvoir faire encore davantagepour lui. Car personne, en dehors

de Grete, n’oserait probablementmettre les pieds dans une pièce où

il régnerait tout seul au milieu deses murs nus.

Elle ne se laissa donc pas

détourner de sa résolution par samère, à qui l’inquiétude qu’elle

éprouvait dans cette pièce ôtait toutesprit de décision et qui ne tardapas à garder le silence et à l’aider,

dans la mesure de ses forces, àdéménager la commode. Bon,

Gregor pouvait à la rigueur sepasser de la commode, mais il

fallait absolument laisser le bureau.Et les deux femmes avaient à peine

quitté la pièce avec la commode,qu’elles tenaient serrée contre ellesen gémissant sous l’effort, que

Gregor passa la tête sous le canapépour examiner comment il pourrait

luimême intervenir, en y mettantautant de ménagement e t de

prudence qu’il lui serait possible.Mais le malheur voulut que ce fût

sa mère qui revînt la première,pendant que Grete, dans la pièce

à côté, les bras passés autour del a c o m m o d e , l a s e c o u a i t d ed r o i t e e t d e g a u c h e , s a n s

p a r v e n i r n a t u r e l l e m e n t à l adéplacer. Mais la mère n’était

pas habituée à la vue de Gregor;e l l e a u r a i t p u e n t o m b e r

m a l a d e ; a u s s i G r e g o r s eh â t a - t - i l d e p a r t i r é p o u v a n t é

à r e c u l o n s j u s q u ’ à l ’ a u t r eb o u t d u c a n a p é ; i l n e p u tt o u t e f o i s é v i t e r q u e l e d r a p

n e f i t u n l é g e r m o u v e m e n t .C e l a s u f f i t p o u r a t t i r e r

l ’ a t t e n t i o n d e s a m è r e ; e l l es ’ a r r ê t a c o u r t , r e s t a s u r

p l ace un momen t , pu i s pa r t i t

nouveau sentiment de confianceen soi qu’elle venait d’acquérird’une façon si inattentendue et sipénible; non, elle avait réellementconstaté que Grégoire avaitbesoin de beaucoup d’espacepour ses promenades, et qu’autantqu’on pouvait s’en rendrecompte, il n’utilisait jamais lesmeubles. Mais peut-être aussil ’espr i t romanesque desfillettes de son âge n’était-ilpas étranger à sa décision;une humeur qui cherche àse satisfaire à tout propos etqui la poussait en ce momentà dramatiser la situation deson frère afin de pouvoir sedévouer davantage pour lui;car nul, sauf Grete, n’oseraitdésormais se risquer dans unendroit où le seul Grégoirerégnera i t su r des mursdéserts.

Elle ne se laissa donc pasdétourner de sa résolutionpar sa mère quel ’a tmosphère de ce t t echambre rendait inquiète etindécise, et qui ne tarda pasà l’aider tant bien que mal àévacuer le coffre. Soit, cemeuble, Grégoire pouvait à larigueur s’en passer, mais lebureau devait rester à saplace; et à peine les femmeseurent-elles quitté la chambreavec le bahut qu’el lespoussaient en ahanant, [53]que Grégoire sortit la têtepour examiner lespossibilités d’une entrée enmatière pleine de prudence etde tact; le malheur voulut quece fût justement la mère quirevînt la première, tandisque Grete, dans la pièce àcôté, les bras passés autourdu bahut , l e secouai t dedroi te e t de gauche sansarr iver à le déplacer. Lamère n’était pas habituée àvoir Grégoire, elle aurait puen f a i r e une ma lad ie ;effrayé, i l se dépêcha derecu le r jusqu’à l ’au t reextrémité du canapé, mais ilne put empêcher le drapd’enregistrer sur le devantune légère ag i ta t ion qu iattira l’attention de la vieilledame; elle s’arrêta court,resta figée un instant surplace et retourna enfin vers

so unexpectedly and painstakinglyacquired in recent weeks thatdetermined her to make thisdemand; she had indeednoticed that Gregor neededplen ty of room to c rawlaround in, and there was nos ign tha t he made theslightest use of the furniture.But perhaps a contributoryfac tor was the romant icspirit of girls of her age,which seeks fulfilment atevery opportunity and whichhad now tempted Grete intomaking Gregor’s situationeven more horrific, so thatshe could be of even greaterhelp to him than before. Forno one but Grete would everdare to set foot in a room inwhich Gregor re igned insolitary state over the barewalls.

And so she would nota l low her resolve to beshaken by her mother, whoout of sheer nervousness alsoseemed unsure of herself inthat room, and soon fell silentand began doing all she couldto help his sister get the chestof drawers out. Now Gregor,if need be, could managewithout the chest of drawers,but the desk had to stay. Andno sooner had the women leftthe room, groaning as theyflattened themselves againstthe chest of drawers, thanGregor poked his head fromunder the couch to see howhe might intervene cautiouslyand with as much tact aspossible. But as luck wouldhave it, his mother came backfirst, while Grete in theadjoining room was claspingthe chest of drawers, rockingit unaided to and fro withoutof course moving it an inch.His mother, however, was notused to the sight of Gregor -looking at him might make herill - so Gregor reversed in apanic to the other end of the[37] couch, though he wastoo late to prevent the sheetat the front from swaying alittle. That was enough toa t t rac t h i s mother ’sattention. She stopped in hert racks , s tood s t i l l fo r amoment and then went back

c o n f i d e n c e s h e h a dr e c e n t l y g a i n e d a t s u c hgreat cost . After al l , shehad observed that while heneeded a lo t of space tocreep around in, Gregor, sofar as could be seen, madeno use whatsoever of thef u r n i t u r e . P e r h a p s ,however, the enthusiasm ofg i r l s he r age [157] a l sop l a y e d i t s p a r t - a nexuberance that they try toindulge every chance theyg e t . I t n o w i n v e i g l e d*Grete into making Gregor’ss i t u a t i o n e v e n m o r eterrifying, so she could doeven more fo r h im thanpreviously. For most likelyno one bu t Gre te wou ldever dare venture in to aroom where Gregor ruledthe bare walls all alone.

And so she dug in herheels, refusing to give in tothe mother, who, apparentlyquite anxious and uncertainof herself in this room, soonheld her tongue and, to thebest of her ability, helped thesister push out the wardrobe.Wel l , Gregor cou ld , i fnecessary, do without thewardrobe, but the desk hadto remain. And no soonerhad the squeezing, groaningwomen shoved the wardrobethrough the doorway thanGregor poked his head outf rom under the se t tee tojudge how he cou ldintervene as cautiously andconsiderately as possible.But alas, it was precisely themother who was the first toreturn while Grete was stillin the next room, holding herarms around the wardrobeand rocking it back and forthby herse l f wi thout , o fcourse, getting it to budgefrom the spot. The mother,however, was not used to thes igh t of Gregor- i t mightsicken her. And so Gregor,terrified, scuttered backwardsto the other end of the settee,but was unable to prevent thef ron t o f the shee t f romstirring slightly. That wasenough to catch the mother’seye. She halted, stood stillfor an instant , then went

da, había adquirido en los úl-timos tiempos lo que la impul-saba a plantear esta exigencia;también había observado, enefecto, que Gregor necesitabamucho espacio para arrastrar-se y, en cambio, no utilizabapara nada los muebles, al me-nos hasta donde podía verse.Pero quizá entraba además enjuego el temperamento exal-tado de una muchacha de suedad , que busca su sa t i s -facción en cualquier oportuni-dad y ahora inducía a Grete avolver aún más aterradora lasituación de Gregor, para lue-go poder hacer por él muchomás que hasta entonces. Puesnadie, excepto Grete, se atre-vería a entrar nunca en un es-pacio en el que Gregor domi-nara en solitario las paredesvacías.

Así pues, no se dejó apar-tar de sus propósitos por lamadre, quien, de pura inquie-tud, también [65] parecía sen-tirse insegura en esa habita-ción, enmudeció pronto y,como pudo, ayudó a la herma-na a sacar fuera el armario. Esosí: de este aún podía prescin-dir Gregor en caso de necesi-dad, pero el escritorio teníaque quedarse. Y en cuanto lasdos mujeres salieron de la ha-bitación con el armario, queempujaban entre gemidos,Gregor sacó la cabeza de de-bajo del sofá para ver cómopodría intervenir con pruden-cia y la máxima considera-ción posible. Pero, por des-gracia, fue precisamente lamadre la primera en volver,mien t ras Gre te , en l a ha-bitación contigua, rodeaba elarmario con los brazos y lozarandeaba sola sin lograr,claro está, moverlo del sitio.La madre, sin embargo, noestaba acostumbrada a ver aGregor, cuyo aspecto habríapodido indisponerla, por loque este, aterrado, retrocedióa toda prisa hasta el otro ex-tremo del sofá, aunque nopudo impedir que la sábana semoviera un poco por delante.Eso bastó para poner sobre avi-so a la madre, que se detuvo enseco, permaneció un instante ensilencio y regresó luego a don-

* inveigle 1 : to win over by wiles : entice 2 : to acquire by ingenuity or flattery synonym see lure

8180

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

out to Grete.

G r e g o r k e p t t r y i n g t oas su re h imse l f t ha t no th ing

u n u s u a l w a s h a p p e n i n g , i tw a s j u s t a f e w p i e c e s o f

f u r n i t u r e b e i n g m o v e da f t e r a l l , b u t h e s o o n h a d

t o a d m i t t h a t t h e w o m e ng o i n g t o a n d f r o , t h e i rl i t t l e c a l l s t o e a c h o t h e r,

t h e s c r a p i n g o f t h ef u r n i t u r e o n t h e f l o o r, a l l

these th ings made him fee las i f he were being assa i led

from all s ides. With his heada n d l e g s p u l l e d i n a g a i n s t

h im and his body pressed tothe f loor, he was forced toa d m i t t o h i m s e l f t h a t h e

cou ld no t s t and a l l o f th i sm u c h l o n g e r. T h e y w e r e

e m p t y i n g h i s r o o m o u t ;t a k i n g a w a y e v e r y t h i n g

t h a t w a s d e a r t o h i m ; t h e yh a d a l r e a d y t a k en o u t t h e

c h e s t c o n t a i n i n g h i sfre t saw and other tools; now

they threatened to remove thew r i t i n g d e s k w i t h i t s p l a c eclearly worn into the floor, the

desk where he had done h i sh o m e w o r k a s a b u s i n e s s

tra inee, a t high school , evenwhi l e he had been a t i n fan t

school - he rea l ly could notwait any longer to see whether

the two women’s i n t e n t i o n sw e r e g o o d . H e h a d n e a r l yf o r g o t t e n t h e y w e r e t h e r e

anyway, as they were now toot i r e d t o s a y a n y t h i n g w h i l e

they worked and he could onlyhear their feet as they stepped

heavily on the f loor.

So, while the women wereleant against the desk in the other

room catching their breath, hesallied out, changed directionfour times not knowing what he

should save f irst before hisattention was suddenly caught by

the picture on the wall - whichwas already denuded of

everything else that had been onit - of the lady dressed in copious

fur. He hurried up onto thepicture and pressed himselfagainst its glass, it held him

firmly and felt good on his hotbel ly. This picture at least ,

n o w t o t a l l y c o v e r e d b yGregor, would cer ta in ly be

t aken away by no -one . He

vió junto a Grete.

Aunque Gregoriorepetíase de continuo que se-guramente no había de acon-tecer nada de extraordinario,y que solo unos muebles se-rían cambiados de sitio, nopudo por menos de impresio-narle, cuando él mismo reco-noció muy pronto, aquel ir yvenir de las mujeres, las lla-madas que una y otra se diri-gían, el rayar de los mueblesen el suelo; en una palabra,aquella confusión que reina-ba en torno suyo, y, encogien-do cuanto pudo la cabeza ylas piernas, aplastando elvientre contra el suelo, hubode confesarse, ya sin mira-mientos de ninguna clase,que no le sería posible sopor-tar lo mucho t iempo. Levaciaban su cuarto, le quita-ban cuanto él amaba: ya sehabían llevado el baúl en queguardaba la sierra y las de-más herramientas; ya movíanaquella mesa f irmementeempotrada en el suelo, y enla cual, cuando estudiaba lacarrera de comercio, cuandocursaba el grado, e inclusocuando iba a la escuela, ha-bía escrito sus temas... Sí; notenla ya ni un minuto que per-der para enterarse [65] de lasbuenas intenciones de las dosmujeres, cuya existencia, porlo demás, casi había olvida-do, pues, rendidas por la fa-tiga, trabajaban en silencio,y solo se percibía el rumor desus pasos cansados.

Y así fue como -en el mismomomento que las mujeres, en lahabitación contigua, recostábanseun punto en la mesa escritoriopara tomar aliento-, así fue comosalió de repente de su escondrijo,caminando hasta cuatro veces ladirección de su marcha. No sabíaen verdad a qué acudir primero.En esto, llamóle la atención, en lapared ya desnuda, el retrato de ladama envuelta en pieles. Trepóprecipitadamente hasta allí, yagar róse a l c r i s ta l , cuyocontacto calmó el ardor desu vientre. Al menos estae s t a m p a q u e é l t a p a b aahora por completo, no sela qui tar ían. Y volvió la

retreated to Grete.

Al though Gregor sa idover and over to himselft ha t no th ing ou t o f t heordinary was happening,that some furniture was justbe ing moved a round , hesoon had to concede that thecoming and going of thewomen , t he i r so f texclamations, the scrapingof the furniture furniturealong the floor were all likea roa r ing r i s i ng up andpressing in around him, andno matter how he tucked inh i s head and l egs andflat tened his body to thef loo r, he was fo r ced t oadmi t t ha t he cou ld no ts t and t he ruckus muchlonger. They were clearingout his room, taking fromhim eve ry th ing t ha t heloved ; t hey had a l r eadydragged ou t the bureau ,which contained the fretsawand other tools, and now theywere prying loose the firmlyentrenched desk, at which hehad done his assignmentsduring business school, highschool, and even as far backas elementary school-therewas now no longer any timeto contemplate the f inerintentions of the two women,whose exis tence he hadactually almost forgotten,because f rom sheerexhaust ion they werestruggling in silence and onlythe heavy shuffling of theirfeet could be heard.

And so he broke out-thewomen were in the nextroom, leaning on the desk tocatch their breath-and ran infour dif ferent direct ions,not knowing what to savefirst; then he saw on [33] theo the rwi s e b a r r e n w a l lopposite him the picture ofthe lady swathed in fursand quickly scrambled upa n d p r e s s e d h i m s e l fagainst the glass, a surfacehe could stick to and thatsoothed his heated belly.A t t h e v e r y l e a s t t h i spicture, which Gregor nowc o m p l e t e l y c o n c e a l e d ,would be removed by no

r e j o i n d r e G r e t e .

Bien que Gregor se soi t d i tcons tamment qu’ i l n ’a r r iva i t

r i e n d ’ e x t r a o r d i n a i r e e tq u ’ o n d é p l a ç a i t s e u l e m e n t

q u e l q u e s m e u b l e s , i l d u tb i e n t ô t c o n v e n i r q u e c e

va-e t -v ient des deux femmes,les phrases brèves qu’e l les sec r i a i e n t l ’ u n e à l ’ a u t r e , l e

gr incement des meub les su rl e p lancher, que tou t ce la lu i

f a i s a i t l ’ e f f e t d ’ u nremue-ménage, qui ne cessa i t

d ’ a u g m e n t e r d e t o u s l e scô tés ; e t i l ava i t beau rep l i e r

la t ê te e t l e s pa t tes con t re lu ie t p resser son corps cont re l eso l , i l fu t cont ra in t de se d i re

q u ’ i l n e p o u r r a i t p a ss u p p o r t e r c e l a l o n g t e m p s .

E l l e s l u i v i d a i e n t s ac h a m b re , on lu i p re n a i t t o u t

c e à q u o i i l t e n a i t ; e l l e sa v a i e n t d é j à e n l e v é l e

m e u b l e o ù i l r a n g e a i t s asc ie à découper e t s e s a u t r e s

ou t i l s , vo i l à main tenan t qu’e l l e sd é g a g e a i e n t l e b u r e a up r o f o n d é m e n t e n f o n c é d a n s l e

p l a n c h e r , s u r l e q u e l i l a v a i té c r i t s e s d e v o i r s l o r s q u ’ i l é t a i t

à l ’ é c o l e s u p é r i e u r e d ec o m m e r c e , a u c o l l è g e o u m ê m e

d é j à à l ’ é c o l e p r i m a i r e ; n o n , c en ’ é t a i t p l u s l e m o m e n t d e p e s e r

l e s b o n n e s i n t e n t i o n s q u e l e sdeux f emmes pouva ien t avo i r ; i la v a i t d ’ a i l l e u r s p r e s q u e o u b l i é

l e u r e x i s t e n c e , c a r , d a n s l e u re x t r ê m e f a t i g u e , e l l e s a v a i e n t

c e s s é d e p a r l e r e t l ’ o nn ’ e n t e n d a i t p l u s q u e l e l o u r d

m a r t è l e m e n t d e l e u r s p a s .

I l surg i t a lors de sa re t ra i te ,pendant qu’elles reprenaient leur

sou f f l e d a n s l a p i è c e v o i s i n e ,appuyées sur le bureau - il changeaquatre fois la direction de sa course,

sans parvenir à savoir ce qu’il devaitsauver pour commencer; c’est alors

qu’il aperçut sur le mur l’image dela dame toute couverte de fourrure;

e l l e a t t i r a s o n a t t e n t i o n , p a r c equ’elle restait seule sur le mur nu;

i l g r i m p a e n t o u t e h â t e s u r l acloison, se pressa sur le verre, quiadhéra contre lui et dont la fraîcheur

fit du bien à son ventre brûlant .Cette gravure, en tout cas, qu’il

recouvrai t maintenant de soncorps, personne ne viendrait la

lui prendre. Il fit un effort pour

Grete.

Grégoire avai t beau sed i r e q u ’ i l n e s e p a s s a i tr i e n d ’ e x t r a o r d i n a i r e e tq u ’ o n d é p l a ç a i ts e u l e m e n t q u e l q u e sm o r c e a u x d e b o i s , l e sa l l é e s e t v e n u e s d e sf e m m e s , l e u r s p e t i t e se x c l a m a t i o n s , l egrincement des meubless u r l e p l a n c h e r , l u if a i s a i e n t l ’ e f f e t d ’ u ngrand vacarme al imentéde toutes par ts , e t , s i for tq u ’ i l r e n t r â t l a t ê t e ,cont rac tâ t ses j ambes e ts e p r e s s â t s u r l e s o l , i ldeva i t s ’avouer qu’ i l nes u p p o r t e r a i t p a sl o n g t e m p s c e s u p p l i c e .E l l e s l u i v i d a i e n t s achambre , lu i empor ta ien ttout ce qu’ i l a imai t ; e l lesavaient déjà fait disparaîtrele bahut où i l s e r r a i t s ascie à découper e t tout sonpet i t out i l lage , e l lesdégageaient maintenant lebureau solidement ancré dansle parquet depuis le tempsqu’i l étai t en service, cebureau sur lequel il avait écritses devoirs de l’école decommerce, e t même del’école [54] primaire; non, ilne pouvait décidément plusleur tenir compte de leursintentions; d’ailleurs il avaitpresque oublié leur existencecar la fat igue les rendaitmuettes et l’on n’entendaitplus que le claquement deleurs pas alourdis.

Il opéra donc une sortiependant qu’elles restaientappuyées sur le bureau dans lapièce voisine pour souffler unpeu, et il se trouvait si perplexequ’il changea quatre fois dedirection; il ne savait par oùcommencer son sauvetage quandil aperçut brusquement l’imagede la dame toute en fourrure quiprenait une importance énormesur le mur vide; il se dépêcha demonter sur la cloison et des’appuyer sur le verre qui adhéraà son ventre brûlant et lerafraîchit d’une façondélicieuse. Cette image queGrégoire recouvraitcomplètement, personne ne

to Grete.

Although Gregor kepttelling himself that nothingout o f the o rd inary washappening, that only a fewpieces of furn i ture werebeing moved, he was soonforced to admi t tha t thewomen’s to-ing and fro-ing,the i r l i t t l e ca l l s to eachother, the scraping of thefurniture on the floor, wereaffecting him like some greatturmoi l tha t was be ingfuelled from all sides, and nomatter how firmly he drew inh is head and legs andpressed his body against thefloor, he knew for certainthat he would not be able tostand it much longer. Theywere clearing out his room;depriving him of everythinghe loved; they had alreadycarr ied out the chest ofdrawers which contained hisfretsaw and other tools; nowthey were prising free thedesk that had embedded itselfin the floor, at which as astudent of commerce, andbefore that as a schoolboy, infact ever since his primary-school days, he had always donehis homework - and he simplyhad no more time to verify thegood intentions of the twowomen, whose existence hehad in any case almostforgotten, for they were soexhausted that they were nowworking in silence, and onlythe heavy shuffling of theirfeet could be heard.

And so he broke out - inthe adjoining room the womenwere leaning against the deskto catch their breath for amoment - changed directionfour times, he really had noidea what to salvage first,then, noticing the picture ofthe lady draped in nothing butfurs where it hung on theotherwise bare wall , hequickly crawled up to it andpressed himself against theglass which held him fast andsoothed his hot belly. Thispicture, at least, which Gregorwas now completely [38]covering, was certainly notgoing to be taken from him.

back to Grete.

G r e g o r k e p t t e l l i n ghimself that nothing out oft h e o r d i n a r y w a shappening, it was just somefurniture being moved. Butthese comings and goingsof the women, their sof tcal ls to one another, thesc r a p i n g [ 1 5 8 ] o f t h efu rn i tu re a long the f loo rw a s , a s h e s o o n h a d t oa d m i t , l i k e a h u g erumpus pouring in on allsides. And no matter hows n u g l y h e p u l l e d i n h i shead and legs and pressedhis body against the floor,he inevitably had to own upthat he would not endurethe hubbub much longer.They were clearing out hisr o o m , s t r i p p i n g h i m o feverything he loved. Theyhad already dragged awayt h e w a r d r o b e , w h i c hcontained the fretsaw andother tools, and they werenow unprying the solidlyembedded desk, where hehad done his assignmentsfor business college, highs c h o o l , w h y, e v e nelementary school-and hereally had no time to delveinto the good intentions oft h e t w o w o m e n , w h o m ,incidentally, he had almostforgotten about , for theywere so exhausted that theywere already laboring insilence, and all that couldbe hea rd was t he heavyplodding of their feet.

And so, while the womenwere in the nex t room,leaning against the desk tocatch their breath, he brokeout, changing direction fourtimes, for he was truly at aloss about what to rescuefirst-when he saw the pictureof the woman clad in nothingbut furs hanging blatantlyon the otherwise empty wall.He quickly scrambled up toit and squeezed against theglass, which held him fast,soothing his hot belly. Atleas t , wi th Gregor nowcovering it up, this picturewould ce r ta in ly no t becarried off by anyone. He

de estaba Grete.

Aunque Gregor se d i je -r a u n a y o t r a v e z q u e n oe s t a b a o c u r r i e n d o n a d ae x t r a o r d i n a r i o , s i n o q u es o l o i b a n a c a m b i a r d e s i -t i o unos mueb les , aque l i ry v e n i r d e l a s m u j e r e s ,s u s p e q u e ñ o s g r i t o s , e lc h i r r i do de los muebles al serarrastrados, todo esto, como tuvoque confesarse pronto, cayó desdetodos lados sobre él como un granbarul lo , y, po r mucho queencog ie ra l a cabeza y l a spa tas y a p r e t a r a [ 6 6 ] e lc u e r p o c o n t r a e l s u e l o ,s e v i o i r r e m i s i b l e -m e n t e o b l i g a d o a d e -c i r s e q u e n o a g u a n t a r í aa q u e l l o m u c h o t i e m p o .L e e s t a b a n v a c i a n d os u h a b i t a c i ó n , q u i -t á n d o l e t o d o l o q u eé l q u e r í a ; e l a r m a r i oe n e l q u e g u a r d a b a l as ierra de marquetería y otras he-rramientas ya se lo habían l le-vado fuera , y ahora empezabana mover el escr i tor io , ya f i rme-men te empo t rado en e l sue lo ;donde él había hecho sus debe-res cuando estudiaba comercio,cuando cursaba estudios secun-darios, e incluso cuando iba a laescuela pr imaria . . . Ahora s í queno tenía realmente t iempo paraverif icar las buenas intencionesde esas dos mujeres , cuya exis-tencia , por lo demás, casi habíao lv idado , pues e l ago tamien tolas hacía trabajar ahora en silen-cio y solamente se oía el pesadorumor de sus pasos.

Y así salió de pronto de suescondrijo -en la habitacióncontigua, las mujeres acaba-ban de apoyarse en el escrito-rio para tomar aliento-, cam-bió cuatro veces la direcciónde su marcha, sin saber muybien qué debía salvar prime-ro; cuando vio, colgado lla-mativamente en la pared yavacía, el cuadro de la mujerenvuelta en pieles, se arrastrópresuroso hasta él y se pegócontra el vidrio, que lo sostu-vo y alivió el ardor de suvientre. Al menos ese cua-d r o , q u e G r e g o r t a p a b aahora to ta lmente , no se loqui tar ía nadie . Y volvió la

8382

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

turned his head to face thedoor into the living room so

that he could watch the womenwhen they came back.

T h e y h a d n o t a l l o w e d

t h e m s e l v e s a l o n g r e s t a n dc a m e b a c k q u i t e s o o n ;

G r e t e h a d p u t h e r a r ma r o u n d h e r m o t h e r a n d w a sn e a r l y c a r r y i n g h e r. “ W h a t

s h a l l w e t a k e n o w, t h e n ? ” ,s a i d G r e t e a n d l o o k e d

a r o u n d . H e r e y e s m e t t h o s eo f G r e g o r o n t h e w a l l .

P e r h a p s o n l y b e c a u s e h e rm o t h e r w a s t h e r e , s h e

r e m a i n e d c a l m , b e n t h e rf a c e t o h e r s o t h a t s h ew o u l d n o t l o o k r o u n d a n d

s a i d , a l b e i t h u r r i e d l y a n dw i t h a t r e m o r i n h e r v o i c e :

“ C o m e o n , l e t ’s g o b a c k i nt h e l i v i n g r o o m f o r a

w h i l e ? ” G r e g o r c o u l d s e ew h a t G r e t e h a d i n m i n d ,

s h e w a n t e d t o t a k e h e rmother somewhere sa fe and

t h e n c h a s e h i m d o w n f r o mt h e w a l l . We l l , s h e c o u l dc e r t a i n l y t r y i t ! H e s a t

u n y i e l d i n g o n h i s p i c t u r e .H e w o u l d r a t h e r j u m p a t

G r e t e ’s f a c e .

B u t G r e t e ’ s w o r d sh a d m a d e h e r m o t h e r

q u i t e w o r r i e d , s h es t e p p e d t o o n e s i d e ,s a w t h e e n o r m o u s

b r o w n p a t c h a g a i n s t t h ef l o w e r s o f t h e

w a l l p a p e r , a n d b e f o r es h e e v e n r e a l i s e d i t w a s

G r e g o r t h a t s h e s a ws c r e a m e d : “ O h G o d , o h

G o d ! ” A r m s o u t s t r e t c h e d ,s h e f e l l o n t o t h e c o u c h a s

i f s h e h a d g i v e n u pe v e r y t h i n g a n d s t a y e dt h e r e i m m o b i l e . “ G r e g o r ! ”

s h o u t e d h i s s i s t e r ,g l o w e r i n g a t h i m a n d

s h a k i n g h e r f i s t . T h a t w a st h e f i r s t w o r d s h e h a d

s p o k e n t o h i m d i r e c t l ys i n c e h i s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n .

S h e r a n i n t o t h e o t h e rr o o m t o f e t c h s o m e k i n d o fs m e l l i n g s a l t s t o b r i n g h e r

m o t h e r o u t o f h e r f a i n t ;G r e g o r w a n t e d t o h e l p t o o

- h e c o u l d s a v e h i s p i c t u r el a t e r , a l t h o u g h h e s t u c k

f a s t t o t h e g l a s s a n d h a d

cabeza hacia la puerta delcomedor, para observar alas mujeres cuando éstasentrasen.

La verdad es que éstas no sehabían concedido mucha tregua.Ya estaban allí de nuevo, ro-deando Grete a la madre con elbrazo, y casi sosteniéndola.

—Bueno, y ahora ¿qué nosllevamos? -dijo Grete mirandoen derredor.

En esto, sus miradascruzáronse con las de Gregorio,pegado a la pared. Grete logró[66] dominarse, cierto es queúnicamente a causa de la presen-cia de la madre, inclinóse haciaésta, para ocultarle la vista delo que había en torno suyo, y ,aturdida y temblorosa:

—Ven -dijo-, ¿no te parecemejor que nos vayamos un mo-mento al comedor?

Para Gregorio, la intenciónde Grete no dejaba lugar a du-das: quería poner a salvo a lamadre, y, después, echarle aba-jo de la pared. Bueno, ¡pues queintentase hacerlo! El continua-ba agarrado a su estampa, y nocedería. Prefería saltarle a Gretea la cara.

Mas l a s pa l ab ra s deGrete solo habían logradoinquietar a la madre. Esta seechó a un lado; divisó aque-lla gigantesca mancha oscu-ra sobre el rameado papelde la pared, y, antes de po-der darse siquiera cuenta deque aquello era Gregorio,gritó con voz aguda:

— ¡Ay, Dios mío! ¡Ay, Dios mío!Y se desplomó sobre el sofá,

con los brazos extendidos, cual sitodas sus fuerzas la abandonasen,quedando allí sin movimiento.

Y se desplomó.— ¡Ojo, Gregorio! -gritó la

hermana con el puño en alto yenérgica mirada.

[67] Eran estas las prime-ras palabras que le dirigía di-rectamente después de la me-tamorfosis. Pasó a la habita-ción contigua, en busca dealgo que dar a la madre parahacerla volver en sí. Gregoriohubiera querido ayudarla-para salvar la estampa habíatodavía tiempo-, pero se ha-llaba pegado al cristal, y

one. He twisted his headaround to the living roomd o o r t o o b s e r v e t h ewomen’s return.

T h e y h a d n o t t a k e nmuch of a break and werealready headed back; Gretehad put an arm around them o t h e r a n d w a s a l m o s tc a r r y i n g h e r. “ S o w h a tshould we take now?” saidGrete, looking around. Andthen her eyes met Gregor’sgaze from the wall. It wasprobably due only to thepresence of the mother thats h e m a i n t a i n e d h e rcomposure, bent her headdown to the mother to keepher from looking up, andsa id , r a the r shak i ly andwithout thinking: “Come,why don’t we go back to theliving room for a moment?”It was clear to Gregor thats h e i n t e n d e d t o g e t t h emother to safety and thenchase him down from thewall. Well, just let her try!He cleaved to his pictureand would not relinquish it.H e w o u l d r a t h e r f l y i nGrete’s face.

B u t G r e t e ’ s w o r d sh a d q u i t e u n n e r v e d t h em o t h e r ; s h e t o o k as t e p t o t h e s i d e , t o o ki n t h e h u g e b r o w ns p l o t c h o n t h e f l o w e r e dw a l l p a p e r , a n d , b e f o r er e a l i z i n g w h a t s h e s a ww a s a c t u a l l y G r e g o r ,s c r e a m e d i n a l o u d ,h a r s h v o i c e : “ Oh God!Oh God!” and co l l apsed ,a r m s , o u t f l u n g i n t o t a la b a n d o n , o n t o t h e s o f aa n d d i d n o t m o v e .“ G r e g o r , y o u ! ” y e l l e dt h e s i s t e r , g l a r i n gf i e r ce ly and r a i s ing he rf i s t . These were he r f i r s td i rec t words to h im s incethe me tamorphos i s . Sheran to t he nex t room fo rs o m e k i n d o f a r o m a t i cs p i r i t s t o r e v i v e t h em o t h e r f r o m h e r f a i n t ;G r e g o r w a n t e d t o h e l pt o o - t h e r e w a s t i m ee n o u g h t o s a v e t h ep ic tu rebu t he was s tuckfas t t o t he g l a s s and had

tourner la tête vers la porte duséjour, pour pouvoir observer les

deux f emmes l o r squ ’e l l e sreviendraient.

E l l e s n e s ’ é t a i e n t p a s

accordé beaucoup de répit etrevenaient déjà; Grete avait pris

sa mère par la taille et la portaitp r e s q u e . « Q u ’ a l l o n s - n o u se m p o r t e r , c e t t e f o i s - c i ?» ,

demanda-t-el le en promenantses regards autour d’elle. C’est

a l o r s q u e s e s r e g a r d s s ecroisèrent avec ceux de Gregor

s u r s o n m u r. E l l e p a r v i n t àgarder contenance, sans doute

à cause de la présence de samère, pencha son visage verse l l e , p o u r l ’ e m p ê c h e r d e

r e g a r d e r a u t o u r d ’ e l l e e tdéc l a ra , t ou t e t r emblan te e t

s a n s p r e n d r e l e t e m p s d eréfléchir « Viens! retournons

donc un instant dans la pièce deséjour. » L’int ention de Grete

était claire et Gregor la compritaussitôt : elle voulait d’abord

mettre sa mère à l’abri, puis ledéloger de son mur. Eh bien’.e l l e n ’ava i t qu’à essayer ! I l

était couché sur son image et ilne la lâchait pas. Plutôt sauter

à la figure de Grete !

M a i s l e s p a r o l e s d e G r e t en ’ a v a i e n t r é u s s i q u ’ à

i n q u i é t e r s a m è r e ; e l l e s ed é t o u r n a e t a p e r ç u tl ’ é n o r m e t a c h e b r u n e q u i

s ’ é t a l a i t s u r l e p a p i e r àf l e u r s e t a v a n t m ê m e

d ’ a v o i r p u r e c o n n a î t r e q u ec e q u ’ e l l e v o y a i t é t a i t b i e n

G r e g o r , e l l e h u r l a d ’ u n ev o i x r a u q u e : « O h ! m o n

Dieu , mon Dieu ! » , su r quo ie l l e tomba su r l e canapé en

éca r t an t l e s b r a s , comme s ie l le renonçai t à tout , e t res talà immobile . « Oh! Gregor !» ,

c r i a l a s o e u r e n l e v a n t l ep o i n g e t e n l e p e r ç a n t d u

r e g a r d . C ’ é t a i e n t l e spremières paroles qu’e l le lu i

e û t a d r e s s é e s d i r e c t e m e n tdepuis la métamorphose . El le

courut dans la p ièce vois ine .El le par t i t chercher des se lsd a n s l a p i è c e v o i s i n e p o u r

t i r e r s a m è r e d e s o né v a n o u i s s e m e n t . G r e g o r

v o u l u t a i d e r, l u i a u s s i - i ls e r a i t t o u j o u r s t e m p s p l u s

ta rd de sauver l a g ravure - ,

viendrait la prendre. Il tourna latête vers la porte de la salle àmanger pour pouvoir observerles femmes à leur retour.

Elles ne s’étaient pasaccordé une récréation bienlongue et revenaient déjà chezlui; Grete portait presque samère qu’elle tenait par la taille.«Eh bien, à qui le tourmaintenant?» dit-elle enregardant dans tous les coins.Ses yeux croisèrent alors ceuxde Grégoire perché sur son mur.Si elle parvint à conserver sonsang-froid ce fut uniquement àcause de sa mère vers laquelleelle pencha la tête pourl’empêcher de voir, et elledéclara, trop vite, sans pouvoirréprimer un tremblement :«Allons, viens, nous ferions sansdoute mieux de [55] retournerun moment dans la salle.»L’intention de la jeune fille étaitnette et Grégoire la comprit; ellevoulait placer d’abord la mèreen sûreté et le chasser du murensuite. Eh bien, elle n’avaitqu’à essayer, il était couché surson image et il ne la lâcherait pasainsi. Plutôt sauter à la figure desa soeur.

M a i s e n p a r l a n tG r e t e n ’ a v a i t r é u s s iq u ’ à i n q u i é t e r s am è r e ; c e l l e - c i s ed é t o u r n a , a p e r ç u tl ’ é n o r m e t a c h eb r u n e q u i s ’ é t a l a i ts u r l e p a p i e r p e i n t ,e t a v a n t d ’ a v o i r p ui d e n t i f i e rG r é g o i r e , s ’ é c r i a :«Oh! mon Dieu, mon Dieu!»d’une voix glapissante etrauque, tomba sur le canapéles bras en croix dans ungeste de renoncement total etcessa de donner signe de vie.«Ohl Grégoire!» s’écria lasoeur en levant le poing et enperçant Grégoire de sesregards. C’était le premiermot qu’el le lu i adressâtdi rectement depuis lamétamorphose. Elle courutchercher des sels à la salle àmanger pour réveiller la mèrede son évanouissement ,Grégoire décida de l’aider -cela ne l’empêcherait pas entemps opportun de sauver

He twisted his head roundtowards the living-room doorto observe the women whenthey returned.

They had not giventhemselves much of a rest andwere already coming back;Grete had put her arm aroundher mother and was virtuallycarrying her. ‘So, what shallwe take next?’ said Grete, andlooked about her. And then hereyes met Gregor’s as he clungto the wall. It was probablyonly because her mother wasthere that she kept hercomposure, she lowered herface close to her mother’s toprevent her from lookingaround, and said, albeit in aquavering voice and withoutthinking, ‘Come along, hadn’twe better go back to theliving-room for a moment?’ Itwas clear to Gregor what Gretewas up to, she wanted to leadher mother to safety and thenchase him down from the wall.Well, just let her try! He wassitting there on this picture andwould not part with it. Hewould sooner fly into Grete’sface.

But Grete’s words hadonly served to increase herm o t h e r ’s a n x i e t y ; s h estepped to one side, caughts ight of the huge brownb l o t c h o n t h e f l o w e r e dwallpaper, and, before i thad really dawned on herthat it was Gregor she waslooking at, cried out in aharsh and screaming voice:‘Oh God, oh God!’ and fella c r o s s t h e c o u c h w i t hou t s t r e t ched a rms , a s i fabandoning everything, anddid not stir. ‘You, Gregor!’cried his sister with raisedf i s t a n d p i e r c i n g e y e s .These were the first wordsshe had addressed to himd i r e c t l y s i n c e t h et r ans fo rma t ion . She r aninto the adjoining room tofetch some smelling-saltsto revive her unconsciousmother; Gregor wanted tohelp - he still had time torescue the picture - but hewas stuck to the glass andhad to tear himself f ree;

turned his head toward thepar lor door, hoping toobserve the women upontheir return.

Af te r g ran t ingthemselves little rest, theywere already coming back;Grete had put her arm aroundher mother, almost carryingher. “Well, what should wetake nex t?” sa id Gre te ,looking a round . At th i spoint, [159] her eyes metthose of Gregor on the wall.It was no doubt only becauseof the mother’s presence thatshe mainta ined hercomposure. Bending her facetoward the mother to keep herfrom peering about, she said,a l though t rembl ing a n dwithout thinking: “Comeon, why don’t we go backt o t h e p a r l o r f o r amoment?” It was obvious toGregor that she wanted toget the mother to safety andthen chase him down fromthe wall. Well, just let hertry! He clung to his picture,refusing to surrender it. Hew o u l d r a t h e r j u m p i n t oGrete’s face.

B u t G r e t e ’ s w o r d sh a d t r u l y u n n e r v e d t h em o t h e r , w h o s t e p p e da s i d e , g l i m p s e d t h eh u g e b r o w n s p l o t c h o nt h e f l o w e r e d w a l l p a p e r,a n d c r i e d o u t i n ah a r s h , s h r i e k i n g v o i c eb e f o r e ac tua l ly rea l iz ingt h a t t h i s w a s G r e g o r ,“ O h G o d , o h G o d ! ”With outspread arms as ifgiving up everything, shecollapsed across the setteeand remained motionless.“Hey, Gregor!” the sistershouted with a raised fistand a penet ra t ing glare .These were her first directw o r d s t o h i m s i n c e h i sme tamorphos i s . She r aninto the next room to getsome sort of essence forreviving the mother fromh e r f a i n t . G r e g o r a l s owanted to help (there wastime enough to salvage thepicture later), but he wasstuck fast to the glass andh a d t o w r e n c h h i m s e l f

cabeza hacia la puer ta dela sa la de es tar para obser-va r a l a s muje res cuandovolviesen.

Estas no se habían con-cedido un gran descanso yya estaban de vuelta; Greter o d e a b a a l a m a d r e c o n[67] e l b razo , cas i sos te -n i é n d o l a : « Y a h o r a ¿ q u énos l l evamos?» , d i j o mi -r ando a su a l r ededo r. Enese ins tan te su mirada sec r u z ó c o n l a d e G r e g o r ,colgado en la pared. Soloconsiguió dominarse debi-do a la presencia de la ma-dre , hacia la que incl inó lacara para impedir le miraren derredor, y di jo , aunquecon voz temblorosa y a tur-dida: «Ven, ¿qué tal s i vol-vemos otro rato a la sala dee s t a r ? » . L a i n t e n c i ó n d eG r e t e l e r e s u l t ó c l a r a aGregor : quer ía l levar a lamadre a un s i t io seguro yluego echarlo a él de la pa-red. ¡Pues que lo in tenta-se ! É l s egu ía a f e r r ado a lcuadro y no pensaba ren-d i r se . An te s l e s a l t a r í a aGrete a la cara .

P e r o l a s p a l a b r a s d eGrete más bien habían in-quietado a la madre, que sehizo a un lado, vio la enor-me mancha pardusca sobre elpapel floreado de la pared y,antes de darse cuenta real-mente de que lo que estabaviendo era Gregor, exclamócon voz ronca y estridente:«¡Ay, Dios mío! ¡Ay, Diosmío!», se desplomó sobre els o f á c o n l o s b r a z o s e s -tirados, como si renunciaraa todo, y no se movió. « ¡Yaestá bien, Gregor!», gritó lahermana con el puño en altoy la mirada penetrante. Eran,desde la transformación, lasp r i m e r a s p a l a b r a s q u e l edirigía directamente. Luegocorrió a la habitación con-t igua en busca de a lgunaesenc ia con l a que poderdespertar a la madre de sud e s v a n e c i m i e n t o ; G r e g o rtambién quiso ayudar -yahabría tiempo para salvar elcuadro-, pero estaba firme-mente pegado a l c r i s ta l y

8584

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

t o p u l l h i m s e l f o f f b yf o r c e ; t h e n h e , t o o , r a n

i n t o t h e n e x t r o o m a s i f h ec o u l d a d v i s e h i s s i s t e r

l i k e i n t h e o l d d a y s ; b u th e h a d t o j u s t s t a n d

b e h i n d h e r d o i n g n o t h i n g ;s h e w a s l o o k i n g i n t o

v a r i o u s b o t t l e s , h es t a r t l e d h e r w h e n s h et u r n e d r o u n d ; a b o t t l e f e l l

t o t h e g r o u n d a n d b r o k e ; as p l i n t e r c u t G r e g o r ’s f a c e ,

s o m e k i n d o f c a u s t i cm e d i c i n e s p l a s h e d a l l o v e r

h i m ; n o w, w i t h o u td e l a y i n g a n y l o n g e r , G r e t e

t o o k h o l d o f a l l t h e b o t t l e ss h e c o u l d a n d r a n w i t ht h e m i n t o h e r m o t h e r ; s h e

s l a m m e d t h e d o o r s h u tw i t h h e r f o o t . S o n o w

G r e g o r w a s s h u t o u t f r o mh i s m o t h e r , w h o , b e c a u s e

o f h i m , m i g h t b e n e a r t od e a t h ; h e c o u l d n o t o p e n

t h e d o o r i f h e d i d n o t w a n tt o c h a s e h i s s i s t e r a w a y,

a n d s h e h a d t o s t a y w i t hh i s m o t h e r ; t h e r e w a sn o t h i n g f o r h i m t o d o b u t

w a i t ; a n d , o p p r e s s e d w i t hanxiety and self-reproach, he

b e g a n t o c r a w l a b o u t , h ecrawled over everything, walls,

furniture, ceiling, and finallyin his confusion as the whole

room began to spin around himhe fell down into the middle ofthe dinner table.

He lay there for a while,

numb and immobile, all aroundhim it was quiet, maybe that was

a good sign. Then there wassomeone at the door. The maid,

of course, had locked herself inher kitchen so that Grete would

have to go and answer it. Hisfa ther had ar r ived home.“What’s happened?” were his

first words; Grete’s appearancemust have made everything clear

to him. She answered him withsubdued voice , and openly

pressed her face into his chest:“Mother’s fainted, but she’s

better now. Gregor got out.”“Just as I expected”, said hisfather, “just as I always said, but

you women wouldn’t l isten,would you.”

It was clear to Gregor thatGrete had not said enough and

that his father took it to mean

hubo de desprenderse de élviolentamente. Después de locual, precipitóse también enla habitación contigua, cual sile fuese posible, como anta-ño, dar algún consejo a lahermana. Mas hubo de con-tentarse con permanecerquieto detrás de ella.

Ella, entretanto, revolvíaentre diversos frascos; al vol-verse, se asustó, dejó caer alsuelo una botella, que se rom-pió, y un fragmento hirió aGregorio en la cara, llenándo-sela de un líquido corrosivo.Mas Grete, sin detenerse, co-gió tantos frascos como llevar-se pudo, y entró en el cuarto deGregorio, cerrando tras de sí lapuerta con el pie. Gregorioencontróse, pues, completa-mente separado de la madre, lacual, por culpa suya, hallábasetal vez en trance de muerte. ¡Yél no podía abrir la puerta si noquería echar de allí a la herma-na, cuya presencia, junto a lamadre, era necesaria; [68] y,por tanto, no le quedaba másremedio que esperar!

Y, presa de remordimien-tos y de inquietud, comenzó atrepar por todas las paredes,todos los muebles, y por todoel techo, y, finalmente, cuan-do ya la habitación comenza-ba a dar vueltas en torno suyo,dejóse caer con desesperaciónencima de la mesa.

Así transcurrieron unos ins-tantes. Gregorio yacía extenua-do; todo en derredor callaba, locual era tal vez buena señal. Enesto, llamaron. La criada estabacomo siempre encerrada en sucocina, y Grete tuvo que salir aabrir. Era el padre.

—¿Qué es lo que ha ocurrido?Estas fueron sus primeras

palabras. El aspecto de Grete selo había revelado todo. Greteocultó su cara en el pecho delpadre, y, con voz sorda, declaró:

—Madre se ha desmayado,pero ya está mejor. Gregorio seha escapado.

—Lo esperaba -dijo el pa-dre-. Siempre os lo dije; perovosotras, las mujeres, nuncaqueréis hacer caso.

Gregor io comprendióque el padre, al oír las noti-cias que Grete le daba a boca

t o w r e n c h h i m s e l f f r e e ,t hen he a l so r an in to t henex t room, a s i f t o o f f e radv ice a s he used to , bu thad to s t and id ly beh indhe r once the re wh i l e shew a s r u m m a g i n g a m o n gthe va r ious bo t t l e s ; shew a s f r e s h l y s h o c k e dwhen she tu rned a round ,o n e o f t h e v i a l s f e l l t othe f loor and sha t te red , as p l i n t e r o f g l a s s s l i c e dG r e g o r ’ s f a c e a n d ac o r r o s i v e m e d i c i n es p l a s h e d a r o u n d h i m ;G r e t e , w i t h o u t f u r t h e rd e l a y, g r abb e d a s m anyvia l s as she cou ld ho ld ,r a n w i t h t h e m t o h e rmother , and k icked shutthe door. Gregor was nowcut off f rom the mother,who might be near deathbecause of him; he couldnot open the door for fearo f f r i gh t en ing away thes i s t e r , [ 3 4 ] w h o h a d t os t a y w i t h t h e m o t h e r ;the re was no th ing to dob u t w a i t , a n d p l a g u e dw i t h w o r r y a n dself- reproach he began tocrawl , to crawl a l l over,o v e r e v e r y t h i n g , w a l l s ,f u r n i t u r e , c e i l i n g , a n df i n a l l y f e l l i n d e s p a i r ,when the whole room wasspinning, onto the middleof the large table .

A l i t t le whi le passed,Gregor sti l l lay prostrateand everything was quiet;perhaps th is was a goods ign . Then t he doo rbe l lr a n g ; t h e m a i d w a sn a t u r a l l y l o c k e d i n t h ek i t chen so Gre te had toanswer it. It was the father.“What’s happened?” wereh i s f i r s t w o r d s ; G r e t e ’sappearance must have toldal l . Gre te answered in am u ff l e d v o i c e , h e r f a c eobviously thrust against thef a t h e r ’s c h e s t : “ M o t h e rfa in ted , bu t she’s be t te rnow; Gregor’s broken out.”“Just as I expected,” saidthe father. “I keep tellingyou, but you women won’tl i s t e n . ” I t w a s c l e a r t oGregor that the father hadmisinterpreted Grete’s all

mais i l res ta i t co l lé au verreet dut faire un effort pour s’en

arracher ; puis i l courut dansla p ièce vois ine , comme s’ i l

a v a i t p u d o n n e r u n b o nc o n s e i l à s a s o e u r , c o m m e

a u t r e f o i s , m a i s i l d u t s ec o n t e n t e r d e r e s t e r d e r r i è r e

e l le sans bouger ; en foui l lan tparmi d ivers f lacons , e l le ser e t o u r n a e t f u t à n o u v e a u

s a i s i e d ’ e f f r o i ; u n f l a c o ntomba su r l e so l e t s e b r i sa

s u r l e , p l a n c h e r : u n é c l a tb lessa Gregor au v isage , une

m é d e c i n e c o r r o s i v e s erépandi t au tour de lu i ; Gre te ,

s a n s s ’ a t t a r d e r d a v a n t a g e ,s a i s i t a u t a n t d e f l a c o n squ’e l l e pouva i t en por t e r e t

s ’ é l a n ç a a v e c e u x p o u rre jo indre sa mère ; d’un coup

de p ied e l l e f e rma l a por t e .Gregor était maintenant séparé

de sa mère qui , par sa faute,était peut-être maintenant près

de la mort; i l ne pouvait ouvrirla porte sans chasser sa soeur,

qui devait rester auprès de sam è r e ; i l n ’ a v a i t d é s o r m a i splus r ien d’autre à faire qu’à

a t t e n d r e ; a l o r s , a s s a i l l i d eremords et d’inquiétude, il se

mit à ramper, à ramper sur tout,sur les murs, les meubles, le

p l a f o n d - p o u r t o m b e r e n f i ndans son dé se spo i r, l o r sque

toute la pièce se mit à tournerautour de lui, au mil ieu de lagrande table.

Un in s t an t pa s sa . Grego r

r e s t a i t é t endu l à , épu i s é ; àl’entour, tout était silencieux,

peut -ê t re é ta i t -ce bon s igne .Ma i s souda in on sonna . La

bonne é t a i t na tu r e l l emen tenfermée dans sa cuisine. Grete

dut donc aller ouvrir elle-même.C’éta i t son père . « Qu’est - i larr ivé? » , furent ses premiers

mots. Sans doute (expression deGrete lui avait-elle tout révélé.

Grete lui répondit d’une voixétouffée - elle devait appuyer

sans doute son visage sur lapoitrine de son père

« Ma mère s’est évanouie,mais elle va déjà mieux. Gregorest sorti.» « Je m’y attendais »,

d i t l e p è r e , « j e v o u s l ’ a itoujours dit, mais vous autres

femmes, vous ne voulez jamaisrien entendre.» I l fut évident

pour Gregor que son père s’était

l’image, - hélas! il se trouvaitcollé assez solidement au verreet dut faire un effort violentpour se dégager; il courutensuite à la salle à mangercomme s’il pouvait donnerencore un bon conseil à sasoeur, mais il dut se contenterde se tenir passivement derrièreelle pendant qu’elle fourrageaitdans les fioles et il lui causa unepeur horrible quand elle seretourna; un flacon tomba et sebrisa sur le plancher, un éclatblessa même [56] Grégoire à lafigure, une médecine corrosivese répandit à ses pieds; Gretealors, sans plus s’attarder,se chargea de toutes. lesfioles qu’elle put attraperet se précipita vers la’ mèreen fermant la porte d’uncoup de pied. Grégoire setrouva donc séparé de samère qu i é t a i t peu t -ê t r eprès de mourir par sa faute;il ne pouvait ouvrir la portesous peine de chasser sasoeur dont le rôle était derester près de la malade; iln ’ ava i t donc p lu s qu ’àa t t end re , e t , dévo ré deremords et d’inquiétude, ilse mit à vagabonder sur lesmurs, sur les meubles et leplafond, si bien que tout semit à tourner autour de luie t qu ’ i l t omba dans sondésespoir au milieu de lagrande table.

Un instant passa :Grégoire étai t étendu là,fatigué; à l’entour, tout faisaitsilence, c’était peut-être unprésage excellent . Maissoudain il entendit sonner. Labonne étant naturellementbarricadée dans sa cuisine,Grete dut aller elle-mêmeouvrir. C’était le père quirentrait. «Que s’est-il passé?»demanda-t-il immédiatement :sans doute l’expression deGrete lui avait-el le toutrévélé. La jeune fille réponditd’une voix étouffée - elleappuyait probablement sonvisage contre la poitrine dupère : «Maman s’est évanouie,mais elle commence à seremettre; Grégoire a fait dessiennes. - Je m’y attendais»,répondit le père. «Je n’aijamais cessé de vous prévenir,

then he too ran in to theadjoining room as thoughhe cou ld g ive h i s s i s t e rs o m e a d v i c e , a s i n t h epast; but once there he hadto stand idly [39] behindh e r ; w h i l e r u m m a g i n ga m o n g v a r i o u s l i t t l ebott les, she turned roundand was start led; a bott lefell to the floor and broke;a shard of glass woundedGregor in the face, somek i n d o f c o r r o s i v emedicine poured over him;w i t h o u t d e l a y i n g a n ylonger, Grete now gatheredup as many bottles as shecould and ran with them into her mother; she slammedthe door behind her with herfoot. Gregor was now cutoff from his mother, whoth rough h i s f au l t wasperhaps near to death. Hecould not open the door forfear of dr iving away hissister, who had to stay byhis mother ’s s ide; a l l hecould now do was to wait;a n d t o r m e n t e d b yself-reproach and anxiety,h e b e g a n t o c r a w l , h ecrawled over everything,walls, furniture and ceiling,until finally, in his despair,w i t h t h e w h o l e r o o mstarting to spin around him,h e f e l l d o w n o n t o t h emiddle of the big table.

A short t ime passed,Gregor lay there l imply,silence reigned all around,perhaps that was a good sign.Then the doorbell rang. Themaid of course was locked upin her kitchen, and so Gretehad to open the door. It wasGregor ’s father. ‘What’shappened?’ were his firstwords; Grete’s appearancemust have told himeverything. Grete replied in amuffled voice, with her facepresumably pressed againsther father ’s chest, ‘Motherfainted, but she’s better now.Gregor’s broken loose.’ ‘Iknew it,’ said his father, ‘Ikept telling you it wouldhappen, but you women neverlisten.’ It was clear to Gregorthat his father hadmisinterpreted Grete’s

lo o s e . H e t h e n a l s os c u r r i e d i n t o t h e n e x troom as if he could givet h e s i s t e r s o m e k i n d o fadvice as in earl ier t imes,but then had to stand idlyb e h i n d h e r w h i l e s h er u m m a g e d t h r o u g h a na r r a y o f v i a l s . U p o nspinning around, she wass t a r t l e d b y t h e s i g h t o fhim. A vial fell on the floorand shattered. A sliver ofg l a s s i n j u r e d G r e g o r ’sface, and some corrosive[160] medicine oozed fromthe sliver. Grete, withoutfurther delay, grabbed asmany v ia l s as she couldhold and dashed over to themother, slamming the doorwith her foot. Gregor wasthus cut off from the mother,who might have been dyingbecause of him; he had torefrain from opening thedoor lest he frighten awaythe sister, who had to remainwith the mother. There wasnoth ing he could do butwait , and so, tortured byself-rebukes and worries, hebegan to creep about—hec rep t ove r eve ry th ing ,walls, furniture, and ceiling,and finally, in his despair,when the entire room beganwhir l ing around him, heplunged down to the middleof the large table.

A short while passed, withGregor lying there worn out.The entire apartment was still,which was possibly a goodsign. Then the doorbell rang.The maid was, naturally,locked up in her kitchen, andso Grete had to go and answerthe door. The father had come.

“What’s happened?” werehis first words; Grete’s facemust have revealedeverything. She replied in amuffled voice, obviouslypressing her face into hischest: “Mother fainted, butshe’s feeling better now.Gregor broke out.”

“I expected it,” said thefather, “I kept telling you both,but you women refuse to listen.”

It was clear to Gregor thatthe father had misinterpretedGrete’s a l l - too-br ief

tuvo que desprenderse conesfuerzo; [68] después se di-rigió también al cuarto de allado, como si pudiera darlealgún consejo a la hermana,al igual que en otros tiem-pos, pero tuvo que quedarsedetrás de ella inactivo, mien-tras Grete hurgaba entre unaserie de frasquitos; al vol-verse, se asustó y uno de losfrascos cayó al suelo y serompió. Una esquirla hirió aGregor en la cara, y un me-dicamento corrosivo lo sal-p i c ó . S i n d e t e n e r s e m á st iempo, Grete cogió todoslos frasquitos que pudo car-gar y voló con ellos haciadonde estaba la madre, ce-rrando la puerta con el pie.Gregor quedó entonces sepa-rado de la madre, que quizáestaba a punto de morir porsu culpa; no debía abrir lapuerta si no quería ahuyen-tar a la hermana, que debíaquedarse con la madre; aho-ra ya solo le quedaba espe-rar, y agobiado por la pre-ocupación y los reproches así mismo empezó a a r ras -trarse por todas partes, re-corriendo paredes, mueblesy techo hasta que finalmen-te, cuando la habitación en-tera comenzó a girar en tor-no a él, en su desesperaciónse de jó cae r en medio dela g ran mesa .

Pasó un rato, Gregor ya-cía ahí extenuado, el silen-cio era total alrededor, y estoacaso fuera una buena señal.De pronto sonó el timbre. Lacriada estaba, por supuesto,encerrada en su cocina, porlo que Grete tuvo que ir aabrir. Era el padre. «¿Qué hapasado?», fueron sus prime-ras palabras; el aspecto deGrete se lo había dicho todo.La joven respondió con vozsorda, apretando al parecer lacara contra el pecho del padre:«Mamá se ha desmayado, [69]pero ya se encuentra mejor.Gregor se ha e s c a p a d o » .«Ya me lo esperaba», dijoe l padre ; «os lo he d ichosiempre, pero vosotras, lasmujeres , no queré is escu-char». Gregor tuvo claro queel padre había interpretado

8786

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

tha t someth ing bad hadhappened , tha t he was

responsible for some act ofviolence. That meant Gregor

would now have to try to calmhis father, as he did not have the

time to explain things to himeven if that had been possible.

So he fled to the door of hisroom and p ressed h imse l fagainst it so that his father,

when he came in from the hall,could see straight away that

Gregor had the best intentionsand would go back into his

room without delay, tha t i twould not be necessary to drive

him back but that they had onlyto open the door and he woulddisappear.

H i s f a t h e r , t h o u g h ,

w a s n o t i n t h e m o o d t on o t i c e s u b t l e t i e s l i k e

t h a t ; “ A h ! ” , h e s h o u t e da s h e c a m e i n , s o u n d i n g

a s i f h e w e r e b o t h a n g r ya n d g l a d a t t h e s a m e

t i m e . G r e g o r d r e w h i sh e a d b a c k f r o m t h e d o o ra n d l i f t e d i t t o w a r d s h i s

f a t h e r . H e r e a l l y h a dn o t i m a g i n e d h i s f a t h e r

t h e w a y h e s t o o d t h e r en o w ; o f l a t e , w i t h h i s

n e w h a b i t o f c r a w l i n ga b o u t , h e h a d n e g l e c t e d

t o p a y a t t e n t i o n t o w h a tw a s g o i n g o n t h e r e s t o ft h e f l a t t h e w a y h e h a d

d o n e b e f o r e . H e r e a l l yo u g h t t o h a v e e x p e c t e d

t h i n g s t o h a v e c h a n g e d ,b u t s t i l l , s t i l l , w a s t h a t

r e a l l y h i s f a t h e r ? T h es a m e t i r e d m a n a s u s e d

t o b e l a y i n g t h e r ee n t o m b e d i n h i s b e d

w h e n G r e g o r c a m e b a c kf r o m h i s b u s i n e s s t r i p s ,w h o w o u l d r e c e i v e h i m

s i t t i n g i n t h e a r m c h a i ri n h i s n i g h t g o w n w h e n

h e c a m e b a c k i n t h ee v e n i n g s ; w h o w a s

h a r d l y e v e n a b l e t os t a n d u p b u t , a s a s i g n

o f h i s p l e a s u r e , w o u l dj u s t r a i s e h i s a r m s a n dw h o , o n t h e c o u p l e o f

t i m e s a y e a r w h e n t h e yw e n t f o r a w a l k t o g e t h e r

o n a S u n d a y o r p u b l i ch o l i d a y w r a p p e d u p

t i g h t l y i n h i s o v e r c o a t

de jarro, había entendidomal, y se figuraba, sin duda,que él había cometido algúnacto de violencia. Necesita-ba, por tanto, apaciguar [69]al padre, pues no tenía nitiempo ni medios para acla-rarle lo ocurrido. Precipitósehacia la puerta de su habita-ción, aplastándose contraella, para que el padre, encuanto entrase, se percatasede que Gregorio tenía inten-ción de regresar inmediata-mente a su cuarto, y de queno so lo no e ra p rec i soempujarlo hacia dentro, sinoque bastaba abrirle la puer-ta para que al punto desapa-reciese.

Pero el estado de ánimo delpadre no era el más a propósitopara advertir estas sutilezas.

— ¡Ay! -gr i tó , a l en-t r a r , c o n u n t o n o a u ntiempo furioso y triunfan-te . Gregorio apar tó la ca-b e z a d e l a p u e r t a , y l aalzó hacia su padre. Toda-vía no se había presenta-do a és te en su nuevo es-tado . Verdad es tambiénque, en los úl t imos , t iem-pos , ocupado por en te roe n e s t a b l e c e r s u n u e v osistema de arrastrarse pordoquier, había dejado dep reocupa r se como an te sde l o que suced í a en e lr e s to de l a casa ; y que ,por tan to , debía habersepreparado a encontrar lasc o s a s h a r t o c a m b i a d a s .Pero , y pese a todo , ¿eraa q u é l r e a l m e n t e s u p a -d r e ? ¿ E r a é s t e a q u e lh o m b r e q u e , a n t a ñ o ,cuando Gregor io se pre-p a r a b a a e m p r e n d e r u nviaje de negocios, perma-nec ía [70] fa t igado en lac a m a ? ¿ A q u e l m i s m ohombre que, a l regresar ac a s a l e a c o g í a e n b a t a ,hundido en su bu taca , yque , por no es ta r en con-d i c i o n e s d e l e v a n t a r s e ,c o n t e n t á b a s e c o n a l z a rl o s b r a z o s e n s e ñ a l d ea l e g r í a ? ¿ A q u e l m i s m ohombre que , en los ra rospaseos dados en común,a lgunos domingos , o enl a s f i e s t a s p r i n c i p a l e s ,

t o o b r i e f s t a t e m e n t a n dassumed Gregor was guiltyof some kind of violence.Gregor now had to try toplacate the father, for hehad neither the time nor themeans for an explanation.And so Gregor flew to thedoor of his room, crouchinga g a i n s t i t , t o s h o w h i sfather as soon as he camein from the foyer that heh a d e v e r y i n t e n t i o n o fre tu rn ing a t once to h i sroom and that i t was notn e c e s s a r y t o d r i v e h i mb a c k ; i f o n l y s o m e o n ewould open the door, hew o u l d i m m e d i a t e l ydisappear.

B u t t h e f a t h e r w a s i nn o m o o d t o m a k e s u c hf i n e d i s t i n c t i o n s . “ A h ! ”h e c r i e d a s s o o n a s h ee n t e r e d , i n a t o n e b o t hf u r i o u s a n d e x u l t a n t .G r e g o r d r e w h i s h e a db a c k f r o m t h e d o o r a n dr a i s e d i t t o w a r d t h ef a t h e r . H e h a d n o t a t a l lp i c t u r e d h i s f a t h e r l i k et h i s a s h e w a s s t a n d i n gt h e r e n o w ; a d m i t t e d l yh e h a d b e e n t o op r e o c c u p i e d o f l a t ew i t h h i s n e w l yd i s c o v e r e d c r a w l i n g t oc o n c e r n h i m s e l f a b o u tw h a t w a s g o i n g o n i nt h e h o u s e h o l d , a n d h er e a l l y s h o u l d h a v e b e e np r e p a r e d f o r s o m ec h a n g e s . A n d y e t , a n dy e t c o u l d t h i s i n d e e ds t i l l b e t h e f a t h e r ? T h es a m e m a n w h o u s e d t ol i e w e a r i l y b u r i e d i nb e d w h e n G r e g o r l e f tf o r a b u s i n e s s t r i p ; w h ow e l c o m e d h i s r e t u r n i nt h e e v e n i n g b y m e r e l yr a i s i n g h i s a r m s t os h o w h i s j o y , n o t b e i n gq u i t e a b l e t o g e t u p ,a n d r e c l i n i n g i n a na r m c h a i r i n h i s r o b e ;w h o , d u r i n g t h e r a r ef a m i l y w a l k s a f e wS u n d a y s a y e a r a n d o nt h e h i g h e s t h o l i d a y s ,s h u f f l e d l a b o r i o u s l yb e t w e e n G r e g o r a n d t h em o t h e r , a l w a y s m o v i n ga b i t s l o w e r t h a n t h e i r

m é p r i s s u r l e s t r o p b r è v e spa ro le s de Gre te , e t c roya i t

qu’ i l s ’é ta i t l iv ré à que lquem é f a i t . G r e g o r d e v a i t d o n c

chercher à le calmer; il n’avait,e n e f f e t , n i l e t e m p s n i l a

p o s s i b i l i t é d e l e m e t t r e a ucourant de ce qui s’était passé;

il se réfugia donc contre la portede sa chambre et resta appuyécontre elle, afin que son père,

en venant du vestibule puissevoir immédiatement qu’il avait

les meilleures intentions, qu’ila l la i t re tourner tout de sui te

dans sa chambre, qu’il n’étaitd o n c p a s n é c e s s a i r e d e l ’ y

c o n t r a i n d r e : i l s u f f i s a i td’ouvrir la porte, il disparaîtraitaussitôt.

M a i s l é p è r e n ’ é t a i t p a s

d ’ h u m e u r à e n t e n d r e c e sf i n e s s e s . « A h ! » ,

s ’ é c r i a - t - i l d è s q u ’ i l f u te n t r é , c o m m e s ’ i l é t a i t à l a

f o i s p l e i n d e f u r e u r e t d ej o i e . G r e g o r é c a r t a l a t ê t e

d e l a p o r t e e t l a l e v a v e r ss o n p è r e . I l n e l ’ a v a i tj a m a i s v r a i m e n t i m a g i n é

t e l q u ’ i l é t a i t d e v e n u ; i le s t v r a i q u e , c e s d e r n i e r s

t e m p s , à f o r c e d e r a m p e rc o m m e i l e n a v a i t p r i s

l ’ h a b i t u d e , i l a v a i t n é g l i g éd e s e s o u c i e r d e s

é v é n e m e n t s d a n s l e r e s t ed e l a m a i s o n e t i l d e v a i ts ’ a t t e n d r e à t r o u v e r d u

c h a n g e m e n t . I 1 n ’ e m p ê c h e ,i l n ’ e m p ê c h e , é t a i t - c e b i e n

e n c o r e s o n p è r e ? É t a i t - c ee n c o r e l ’ h o m m e à b o u t d e

f o r c e s q u i r e s t a i t e n f o u id a n s s o n l i t q u a n d G r e g o r

p a r t a i t a u t r e f o i s e n v o y a g ep r o f e s s i o n n e l , q u i , l e s o i r

d u r e t o u r , l ’ a c c u e i l l a i t e nr o b e d e c h a m b r e , e n f o n c éd a n s s o n f a u t e u i l , q u i

n ’ é t a i t m ê m e p a s c a p a b l ed e s e m e t t r e d e b o u t e t s e

c o n t e n t a i t d e l e v e r l e b r a se n s i g n e d e j o i e , e t q u i ,

l o r s d e s r a r e s p r o m e n a d e sf a m i l i a l e s , q u e l q u e s

d i m a n c h e s d a n s l ’ a n n é e e tl e s j o u r s d e g r a n d e f ê t e ,t r a î n a i t l a j a m b e

p é n i b l e m e n t e n t r e G r e g o re t s a m è r e , q u i f a i s a i e n t

p o u r t a n t d é j à l e u r p o s s i b l ep o u r m a r c h e r l e n t e m e n t ;

c e t h o m m e e m p a q u e t é d ’ u n

mais les femmes ne veulentrien entendre.» Grégoirecomprit à ces mots que le pèreavait mal interprété lesparoles de Grete et [57] sefigurait que son fils s’étaitlivré à quelque voie de fait. Iln’étai t plus temps del’éclairer, il fallait chercher àl’adoucir. Grégoire se réfugiacontre la porte de sa chambreet s’y pressa pour que sonpère vît en entrant, dès levestibule, qu’il avait la fermeintention de réintégrer sesquartiers et qu’il n’était pasnécessaire de l’y contraindrepar la violence; qu’on luiouvrît seulement la porte et ildisparaîtrait aussitôt.

M a i s l e p è r e n ’ é t a i tp a s d ’ h u m e u r àremarquer ces nuances :«Ah! ah!» s ’écr ia - t - i l dup lus lo in , su r un ton dej o i e e t d e c o l è r e .Grégoire écar ta la tê te dela porte e t la leva vers M.Samsa . I l fu t surpr i s : i ln e s e l ’ é t a i t p a sr e p r é s e n t é c o m m e i l l ev i t l à ; i l e s t v r a i q u ep e n d a n t l e s d e r n i e r stemps i l ava i t oubl ié des u r v e i l l e r c o m m eaut re fo is l es événementsd e l a m a i s o n p o u r s el i v r e r à s o n n o u v e a usystème de promenade, e ti l aura i t dû s ’a t tendre àr e n c o n t r e r d e sc h a n g e m e n t s c h e z l e ss i e n s . P o u r t a n t . .pourtant . . é ta i t -ce bien làs o n p è r e ? E t a i t - c e b i e nc e m ê m e h o m m e q u ir e s t a i t e n f o u i d a n s s o nl i t , f a t i g u é , q u a n dGrégoire partai t autrefoise n v o y a g e ? q u i l er e c e v a i t e n r o b e d ec h a m b r e , à s o n r e t o u r ,dans un fau teu i l d ’où i lne pouva i t même pas sel e v e r , s e c o n t e n t a n t d eje ter les bras au c ie l pourm a n i f e s t e r s a j o i e ? c evie i l la rd qui , pendant lesr a r e s p r o m e n a d e sfami l ia les , deux ou t ro i sd imanches pa r an e t l e sj o u r s d e g r a n d e f ê t e ,t r a î n a i t l a j a m b e e n t r eGrégo i re e t l a mère qu i

all-too-brief announcementand assumed that Gregor hadbeen guilty of some act ofviolence. He now thereforehad to try to calm his fatherdown, for he had neither thetime nor the means to explainthe situation to him. And sohe fled to the door of his roomand pressed himself against itso that when his father camein from the hallway he couldsee at once that Gregor hadevery intention of returningforthwith to his room, that itwas [40] unnecessary to drivehim back, that he only neededto open the door, at whichpoint he would promptlydisappear.

But h i s fa ther was inno mood to no t i ce suchnicet ies ; ‘Aha!’ he cr iedon entering, in a tone thats u g g e s t e d s i m u l t a n e o u srage and del ight . Gregordrew his head back fromt h e d o o r a n d l i f t e d i ttowards his father. He hadr e a l l y n o t p i c t u r e d h i sf a t h e r t h e w a y h e n o ws tood the re ; admi t t ed ly,G r e g o r h a d b e e n t o oabsorbed recent ly by hisn e w - f o u n d i n t e r e s t i nc r a w l i n g t o c o n c e r nh i m s e l f , a s h e u s e d t o ,with what was going on inthe res t of the apar tment ,a n d h e o u g h t r e a l l y t oh a v e b e e n p r e p a r e d t of i n d t h a t c i r c u m s t a n c e sh a d c h a n g e d . Ye s , y e s ,bu t cou ld th i s r ea l ly behis fa ther? The same manwho used to l i e wear i lyb u r i e d i n b e d wh en e v e rG r e g o r s e t o u t o n abusiness trip; who greetedh i m w e a r i n g ad r e s s i n g g o w n a n drec l in ing in an armchai rwhen he re turned in theevening; who was actuallyhardly capable of get t ingt o h i s f e e t , b u t m e r e l yr a i s e d h i s a r m s t oi n d i c a t e t h a t h e w a spleased, and who on therare occas ions when thef a m i l y w e n t f o r a w a l kt o g e t h e r , o n a f e wSundays each year and onthe major holidays, would

statement and leaped to theconclusion that Gregor hadperpetrated some kind ofviolence. That was why henow had to try and placate thefather, for he had neither thet ime nor the chance toenlighten him. He thereforefled to the door of his room,squeezing against it, so thatthe fa ther, [161] uponentering from the vestibule,could ins tant ly see thatGregor had every intention ofpromptly returning to hisroom and that there was noneed to force him back. Allthey had to do was opent h e d o o r a n d h e w o u l dvanish on the spot.

B u t t h e f a t h e r w a s i nn o m o o d t o c a t c h s u c hn i c e t i e s . “ A h ! ” h er o a r e d u p o n e n t e r i n g ,a n d h i s t o n e s o u n d e db o t h f u r i o u s a n d e l a t e d .G r e g o r d r e w h i s h e a db a c k f r o m t h e d o o r a n dr a i s e d i t t o w a r d t h ef a t h e r . H e h a d r e a l l yn o t p i c t u r e d h i m a s h ew a s s t a n d i n g t h e r e n o w ;n a t u r a l l y , b e c a u s e o fh i s n e w h a b i t o fc r e e p i n g a r o u n d ,G r e g o r h a d l a t e l y f a i l e dt o c o n c e r n h i m s e l f w i t ha n y t h i n g e l s e g o i n g o ni n t h e a p a r t m e n t a n d h es h o u l d a c t u a l l y h a v eb e e n p r e p a r e d f o r s o m ec h a n g e s . A n d y e t , a n dy e t , w a s t h i s s t i l l h i sf a t h e r ? T h e s a m e m a nw h o u s e d t o l i e b u r i e di n b e d , e x h a u s t e d ,w h e n e v e r G r e g o rs t a r t e d o u t o n ab u s i n e s s t r i p ; w h o ,w h e n e v e r G r e g o r c a m eh o m e i n t h e e v e n i n g ,w o u l d g r e e t h i m ,w e a r i n g a r o b e , i n t h ea r m c h a i r ; w h o , b e i n gq u i t e i n c a p a b l e o fs t a n d i n g u p , w o u l d o n l yr a i s e h i s a r m s a s a s i g no f j o y ; a n d w h o ,b u n d l e d u p i n h i s o l do v e r c o a t , l a b o r i o u s l ys h u f f l e d a l o n g d u r i n gr a r e f a m i l y s t r o l l s o n af e w S u n d a y s d u r i n g t h ey e a r a n d o n t h e h i g h e s t

mal el escuetísimo mensajede Grete y sospechaba queGregor había perpetrado al-gún acto violento . De ahíque, ahora, este tuviera queintentar apaciguar al padre,pues para darle explicacio-nes no tenía el tiempo ni laposibilidad. Y así se preci-pitó hacia la puerta de su ha-bitación y se pegó a ella paraque el padre, nada más en-trar del vestíbulo, pudiesever que Gregor tenía la me-jor intención de volver inme-diatamente a su cuarto y nohacía falta obligarlo a retro-ceder, sino que bastaba conabrir la puerta para que des-a p a r e c i e r a e n s e g u i d a .

P e r o e l p a d r e n o e s t a -b a d e h u m o r p a r a a d v e r -t i r s e m e j a n t e s s u t i l e z a s :« ¡ A h ! » , g r i t ó a l e n t r a re n u n t o n o a l a v e z f u r i o -s o y s a t i s f e c h o . G r e g o rr e t i r ó l a c a b e z a d e l ap u e r t a y l a l e v a n t ó h a c i ae l p a d r e . E n r e a l i d a d n os e h a b í a i m a g i n a d o a s í as u p a d r e , t a l y c o m o e s -t a b a a l l í ; c i e r t o e s q u ee n l o s ú l t i m o s t i e m p o s ,p o r h a b e r e s t a d o t a n o c u -p a d o c o n s u n o v e d o s am a n e r a d e a r r a s t r a r s ep o r l a h a b i t a c i ó n e n t e r a ,h a b í a d e j a d o d e p r e o c u -p a r s e c o m o a n t e s d e l oq u e o c u r r í a e n e l r e s t od e l p i s o , c u a n d o , d e h e -c h o , t e n d r í a q u e h a b e re s t a d o p r e p a r a d o p a r at o p a r s e c o n s i t u a c i o n e sm u y d i s t i n t a s . P e r o , p e s ea e l l o , ¿ s e g u í a s i e n d oa q u e l s u p a d r e ? ¿ E l m i s -m o h o m b r e q u e , e x h a u s -t o , y a c í a s e p u l t a d o e n s uc a m a c u a n d o G r e g o r [ 7 0 ]e m p r e n d í a u n v i a j e d en e g o c i o s ? ¿ E l m i s m oq u e , l a s t a r d e s e n q u ev o l v í a , l o r e c i b í a e n b a t as e n t a d o e n s u s i l l ó n , n oe r a c a p a z d e l e v a n t a r s e ys e l i m i t a b a a l e v a n t a r l o sb r a z o s e n s e ñ a l d e a l e -g r í a ? ¿ E l m i s m o q u e , d u -r a n t e l o s r a r o s p a s e o sq u e d a b a n j u n t o s , a l g u -n o s d o m i n g o s a l a ñ o y e nl a s f e s t i v i d a d e s m á s s e -ñ a l a d a s , s e a b r í a c a m i n o

8988

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

b e t w e e n G r e g o r a n d h i sm o t h e r , w o u l d a l w a y s

l a b o u r h i s w a y f o r w a r d al i t t l e m o r e s l o w l y t h a n

t h e m , w h o w e r e a l r e a d yw a l k i n g s l o w l y f o r h i s

s a k e ; w h o w o u l d p l a c e h i ss t i c k d o w n c a r e f u l l y a n d ,

i f h e w a n t e d t o s a ys o m e t h i n g w o u l di n v a r i a b l y s t o p a n d g a t h e r

h i s c o m p a n i o n s a r o u n dh i m . H e w a s s t a n d i n g u p

s t r a i g h t e n o u g h n o w ;d r e s s e d i n a s m a r t b l u e

u n i f o r m w i t h g o l d b u t t o n s ,t h e s o r t w o r n b y t h e

e m p l o y e e s a t t h e b a n k i n gi n s t i t u t e ; a b o v e t h e h i g h ,s t i ff c o l l a r o f t h e coat his

strong double-ch in emerged;u n d e r t h e b u s h y e y e b r o w s ,

h i s p i e r c i n g , d a r k e y e slooked ou t f r e s h a n d a l e r t ;

h i s n o r m a l l y u n k e m p tw h i t e h a i r w a s c o m b e d

d o w n p a i n f u l l y c l o s e t oh i s s c a l p . H e t o o k h i s

c a p , w i t h i t s g o l dm o n o g r a m f r o m ,p r o b a b l y, s o m e b a n k , a n d

t h r e w i t i n a n a r c r i g h ta c r o s s t h e r o o m o n t o t h e

s o f a , p u t h i s h a n d s i n h i st r o u s e r p o c k e t s , p u s h i n g

b a c k t h e b o t t o m o f h i sl o n g u n i f o r m c o a t , a n d ,

w i th look o f d e t e r m i n a t i o n ,w a l k e d t o w a r d s G r e g o r .H e p r o b a b l y d i d n o t e v e n

k n o w h i m s e l f w h a t h eh a d i n m i n d , b u t

n o n e t h e l e s s l i f t e d h i sf e e t u n u s u a l l y h i g h .

G r e g o r w a s a m a z e d a t t h ee n o r m o u s s i z e o f t h e

s o l e s o f h i s b o o t s , b u tw a s t e d n o t i m e w i t h t h a t

- h e k n e w f u l l w e l l , r i g h tf r o m t h e f i r s t d a y o f h i sn e w l i f e , t h a t h i s f a t h e r

t h o u g h t i t n e c e s s a r y t oa l w a y s b e e x t r e m e l y

s t r i c t w i t h h i m . A n d s oh e r a n u p t o h i s f a t h e r ,

s t o p p e d w h e n h i s f a t h e rs t o p p e d , s c u r r i e d

f o r w a r d s a g a i n w h e n h em o v e d , e v e n s l i g h t l y. I nt h i s w a y t h e y w e n t r o u n d

t h e r o o m s e v e r a l t i m e sw i t h o u t a n y t h i n g

d e c i s i v e h a p p e n i n g ,w i t h o u t e v e n g i v i n g t h e

i m p r e s s i o n o f a c h a s e a s

entre Gregorio y la madre,cuyo paso, ya de por sí eralento, pero que entoncesacor t ábáse todav ía más ,avanzaba envuel to en suvie jo gabán, apoyándosecuidadosamente en el bas-tón , y que so l í a pa ra r secada vez que quería deciralgo, obligando a los de-más a formar corro en tor-no suyo?P e r o n o ; a h o r apresentábase firme y dere-cho, con un severo unifor-me azul con botones dora-dos, cual el que suelen usarlos ordenanzas de los Ban-cos. Sobre la r igidez delcuello alto, derramábase lapapada; bajo las pobladascejas, los ojos negros des-pedían una m i r a d a a t e n -t a y l o z a n a , y e l c a b e -l l o b l a n c o , s i e m p r ed e s m e l e n a d o h a s t a e n -t o n c e s , a p a r e c í a b r i -l l a n t e y d i v i d i d o p o ru n a raya primorosamentes a c a d a. A r r o j ó s o b r e e lsofá la gorra, que ostentabaun monograma dorado -pro-bablemente el de algún Ban-co-, y, trazando una curva,cruzó toda la habitación,dirigiéndo [71] se con caratorva hacia Gregorio, con lasmanos en los bolsillos delpantalón, y los faldones desu larga levita de un i formerecog idos hac ia a t r á s . E lm i s m o n o s a b í a l o q u e‘ iba a hace r ; mas l evan -tó l o s p i e s a una a l t u r ad e s u s a d a , y G r e g o r i oq u e d ó asombrado de lasg igan t e s c a s p r o p o r c i o -n e s d e s u s suelas . Empe-ro, es ta act i tud no le eno-jó , pues ya sab ía , desdee l pr imer d ía de su nuevavida , que a l padre la ma-yor sever idad le parec íapoca con respecto al hi jo .Echó , pues , a cor re r de-lante de su progeni tor , sed e t e n í a c u a n d o é s t e , yemprendía nueva car re rae n c u a n t o l e v e í a h a c e run movimiento . As í d ie -ron var ias veces la vue l -ta a la habi tación, s in l le-ga r a nada dec i s ivo . Esmás , s in que es to , debidoa l a s d i l a t a d a s p a u s a s ,tuv iese e l aspec to de una

a l r e a d y s l o w e d p a c e ,b u n d l e d i n h i s o l do v e r c o a t a n d c a r e f u l l yp l o d d i n g f o r w a r d b ym e t i c u l o u s l y p l a c i n gh i s c a n e ; a n d [ 3 5 ] w h o ,w h e n h e w a n t e d t o s a ys o m e t h i n g , n e a r l ya l w a y s s t o o d s t i l l a n dg a t h e r e d e v e r y o n ea r o u n d h i m ? 6 N o w ,h o w e v e r , h e h e l dh i m s e l f e r e c t , d r e s s e di n a t i g h t b l u e u n i f o r mw i t h g o l d b u t t o n s , l i k et h a t o f a b a n km e s s e n g e r ; h i s h e a v yd o u b l e c h i n b u l g e do v e r t h e h i g h s t i f fc o l l a r o f h i s j a c k e t ;f r o m u n d e r t h e b u s h ye y e b r o w s h i s a l e r tb l a c k e y e s f l a s h e dp e n e t r a t i n g l y ; h i sp r e v i o u s l y d i s h e v e l e dw h i t e h a i r w a sc o m b e d f l a t ,e x a c t i n g l y p a r t e d a n dg l e a m i n g . H e t o s s e dh i s c a p , o n w h i c h t h e r ew a s a g o l d m o n o g r a m ,v e r y p o s s i b l y a b a n k ’s ,c l e a r a c r o s s t h e r o o m i na n a r c a n d o n t o t h es o f a , a n d w i t h h i s h a n d si n h i s p o c k e t s a n d t h etails of his long uniformj a c k e t t h r o w n b a c k , h ewent after Gregor with ag r i m l y s e t f a c e . H ep r o b a b l y d i d n o t k n o wwhat he himself intendedt o d o , n e v e r t h e l e s s h el i f ted h is fee t unusual lyh i g h a n d G r e g o r w a sastonished at the gigant ics i z e o f h i s b o o t s o l e s .B u t G r e g o r d i d n o td w e l l o n t h i s ; h e h a dk n o w n f r o m t h e v e r yf i r s t d a y o f h i s n e w l i f et h a t t h e f a t h e rc o n s i d e r e d o n l y t h es t r i c t e s t m e a s u r e sa p p r o p r i a t e w h e nd e a l i n g w i t h h i m . A n ds o h e r a n f r o m t h ef a t h e r , s t o p p i n g o n l yw h e n t h e f a t h e r s t o o ds t i l l , a n d s c u r r i e d a w a ya g a i n a s s o o n a s t h ef a t h e r m o v e d . I n t h i sw a y t h e y c i r c l e d t h er o o m s e v e r a l t i m e sw i t h o u t a n y t h i n g

v i e u x m a n t e a u , q u i a v a n ç a i tp é n i b l e m e n t , e n p r e n a n t

p r é c a u t i o n n e u s e m e n t a p p u is u r s a c a n n e d ’ i n f i r m e e t

q u i , l o r s q u ’ i l v o u l a i t d i r eq u e l q u e c h o s e , s ’ a r r ê t a i t

p r e s q u e c h a q u e f o i s e nf o r ç a n t c e u x q u i

l ’ a c c o m p a g n a i e n t à f o r m e rl e c e r c l e a u t o u r d e l u i ? I l s et e n a i t t o u t d r o i t

a u j o u r d ’ h u i ; i l é t a i t v ê t u d us t r i c t u n i f o r m e b l e u à

b o u t o n s d o r é s q u e p o r t el e p e r s o n n e l d e s

i n s t i t u t i o n s b a n c a i r e s ;a u - d e s s u s d u g r a n d c o l

r a i d e d e s a t u n i q u e s ed é p l o y a i t s o n a m p l ed o u b l e m e n t o n ; s o u s s e s

s o u r c i l s e n b r o u s s a i l l ep e r ç a i t l e r e g a r d a l e r t e e t

a t t e n t i f d e s e s y e u xn o i r s ; s e s c h e v e u x

b l a n c s , j a d i s e n d é s o r d r e ,é t a i e n t m a i n t e n a n t l u s t r é s

e t p e i g n é s a v e c s o i n, a v e c u n eraie méticuleusement dessinée. I l

j e t a s a c a s q u e t t e o r n é ed ’ u n m o n o g r a m m e d o r é ,s a n s d o u t e c e l u i d ’ u n e

b a n q u e , à t r a v e r s l a p i è c e ;a p r è s a v o i r d é c r i t u n a r c d e

c e r c l e , e l l e a l l a a t t e r r i r s u rl e c a n a p é ; a p r è s q u o i , l e s

m a i n s d a n s l e s p o c h e s d es o n p a n t a l o n , l e s p a n s d e

s o n g r a n d u n i f o r m e r e j e t é se n a r r i è r e , i l s ’ a v a n ç a v e r sG r e g o r , l e v i s a g e p l e i n d e

f u r e u r . I l n e s a v a i t s a n sd o u t e p a s l u i m ê m e c e q u ’ i l

v o u l a i t f a i r e ; t o u j o u r se s t - i l q u ’ i l l e v a i t l e s p i e d s

t r è s h a u t e t G r e g o r s ’ é t o n n ad e l a t a i l l e g i g a n t e s q u e d e s

s e m e l l e s d e s e s b o t t e s . I ln e s ’ a r r ê t a p o u r t a n t p a s à

c e d é t a i l , i l s a v a i t d e p u i sl e p r e m i e r j o u r d e s a v i en o u v e l l e q u e s o n p è r e

c o n s i d é r a i t q u ’ e n v e r s l u is e u l e l a p l u s g r a n d e

s é v é r i t é é t a i t d e m i s e . I I s em i t d o n c à c o u r i r d e v a n t

s o n p è r e , à s ’ a r r ê t e r q u a n ds o n p è r e r e s t a i t e n p l a c e , à

r e p a r t i r d è s q u ’ i l f a i s a i t u nm o u v e m e n t . I l s f i r e n t a i n s ip l u s i e u r s f o i s l e t o u r d e l a

c h a m b r e s a n s q u ’ i l s ep a s s â t r i e n d e d é c i s i f ;

c o m m e t o u t s e d é r o u l a i tl e n t e m e n t , p e r s o n n e

n ’ a u r a i t m ê m e p u i m a g i n e r

m a r c h a i e n t p o u r t a n t a up e t i t p a s ? c e t h o m m eempaqueté [58] d’un vieuxm a n t e a u , q u i t r a v a i l l a i tt o u j o u r s d ’ u n e c a n n ep r u d e n t e p o u r a v a n c e rpéniblement , e t qui é tai to b l i g é , p o u r p a r l e r, d es’arrêter tous les trois pase t de r appe le r à lu i sonescorte? Comme il s’étaitr e d r e s s é d e p u i s l o r s ! I lportait un uniforme bleu àboutons d’or, sans un pli,c o m m e o n e n v o i t a upersonnel des maisons debanque : audessus de songrand col raide son doublementon développait sa lignepuissante; sous ses sourcils enbroussaille le regard vigilantde ses yeux noirs perçait avecune expression de jeunesse;ses cheveux blancs,d’ordinaire en désordre,avaient été minutieusementséparés, rabattus et lustréspar le peigne. I l commentap a r j e t e r s u r l e s o f a s ac a s q u e t t e o r n é e d um o n o g r a m m e d o r é d equelque institut financier,en lui faisant décrire un arcd e c e r c l e à t r a v e r s l achambre, et, les mains dansles poches du pantalon, lesp a n s a n t é r i e u r s d e s ar e d i n g o t e d ’ u n i f o r m er e j e t é s e n a r r i è r e , i ls’avança sur Grégoire d’unair menaçant . I l ignorai tpeut-être lui-même ce qu’ilallait faire; en tout cas illevait les pieds très haut etGrégoire, s’étonnant de latai l le gigantesque de sess e m e l l e s , s e g a r d a d eres ter sur sa posi t ion, cari l s a v a i t d e p u i s l ep r e m i e r j o u r d e s am é t a m o r p h o s e q u e l e ’p è r e e s t i m a i t q u e l as é v é r i t é l a p l u s g r a n d eé t a i t l a s e u l e a t t i t u d eindiquée envers lui. Il semit donc à battre en retraite,s ’ar rê tant quand son pèref a i s a i t h a l t e , e t p a r t a n ti m m é d i a t e m e n t a um o i n d r e m o u v e m e n t d el ’ a d v e r s a i r e . C e t t em é t h o d e l e s p r o m e n aplusieurs fois [59] autourd e l a c h a m b r e s a n sr é s u l t a t d é c i s i f ;

always struggle on betweenGregor and his mother, whowere s l ow wa lke r sthemselves, even slightlymore s lowly t han t hey,wrapped in his old overcoat,with his crookhandled stickalways placed cautiously infront of him, and who, whenhe wanted to say something,almost invariably stoppedand ga the red t he o the r saround him? Now, however,he held himself erect; hewas dressed in a tight-fittingb lue un i fo rm wi th go ldbuttons, the kind worn bybank messengers; his heavydouble chin spilling overthe high stiff collar of hisjacket; from under his bushyeyebrows his piercing darkeyes had a fresh, alert look;t he u sua l l y d i sheve l l edwhite hair had been combeddown flat and gleaming oneither side of a meticulousparting. He threw his cap,which was adorned [41]w i t h a g o l d m o n o g r a m ,p r o b a b l y t h a t o f s o m ebank, in an arc across thee n t i r e r o o m o n t o t h ecouch, and with the ta i lsof his long l ivery jacketfolded back, his hands inh i s t r o u s e r p o c k e t s , h eadvanced towards Gregorwith a grim expression onh i s f a c e . H e h i m s e l fprobably had no idea ofw h a t h e h a d i n m i n d ;n e v e r t h e l e s s , h e r a i s e dh i s f e e t u n u s u a l l y h i g ha n d G r e g o r w a sastonished at the gigant ics i z e o f t h e s o l e s o f h i sb o o t s . B u t h e d i d n ’ tdwe l l on tha t ; f o r he hadk n o w n f r o m t h e v e r yf i r s t d a y o f h i s n e w l i f et h a t h i s f a t h e r b e l i e v e dt h a t t h e o n l y w a y t ot r e a t h i m w a s w i t h t h eu t m o s t s ever i ty. And sohe ran on in f ront of hisfather, s topping when hisfather came to a hal t , andhurrying forwards again,as soon as his father madea m o v e . I n t h i s m a n n e rt h e y c i r c l ed t he roomseve ra l t imes , w i thou tanything decisive occurring,in fact without the whole

h o l i d a y s , a l w a y sc a u t i o u s l y p l a n t i n g h i sc a n e , t r u d g i n g a b i tm o r e s l o w l y b e t w e e nG r e g o r a n d t h e m o t h e r( t h e y w e r e w a l k i n gs l o w l y a s i t w a s ) , a n dw h o , w h e n e v e r h e w a sa b o u t t o s a y a n y t h i n g ,n e a r l y a l w a y s h a l t e da n d g a t h e r e d t h e o t h e r sa r o u n d h i m ? B u t n o wt h e f a t h e r s t o o d q u i t es t e a d y, i n a s n u g b l u eu n i f o r m w i t h g o l db u t t o n s , s u c h a sa t t e n d a n t s i n b a n k sw e a r ; h i s h e a v y d o u b l ec h i n u n f u r l e d o v e r t h eh i g h s t i f f c o l l a r o f t h ej a c k e t . F r o m u n d e r h i sb u s h y e y e b r o w s , t h eb l a c k e y e s g a z e d f r e s h[ 1 6 2 ] a n d a l e r t ; t h eo n c e d i s h e v e l e d h a i rwas now g l o s s y , combedd o w n , a n d m e t i c u l o u s l yp a r t e d . R e m o v i n g h i sc a p w i t h i t s g o l dm o n o g r a m , p r o b a b l yt h a t o f a b a n k , a n dp i t c h i n g i t i n a n a r c t h ef u l l l e n g t h o f t h e r o o mo v e r t o t h e s e t t e e , h el u n g e d t o w a r d G r e g o r,h i s f a c e g r i m , h i s h a n d si n h i s t r o u s e r p o c k e t s ,t h e t a i l s o f h i s l o n gu n i f o r m j a c k e t s w i n g i n gb a c k . H e h i m s e l f m o s tl i k e l y d i d n o t k n o ww h a t h e h a d i n m i n d ;n e v e r t h e l e s s h e l i f t e dh i s f e e t u n u s u a l l y h i g h ,a n d G r e g o r m a r v e l e d a tt h e g i g a n t i c s i z e o f h i sb o o t s o l e s . B u t h e d i dn o t d w e l l o n t h i s ; a f t e ra l l , f r o m t h e v e r y f i r s td a y o f h i s n e w l i f e , h eh a d k n o w n t h a t t h ef a t h e r v i e w e d o n l y t h eu t m o s t s e v e r i t y a sa p p r o p r i a t e f o r d e a l i n gw i t h h i m . A n d s o n o wG r e g o r s c o o t e d a w a y ,s t o p p i n g o n l y w h e n t h ef a t h e r h a l t e d , a n ds k i t t e r i n g f o r w a r da g a i n t h e i n s t a n t t h ef a t h e r m o v e d . I n t h i sw a y, t h e y c i r c l e d t h er o o m s e v e r a l t i m e s w i t hn o t h i n g d e c i s i v eh a p p e n i n g ; i n f a c t ,

e n t r e G r e g o r y l a m a d r e ,q u e y a d e p o r s í c a m i n a -b a n l e n t a m e n t e , u n p o c om á s l e n t o q u e e l l o s , e n -v u e l t o e n s u v i e j o a b r i g o ,a p o y a n d o e l b a s t ó n s i e m -p r e c o n c u i d a d o , y, c u a n -d o q u e r í a d e c i r a l g o , c a s is i e m p r e s e d e t e n í a y c o n -g r e g a b a a s u s a c o m p a -ñ a n t e s a s u a l r e d e d o r ?A h o r a , e n c a m b i o , e s t a b aa h í m u y e rg u i d o , c o n u ns e v e r o u n i f o r m e a z u l d ebo tones do rados como lo sque l l evan l o s o rd enanzasd e l o s b a n c o s ; p o r s o b r ee l c u e l l o a l t o y d u r o d e l al e v i t a s e d e r r a m a b a s ue n o r m e p a p a d a ; b a j o l a sb i e n p o b l a d a s c e j a s s u r -g í a , f r e s c a y a t e n t a , l am i r a d a d e s u s o j o s n e -g r o s ; y e l p e l o c a n o s o ,n o r m a l m e n t e d e s greñado,se veía ahora bril lante y di-v i d i d o p o r u n a r i g u r o s ac r e n c h a . A r r o j ó s u g orra-en l a que hab ía un mono-g r a m a d o r a d o , p r o b a b l e -mente de a lgún banco- ha-c i a e l s o f á , d e s c r i b i e n d oun a rco a t r avés de toda l ah a b i t a c i ó n , y a v a n z ó e nd i r e c c i ó n a G r e g o r c o ncara de encono , l a s manosen los bo l s i l los de l pan ta -lón y l o s fa ldones d e s ul a rg a l e v i t a d e u n i f o r m erecogidos hacia a t rás . Pro-b a b l e m e n t e n i é l m i s m osab ía qué t en ía en mente ,pe ro s í l evan taba los p iesh a s t a u n a a l t u r a i n h a b i -tua l , y Gregor se asombróde l enorme tamaño de l a ss u e l a s d e s u s b o t a s . N os e [ 7 1 ] q u e d ó a l l í q u i e -t o , s i n e m b a rg o , p u e s y ad e s d e e l p r i m e r d í a d e s un u e v a v i d a s a b í a q u e ,c o n r e s p e c t o a é l , s u p a -d r e s o l o c o n s i d e r a b ao p o r t u n a l a m á x i m a s e -v e r i d a d . E c h ó , p u e s , ac o r re r d e l a n t e d e l p a d r e ,d e t e n i é n d o s e c u a n d oe s t e l o h a c í a y e m p r e n -d i e n d o u n a n u e v a c a r r e -r a a p e n a s e l p a d r e s em o v í a . A s í d i e r o n v a r i a sv e c e s l a v u e l t a a l a h a -b i t a c i ó n , s i n q u e o c u -r r i e r a n a d a d e c i s i v o ys i n q u e t o d o a q u e l l o , d e -

crencha. 1. Raya que divide el cabello en dos partes. 2. Cada una de estas partes.

scoot run or dart away quickly, escabullirse : I must scoot, tengo que marcharme enseguida

9190

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

e v e r y t h i n g w e n t s os l o w l y . G r e g o r

r e m a i n e d a l l t h i s t i m eo n t h e f l o o r , l a r g e l y

b e c a u s e h e f e a r e d h i sf a t h e r m i g h t s e e i t a s

e s p e c i a l l y p r o v o k i n g i fh e f l e d o n t o t h e w a l l o r

c e i l i n g . W h a t e v e r h ed i d , G r e g o r h a d t oa d m i t t h a t h e c e r t a i n l y

w o u l d n o t b e a b l e t ok e e p u p t h i s r u n n i n g

a b o u t f o r l o n g , a s f o re a c h s t e p h i s f a t h e r

t o o k h e h a d t o c a r r y o u tc o u n t l e s s m o v e m e n t s .

H e b e c a m e n o t i c e a b l ys h o r t o f b r e a t h , e v e n i nh i s e a r l i e r l i f e h i s

l u n g s h a d n o t b e e n v e r yr e l i a b l e . N o w , a s h e

l u r c h e d a b o u t i n h i se f f o r t s t o m u s t e r a l l

t h e s t r e n g t h h e c o u l df o r r u n n i n g h e c o u l d

h a r d l y k e e p h i s e y e so p e n ; h i s t h o u g h t s

b e c a m e t o o s l o w f o rh i m t o t h i n k o f a n yo t h e r w a y o f s a v i n g

h i m s e l f t h a n r u n n i n g ;h e a l m o s t f o r g o t t h a t

t h e w a l l s w e r e t h e r e f o rh i m t o u s e a l t h o u g h ,

h e r e , t h e y w e r e c o n c e a l e db e h i n d c a r e f u l l y c a r v e d

f u r n i t u r e f u l l o fn o t c h e s a n d p r o t r u s i o n s- t h e n , r i g h t b e s i d e h i m ,

l i g h t l y t o s s e d , s o m e t h i n gf l e w d o w n a n d r o l l e d i n

f r o n t o f h i m . I t w a s a na p p l e ; t h e n a n o t h e r o n e

i m m e d i a t e l y f l e w a th i m ; G r e g o r f r o z e i n

s h o c k ; t h e r e w a s n ol o n g e r a n y p o i n t i n

r u n n i n g a s h i s f a t h e rh a d d e c i d e d t ob o m b a r d h i m . H e h a d

f i l l e d h i s p o c k e t s w i t hf r u i t f r o m t h e b o w l o n

t h e s i d e b o a r d a n dn o w , w i t h o u t e v e n

t a k i n g t h e t i m e f o rc a r e f u l a i m , t h r e w

o n e a p p l e a f t e r a n o t h e r .T h e s e l i t t l e , r e d a p p l e sr o l l e d a b o u t o n t h e f l o o r ,

k n o c k i n g i n t o e a c h o t h e ra s i f t h e y h a d e l e c t r i c

m o t o r s . A n a p p l e t h r o w nw i t h o u t m u c h f o r c e

g l a n c e d a g a i n s t G r e g o r ’ s

persecuc i ó n . P o r l o m i s -mo, p re f i r ió Gregor io noa l e j a r s e a l p r o n t o d e ls u e l o : t e m í a , p r i n c i p a l -m e n t e , q u e e l p a d r e t o -m a s e s u h u i d a p o r l a sp a r e d e s o p o r e l t e c h op o r u n r e f i n a m i e n t o d em a l d a d . M a s n o t a r d ómucho Gregor io en com-p rende r que aque l l a s c a -r r e r a s n o p o d í a n p r o l o n -g a r s e , p u e s , m i e n t r a s s up a d r e d a b a u n p a s o , t e -n í a é l q u e r e a l i z a r u ns innúmero de movimien-t o s , y s u r e s p i r a c i ó n s el e t o r n a b a [ 7 2 ] a n h e l a n -t e . B i e n e s v e r d a d q u et a m p o c o e n s u e s t a d oa n t e r i o r p o d í a c o n f i a rm u c h o e n s u s p u l m o n e s .Ta m b a l e ó s e u n p u n t o ,i n tentando concentrar to-das sus fuerzas para em-p r e n d e r n u e v a m e n t e l ahuida. Apenas si podía te-ner los ojos abiertos; en suazoramiento , no pensaba enmás salvación posible que laque le proporcionase seguircorriendo, y ya casi se habíaolvidado de que las paredesofrecíansele completamente li-bres; aunque cierto es que es-taban atestadas de muebles es-meradamente t a l l ados , queamenazaban por doquier consus ángulos y sus picos.. . Enes to , a lgo d i e s t r a m e n t el a n z a d o c a y ó j u n t o as u l a d o , y r o d ó a n t e é l :e r a u n a m a n z a n a , a l aq u e p r o n t o h u b o d e s e -g u i r o t r a . G r e g o r i o ,a t e m o r i z a d o , n o s em o v i ó : e r a i n ú t i l c o n -t i n u a r c o r r i e n d o , p u e se l p a d r e h a b í a r e s u e l -t o b o m b a r d e a r l e . S eh a b í a l l e n a d o l o s b o l -s i l l o s c o n e l c o n t e n i d od e l f r u t e r o q u e e s t a b as o b r e e l a p a r a d o r , ya r r o j a b a u n a m a n z a n at r a s o t r a , a u n q u e s i nl o g r a r p o r e l m o m e n t od a r e n e l b l a n c o . L a sm a n z a n i t a s r o j a sr o d a b a n p o r e l s u e l o ,como elect r izadas , t rope-z a n d o u n a s c o n o t r a s .U n a d e e l l a s , l a n z a d ac o n m a y o r h a b i l i d a d ,r o z ó l a e s p a l d a d e

d e c i s i v e h a p p e n i n g ; i nf a c t t h e y p r o c e e d e d s oslowly i t did not look l ikea chase. With this in mindGregor kept to the f loorfor the moment, especiallysince he feared the fathermight view an escape tothe walls or cei l ing as ap a r t i c u l a r l y m a l e v o l e n ta c t . A t t h e s a m e t i m eGregor had to admit thathe could not keep up witht h i s r u n n i n g f o r l o n g ,because for every step thefather took Gregor had toe x e c u t e a c o u n t l e s snumber of maneuvers. Hew a s a l r e a d y s h o r t o fbrea th , as h i s lungs hadn e v e r b e e n a l l t h a tr e l i a b l e i n h i s p r e v i o u slife. He staggered a l o n g ,h i s e y e s b a r e l y o p e n ,t r y i n g t o f o c u s a l lh i s e n e r g y o nr u n n i n g ; i n t h i s d a z eh e c o u l d n o t t h i n k o fa n y t h i n g t o d o b u tr u n , a n d h a d a l r e a d ya l m o s t f o r g o t t e n t h a tt h e w a l l s w e r ea v a i l a b l e t o h i m ,a l t h o u g h i n t h i s r o o mt h e y w e r e b l o c k e d b ye l a b o r a t e l y c a r v e df u r n i t u r e , t h o r n yw i t h p o i n t s a n dn o t c h e s — s u d d e n l ys o m e t h i n g t h a t h a db e e n l i g h t l y t o s s e da l m o s t h i t h i m , b u tl a n d e d n e x t t o h i m a n dr o l l e d i n f r o n t o f h i m .I t w a s a n a p p l e , ’ a n d as e c o n d i n s t a n t l y f l e w i nh i s d i r e c t i o n . G r e g o rf r o z e i n t e r r o r ; f u r t h e rr u n n i n g w a s u s e l e s s ,f o r t h e f a t h e r w a sd e t e r m i n e d t o b o m b a r dh i m . H e h a d f i l l e d h i sp o c k e t s f r o m t h e b o w lo n t h e s i d e b o a r d a n dw a s n o w t h r o w i n g a p p l ea f t e r a p p l e , t a k i n g n om o r e t h a n g e n e r a lm o m e n t a r y a i m . T h e s es m a l l r e d a p p l e s [ 3 6 ]r o l l e d a ro u n d t h e f l o o ra s i f e l e c t r i f i e d a n dco l l ided wi th each o ther.O n e w e a k l y l o b b e da p p l e g r a z e d G r e g o r ’ sb a c k a n d h a r m l e s s l y

q u ’ i l s ’ a g i s s a i t d ’ u n epoursui te . Gregor res ta donc

provisoirement sur le plancher,d’autant qu’il pouvait craindre

que, s’ i l avai t pr is la fui te parles murs ou par le plafond, son

p è r e e û t p u v o i r l à u nraff inement de méchanceté. I l

dut cependant s’avouer bientôtq u ’ i l n e t i e n d r a i t p a slongtemps à cet te al lure, car,

pendant que son père faisait unpas, i l é tai t obl igé d’exécuter

t o u t e u n e s é r i e d emouvemen t s . I l commença i t

d é j à à é p r o u v e r q u e l q u ed i f f i c u l t é à r e s p i r e r ; s e s

p o u m o n s d ’ a i l l e u r s , m ê m ed a n s l e s t e m p s a n c i e n s ,n ’ a v a i e n t j a m a i s é t é

p a r t i c u l i è r e m e n t d i g n e s d ec o n f i a n c e . T a n d i s q u ’ i l

t i t u b a i t d e l a s o r t e ,r a s s e m b l a n t t o u t e s s e s

f o r c e s p o u r l a c o u r s e ,o u v r a n t à p e i n e l e s

y e u x , n e p e n s a n t p l u s ,d a n s l ’ e s p è c e d e

t o r p e u r o ù i l é t a i t ,q u ’ i l y a v a i t p o u r l u id ’ a u t r e s m o y e n s d e

s a l u t q u e l a c o u r s e ,o u b l i a n t p r e s q u e q u e l e s

m u r s é t a i e n t l à à s ad i s p o s i t i o n , d e s m u r s à

v r a i d i r e e n c o m b r é s d em e u b l e s f i n e m e n t

s c u l p t é s , p l e i n s d ed e n t e l u r e s e t d e p o i n t e s- , q u e l q u e c h o s e v o l a p rès

d e l u i , u n o b j e t q u ’ o n v e n a i td e l a n c e r a v e c l é g è r e t é e t

q u i s e m i t à r o u l e r à s e sp i e d s . C ’ é t a i t u n e p o m m e ;

u n e d e u x i è m e l a s u i v i ta u s s i t ô t ; G r e g o r r e s t a s u r

p l a c e , t e r r o r i s é ; i l é t a i ti n u t i l e d e c o n t i n u e r à

c o u r i r , c a r s o n p è r e a v a i tr é s o l u d e l e b o m b a r d e r . I la v a i t v i d é l a c o u p e d e

f r u i t s s u r l a c r é d e n c e e ts ’ e n é t a i t r e m p l i l e s

p o c h e s e t i l t i r a i t , s a n s s es o u c i e r p o u r l ’ i n s t a n t d e

b i e n v i s e r . C e s p e t i t e sp o m m e s r o u g e s r o u l a i e n t

s u r l e s o l c o m m e s i e l l e sé t a i e n t é l e c t r i s é e s e tallaient se cogner l e s u n e s

c o n t r e l e s a u t r e s . U n ep o m m e m o l l e m e n t

l a n c é e e f f l e u r a l e d o s d eG r e g o r , e t g l i s s a s a n s

p r o v o q u e r d e d o m m a g e s ;

l’opération ne pri t mêmepas figure de poursuite tantle rythme en était net. AussiGrégo i r e r e s t a - t - i lp rov i so i r emen t su r l ep l anche r ; i l c r a igna i tsurtout que son père, en levoyant grimper sur, les mursou l e p l a fond , n ’ a l l â tprendre sa manoeuvre pourque lque r a f f inemen t deméchance t é . I l du tcependant s’avouer bientôtqu ’ i l ne t i end ra i t pa slongtemps à cette allure; lepeu de temps que mettaitson père à fa i re un pas ,Grégoire devait le consacrerà t ou t e une s é r i e degymnastiques, et, n’ayantjamais eu les poumons biensol ides , i l commençai t às’essouffler; il c l o p i n a i td o n c c a h i n - c a h a p o u rr a s s e m b l e r t o u t e s s e sf o r c e s e n v u e d ’ u né l a n s u p r ê m e , o s a n t àp e i n e o u v r i r l e s y e u x ,e t s i h é b é t é q u ’ i ln ’ e n v i s a g e a i t s o ns a l u t q u e d a n s l ac o u r s e a l o r s q u e l e sm u r s é t a i e n t l à - d e sm u r s d e s a l l e à m a n g e rb i e n s û r , a v e c d e sm e u b l e ss o i g n e u s e m e n ts c u l p t é s e t c o u v e r t s d ef e s t o n s e t d e d e n t e lles,ma is des murs cependant,des murs . . . . - Tout d ’uncoup, vlan! quelque chosevola tout près de lui, tombapar terre et s’en alla roulerplus loin. C’était une pommenégligemment lancée; unedeuxième la suivit aussitôt.Ra id i d ’e f f ro i , Grégoi reresta sur place; il était inutilede con t inuer l a coursepuisque le père avait décidéde le bombarder. I l avaitvidé la coupe à fruits de lacrédence, garni ses pochesde projectiles et les jetaitmain tenan t l ’un aprèsl ’au t re , s a n s t r o p s ep r é o c c u p e r e n c o r e d eb i e n v i s e r . C e s p e t i t e sboules roula ient par tou tsur le [60] p lancher e t secognaient entre elles; on eûtd i t des b i l les é lec t r i sées .U n e p o m m e l a n c é em o l l e m e n t e f f e u r a l a

performance, because of thes low t empo , hav ing t heappearance of a chase. Sofor the time being Gregorkept to the floor, especiallyas he feared that his fathermight interpret a flight ontothe walls or the ceiling as anact of particular malice onhis part. Even so, Gregorhad to admit that he wouldnot be able to keep up eventh i s k ind of running forlong , because fo r eve rys te p h i s f a t h e r t o o k h eh a d t o e x e c u t e a w h o l es e r i e s o f m o v e m e n t s .S i g n s o f b r e a t h l e s s n e s sw e r e a l s o b e c omingappa ren t , j u s t a s i n h i sprevious life his lungs hadnot been wholly reliable.As he now s taggered on ,h a r d l y k e e p i n g h i se y e s o p e n i n o r d e rt o c o n c e n t r a t ee n t i r e l y o nr u n n i n g ; n o t e v e n ,i n h i s d a z e d c o n d i t i o n ,t h i n k i n g o f a n y o t h e rm e a n s o f e s c a p e b u trunning; and having almostforgot ten tha t the w a l l sw e r e a t h i s d i s p o s a l ,though in this room they wereobstructed by elab o r a t e l yc a r v e d f u r n i t u r eb r i s t l i n g w i t h j a g g e de d g e s a n d s p i k e s - anobject, that had been lightlyt h ro w n , s u d d e n l y f l e wr i g h t p a s t h i m , h i t t h efloor and rolled in front ofh im . I t was an app l e ; asecond one came f ly ingr i g h t [ 4 2 ] a f t e r i t ;G r e g o r s t o p p e d d e a dw i t h t e r r o r ; t o c o n t i n u er u n n i n g w a s p o i n t l e s s ,f o r h i s f a t h e r h a ddec ided to bombard h im.H e h a d f i l l e d h i sp o c k e t s f r o m t h e f r u i tb o w l o n t h e s i d e b o a r da n d w a s n o w, w i t h o u tfo r the t ime be ing t ak ingc a r e f u l a i m , h u r l i n g o n ea p p l e a f t e r a n o t h e r .T h e s e s m a l l r e d a p p l e srol led about on the f loora s i f e l e c t r i f i e d a n dcannoned into each other.O n e a p p l e , t h r o w nw i t h o u t f o r c e , g r a z e dG r e g o r ’ s b a c k a n d

because of its slow tempo,the whole business did note v e n r e s e m b l e a c h a s e .That was why Gregor keptto the floor for now, espe-cially since he feared thatthe father might view anescape to the walls or thec e i l i n g a s p a r t i c u l a r l yw i c k e d . N e v e r t h e l e s s ,Gregor had to admit thathe could not endure event h i s s c u r r y i n g m u c hlonger, because for everys t e p t h e f a t h e r t o o k ,Gregor had to carry out ane n d l e s s s t r i n g o fmovements. He was alreadypanting noticeably, just ashis lungs had never beenaltogether reliable even inhis ear l ier days . He wasj u s t b a r e l y s t a g g e r i n ga l o n g , t r y i n g t o f o c u sa l l h i s s t r e n g t h o nr u n n i n g , s c a r c e l yk e e p i n g h i s e y e so p e n , f e e l i n g s on u m b t h a t h e c o u l dt h i n k of no other possiblerecourse than running, andalmost forgett ing that hewas free to use the walls,w h i c h , h o w e v e r , [ 1 6 3 ]w e r e b l o c k e d h e r e b yi n t r i c a t e l y c a r v e df u r n i t u r e b r i s t l i n g w i t hs h a r p p o i n t s a n dn o t c h e s - w h e n a l l a to n c e a l i g h t l y t o s s e ds o m e t h i n g f l e w d o w nr igh t nex t t o h im , ba r e lym i s s i n g h i m , a n d r o l l e do n a h e a d o f h i m . I t w a sa n a p p l e . I n s t a n t l y as e c o n d o n e f l e w a f t e rt h e f i r s t . G r e g o r h a l t e d ,p e t r i f i e d . A n y m o r er u n n i n g w o u l d b eu s e l e s s , f o r t h e f a t h e rw a s d e a d s e t o n b o m -b a r d i n g h i m . H e h a df i l l e d h i s p o c k e t s w i t hf r u i t f r o m t h e b o w l o nt h e s i d e b o a r d a n d , n o tt a k i n g s h a r p a i m f o r t h em o m e n t , w a s h u r l i n ga p p l e a f t e r a p p l e . T h o s es m a l l r e d a p p l e sr i c o c h eted [rebotar como lasbalas] a round the f l oo r a si f g a l v a n i z e d , c o l l i d i n gw i t h o n e a n o t h e r . Aw e a k l y t h r o w n a p p l eg r a z e d G r e g o r ’ s b a c k ,

b i d o a l a l e n t i t u d d e l r i t -m o , t u v i e r a e l a s p e c t o d eu n a p e r s e c u c i ó n . P o r e s oG r e g o r t a m b i é n s e q u e d ód e m o m e n t o e n e l s u e l o ,p u e s t e m í a q u e e l p a d r ep u d i e r a c o n s i d e r a r c o m ou n a m a l d a d p a r t i c u l a r l ah u i d a p o r l a s p a r e d e s oe l t e c h o . D e t o d a s f o r -m a s , t u v o q u e d e c i r s eq u e n o r e s i s t i r í a m u c h ot i e m p o e s a s c a r r e r a s ,p o r q u e m i e n t r a s e l p a d r ed a b a u n p a s o , é l t e n í aq u e r e a l i z a r u n s i n n ú m e -r o d e m o v i m i e n t o s . P r o n -t o c o m e n z ó a s e n t i r s o f o -c o s , a u n q u e l a v e r d a d e sq u e e n o t r o s t i e m p o s s u sp u l m o n e s h a b í a n s i d o d e lt o d o f i a b l e s . Y m i e n t r a sa v a n z a b a tambaleándose ,d i s p u e s t o a c o n c e n t r a rt o d a s s u s f u e r z a s p a r al a c a r r e r a , c o n l o s o j o sa p e n a s a b i e r t o s , s i np e n s a r , d e b i d o a s u e m -b o t a m i e n t o , e n o t r ap o s i b i l i d a d d e s a l v a -c i ó n q u e l a d e c o r r e r ,h a b i e n d o c a s i o l v i d a d oq u e a ú n l e q u e d a b a nl a s p a r e d e s , q u e a l l íe s t a b a n , a u n q u e t a p a -d a s , e s o s í , p o r m u e -b l e s t a l l a d o s c o n g r a ne s m e r o y l l e n o s d e c a n -t o s y a r i s t a s , e n e s ep r e c i s o i n s t a n t e , a l g ol a n z a d o s i n f u e r z a p a s óv o l a n d o a s u l a d o , c a y óa t i e r r a y r o d ó d e l a n t e d eé l . E r a u n a m a n z a n a , a l aq u e a l m o m e n t o s i g u i óu n a s e g u n d a . [ 7 2 ] G r e g o rs e q u e d ó p a r a l i z a d o p o re l m i e d o ; s e g u i r c o r r i e n -d o e r a i n ú t i l , p u e s e l p a -d r e h a b í a d e c i d i d o b o m -b a r d e a r l o . C o n e l c o n t e -n i d o d e l f r u t e r o q u e h a -b í a s o b r e e l a p a r a d o r s eh a b í a l l e n a d o l o s b o l s i -l l o s y e m p e z ó a l a n z a rm a n z a n a t r a s m a n z a n a ,s i n a f i n a r m u c h o , d e m o -m e n t o , l a p u n t e r í a .A q u e l l a s m a n z a n a s p e -q u e ñ a s , r o j a s , ro d a b a np o r e l s u e l o c o m o e l e c -t r i z a d a s y c h o c a b a n u n a sc o n o t r a s . U n a d e e l l a s ,a r r o j a d a d é b i l m e n t e ,c a y ó s o b r e l a e s p a l d a d e

9392

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

b a c k a n d s l i d o f f w i t h o u td o i n g a n y h a r m . A n o t h e r

o n e h o w e v e r ,i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g

i t , h i t s q u a r e l y[ d i r e c t l y / h o n e s t l y ,

f a i r l y ) a n d l o d g e d i n h i sb a c k ; G r e g o r w a n t e d t o

d r a g h i m s e l f a w a y, a s i fh e c o u l d r e m o v e t h es u r p r i s i n g , t h e

i n c r e d i b l e p a i n b yc h a n g i n g h i s p o s i t i o n ;

b u t h e f e l t a s i f n a i l e d t ot h e s p o t a n d s p r e a d

h i m s e l f o u t , a l l h i ss e n s e s i n c o n f u s i o n . T h e

l a s t t h i n g h e s a w w a s t h ed o o r o f h i s r o o m b e i n gp u l l e d o p e n , h i s s i s t e r

w a s s c r e a m i n g , h i sm o t h e r r a n o u t i n f r o n t

o f h e r i n h e r b l o u s e ( a sh i s s i s t e r h a d t a k e n o f f

s o m e o f h e r c l o t h e s a f t e rs h e h a d f a i n t e d t o m a k e

i t e a s i e r f o r h e r t ob r e a t h e ) , s h e r a n t o h i s

f a t h e r , h e r s k i r t su n f a s t e n e d a n d s l i d i n go n e a f t e r a n o t h e r t o t h e

g r o u n d , s t u m b l i n g o v e rt h e s k i r t s s h e p u s h e d

h e r s e l f t o h i s f a t h e r ,h e r a r m s a r o u n d h i m ,

u n i t i n g h e r s e l f w i t hh i m t o t a l l y - n o w

G r e g o r l o s t h i s a b i l i t yt o s e e a n y t h i n g - h e rh a n d s b e h i n d h i s

f a t h e r ’ s h e a d b e g g i n gh i m t o s p a r e G r e g o r ’ s

l i f e .

Gregor io , pero se des l izóp o r e l l a s i n c a u s a r l edaño. En [73] c a m b i o , l as i g u i e n t e , l e a s e s t ó u ng o l p e c e r t e r o , y, a u n q u eG r e g o r i o i n t e n t ó e s c a -p a r s e , c u a l s i a q u e l i n -t o l e r a b l e d o l o r p u d i e s ed e s v a n e c e r s e a l c a m b i a rd e s i t i o , p a r e c i ó l e q u el e c l a v a b a n e n d o n d ee s t a b a , y q u e d ó a l l í d e s -p a t a r r a d o , p e r d i d a l an o c i ó n d e c u a n t o s u c e -d í a e n t o r n o . S u p o s t r e rm i r a d a e n t e r ó l e t o d a v í ad e c ó m o l a p u e r t a d e s uh a b i t a c i ó n a b r í a s e c o nv i o l e n c i a , y p u d o v e ra s i m i s m o a l a m a d r e c o -r r i e n d o e n c a m i s a - p u e sG r e t e l a h a b í a d e s n u d a -d o p a r a h a c e r l a v o l v e rd e s u d e s v a n e c i m i e n t o -d e l a n t e d e l a h e r m a n a ,q u e g r i t a b a ; l u e g o a l am a d r e p r e c i p i t á n d o s eh a c i a e l p a d r e , p e r d i e n -d o e n e l c a m i n o u n a t r a so t r a s u s f a l d a s d e s a n u -d a d a s , y p o r f i n , d e s -p u é s d e t r o p e z a r c o n é s -t a s , l l e g a r h a s t a d o n d ee l p a d r e e s t a b a , a b r a -z a r s e e s t r e c h a m e n t e aé l . . . Y G r e g o r i o , c o n l av i s t a y a n u b l a d a , s i n t i óp o r ú l t i m o c ó m o s u m a -d r e , c o n l a s m a n o s c r u -z a d a s e n l a n u c a d e l p a -d r e , l e s u p l i c a b a q u ep e r d o n a s e l a v i d a a lh i j o .

s l i d o f f . B u t a n o t h e r ,p i t c h e d d i r e c t l y a f t e ri t , a c t u a l l y l o d g e di t s e l f i n G r e g o r ’ sb a c k ; G r e g o r t r i e d t od r a g h i m s e l f a w a y ,a s i f t h i s s h o c k i n g l yu n b e l i e v a b l e p a i nw o u l d e a s e w i t h ac h a n g e i n p o s i t i o n ,b u t h e f e l t n a i l e d t ot h e s p o t a n ds t r e t c h e d o u t , a l l h i ss e n s e s i n c o m p l e t ec o n f u s i o n . A n d i tw a s w i t h h i s l a s tc o n s c i o u s s i g h t t h a th e s a w t h e d o o r o fh i s r o o m b u r s t o p e na n d i n f r o n t o f t h es c r e a m i n g s i s t e r t h em o t h e r t e a r i n g o u ti n h e r c h e m i s e ,b e c a u s e w h e n s h ef a i n t e d t h e s i s t e rh a d u n d r e s s e d h e r t ol e t h e r b r e a t h e m o r ef r e e l y . H e s a w t h em o t h e r r u n t o t h ef a t h e r , s t u m b l i n go v e r h e r l o o s e n e d

p e t t i c o a t s a s t h e ys l i p p e d t o t h e f l o o ro n e b y o n e , a n dp r e s s h e r s e l fa g a i n s t h i m , u n i t i n gt h e m i n h e r e m b r a c e -n o w G r e g o r ’ s v i s i o nf a i l e d h i m - a n d w i t hh e r a r m s f l u n ga r o u n d h i s n e c k , s h eb e g g e d t h e f a t h e r t os p a r e G r e g o r ’ s l i f e .

m a i s l a s u i v a n t e v i n tl i t t é r a l e m e n t s ’ e n c a s t r e r

d a n s s o n d o s ; G r e g o rv o u l u t s e t r a î n e r u n p e u

p l u s l o i n , c o m m e s il ’ é p o u v a n t a b l e

s o u f f r a n c e q u i v e n a i t d el e s u r p r e n d r e p o u v a i t

s ’ a t t é n u e r p a r u nc h a n g e m e n t d e l i e u ;m a i s i l s e s e n t i t c l o u é

s u r p l a c e e t v i n ts ’ é t a l e r s u r l e p l a n c h e r

d a n s u n c o m p l e td é s a r r o i d e t o u s s e s

s e n s . S o n d e r n i e r r e g a r dl u i p e r m i t e n c o r e d e

v o i r q u ’ o n o u v r a i tb r u s q u e m e n t l a p o r t e d es a c h a m b r e e t , d e v a n t s a

s o e u r e n t r a i n d ep o u s s e r d e s c r i s , i l

a p e r ç u t s a m è r e q u ia r r i v a i t - e n c h e m i s e , c a r

l a j e u n e f i l l e l ’ a v a i td é s h a b i l l é e p o u r f a c i l i t e r

s a r e s p i r a t i o n p e n d a n t s as y n c o p e - ; i l l a v i t e n s u i t e

c o u r i r v e r s l e p è r e , i l l av i t p e r d r e e n c h e m i n t o u ss e s j u p o n s l ’ u n a p r è s

l ’ a u t r e , t r é b u c h e r s u r s e sv ê t e m e n t s , s e j e t e r s u r l e

p è r e , l e s a i s i r d a n s s e sb r a s e t e n f i n , n e f a i s a n t

p l u s q u ’ u n a v e c l u i - m a i se n c e t i n s t a n t , l e s y e u x d e

G r e g o r c e s s è r e n t d e v o i rc l a i r - e l l e j o i g n i t l e sm a i n s d e r r i è r e l a t ê t e

d u p è r e , p o u r l ec o n j u r e r d ’ é p a r g n e r l a v i e

d e s o n f i l s .

c a r a p a c e d e G r é g o i r ee t g l i s s a d e s s u s s a n sl u i f a i r e d e m a l ; m a i sl a s u i v a n t e s ’ e n f o n ç al i t t é r a l e m e n t d a n ss o n d o s ; i l v o u l u t s et r a î n e r p l u s l o i nc o m m e s i c ed é p l a c e m e n t p o u v a i tc a l m e r l ’ h o r r i b l es o u f f r a n c e q u i v e n a i td e l e s u r p r e n d r e ,m a i s i l s e s e n t i tc l o u é s u r p l a c e e ts ’ é t i r a s a n s p l u ss a v o i r c e q u ’ i lf a i s a i t . S o n d e r n i e rr e g a r d l u i m o n t r a l ap o r t e d e s a c h a m b r eq u i s ’ o u v r a i tb r u s q u e m e n t , s as o e u r q u i c r i a i t ,p r é c é d é e d e l a m è r eq u i a r r i v a i t e n t o u t eh â t e - s a n s c o r s a g e ,c a r l a j e u n e f i l l el ’ a v a i t d é s h a b i l l é ep o u r l a f a i r e r e s p i r e rp e n d a n t s a s y n c o p e s am è r e e n c o r e q u ic o u r a i t s u r l e p è r e e np e r d a n t s e s j u p e s u n eà u n e , t r é b u c h a i td e d a n s , f o n ç a i t s u r s o nm a r i , l ’ e m b r a s s a i t , l ep r e s s a i t c o n t r e e l l e ,e t , l e s m a i n sc r o i s é e s s u r l an u q u e d u p è r e - d é j àG r é g o i r e n ’ y v o y a i tp l u s - l e s u p p l i a i td ’ é p a r g n e r l a v i e d el e u r e n f a n t .

g l a n c e d o f f h a r m l e s s l y.B u t a n o t h e r, t h a t c a m efl y i n g a f t e r i t , a c t u a l l yp e n e t r a t e d G r e g o r ’ sb a c k ; G r e g o r t r i e d t od r a g h i m s e l f f o r w a r d ,a s i f t h e s t a r t l i n g ,u n b e l i e v a b l e p a i nm i g h t p a s s w i t h ac h a n g e o f l o c a t i o n ; b u th e f e l t n a i l e d t o t h es p o t , a n d h e s t r e t c h e do u t h i s b o d y, w i t h a l lh i s s e n s e s i n ac o m p l e t e b l u r. T h e l a s tt h i n g h e s a w w a s t h ed o o r o f h i s r o o m b e i n gf l u n g o p e n a n d h i sm o t h e r r u s h i n g o u ta h e a d o f h i ss c r e a m i n g s i s t e r , i nh e r c h e m i s e , a s h i ss i s t e r h a d s t a r t e du n d r e s s i n g h e r t o h e l ph e r b r e a t h e w h i l e s h ew a s u n c o n s c i o u s , a n dh i s m o t h e r r u n n i n gt o w a r d s h i s f a t h e r ,s h e d d i n g h e r l o o s e n e dp e t t i c o a t s o n e b y o n eo n t h e f l o o r b e h i n dh e r a n d s t u m b l i n go v e r h e r s k i r t s a n df l i n g i n g h e r s e l f o nh i m , e m b r a c i n g h i m i na b s o l u t e u n i o n w i t hh i m - b u t n o w G r e g o r ’ss i g h t w a s b e g i n n i n g t of a i l - b e g g i n g h i m ,w i t h h a n d s c l a s p e db e h i n d h i s f a t h e r ’ sh e a d , t o s p a r eG r e g o r ’s l i f e .

s l i d i n g o f f h a r m l e s s l y.A n o t h e r o n e , h o w e v e r ,p r o m p t l y f o l l o w i n g i t ,a c t u a l l y d u g r i g h t i n t oh i s b a c k . G r e g o rw a n t e d t o k e e pd r a g g i n g h i m s e l f a l o n ga s t h o u g h t h i ss t a r t l i n g a n di n c r e d i b l e p a i n w o u l dv a n i s h w i t h a c h a n g eo f l o c a t i o n , y e t h e f e l tn a i l e d t o t h e s p o t a n ds o h e s t r e t c h e d o u tw i t h a l l h i s s e n s e s i nu t t e r d e r a n g e m e n t . I tw a s o n l y w i t h h i s f i n a lg l a n c e t h a t h e s a w t h ed o o r t o h i s r o o m b u r s to p e n . T h e m o t h e r ,w e a r i n g o n l y a c h e m i s e( f o r t h e s i s t e r h a du n d r e s s e d h e r t o l e t h e rb r e a t h e m o r e f r e e l yw h i l e u n c o n s c i o u s ) ,h u r r i e d o u t i n f r o n t o ft h e s c r e a m i n g s i s t e ra n d d a s h e d t o w a r d t h ef a t h e r . S t u m b l i n g o v e rh e r u n f a s t e n e dpe t t i coa t s a s t hey g l i dedt o t h e f l o o r o n e b y o n e ,s h e p r e s s e d a g a i n s t t h ef a t h e r , f l u n g h e r a r m sa r o u n d h i s n e c k i n t o t a lu n i o n w i t h h i m - b u t n o wG r e g o r ’ s e y e s i g h tf a i l e d e n t i r e l y -a n d ,w i t h h e r h a n d sc l u t c h i n g t h e b a c k o ft h e f a t h e r ’ s h e a d , s h eb e g g e d h i m t o s p a r eG r e g o r ’ s l i f e . [ 1 6 4 ]

G r e g or , p e r o s e d e s l i z óp o r e l l a s i n h a c e r l ed a ñ o . E n c a m b i o , o t r aq u e l a s i g u i ó d e i n m e -d i a t o s e l e i n c r u s t ó ;G r e g o r q u i s o a r r a s t r a r -s e u n p o c o m á s , c o m os i e l i n c r e í b l e e i n e s p e -r a d o d o l o r p u d i e r a d e s -a p a r e c e r c a m b i a n d o d el u g a r , p e r o s e s i n t i óc o m o c l a v a d o e n e l s i -t i o y s e e s t i r ó , p r e s a d eu n a c o n f u s i ó n t o t a l .A ú n a l c a n z ó a v e r , c o nu n a ú l t i m a m i r a d a ,c ó m o l a p u e r t a d e s uh a b i t a c i ó n s e a b r í a v i o -l e n t a m e n t e y p o r e l l a ,p r e c e d i e n d o a l a h e r -m a n a , q u e c h i l l a b a ,s a l í a c o r r i e n d o l a m a -d r e e n e n a g u a s , p u e sl a h e r m a n a l a h a b í ad e s v e s t i d o p a r a q u ep u d i e r a r e s p i r a r e n s ud e s m a y o m á s l i b r e m e n -t e , y v i o t a m b i é n c ó m ol a m a d r e c o r r í a h a c i ae l p a d r e y e n e l c a m i n os e l e i b a n r e s b a l a n d ou n a t r a s o t r a l a s e n a -g u a s d e s a t a d a s , y c ó m o ,t r o p e z a n d o c o n e l l a s , s ea b a l a n z a b a h a c i a e l p a -d r e , y a b r a z á n d o l o , e s -t r e c h a m e n t e u n i d a a é l- y a a q u í l a v i s t a l e f a -l l ó a G r e g o r - , l e s u p l i -c a b a , c o n l a s m a n o s p e -g a d a s a l a n u c a d e l p a -d r e , q u e l e p e r d o n a s e l av i d a a G r e g o r .

9594

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

III

No-one da red to removet h e a p p l e l o d g e d i n

G r e g o r ’s f l e s h , s o i tr emained the re a s a v i s ib le

reminder o f h i s in ju ry. Heh a d s u f f e r e d i t t h e r e f o r

more than a month , and h i sc o n d i t i o n s e e m e d s e r i o u senough to r emind even h i s

fa the r tha t Gregor, desp i tehis current sad and revolting

form, was a family memberwho could not be treated as

an enemy. On the contrary, asa family there was a duty to

swa l low any r evu l s i on fo rhim and to be patient , just tobe pat ient .

B e c a u s e o f h i s i n j u r i e s ,

Gregor had los t much of h i sm o b i l i t y - p r o b a b l y

p e r m a n e n t l y. H e h a d b e e nr e d u c e d t o t h e c o n d i t i o n o f

a n a n c i e n t i n v a l i d a n d i tt o o k h i m l o n g , l o n g

minu te s t o c r awl ac ros s h i sr o o m - c r a w l i n g o v e r t h ec e i l i n g w a s o u t o f t h e

q u e s t i o n - b u t t h i sd e t e r i o r a t i o n i n h i s

c o n d i t i o n w a s f u l l y ( i n h i sop in ion) made up for by the

d o o r t o t h e l i v i n g r o o mb e i n g l e f t o p e n e v e r y

e v e n i n g . H e g o t i n t o t h ehab i t o f c lose ly wa tch ing i tfo r one o r two hour s be fo re

i t w a s o p e n e d a n d t h e n ,ly ing in t he da rknes s o f h i s

room where he cou ld no t bes e e n f r o m t h e l i v i n g r o o m ,

h e c o u l d w a t c h t h e f a m i l yi n t h e l i g h t o f t h e d i n n e r

t a b l e a n d l i s t e n t o t h e i rc o n v e r s a t i o n - w i t h

everyone’s pe rmiss ion , in aw a y , a n d t h u s q u i t ed i f f e r e n t l y f r o m b e f o r e .

They no longer he ld the

l i v e l y c o n v e r s a t i o n s o fear l i e r t imes , o f course , the

o n e s t h a t G r e g o r a l w a y sthough t abou t wi th long ing

w h e n h e w a s t i r e d a n dget t ing in to the damp bed insome smal l ho te l room. Al l

o f them were usua l ly ve ryqu ie t nowadays . Soon a f t e r

di n n e r , h i s f a t h e r w o u l dg o t o s l e e p i n h i s c h a i r ;

h i s m o t h e r a n d s i s t e r

III

Aquella grave herida, de lacual tardó más de un mes encurar --nadie se atrevió a qui-tarle la manzana, que así que-dó empotrada [74] en su car-ne, cual visible testimonio delo ocurrido-, pareció recordar,incluso al padre, que Gregorio,pese a lo triste y repulsivo desu forma actual, era un miem-bro de la familia, a quien nose debía tratar como a un ene-migo, sino, por el contrario,guardar todos los respetos, yque era un elemental deber defamilia sobreponerse a la re-pugnancia y resignarse. Resig-narse y nada más.

Gregorio, por su parte,aun cuando a causa de suherida había perdido, aca-so para s iempre, e l l ibrejuego de sus movimien-tos; aun cuando precisabaa h o r a , c u a l u n a n c i a n oimpedido, var ios e inter -m i n a b l e s m i n u t o s p a r acruzar su habi tación - t re-p a r h a c i a l o a l t o , y a n ipensar lo- , Gregorio tuvo,en aquel la agravación desu es tado, una compensa-ción que le pareció har tosuficiente: por la tarde, lapuerta del comedor, en lacual tenía ya f i ja la mira-da desde una o dos horasantes, la puerta del come-dor se abr ía , y é l , echadoen su cuarto, en t inieblas,invis ible para los demás,podía contemplar a todala f ami l i a en to rno a l amesa i luminada, y oír susc o n v e r s a c i o n e s , c o m oquien dice con aquiescen-cia general, o sea ya de unmodo muy dis t into .

Claro está que las tales conversacio-nes no eran, ni con [75] mucho, aque-llas charlas animadas de otros tiem-pos, que Gregorio añoraba en los re-ducidos aposentos de las fondas, y enlas que pensaba con ardiente afán alarrojarse fatigado sobre la húmedaropa de la cama extraña. Ahora, la ma-yor parte de las veces, la velada trans-curría monótona y triste. Poco des-pu és de cena r, e l padre se do r-mía en su bu taca, y la madrey l a h e r m a n a

[37] III

GREGOR’S SERIOUSINJURY, FROM which hesuffe red for a lmos t amonth-the apple remainedembedded in his flesh as avisible souvenir because noone had the courage toremove it-served to remindeven the father that Gregor,despite his now pathetic andrepu ls ive shape , was amember of the family whocould not be treated as anenemy; on the contrary, inaccordance with family dutythey were required to quelltheir aversion and toleratehim, but only tolerate.

A n d n o w, a l t h o u g hG r e g o r h a d l o s t s o m em o b i l i t y , m o s t l i k e l yp e r m a n e n t l y d u e t o h i sinjury, and traversing hisroom now took many longm i n u t e s l i k e a n o l di n v a l i d - c r a w l i n g a b o v efloor level was out of thequest ion-he was granted,i n h i s m i n d , e n t i r e l ysatisfactory compensationfor th i s de te r io ra t ion o fh i s c o n d i t i o n : t o w a r de v e n i n g e v e r y d a y t h el iv ing room door, whichhe got used to watchingintently for an hour or twobeforehand, was opened,s o t h a t l y i n g i n t h edarkness of his room andu n s e e n f r o m t h e l i v i n groom, he could view thew h o l e f a m i l y a t t h ebrightly lit table and couldl i s t e n t o t h e i rconversation more or lessw i t h t h e i r c o n s e n t ,c o m p l e t e l y u n l i k e h i sprior eavesdropping.

O f c o u r s e t h e r e n ol o n g e r w e r e t h e l i v e l yconve r sa t ions o f ea r l i e rt imes tha t Gregor wou ldw i s t f u l l y r e c a l lw h e n e v e r h e ’ d h a d t os ink down in to the dampb e d d i n g o f s o m e s m a l lho te l room. Now i t wasm o s t l y v e r y s u b d u e d .Th e father fe l l as leep inh i s a r m c h a i r s o o n a f t e rs u p p e r , a n d t h e m o t h e r

III

L a g r a v e b l e s s u r e d eGregor, don t i l sou f f r i t pen -

d a n t p l u s d ’ u n m o i s - l apomme, que personne n’ava i t

o s é r e t i r e r , r e s t a i t f i c h é ed a n s s a c h a i r , c o m m e u n

s o u v e n i r v i s i b l e - s e m b l a i ta v o i r r a p p e l é à s o n p è r elu i -même que Gregor, malgré

s o n t r i s t e e t r é p u g n a n ta s p e c t , n ’ e n d e m e u r a i t p a s

m o i n s u n m e m b r e d e l afami l le , qu’on ne pouvai t pas

t r a i t e r en ennemi ; l e devo i rf a m i l i a l e x i g e a i t d e r a v a l e r

s a r é p u l s i o n e t - d e l esuppor t e r ; i l su ff i sa i t qu ’onle suppor t e .

Et si Gregor avait perdu à

c a u s e d e s a b l e s s u r e e tprobablement pour toujours

une g rande pa r t i e de sona g i l i t é - i l l u i f a l l a i t

provisoirement, comme à unvieil invalide, de longues,

l o n g u e s m i n u t e s p o u rtraverser sa chambre et quantà monter sur le mur, on n’y

pouvait même plus songer -cette aggravation de son état

a v a i t e n t r a î n é u n ecompensation, selon lui tout

à fait suffisante, dans le faitqu’on ouvra i t ma in tenan t

vers le soir la porte de lasalle de séjour, qu’il guettaitdéjà des yeux depuis une ou

deux heures. Couché dansl ’ o m b r e d e s a c h a m b r e ,

invisible de l’autre côté, ilpouvait voir maintenant la

famille entière assise à tablea u t o u r d e l a l a m p e ; i l

p o u v a i t e n t e n d r e l e u r sc o n v e r s a t i o n s b e a u c o u p

m i e u x q u ’ a u t r e f o i s , e nq u e l q u e s o r t e a v e cl’autorisation de tous.

C e n ’ é t a i e n t c e r t e s p l u s

l e s e n t r e t i e n s a n i m é s d el ’ a n c i e n t e m p s a u x q u e l s

G r e g o r p e n s a i t a v e c q u e l q u ee n v i e , l o r s q u e f a t i g u é d e s a

j o u r n é e , i l l u i f a l l a i t e n t r e rd a n s l e s d r a p s h u m i d e s d eses pe t i t e s chambres d ’hô te l .

To u t s e p a s s a i t m a i n t e n a n tt r è s s i l e n c i e u s e m e n t . A p r è s

l e d î n e r, l e p è re n e t a r d a i tp a s à s ’ e n d o r m i r s u r s a

c h a i s e ; l a m è r e e t l a f i l l e

III

La pomme, que personnen’osa extraire du dos deGrégoire, demeura incrustéedans sa chair comme unsouvenir palpable del’événement, et la grave blessuredont il souffrit pendant plus d’un[61] mois sembla avoir rappeléau père lui-même que son fils,malgré sa triste et répugnantemétamorphose, n’en demeuraitpas moins un membre de lafamille; il ne fallait donc pas letraiter en ennemi; le devoirexigeait au contraire qu’onsurmontât son dégoût et, qu’onsupportât Grégoire, qu’on lesupportât seulement.

S a b l e s s u r e l u i a v a i tf a i t p e r d r e ,i r r é m é d i a b l e m e n t s a n sd o u t e , b e a u c o u p d e s o na g i l i t é ; p o u r t r a v e r s e rs imp lement s a c h a m b r e ,i l l u i f a l l a i t u n t e m p si n f i n i comme à un vieilinva l ide ; quan t auxpromenades sur les murs ilavait dû en faire son deuil.Mais cette aggravation deson é ta t s ’é ta i t t rouvéelargement compensée, à sonavis, par le fait qu’on ouvraitmaintenant tous les soirs laporte de la salle à manger; ila t t enda i t ce t événementpendant deux heures; couchédans l’ombre de sa chambre,invisible pour les dîneurs, ilpouvait alors observer toutela famille réun i e a u t o u r d el a t a b l e d a n s la lumièred e l a l a m p e , i l a v a i t l ed r o i t d ’ é c o u t e r l ac onve r sa t i on avecl ’au tor i sa t ion de tou t l emonde : c’était beaucoupmieux qu’auparavant.

Sans doute ce n’étaientplus ces entretiens animés del’ancien temps auxquels ilpensait toujours autrefoisavec un peu de mélancolie aumoment de regagner un lithumide dans quelque petitechambre d’hôtel. La plupartdu temps on ne disait mêmeplus grand-chose maintenantaprès le dîner. Le père netardait pas à s’endormir dansson fauteuil, [62] la mère et

III

Gregor’s severe wound,from which he suffered formore than a month - theapple remained lodged inh i s f l e sh a s a v i s i b l ereminder since no one daredto remove i t - seemed tohave brought home even toh i s f a the r t ha t Grego r ,despite his present sad andrepugnant appearance, wasa member of the family whoshould not be treated as anenemy, but that on the [43]con t r a ry f ami ly du tyrequired them to swallowthei r d isgus t and endurehim, simply endure him.

A n d e v e n t h o u g hG r e g o r ’ s w o u n d h a dc a u s e d h i m t o l o s e f o rg o o d s o m e o f h i smobi l i ty, and he neededfor the t ime be ing long,long minutes to t raverseh i s r o o m l i k e a n o l dinval id - crawling aboveg r o u n d w a s o u t o f t h eq u e s t i o n - h e f e l t f u l l yc o m p e n s a t e d f o r t h i sw o r s e n i n g o f h i scondi t ion by the fac t tha te v e r y d a y a r o u n d d u s kt h e l i v i n g - r o o m d o o r ,which he was in the habi to f w a t c h i n g c l o s e l y a nhour or two beforehand ,was th rown open , so tha tas he lay in the darknesso f h i s r o o m , i n v i s i b l ef rom the l iv ing- room, hec o u l d s e e t h e w h o l ef a m i l y a t t a b l e benea ththe lamp, and listen to thei rc o n v e r s a t i o n , b y g e n e r a lconsen t as i t were , and in qu i ted i f f e r e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h a nbefore .

These were of course nolonger the animatedconversations of the old days,which Gregor had alwaysrecalled with some wistfulnessin those tiny hotel rooms, whenhe’d had to throw himselfwearily into the dampbedclothes. Things were nowmostly very peaceful. Soonafter supper his father wouldfa l l a s l eep in h i s cha i r ;his mother and sis ter kept

III

Gregor’s serious injury,from which he suffered forover a month (since no onehad the nerve to removethe apple, it stayed lodgedin h i s f l esh as a v i s ib lem e m e n t o ) , a p p a r e n t l yreminded even the fathertha t Gregor, desp i t e h i snow dismal and disgustingshape, was a member of thefami ly and could not bet r e a t e d l i k e a n e n e m y.I n s t e a d , f a m i l i a lobl iga t ions d ic ta ted tha tt h e y s w a l l o w t h e i rr e p u l s i o n a n d e n d u r e ,simply endure.

N o w G r e g o r ’s i n j u r ym a y h a v e c o s t h i m s o m em o b i l i t y, n o d o u b t f o rg o o d , i m p e l l i n g h i m t ot a k e l o n g , l o n g m i n u t e st o s h u f f l e a c r o s s h i sr o o m l i k e a n o l d w a ri n v a l i d ( t h e r e w a s n oq u e s t i o n o f h i s c r e e p i n gu p t h e w a l l s ) . S t i l l , t h i sw o r s e n i n g o f h i sc o n d i t i o n w a s , t o h i sm i n d , m o r e t h a n m a d eu p f o r b y t h e f a c t t h a teve ry even ing t he pa r lo rd o o r , w h i c h h e w o u l dw a t c h s h a r p l y f o r o n e o rt w o h o u r s i n a d v a n c e ,w a s o p e n e d , s o t h a t h e ,l y i n g i n t h e d a r k n e s s o fh i s r o o m a n d i n v i s i b l ef r o m t h e p a r l o r , w a sa l l owed to s ee t he en t i r efami ly a t the i l lumina tedt a b l e a n d , b y g e n e r a lconsen t [165] a s i t were ,l i s t e n t o t h e i rt a l k s - r a t h e r , t h a t i s ,t h a n e a v e s d r o p p i n g a sb e f o r e .

Of course, these were nolonger the lively exchangeso f ea r l i e r days , wh ichGrego r had a lwayssomewhat wistfully musedabou t i n t he t i ny ho t e lrooms wheneve r he hadwearily collapsed into thedamp bedding. Now, theevenings were usually veryhushed. The father woulddoze off in h is armchairshor t ly af ter supper ; the

[73] III

L a g r a v e h e r i d a d eGregor, que le dolió durantemás de un mes -como nadiese atrevía a sacarla, la man-zana permaneció incrustadaen la carne como un testimo-nio visible de lo ocurrido-,parecía haber le recordadoincluso al padre que, pese asu triste y repulsivo aspectoactual, Gregor seguía siendoun miembro de la familia alque no se podía tratar comoa un enemigo, sino ante elcual era un deber familiartragarse la repugnancia y sertolerante, nada más que to-lerante.

Y aunque debido a su he-rida Gregor había sufrido,probablemente para siempre,una merma en su capacidadde movimiento, y de momen-to necesitaba, como un vie-jo inválido, muchos y largosminutos para cruzar su habi-t a c i ó n - i m p o s i b l e p e n s a rahora en trepar a las alturas-,a cambio de este empeora-miento de su estado recibióuna compensación, según élmás que suficiente, y era ques iempre , a l anochecer, s eabría la puerta de la sala deestar, que él ya solía obser-var fijamente entre una y doshoras antes, de modo que,tumbado en la penumbra desu habitación y sin ser vistodesde la sala de estar, podíaver a toda la familia sentadaa la mesa iluminada y escu-cha r su conve r sac ión , encierto [74] modo con el con-sentimiento general, es de-cir, en condiciones comple-tamente dis t in tas a las deantes.

Cierto es que ya no eranlas animadas conversacionesde otros tiempos, esas queGregor recordaba s iemprecon cierta nostalgia en la pe-queña habitación de algúnhotel, cuando, exhausto, te-nía que acostarse entre unassábanas húmedas. En general,todo transcurría ahora muysilenciosamente. El padre sequedaba dormido en su si-llón poco después de cenar;

2.1

9796

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

w o u l d u rg e e a c h o t h e r t ob e q u i e t ; h i s m o t h e r ,

b e n t d e e p l y u n d e r t h el a m p , w o u l d s e w f a n c y

u n d e r w e a r f o r a f a s h i o ns h o p ; h i s s i s t e r , w h o h a d

t a k e n a s a l e s j o b , l e a r n e ds h o r t h a n d a n d F r e n c h i n

t h e e v e n i n g s s o t h a t s h em i g h t b e a b l e t o g e t ab e t t e r p o s i t i o n l a t e r o n .

Somet imes h i s fa ther wouldwake up and say to Gregor ’s

m o t h e r “ y o u ’ r e d o i n g s omuch sewing aga in today!” ,

as i f he d id no t know tha th e h a d b e e n d o z i n g - a n d

t h e n h e w o u l d g o b a c k t os l e e p a g a i n w h i l e m o t h e rand s is ter would exchange a

t i r ed g r in .

With a kind of stubbornness,Gregor ’s father refused to take

his uniform off even at home;w h i l e h i s n i g h t g o w n h u n g

unused on i ts peg Gregor ’sfather would slumber where he

was, fully dressed, as if alwaysready to serve and expecting tohear the voice of his superior

even here. The uniform had notbeen new to start with, but as

a r e s u l t o f t h i s i t s l o w l ybecame even shabbier despite

the efforts of Gregor’s motherand s i s t e r to look a f t e r i t .

Gregor would often spend thewhole evening looking at allthe stains on this coat, with its

g o l d b u t t o n s a l w a y s k e p tpolished and shiny, while the

o ld man in i t would s leep ,h i g h l y u n c o m f o r t a b l e b u t

peaceful.

A s s o o n a s i t s t r u c k t e n ,G r e g o r ’ s m o t h e r w o u l d

s p e a k g e n t l y t o h i s f a t h e rt o w a k e h i m a n d t r y t op e r s u a d e h i m t o g o t o b e d ,

a s h e c o u l d n ’ t s l e e pp r o p e r l y w h e r e h e w a s a n d

h e r e a l l y h a d t o g e t h i ss l e e p i f h e w a s t o b e u p a t

s i x t o g e t t o w o r k . B u ts i n c e h e h a d b e e n i n w o r k

h e h a d b e c o m e m o r eo b s t i n a t e a n d w o u l da l w a y s i n s i s t o n s t a y i n g

l o n g e r a t t h e t a b l e , e v e nt h o u g h h e r e g u l a r l y f e l l

a s l e e p a n d i t w a s t h e nh a r d e r t h a n e v e r t o

p e r s u a d e h i m t o e x c h a n g e

recomendábanse una a otrasilencio. La madre, incli-nada muy junto a la luz,cosía ropa blanca fina paraun almacén, y la hermana,que se había colocado dedependienta, estudiaba porlas noches estenografía yfrancés, a fin de lograr qui-zá con el tiempo un puestomejo r que e l ac tua l . Decuando en cuando, el padredespertaba, y, cual si no sediese cuenta de haber dor-mido, decíale a la madre:«¡Cuánto coses hoy tam-bién!» Y volvía al punto adormirse, mientras la ma-dre y la hermana, rendidasde cansancio, cambiabanuna sonrisa.

El padre negábase obstina-damente a despojarse, ni aun encasa, de su uniforme de orde-nanza. Y mientras la bata, yainútil, colgaba de la percha, dor-mitaba perfectamente uniforma-do, cual si quisiese hallarsesiempre dispuesto a prestar ser-vicio, o esperase oír hasta en sucasa la voz de alguno [76] desus jefes. Con lo cual el unifor-me, que ya al principio no eranuevo, perdió rápidamente supulcritud, a pesar del cuidado dela madre y de la hermana. YGregorio, con frecuencia,pasábase horas enteras con lamirada puesta en ese traje lus-troso, lleno de lamparones, perocon los botones dorados siem-pre relucientes, dentro del’ cualel viejo dormíase harto incómo-do, si bien tranquilo.

Al dar las d iez , l a ma-dre intentaba desper tar a lpadre , exhor tándole du l -cemente a marcharse a lacama, quer iendo conven-ce r l e de que aque l lo noera dormir de veras , cosaque é l t an to neces i t aba ,pues ya a las se i s hab íade comenzar su se rv ic io .Mas e l padre , con la obs-t i n a c i ó n q u e s e h a b í aa p o d e r a d o d e é l d e s d eque e r a o rdenanza , pe r -s is t ía en querer permane-cer más t iempo a la mesa,no obs tan te dormirse a l l íinvar iab lemente y cos ta rg r a n t r a b a j o m o v e r l e a

a n d t h e s i s t e r w o u l dcaution each other to keeps t i l l ; t h e m o t h e r , b e n to v e r t o w a r d t h e l i g h t ,s e w e d d e l i c a t e l i n g e r i efor an appare l shop; thes i s t e r, w h o h a d t a k e n aj o b a s a s a l e s g i r l , w a ss t u d y i n g s h o r t h a n d a n dF r e n c h i n t h e h o p e o fattaining a better posit ionin the future . The fa thersomet imes woke up and,as if he were not aware hehad been s leeping, wouldsay to the mother : “Howlong you’re sewing againtoday!” and instant ly fa l lback as leep while mothera n d s i s t e r e x c h a n g e d at i red smile .

[38] Out of some absurdobstinacy, the father refusedto take off his messenger’suniform even in the house,and while the dressing gownhung uselessly on the clotheshook, the father sat fullydressed in his chair, as if hewere ever ready for duty andawaited, even here, hissuperior’s call. As a result theuniform, which was not newto begin with, became moreand more seedy despite all theefforts of the mother andsister, and Gregor often spentwhole evenings staring at thisgarment, covered with greasystains and gleaming,constantly polished goldbuttons, in which the fatherslept awkwardly but verypeacefully.

As soon as the c locks t r u c k t e n , t h e m o t h e rt r ied to rouse the fa therwith gentle words and thenpersuade him to go to bed,f o r h e s i m p l y w a s n o tg e t t i n g a n y p r o p e r r e s twhere he was, somethinghe sorely needed since hehad to go on duty at six.B u t , w i t h t h i sstubbornness that he hadacquired since becoming abank messenger, he alwaysinsisted on staying longerat the table even though henodded off regularly, andit was then a monumentalt a s k t o c o a x h i m i n t o

s ’ e x h o r t a i e n t m u t u e l l e m e n ta u s i l e n c e ; l a m è r e , c o u r b é e

s o u s l a l a m p e , c o u s a i t d e l al i n g e r i e f i n e p o u r u n

m a g a s i n d e d a m e s ; l a s o e u r,e n g a g é e c o m m e v e n d e u s e ,

a p p r e n a i t l e s o i r l as t é n o g r a p h i e e t l e f r a n ç a i s ,

d a n s l ’ e s p o i r d ’ o b t e n i rp e u t - ê t r e u n j o u r u n es i t u a t i o n m e i l l e u r e .

Q u e l q u e f o i s , l e p è r e s er é v e i l l a i t e t , s a n s s e r e n d r e

c o m p t e q u ’ i l a v a i t f a i t u ns o m m e , i l d i s a i t à l a m è r e :

« C o m b i e n d e t e m p s a s - t ue n c o r e p a s s é à t a c o u t u r e 1

» , s u r q u o i i l s e r e n d o r m a i t ,t a n d i s q u e l a m è r e e t l as o e u r é c h a n g e a i e n t u n p â l e

s o u r i r e .

Avec une sorte d’entêtement,le père refusait de quitter son

uniforme, même quand il étaitchez lui, et tandis que la robe de

chambre res ta i t inu t i l ementpendue au por te -manteau , i l

sommeil lai t tout habi l lé à saplace, comme s’il était à toutinstant prêt à servir et à prêter

l ’o re i l l e à l a vo ix de sonsupérieur. L’uniforme, qui n’était

déjà pas tout neuf lorsqu’il l’avaitreçu , n ’é ta i t donc pas de l a

première propreté, malgré le soinqu’en prenaient la mère et la

soeur, et pendant des soiréesentières, Gregor restait assis àregarder le vêtement couvert de

taches, avec ses boutons doréstou jours b ien as t iqués , dans

lequel le vieillard dormait trèsinconfortablement et pourtant

d’un sommeil paisible.

D è s q u e l ’ h o r l o g es o n n a i t d i x h e u r e s , l a m è r e

c h e r c h a i t à r é v e i l l e r s o nm a r i e n l u i a d r e s s a n td o u c e m e n t l a p a r o l e e t

e s s a y a i t d e l ’ i n c i t e r àg a g n e r s o n l i t , c a r c e

n ’ é t a i t p a s i c i l e v r a is o m m e i l , d o n t l e p è r e , q u i

r e p r e n a i t s o n s e r v i c e à s i xh e u r e s , a v a i t u n t e l b e s o i n .

M a i s , a v e c l ’ e n t ê t e m e n td o n t i l f a i s a i t p r e u v ed e p u i s q u ’ i l a v a i t p r i s d u

s e r v i c e à l a b a n q u e , i li n s i s t a i t p o u r r e s t e r e n c o r e

à t a b l e , t o u t e n c o n t i n u a n tà s ’ y e n d o r m i r

r é g u l i è r e m e n t , e t i l é t a i t

l a f i l l e s ’ e x h o r t a i e n tmutuellement au silence; lam è r e , p e n c h é e s o u s l al u m i è r e , c o u s a i t d e l al i n g e r i e f i n e p o u r u nm a g a s i n d e b l a n c , e t l as o e u r, e n g a g é e q u e l q u ep a r t c o m m e v e n d e u s e ,étudiait la sténographie oule f rançais dans l ’espoird’amél iore r p lus ta rd sasituation. Parfois le père seréveil lai t , et , comme s’i lignorai t qu’ i l eût dormi,déclarait à la mère : «Quet u c o u d s l o n g t e m p saujourd’hui!» , sur quoi ilr e p r e n a i t s o n s o m m e ,tandis que la mère e t l as a u r é c h a n g e a i e n t u nsourire fatigué.

Par une sorte d’obstinationcapricieuse, le père se refusaità quitter sa livrée, même dansson intérieur; sa robe dechambre inutile restaitaccrochée au portemanteau etil dormait sur son fauteuil engrand uniforme comme pour setenir toujours prêt à exécuter unordre; jusque chez lui ilsemblait attendre la voix d’unsupérieur. Aussi la livrée, quin’était déjà pas neuve quand onla lui avait donnée, perdait-ellechaque jour de son éclat malgréles soins des deux femmes; etGrégoire passait souvent sasoirée à contempler cet habitcriblé de taches dont lesboutons bien astiqués brillaienttoujours, et sous lequel le vieilhomme dormait dans le calmeet l’inconfort.

D è s q u e l a p e n d u l esonnait dix heures, la mèretâchait de réveiller le pèreà v o i x b a s s e e t d e l edécider à gagner son l i t ,déclarant que ce sommeildans la position assise necomptait pas et qu’il avaitb e s o i n d e d o r m i rnormalement avant de [63]reprendre son service à sixh e u r e s . M a i s , a v e cl’entêtement qu’il marquaitdepuis qu’i l recevait desconsignes à la banque, i lpersistait opiniâtrement àrester à table bien qu’il serendormît régulièrement etq u ’ i l d e v î n t a l o r s t r è s

reminding each o ther tob e q u i e t ; h i s m o t h e r ,leaning far forward underthe l ight, sewed fine l inenf o r a f a s h i o n s t o r e ; h i ss i s t e r, w h o h a d t a k e n aj o b a s a s a l e s g i r l , w a sl e a r n i n g s h o r t h a n d a n dFrench in the evenings int h e h o p e o f s e c u r i n g abe t t e r pos i t ion l a te r on .S o m e t i m e s h i s f a t h e rwould wake up and, as i funaware that he had beenas leep a t a l l , s ay to h i sm o t h e r : ‘ Yo u ’ v e b e e ndoing a lot of sewing againtoday!’, and go right backto sleep, while mother andsister exchanged a wearysmile.

With a sort of obstinacy,his father refused to take offhis official uniform even inthe house; and while hisdressing-gown hung idle onthe peg, he slept fully clothedin his chair, as if he werepermanently ready for dutyand awai t ing his [44]superior ’s orders even here.As a resul t h is uniform,which had not been new tostart with, lost some of itssmartness despi te a l lGregor’s mother and sistercould do, and Gregor wouldoften stare all evening long atthis garment, covered withstains and gleaming with itsconstant ly pol ished goldbuttons, in which the old manslept in great discomfort andyet at peace.

As soon as the c locks t r u c k t e n , G r e g o r ’smother t r ied to wake hisfather with a gentle wordor two and urge him to got o b e d , f o r t h i s w a s n op l a c e t o g e t a p r o p e rsleep, which was essentials i n c e h i s f a t h e r h a d t or e p o r t f o r d u t y a t s i xo ’ c l o c k . B u t w i t h t h es t u b b o r n n e s s h e h a dacquired since becoming abank messenger he alwaysinsisted on staying longera t t a b l e , a l t h o u g h h eregular ly fe l l as leep andcould then only with theg r e a t e s t d i f f i c u l t y b e

mother and the sister wouldurge one another to keepstill. The mother, hunchedway over beneath the light,would be sewing fine lin-gerie for a fashion boutique;the sister, having found ajob a s s a l e sg i r l , wass tudy ing sho r thand andFrench every evening inhopes of perhaps eventuallyobtaining a better position.Sometimes the father wouldwake up and, as if unawarethat he had been sleeping,would say to the mother:“How long you ’ve beensewing again today!” anddoze off again while motherand sister smiled wearily ateach other.

In a kind of obstinacy, thefather refused to take off hisattendant’s uniform at home;and while his robe dangleduse less ly on the c lo theshook, he would slumber inhis chair, fully dressed, as ifalways on duty and at hissuperior ’s beck and calleven here. And so, despiteall the painstaking efforts ofmother and s i s te r, theuniform, which had not beenbrand-new in the first place,grew less and less tidy, andGregor would often spendentire evenings gazing at thissoiled and spotted garment,which shone with its alwayspolished gold buttons, whilethe old man slept a veryuncomfor tab le and ye tpeaceful sleep.

The ins tant the c lockstruck ten, the mother, by[166] speaking softly to thefather, tried to awaken himand talk him into going tobed, for after all, this was noway to get proper s leep,which the father, who had tostart work at six A.M., badlyneeded. But wi th theobstinacy that had gottenhold of him upon his becom-ing a bank a t tendant , hewould always insist on re-maining at the table a bitlonger even though heinvariably nodded out and,moreover, could then becoaxed only with the greatest

la madre y la hermana se ex-hortaban mutuamente al si-lencio; la madre, muy incli-nada bajo la luz, cosía ropainterior fina para una tien-da de modas; la hermana,que había aceptado un tra-b a j o c o m o v e n d e d o r a ,a p r e n d í a p o r l a n o c h etaquigrafía y francés, quizápara conseguir más tarde al-gún puesto mejor. A veces elpadre se despertaba y, comosi no supiera que había dor-mido un rato, decía a la ma-dre : « ¡Cuán to has cos idohoy también!» y vo lv ía adormirse enseguida, mien-tras la madre y la hermana,cansadas , i n t e rcambiabanuna sonrisa.

Con una especie de obs-tinación, el padre se negabaa quitarse en casa el unifor-me de trabajo, y mientras subata colgaba inútilmente dela percha, él dormitaba en suasiento totalmente vestido,como si estuviera siemprelisto para el servicio y tam-bién allí aguardase la voz desu superior. Debido a ello, eluniforme, que para empezarya no era nuevo, se fue des-luc iendo pese a todos losdesvelos de la madre y de lahermana, y Gregor se pasa-ba a menudo tardes enterasmirando aquella prenda [75]salpicada de manchas y conlos botones dorados siemprerelucientes, con la que el an-ciano dormía muy incómodoy, sin embargo, tranquilo.

En cuanto e l re lo j dabal a s d i ez , l a mad re i n t en -taba desper tar a l padre envoz baja y convencer lo deq u e s e f u e r a a l a c a m a ,pues a l l í no podía dormircomo es debido y, dado queentraba a trabajar a las seisde l a mañana , neces i t abac o n u r g e n c i a d e s c a n s a r.Pero este, con la testarudezque se había apoderado deél desde que t rabajaba deordenanza, insis t ía en que-d a r s e m á s t i e m p o a l amesa , pese a que normal-mente volvía a dormirse yl u e g o e r a p r e c i s o h a c e rg r a n d e s e s f u e r z o s p a r a

9998

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

the chai r for h is bed. Then,howeve r much mo the r and

sis ter would impor tune h imw i t h l i t t l e r e p r o a c h e s a n d

w a r n i n g s h e w o u l d k e e pslowly shaking his head for

a quar ter of an hour with hiseyes c losed and refus ing to

g e t u p . G r e g o r ’s m o t h e rw o u l d t u g a t h i s s l e e v e ,w h i s p e r e n d e a r m e n t s i n t o

h i s e a r , G r e g o r ’s s i s t e rw o u l d l e a v e h e r w o r k t o

help her mother, but nothingw o u l d h a v e a n y e ff e c t o n

h i m . H e w o u l d j u s t s i n kdeeper in to h is chai r. Only

when the two w omen tookhim under the arms he woulda b r u p t l y o p e n h i s e y e s ,

l o o k a t t h e m o n e a f t e rt h e o t h e r a n d s a y :

“W h a t a l i fe! This is whatpeace I get in my old age!”

A n d s u p p o r t e d b y t h e t w owomen he would l i f t himself

up ca re fu l ly a s i f he werec a r r y i n g t h e g r e a t e s t l o a d

himself , let the women takehim to the door, send themoff and carry on by himself

while Gregor ’s mother wouldthrow down her needle and

his sister her pen so that theycould run after his father and

c o n t i n u e b e i n g o f h e l p t ohim.

W h o , i n t h i s t i r e d a n do v e r w o r k e d f a m i l y, w o u l d

have had t ime to give moreattention to Gregor than was

a b s o l u t e l y n e c e s s a r y ? Theh o u s e h o l d b u d g e t b e c a m e

e v e n s m a l l e r ; s o n o w t h em a i d w a s d i s m i s s e d ; a n

e n o r m o u s , t h i c k - b o n e dcharwoman with white hair

that flapped around her headc a m e e v e r y m o r n i n g a n deven ing to do the heav ies t

work ; eve ry th ing e l s e wasl o o k e d a f t e r b y G r e g o r ’s

mother on top of the la rgeamount of sewing work she

d i d . G r e g o r e v e n l e a r n e d ,l i s t e n i n g t o t h e e v e n i n g

conversation about what pricet h e y h a d h o p e d f o r, t h a ts eve ra l i t ems o f j ewe l l e ry

belonging to the family hadbeen sold, even though both

mother and s is ter had beenvery fond of wearing them at

funct ions and ce lebra t ions .

c a m b i a r l a b u t a c a p o rl a c a m a . P e s e a t o d o sl o s r a z o n a m i e n t o s d el a m a d r e y l a h e r m a n a ,é l s e g u í a a l l í c o n l o so j o s c e r r a d o s , d a n d ol e n t a s c a b e z a d a s c u a r -t o d e h o r a t r a s c u a r t od e h o r a , y n o s e l e v a n -t a b a . L a m a d r es a c u d í a l e d e l a m a n g a ,d e s l i z á n d o l e e n e l o í d op a l a b r a s c a r i ñ o s a s ; l ah e r m a n a [ 7 7 ] a b a n d o -n a b a s u t a r e a p a r a a y u -d a r l a . P e r o d e ~ n a d as e r v í a e s t o , p u e s e l p a -d r e h u n d í a s e m á s h o n -d o en su butaca y no abríalos ojos hasta que las dos mu-jeres le asían por debajo delos brazos. Entonces miraba auna y a otra, y solía exclamar:

— ¡Sí que es una vida! ¡Estees el sosiego de mis últimos años!

Y penosamente, cual si lasuya fuese la carga más pesada,poníase en pie, apoyándose en lamadre y la hermana, dejábaseacompañar de esta guisa hasta lapuerta, indicábales allí con elgesto que ya no las necesitaba, yseguía solo su camino, mientrasla madre arrojaba rápidamentesus útiles de costura y la herma-na sus plumas, para correr en possuya y continuar ayudándole.

¿Quién, en aquella familiacansada, deshecha por el tra-bajo, hubiera podido dedicara Gregorio algún tiempo másque el estrictamente necesa-rio? El tren de la casa redújosecada vez más. Se despidió a lacriada, y se la sustituyó en lostrabajos más duros por unaasistenta, una especie de gi-gante huesudo, con un nimbode cabellos blancos en torno ala cabeza, que venía un ratopor la mañana y otro por la tar-de, y fue la madre quien hubode sumar, a su ya nada cortalabor de costura, todos los de[78] más quehaceres. Hubie-ron, incluso, de venderse va-rias alhajas que poseía la fa-milia, y que, en otros tiempos,habían lucido gozosas la ma-dre y la hermana en fiestas yreuniones. Así lo averiguóGregorio a la noche, por laconversación acerca delresultado de la venta. Mas el

exchanging the chair fort he bed . However mu c ht h e m o t h e r a n d s i s t e rprodded him with admonishments,he would go on shak inghis head slowly with hise y e s c l o s e d f o r a n o t h e rq u a r t e r o f a n h o u r a n dr e f u s e t o g e t u p . T h em o t h e r p l u c k e d a t h i ssleeve, cajoling softly inhis ear, and the sister lefth e r l e s s o n s t o h e l p t h emother, all to no avail. Thef a t h e r o n l y e n s c o n c e dhimself farther in the chair.Not until the two womenpul led h im up under thea rms would he open h i seyes and l ook back andforth from the mother tot h e s i s t e r , w i t h t h ecustomary remark: “What alife. This is the rest of myold age.” And suppor tedby the two women, he rosehalt ingly to his feet as ifh e h i m s e l f w e r e h i sg r e a t e s t b u r d e n a n da l l o w e d t h e w o m e n t os t e e r h i m t o t h e d o o r ,where he shrugged themoff and labored on alone,while the mother droppedher sewing and the sisterher pen to run af ter himand aid him further.

W h o i n t h i so v e r w o r k e d a n dexhausted family had timeto fuss over Gregor moret h a n w a s a b s o l u t e l ynecessary? The householdwas even further reduced;the ma id was d i smis sedaf ter a l l and a huge bonyc h a r w o m a n w i t h w h i t ehair f lapping around herhead came mornings ande v e n i n g s t o s e e t o t h eh e a v i e s t c h o r e s ; t h em o t h e r t o o k c a r e o feverything else on top ofher copious sewing. Evenvar ious pieces of familyjewelry, which the mothera n d s i s t e r u s e d t oj o y o u s l y d i s p l a y a tpar t ies and celebrat ions ,h a d t o b e [ 3 9 ] s o l d , a sG r e g o r l e a r n e d f r o m adiscussion of the obtainedp r i c e s o n e e v e n i n g .H o w e v e r , t h e i r m o s t

e n s u i t e t r è s d i f f i c i l e d el’amener à échanger sa chaise

contre son lit. La mère et la soeura v a i e n t b e a u m u l t i p l i e r

l e u r s p e t i t e s e x h o r t a t i o n spour le décider, il restait encore

des quar t s d ’heure en t ie r s àhocher la tête, gardait les yeux

fermés et refusait de se lever. Lamère le tirait par la manche, luid i sa i t à l ’o re i l l e des choses

gentilles, la soeur quittait sontravail pour prêter main-forte à

sa mère : tout cela restait sanseffet sur le père, il ne faisa i t

q u e s ’ e n f o n c e r e n c o r e p l u sp r o f o n d é m e n t d a n s s o n

fauteuil. C’est seulement quandles femmes le prenaient sous lesépaules qu’i l ouvrai t les yeux,

regardait alternativement sa femmeet sa f i l l e t o u t e n d i s a n t

d ’ o r d i n a i r e : «On appelle celaune vie 1 et c’est là tout le repos de mes

vieux jours?» Et, appuyé sur lesdeux femmes, il se levait avec

peine , comme s’ i l é ta i t pourlu i -même le fa rdeau le p lus

encombrant, se laissait conduirejusqu’à la porte par les deuxfemmes; arrivé là, il leur faisait

signe de s’éloigner et continuaitseul son chemin, tandis que la

mère rangeait en hâte sa couture,la f i l le son porteplume, pour

cour i r der r iè re l e père e tcontinuer à l’aider.

Q u i d o n c , d a n s c e t t ef a m i l l e u s é e d e t r a v a i l e t

recrue de fatigue, avait encorel e t e m p s d e s ’ o c c u p e r d e

G r e g o r p l u s q u ’ i l n ’ é t a i ta b s o l u m e n t n é c e s s a i r e ? O n

réduisi t plus encore le budgetd u m é n a g e ; o n s e d é c i d a à

renvoyer la bonne; une énormef e m m e d e p e i n e a u v i s a g e

osseux, la tête environnée dec h e v e u x b l a n c s , v e n a i t l ematin et le soir pour les gros

travaux; c’est la mère qui , enp l u s d e t o u t e s a c o u t u r e ,

s’occupait de tout le reste . I la r r i v a m ê m e q u ’ o n v e n d î t

dif férents b i joux de fami l le ,qu i ava ien t f a i t au t r e fo i s l e

bonheur de l a mère e t de l af i l le , lorsqu’el les les avaientportés lors de leurs sort ies et

d e s f e s t i v i t é s , a i n s i q u eG r e g o r l ’ a p p r i t l e s o i r e n

e n t e n d a n t l a f a m i l l ec o m m e n t e r l e s p r i x q u ’ o n

a v a i t o b t e n u s . M a i s l e p l u s

p é n i b l e d e l u i f a i r eéchanger son fauteuil pourle l i t . La mère et la soeuravaient beau le presser,mult ipl ier leurs peti tsavertissements il restait làpendant des quarts d’heure àbranler lentement la tête, lesyeux fermés, sans vouloirjamais se lever. La mère lesecouait par la manche, luidisait à l’oreille des chosesgentilles, la fille abandonnaitses devoirs pour la seconder,mais tout cela restait sanseffet . I l ne faisai t ques’enfoncer un peu plus dansson fauteuil. Il fallait que lesfemmes le saisissent enfins o u s l e s b r a s p o u r l u ifa i re ouvrir les paupières;alors il les regardait tour à touret déclarai t d’ordinaire :«C’en est une vie! C’est ça lerepos de mes vieux jours?» Et,s’appuyant sur les deux femmes,il se levait péniblement commes’il eût été pour lui-même unecharge énorme, se laissaitconduire à la porte par safemme et par sa fille, leur faisaitsigne de s’en aller et continuaitson chemin tout seul, tandis quela mère et la soeur, jetant au plusvite l’une sa plume et l’autre sonaiguille, couraient après lui pourl’aider encore.

Qui aurait eu le temps danscette famille surmenée par letravail et la fatigue des’occuper de Grégoireautrement que pour ses besoinsles plus pressants? Onréduisait de plus en plus lebudget [64] du ménage, onfinit par renvoyer la bonne;une immense femme de peined’un aspect osseux, avec descheveux blancs qui flottaientautour de sa tête, vintdésormais la remplacer lematin et le soir pour les grostravaux; le reste, c’étaitmaintenant la mère qui s’enoccupait en plus de sesinterminables ravaudages. Iladvint même- qu’on dutvendre différents bijoux defamille qui avaient faitautrefois l’orgueil de la mèreet de la soeur dans les petitescérémonies et les fêtes;Grégoire l’apprit un jour enentendant discuter les prix à la

persuaded to exchange hischair for his bed. No matterhow much his mother ands i s te r kept nagging himwith mild admonishments,he would go on shaking hishead slowly for a quarter ofan hour, with his eyes firmlyclosed and refusing to getup . Gregor ’s mo the rp lucked a t h i s s l e eve ,whispered cajoling words inhis ear, his sister droppedher homework to come andhelp her mother, but theeffect on his father was nil.He merely sank deeper intohis chair. Only when thewomen grasped him underthe armpits would he openhis eyes, l o o k f r o m w i f et o d a u g h t e r a n d s a y :‘What a life. So much for apeace fu l o ld age . ’ And ,leaning on the two women,he would get up awkwardlyas if he were the greatestburden to himself, let thewomen escort him to thedoor, where, waving themaway, he would proceed onhis own, whi le Gregor ’smo the r abandoned he rsewing, and his sister herpen in order to run after hisfather and offer him furtherassistance.

W h o i n t h i so v e r w o r k e d a n dexhausted family had timet o w o r r y a b o u t G r e g o ra n y m o r e t h a n w a sa b s o l u t e l y n e c e s s a r y ?T h e y e c o n o m i s e d m o r eand more ; the maid wasfinally [45] dismissed; a hugebony cleaning woman withw h i t e h a i r f l u t t e r i n ga r o u n d h e r h e a d c a m emornings and evenings todo the heaviest work; hism o t h e r t o o k c a r e o feverything else, on top ofa l l h e r s e w i n g . I t e v e nh a p p e n e d t h a t v a r i o u spieces of family jewellery,which his mother and sisterhad once been overjoyed tow e a r a t p a r t i e s a n dcelebrations, were sold, asG r e g o r d i s c o v e r e d o n eevening from the generaldiscussion about the pricesthey had fetched. But the

difficulty to trade the chair forthe bed. No matter how muchthe mother and the sistercajoled and gently admonishedhim, he would shake his headslowly for a quarter of an hour,keeping his eyes shut andrefusing to stand up. Themother would tug at hissleeve, whispering honeyedwords into his ear, and thes is ter would leave herhomework to help themother; but none of this hadany effect on the father. Hewould merely sink deeperinto his chair. It was onlywhen the women lifted himunder his armpits tha t hewould open his eyes, glancet o a n d f r o b e t w e e nm o t h e r a n d s i s t e r , a n dsay : “What a life. This ismy rest in my old days.”And supporting himself onthe two women, he wouldponderously struggle to hisfeet as if being the greatestburden on himself, let thetwo women steer him to thedoor, wave them off upona r r i v ing and t rudge onunaided, while the motherhastily discarded her sewingand the daughter her pen inorder to run after him and con-tinue being helpful.

W h o i n t h i soverworked and exhaustedfami ly had t ime to looka f t e r G r e g o r a n y m o r et h a n w a s a b s o l u t e l ynecessary? The householdwas reduced fur ther ; themaid was now dismissedaf te r a l l , and a g igan t icb o n y [ 1 6 7 ] c h a r w o m a nwith white hair f lutteringa r o u n d h e r h e a d w o u l dcome every morning andevening to do the heaviestc h o r e s . E v e r y t h i n g e l s ewas taken care of by them o t h e r a l o n g w i t h h e rg r e a t a m o u n t o fn e e d l e w o r k . I t e v e nh a p p e n e d t h a t v a r i o u si tems of fami ly jewel ry,which mother and s i s te rh a d o n c e b l i s s f u l l ys p o r t e d a t c e l e b r a t i o n sand festivit ies, were nowbeing sold off, as Gregorl e a r n e d i n t h e e v e n i n g s

anim a r l o a c a m b i a r e l s i -l l ó n p o r l a c a m a . Ya p o -d í a n l a m a d r e y l a h e r m a -n a i nsistirle con breves ex-hortaciones, él se pasaba uncuarto de hora entero me-neando lentamente la cabe-za con los ojos cerrados yno se levantaba. La madrel e t i r a b a d e l a m a n g a ,diciéndole al oído palabrascariñosas, la hermana deja-ba su trabajo para ayudar ala madre, pero nada de estotenía efecto sobre el padre,que se hundía aún más pro-f u n d a m e n t e e n s u s i l l ó n .Solo cuando ambas mujereslo sujetaban por las axilas,él abría los ojos y, mirandoalternativamente a la madre ya la hermana, sol ía decir :«¡Qué vida! ¡Y pensar que estaes la tranquilidad de mi ve-jez!». Y, apoyándose en las dosmujeres, se levantaba penosa-mente, como si él fuese parasí mismo la carga más pesada,se dejaba llevar por ellas has-ta la puerta, donde les indicabapor señas que lo dejasen, yproseguía solo, [76] mientrasla madre soltaba rápidamentesus útiles de costura y la her-mana su pluma, para corrertras el padre y seguir prestán-dole ayuda.

¿Quién, en esa familia ago-tada por el trabajo y rendida decansancio, podía tener tiempopara ocuparse de Gregor másde lo estrictamente necesario?El presupuesto familiar sei b a r e d u c i e n d o c a d a v e zm á s ; l a c r i a d a f u e f i n a l -m e n t e d e s p e d i d a ; u n aa s i s t e n t a g i g a n t e s c a yhuesuda, de pelo blanco ydesgreñado, empezó a venirpor la mañana y por la tardea hacer los trabajos más du-ros; de todo el resto se en-cargaba la madre, además desus numerosas labores decostura. Llegaron incluso avender una serie de joyas dela familia que, tiempo atrás,la madre y la hermana ha-bían lucido muy contentas enfiestas y celebraciones, se-gún se enteró Gregor unanoche en que comentaban losprecios conseguidos. Pero lamayor queja guardaba siem-

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

But the loudest complaint wasthat although the flat was much

t o o b i g f o r t h e i r p r e s e n tcircumstances, they could not

move out of it, there was noimaginable way of transferring

Gregor to the new address. Hecould see quite well, though,

that there were more reasonsthan consideration for him thatmade it difficult for them to

move, it would have been quiteeasy to transport him in any

suitable crate with a few airho les in i t ; the main th ing

holding the family back fromtheir decis ion to move was

much more to do with theirtotal despair, and the thoughtthat they had been struck with

a misfortune unlike anythingexperienced by anyone else

they knew or were related to.They carr ied out absolute ly

e v e r y t h i n g t h a t t h e w o r l dexpec t s f rom poo r peop l e ,

Gregor’s father brought bankemployees the i r b reak fas t ,

his mother sacrif iced herselfb y w a s h i n g c l o t h e s f o rstrangers, his s is ter ran back

and for th behind her desk a tthe behes t of the cus tomers ,

bu t t hey ju s t d id no t havethe s t rength to do any more .

And the in jury in Gregor ’sback began to hur t as much

as when i t was new. Af t e rt h e y h a d c o m e b a c k f r o mt a k i n g h i s f a t h e r t o b e d

Gregor ’s mother and s i s te rwould now leave the i r work

where i t was and s i t c losetogether, cheek to cheek; his

m o t h e r w o u l d p o i n t t oG r e g o r ’s r o o m a n d s a y

“ C l o s e t h a t d o o r, G r e t e ” ,and then, when he was in the

dark again, they would si t inthe next room and their tearswould mingle, or they would

s imply s i t there s tar ing dry-eyed a t the table .

G r e g o r h a r d l y s l e p t a t

a l l , e i t h e r n i g h t o r d a y.Somet imes he wou ld th ink

of t ak ing over the fami ly ’saffa i r s , jus t l ike before , then e x t t i m e t h e d o o r w a s

o p e n e d ; h e h a d l o n gforgot ten about his boss and

t h e c h i e f c l e r k , b u t t h e yw o u l d a p p e a r a g a i n i n h i s

though t s , the sa lesmen and

mayor motivo de lamentaciónconsist ía siempre en laimposibilidad de dejar aquelpiso, demasiado grande ya enlas actuales circunstancias;pues no había modo alguno demudar a Gregorio. Pero biencomprendía éste que él no erael verdadero impedimentopara la mudanza, ya que se lepodía haber transportado fá-cilmente en un cajón, con talque tuviese un par de aguje-ros por donde respirar. No; loque detenía principalmente ala familia, en aquel trance demudanza, era la desespera-ción que ello le infundía al te-ner que concretar la idea deque había sido azotada poruna desgracia, inaudita hastaentonces en todo el círculode sus parientes y conocidos.Hubieron de apurar hasta lahez el cáliz que el mundo im-pone a los desventurados: elpadre tenía que ir a buscar eldesayuno del humilde emplea-do de Banco; la madre, que sa-crificarse por ropas de extra-ños; la hermana, que correr deacá para allá detrás [79] delmostrador, conforme lo exi-gían los clientes. Pero las fuer-zas de la familia no daban yamás de sí. Y Gregorio sentíarenovarse el dolor de la heri-da que tenía en la espalda,cuando la madre y la herma-na, después de acostar al pa-dre, tornaban al comedor yabandonaban el trabajo parasentarse muy cerca una de otra,casi mejilla con mejilla. Lamadre señalaba hacia la habi-tación de Gregorio y decía:

—Grete, cierra esa puerta.Y Gregorio hallábase de nuevo

sumido en la oscuridad, mientras, enla habitación contigua, las mujeresconfundían sus lágrimas, o se queda-ban mirando fijamente a la mesa, conlos ojos secos.

Las noches y los días deGregorio deslizábanse sinque el sueño tuviese apenaspar te en e l los . A veces ,ocurríasele pensar que iba aabrirse la puerta de su cuarto,y que él iba a encargarse denuevo, como antes, de losasuntos de la familia. Por sumente volvieron a cruzar, traslargo tiempo, el jefe y el ge-

p e r s i s t e n t l a m e n t w a stha t they cou ld no t l eaveth i s apar tment , much tool a r g e f o r t h e i r p r e s e n tn e e d s , b e c a u s e i t w a si n c o n c e i v a b l e h o wGregor was to be moved .B u t G r e g o r f u l l yc o m p r e h e n d e d t h a t i tw a s n o t o n l y c o n -s i d e r a t i o n f o r h i m t h a tp reven ted a move , fo r hec o u l d e a s i l y h a v e b e e nt r a n s p o r t e d i n a s u i t a b l ec r a t e w i t h a f e wa i r h o l e s ; w h a t t r u l yh i n d e r e d t h e m w a s a nu t t e r h o p e l e s s n e s s a n dt h e b e l i e f t h a t a p l i g h thad be fa l l en them un l ikea n y o t h e r t h a t h a d b e e nv i s i t e d u p o n t h e i rf r i e n d s o r r e l a t i v e s .T h e y c a r r i e d o u t t h eworld’s demands on poorpeople to the extreme: Thefather fetched breakfast forthe minor bank clerks, themother sacrificed herself tothe underwear of strangers,the s is ter ran to and f rob e h i n d t h e c o u n t e r a tcustomers’ beck and call,but beyond this the familyhad no more strength. Andthe wound in Gregor’s backb e g a n t o h u r t a n e wwhenever the mother ands i s t e r, a f t e r p u t t i n g t h efather to bed, returned tothe table, left their workid le , drew c lose to eacho t h e r , a n d s a t c h e e k t ocheek, and whenever themother, po in t ing towardGregor ’s room, now said:“ G o s h u t t h a t d o o r ,G r e t e , ” a n d G r e g o r w a sin darkness a g a i n w h i l en e x t d o o r t h e w o m e nm i n g l e d t h e i r t e a r s o rs t a r e d d r y - e y e d a t t h et a b l e .

Gregor spent the daysand nights almost entirelywithout sleep. Sometimeshe mul led over the ideathat the next time the dooro p e n e d h e w o u l d t a k ec o n t r o l o f t h e f a m i l yaffairs as he had done inthe past; these musings ledhim once more after sucha long interval to conjure

g r o s s u j e t d e p l a i n t e é t a i tt o u j o u r s q u ’ i l é t a i t

i m p o s s i b l e d e q u i t t e rl ’ a p p a r t e m e n t , d e v e n u t r o p

g r a n d d a n s l a s i t u a t i o na c t u e l l e , p a r c e q u ’ o n n e

p o u v a i t p a s e n v i s a g e r l et r a n s p o r t d e G r e g o r. A v r a i

d i re , Gregor comprenai t b ienque ce n’é ta i t pas sa présenceq u i c o n s t i t u a i t l e p r i n c i p a l

obs tac le à un déménagement ,car on aura i t pu fac i lement le

t r a n s p o r t e r d a n s u n e c a i s s ea p p r o p r i é e , a v e c d e s t r o u s

pour lui permettre de respirer;c e q u i e m p ê c h a i t s u r t o u t l a

f a m i l l e d e c h a n g e r d edomici le , é ta i t b ien p lu tô t les e n t i m e n t d e d é s e s p o i r e t

l ’ i d é e q u ’ i l s a v a i e n t é t éf rappés par un malheur sans

exemple dans leur parenté e tdans l eu r mi l i eu . Toutes les

o b l i g a t i o n s q u e l e m o n d eimpose aux pauvres gens, i ls

les accomplissaient à fond : lepère allait chercher le déjeuner

d e s p e t i t s e m p l o y é s d e l ab a n q u e , l a m è r e s e t u a i t àc o u d r e d u l i n g e p o u r d e s

é t r a n g e r s , l a s o e u r c o u r a i td e r r i è r e s o n c o m p t o i r p o u r

répondre aux ordres des clients,mais leurs forces ne pouvaient

pas a l le r au-de là . E t Gregorrecommençait à souffrir de sa

blessure dans le dos, quand samère et sa soeur, après avoiramené son père jusqu’à son lit,

r e v e n a i e n t d a n s l a s a l l e ,l a i s s a i e n t l à l e u r o u v r a g e ,

r app rocha ien t l eu r s cha ises ,restaient joue contre joue, puis

quand la mère, en désignant laporte de Gregor, disait à Grete :

« Allons! C’est le moment defermer!» et qu’il se trouvait à

nouveau dans le noir, tandis que,dans la pièce à côté, les femmesmêla ien t l eurs l a rmes ou

gardaient les yeux fixés sur latable, sans même verser un pleur.

Gregor passait les jours et

les nuits presque entièrementsans sommeil. II lui arrivait de

penser que, la prochaine foisq u e l a p o r t e s ’ o u v r i r a i t , i lrecommencerai t , tout comme

autrefois, à reprendre en mainles affaires de la famil le; un

jour, après que bien du tempseut passé, i l revit en pensée le

patron et le fondé de pouvoir,

veillée. Mais le plus grossujet de plainte était surtoutcet appartement devenu tropcoûteux pour la bourse duménage et qu’on ne pouvaitquitter à cause de Grégoiredont on n’a r r iva i t pas àimaginer le transport. Hélas!Grégoire comprenait bienque ce n ’é ta ien t pas l eségards qu’on lui devait quiconsti tuaient le principalobstacle à ce déménageaient,car on aurait très bien pu lefa i re voyager dans unebonne ca i sse en bo ispourvue de trous d’aération;non, le principal obstacle,c ’é ta i t l e désespo i r dessiens, l’idée qu’ils avaientété frappés d’un malheurunique dans les annales deleur famille et de leur milieu.De toutes les obligations quele monde impose aux pauvres,aucune maintenant ne leur étaitépargnée; le père allait chercherle déjeuner des petits employésde la banque, la mère se tuait àlaver le linge des étrangers; lasoeur manoeuvrait en cadencederrière son comptoir aucommandement des clients;mais il ne fallait pas leurdemander [65] autre chose;leurs forces n’y auraient passuffi. Il semblait au pauvreGrégoire que sa blessure secouvrît quand sa mère et sasoeur, revenant de coucher lepère, laissaient leur ouvrage endétresse, approchaient leurschaises l’une de l’autre,s’installaient presque joue contrejoue, et que la mère disait enmontrant la chambre deGrégoire : «Ferme donc laporte, Grete», et qu’il seretrouvait dans l’ombre tandisque de l’autre côté les deuxfemmes mêlaient leurs larmesou, pis, restaient à fixer latable d’un oeil sec.

Grégoire passait des jours etdes nui ts sans dormir. I lsongeait de temps en temps àreprendre en main commeautrefois les affaires de lafamille , dès que la portes’ouvrirait; au bout d’unelongue éclipse il vit défiler unjour dans sa mémoire sonpatron et son gérant, les commiset les apprentis-calicots, le

c h i e f c o m p l a i n t w a salways that they could notg i v e u p t h e a p a r t m e n t ,which was far too big fort h e i r p r e s e n tcircumstances, since it wasimpossible to imagine howGregor could be moved.But Gregor realised that itwas not only concern forhim that prevented a move,for i t would have been asimple matter to transporthim in a suitable crate witha few air-holes; the mainreason that prevented thefamily f rom moving wasra ther a fee l ing of u t te rh o p e l e s s n e s s a n d t h ethought that they had beenaffl icted by a misfortunethat none of their friendsa n d r e l a t i v e s h a d e v e rsuffered. What the worldrequires of impoverishedpeople they fulfilled to theutmost; his father fetchedb reak fa s t f o r t he mino rofficials at the bank; hismother sacrif iced herselfmak ing unde rwea r fo rstrangers, his sister ran backand forth behind the counterat her customers’ command,bu t to do any more wasbeyond the family’s power.And the wound in Gregor’sback began to hurt all overaga in when mo the r andsister, having put his fatherto bed , now came back ,dropped their work, pulledtheir chairs close togetherand sa t cheek to cheek ;when his mother, indicatingG r e g o r ’s r o o m , s a i d ,‘ C l o s e t h a t d o o r ,G r e t e ’ ; a n d w h e nG r e g o r w a s a g a i n i n t h ed a r k , w h i l e i n t h e n e x tr o o m t h e w o m e n w e p tt o g e t h e r o r j u s t s t a r e dd r y - e y e d a t t h e t a b l e .

Gregor spent the nightsand days almost ent i re lywithout sleep. Sometimeshe thought that the next timethe door [46] opened hewould take charge of thefamily’s affairs again just asbefore; after a long intervalthe head of the firm and the chiefclerk reappeared in his thoughts,together with the other clerks

f r o m t h e g e n e r a ldiscussions of the pricesthey had obtained. Theirg r e a t e s t p e r s i s t e n tcomplaint, though, was thatsince they could hit on noway of moving Gregor, theyc o u l d n o t g i v e u p t h i sapartment, which was muchtoo large for their presentc i r c u m s t a n c e s . G regor,however, realized it was notjust their consideration forhim that held them back, forthey could have easi lytransported him in a suitablecrate with a couple of airholes in it. The main obstacleto the family’s relocation wastheir utter despair and theirsense of being struck by amisfortune like no one elseamong their friends and-re la t ives . Whatever thewor ld demands of poorpeople, they carried out toa n e x t r e m e : t h e f a t h e rfetched breakfast for them i n o r b a n k t e l l e r s , t h emother sacrificed herself tounderwear for strangers,the sister, ordered aroundby customers, ran back andforth behind the counter.But those were the limits ofthe family’s strength. Andthe injury in Gregor’s backs t a r t e d h u r t i n g a g a i nw h e n e v e r m o t h e r a n dsister, having returned fromgetting the father to bed,ignored their work as theyhuddled together cheek toc h e e k , a n d t h e m o t h e r,poin t ing toward Gregor’sr o o m , n o w s a i d :“ C l o s e t h a t d o o r ,G r e t e , ” s o t h a t G r e g o rw a s b a c k i n t h e d a r k ,w h i l e t h e w o m e n i n t h en e x t r o o m m i n g l e d t h e i rt e a r s o r p e e r e d d r y - e y e da t t h e t a b l e . [ 1 6 8 ]

Gregor spent his nightsand days almost ent i re lywithout sleep. Occasionallyhe decided that the nexttime the door opened, hew o u l d t a k e o v e r t h efamily’s affairs as in thep a s t . N o w, a f t e r a l o n gabsence, the director andt h e o f f i c e m a n a g e rreappeared in his thoughts,

p re re lac ión con e l hechode que no podían de jar esepiso excesivamente grandee n l a s c i r c u n s t a n c i a s a c -t u a l e s , p u e s n o l o g r a b a nimag ina r se cómo podr í ant ras ladar a Gregor. Gregorse daba per fec ta cuen ta deque no so lo e ra l a cons i -d e r a c i ó n h a c i a é l l o q u eimpedía un t r as lado , pueshubie ran pod ido t ranspor -t a r l o f á c i l m e n t e e n u n ac a j a a d e c u a d a c o n u n o scuantos agujeros para res-pirar ; lo que realmente im-pedía a la famil ia cambiar-se de piso era más bien laa b s o l u t a d e s e s p e r a c i ó n yla idea de haber s ido gol-peados por una desgrac ias i n p a r a n g ó n e n t o d o s ucí rculo de par ientes y co-nocidos . Todo cuanto el [77]mundo exige de la gente pobrelo cumplían ellos con creces:el padre llevaba el desayuno alos pequeños empleados de unbanco, la madre se sacrificabapor la ropa interior de genteextraña, la hermana corría de-trás de un mostrador de un ladopara otro a petición de losclientes; pero las fuerzas de lafamilia ya no daban para más.Y la herida en la espalda deGregor empezaba a dolerlecomo el primer día cuando lamadre y la hermana, despuésde haber acostado al padre,volvían a la sala de estar, de-jaban sus labores y se acerca-ban la una a la otra hasta que-dar mejil la contra mejil la;cuando la madre, señalando lahabitación de Gregor, decía:«Cierra esa puerta, Grete», ycuando Gregor se quedabade nuevo a oscuras, mientrasal lado las mujeres confun-dían sus lágrimas o se que-daban mirando fijamente lamesa, sin llorar.

Gregor pasaba l a s no -ches y los días casi sin dor-mir. A veces pensaba que, lapróxima vez que se abriesela puer ta , é l se har ía otravez cargo, como sol ía , delos asuntos famil iares ; ensus pensamientos volvían aaparecer, después de muchotiempo, el jefe y el gerente,los dependientes y los apren-

103102

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

the appren t ices , tha t s tupidt eaboy, two or th ree f r i ends

f rom o the r bus iness e s , o n eo f t h e c h a m b e r m a i d s f r o m

a p r o v i n c i a l h o t e l , at e n d e r m e m o r y t h a t

a p p e a r e d a n d d i s a p p e a r e da g a i n , a c a s h i e r f r o m a h a t

s h o p f o r w h o m h i sa t t e n t i o n h a d b e e n s e r i o u sb u t t o o s l o w, - a l l o f t h e m

a p p e a r e d t o h i m , m i x e dt o g e t h e r w i t h s t r a n g e r s

a n d o t h e r s h e h a df o rg o t t e n , b u t i n s t e a d o f

h e l p i n g h i m a n d h i sf a m i l y t h e y w e r e a l l o f

t h e m i n a c c e s s i b l e , a n d h ew a s g l a d w h e n t h e yd i s a p p e a r e d . O t h e r t i m e s

h e w a s n o t a t a l l i n t h em o o d t o l o o k a f t e r h i s

f a m i l y, h e w a s f i l l e d w i t hs i m p l e r a g e a b o u t t h e l a c k

o f a t t e n t i o n h e w a s s h o w n ,a n d a l t h o u g h h e c o u l d

t h i n k o f n o t h i n g h e w o u l dh a v e w a n t e d , h e m a d e

p l a n s o f h o w h e c o u l d g e ti n t o t h e p a n t r y w h e r e h ec o u l d t a k e a l l t h e t h i n g s

h e w a s e n t i t l e d t o , e v e n i fh e w a s n o t h u n g r y .

G r e g o r ’s s i s t e r n o l o n g e rt h o u g h t a b o u t h o w s h e

c o u l d p l e a s e h i m b u tw o u l d h u r r i e d l y p u s h s o m e

f o o d o r o t h e r i n t o h i s r o o mw i t h h e r f o o t b e f o r e s h er u s h e d o u t t o w o r k i n t h e

m o r n i n g a n d a t m i d d a y ,a n d i n t h e e v e n i n g s h e

w o u l d sw e e p i t away aga inwith the broom, indifferent as to

whether it had been eaten or -more often than not - had been

left totally untouched. She stillc l e a r ed up t he room in t he

evening, but now she could nothave been any quicker about it.Smears of dirt were left on the

walls, here and there were li ttleballs of dust and filth. At first,

Gregor went in to one of theworst of these places when his

sister arrived as a reproach toher, but he could have stayed

the re fo r weeks wi thou t h i ssister doing anything about i t ;she could see the dirt as well

a s h e c o u l d b u t s h e h a ds imply decided to leave h im

to i t . A t the same t ime shebecame touchy in a way that

w a s q u i t e n e w f o r h e r a n d

rente, el dependiente y elaprendiz, aquel ordenanza tancerril, dos o tres amigos quetenía en otros comercios, unacamarera de una fonda provin-ciana, y un recuerdo amado ypasajero: el de una cajera deuna sombrerería, a quien había[80] formalmente pretendido,pero sin bastante apremio...Todas estas personasaparecíansele confundidas conotras extrañas ha tiempo olvi-dadas; mas ninguna podíaprestarle ayuda, ni a él ni a lossuyos. Eran todas inasequi-bles, y se sentía aliviado cuan-do lograba desechar su recuer-do. Y, después, perdía también‘el humor de preocuparse porsu familia, y solo sentía haciaella la irritación producida porla poca atención que se le dis-pensaba. No se le ocurría pen-sar en nada que le apeteciera;empero, fraguaba planes parallegar hasta la despensa y apo-derarse, aunque sin hambre, delo que en todo caso le perte-necía de derecho. La hermanano se preocupaba ya de idearlo que más había de agradar-le; antes de marchar a su tra-bajo, por la mañana y por latarde, empujaba con el piecualquier comida en el interiordel cuarto, y luego, al regre-sar, sin fijarse siquiera siGregorio solo había probado lacomida -lo cual era lo más fre-cuente- o si ni siquiera lahabía tocado, recogía losrestos de un escobaz o . E la r r e g l o d e l a h a b i t a -c i ó n , q u e s i e m p r e t e -n í a l u g a r d e n o c h e , n op o d í a a s i m i s m o s e rm á s r á p i d o . L a s p a r e -d e s e s t a b an cubier tas demugre , y e l po lvo [ 81] yl a b a s u r aa m o n t o n á b a n s e e n l o sr i n c o n e s . E n l o s p r i -m e r o s t i e m p o s , a l e n -t r a r l a h e r m a n a ,G r e g o r i o s e s i t u a b ap r e c i s a m e n t e e n e l r i n -c ó n e n q u e l a p o r q u e -r í a l e r e s u l t a b a m á sp a t e n t e . Pero ahora po-día haber permanecido allísemanas enteras sin que poreso la hermana se hubieseaplicado más, pues veía laporquería tan bien como él,

up the figures of the boss,t h e h e a d c l e r k , t h esalesmen, the apprentices,the dul lard o f an off icemessenger, two or th reefriends from other firms, asweet and fleeting memoryof a chambermaid in one ofthe rural hotels, a cashierin a milliner ’s shop whomhe had wooed earnestly butt o o s l o w l y — t h e y a l lappeared mixed up wi ths t r a n g e r s o r n e a r l yf o rg o t t e n p e o p l e , b u tinstead of helping him andhis family they were each andevery one unapproachab l e , andhe was relieved when theye v a p o r a t e d . T h e n o t h e rt i m e s h e c o u l d n o t b ebothered to worry about hisfamily, he was filled withr a g e a t t h e i r m i s e r a b l etreatment of him, and event h o u g h h e c o u l d n o ti m a g i n e a n y t h i n g t h a tmight spark his appetite hestill devised plans to raidthe pantry and, even if hewas no t hungry, ge t t hefood due him. No longerconcerning herself aboutw h a t G r e g o r m i g h tpart icularly care for, thesister hast i ly shoved anyold food through the door[40] to Gregor’s room withher foot, both morning andnoon before she raced towork, and in the eveningcleared it all out with onesweep of the broom,indifferent to whether thefood had only been tastedor-as was most frequently thecase- lef t complete lyuntouched. The cleaning ofhis room, which she nowalways did in the evening,could not have been morecursory. Grimy dirt streakedthe walls, layers of dust andfilth had settled everywhere.At first, whenever the sistercame in, he would stationhimself in cornersparticularly offensive in thisrespect as if to impart somereproach. B u t h e c o u l dh a v e w a i t e d t h e r e f o rweeks wi thout the s is ters h o w i n g a n yimprovement ; she cou ldsee the dirt just as well as

les commis et les apprentis, lega rçon de bu reau , qu i ava i t

l’intelligence si courte , deuxou t rois amis employés dans

d’autres magasins, une femmede chambre dans un hôtel de

province - un souvenir fugitif ,qu i lu i é ta i t r es té cher - , l a

caissière d’une chapellerie, àl a q u e l l e i l a v a i t f a i ts é r i e u s e m e n t , m a i s t r o p

lentement , la cour - tous lu irevinrent à l’esprit, mêlés à des

étrangers ou à des gens qu’ilavait perdus de vue; mais au

l i e u d e v e n i r e n a i d e à s afamille ou à lui-même, i ls se

détournaient tous de lui et il sefélicitait de les voir disparaîtrede sa pensée. Une autre fois, i l

n’était plus du tout d’humeurà s’occuper de sa famille; il n’y

a v a i t p l u s e n l u i q u e d e l afureur à cause du manque de

soins dans lequel on le laissait,e t , b i e n q u ’ i l n e p û t r i e n

i m a g i n e r q u i f û t c a p a b l ed ’ e x c i t e r s a f a i m , i l

f o r g e a i t d e s p l a n s p o u rf a i r e i r r u p t i o n à l ’ o f f i c ea f i n d ’ y p r e n d r e t o u t c e

q u i , m a l g r é s o n m a n q u ed ’ a p p é t i t , l u i r e v e n a i t d e

d r o i t . L e m a t i n e t à m i d i ,a v a n t d e p a r t i r p o u r s o n

t r a v a i l e t s a n s m ê m e s ed e m a n d e r c e q u i p o u r r a i t

f a i r e u n q u e l c o n q u e p l a i s i rà G r e g o r , s a s o e u r p o u s s a i td u p i e d d a n s s a c h a m b r e l a

p r e m i è r e n o u r r i t u r e v e n u e ,e t l a p o u s s a i t l e s o i r d ’ u n

coup de balai , sans se soucierde savoir s’il y avait goûté ou

s ’ i l l ’ a v a i t l a i s s é e s a n s ytoucher, ce qui était le cas le plus

fréquent. Quant au nettoyage dela chambre, auquel maintenant

elle procédait toujours le soir, ileût été difficile d’y passer moinsde temps. Des traces de saleté

sillonnaient les murs, des petitstas de pouss iè re e t d ’ordure

traînaient ici ou là. Les premierstemps, Gregor s’installait dans

les coins les plus caractéristiquesde ce point de vue, au moment de

l’arrivée de sa soeur, pour luiexprimer de la sorte une manièrede reproche. Mais i l aurai t pu

y rester des semaines ent ièressans que sa soeur eût amélioré

sa façon de faire; el le voyaitl a sa le té auss i b ien que lu i ,

mais el le étai t bien décidée à

domestique aux idées courtes,deux ou trois amis qui étaientemployés dans d’autres maisonsde commerce, une bonne d’hôtelprovincial, souvenir fugitif etcher, et une caissière dechapellerie qu’il avaitrecherchée d’une façon sérieusemais trop lente; ces genspassaient dans un brouillard oùse mêlaient confusément desphysionomies étrangères et desfigures perdues de vue; maisaucun ne pouvait lui portersecours ni à lui ni à sa famille; iln’y avait rien à tirer d’eux, et ilfut content de les voir partir. Cedéfilé lui avait ôté toute enviede s’occuper des siens; il nesongeait plus au contraire qu’àrager contre eux parce qu’ilsnégligeaient son pansage et,bien [66] que rien d’imaginablene parvînt à exciter son. appétit,il se plaisait à combiner unedescente à l’office en, vue d’yexercer un droit de reprise surles aliments qui lui revenaientmême s’il n’avait pas faim.Maintenant sa soeur necherchait plus à deviner ce quiaurait pu lui. faire plaisir; elleapparaissait en coup de ventdeux fois par jour, le matin etl’agrès-midi, avant d’aller aumagasin, et lui poussait du piedun morceau de n’importe quoipar la porte; le soir, sans mêmes’inquiéter de savoir s’il avaittouché à cette pitance ou s’il l’avaitlaissée intacte - ce qui était devenucourant - elle en faisait disparaîtreles restes d’un coup de balai.Quant au nettoyage de lachambre, auquel el leprocédait maintenant le soir,il ne pouvait être enlevé defaçon plus expéditive : deszones de crasse s’allongeaientsur les murs, de petits tas depoussière et d’orduress’accumulaient dans tous lescoins . L e s p r e m i e r st e m p s G r é g o i r e s ’ é t a i ti n s t a l l é a u x e n d r o i t sl e s p l u s m a l p r o p r e s a um o m e n t d e l ’ a r r i v é e d es a s o e u r , p o u r l u ia p p a r a î t r e a i n s i c o m m eun reproche. Mais il auraitb i e n p u r e s t e r l à d e ssemaines sans que Gretechangeât jamais r ien à sac o n d u i t e ; e l l e v o y a i t l asaleté aussi bien que lui ,

and the apprentices, theexceptionally dim-wittederrand-boy, two or threefriends from other firms, achamberma id i n aprovincia l hote l , a fond,fleeting memory, a cashierin a hat shop whom he hadcourted earnestly but tooslowly -they all appeared,intermingled with strangersor people he had alreadyforgot ten, but ins tead ofhelping him and his family,they were all inaccessible,and he was glad when theydisappeared. But at othertimes he was in no mood toworry about his family, hewas consumed by fury athow badly he was be inglooked after, and althoughhe could think of nothingthat he might like to eat, henonetheless laid plans forgaining access to the larder,to take what was h is byr igh t s , even t hough hewasn’t hungry. No longerconsidering how she mightgive Gregor a special treat,his sister would shove anyold food into his room withher foot, before running offto work every morning anda f t e rnoon , and i n t heeven ing , r ega rd l e s s o fwhether the food had merelybeen picked at or as wasmost frequently the case -left completely untouched,she s w e p t i t o u t w i t h as w i s h o f h e r b r o o m .T h e c l e a n i n g o f t h er o o m , w h i c h s h e n o wa l w a y s a t t e n d e d t o i nt h e e v e n i n g s , c o u l d n o th a v e b e e n d o n e m o r es p e e d i l y . S t r e a k s o fd i r t l i n e d t h e w a l l s ,h e a p s o f d u s t a n d f i l t hl ay he re and the re on thef loo r. A t f i r s t , wheneve rh i s s i s t e r c a m e i n ,G r e g o r w o u l d s t a t i o nhimsel f in corners of ther o o m t h a t w e r ep a r t i c u l a r l y f i l t h y ,implying by this po s i t i ona s o r t o f r ep roach . B uthe could probably havestayed there for weekswithout his sister mendingher ways; she saw the dirt justas clearly as he did, but had

the clerks and the trainees,the dim-witted errand boy,two or three friends fromother companies , achambermaid in a provincialho te l , a d e a r , f l e e t i n gm e m o r y, a m i l l i n e r ’sc a s h i e r w h o m h e h a dcourted earnestly but tooslowly-they all reappeared,mingling with strangers orforgotten people. Yet ratherthan helping him and hisfamily, they were all unap-p r o a c h a b l e , a n d h e w a sglad when they dwindledaway. At other moments, hewas in no mood to worryabout h i s fami ly-he wasf i l led wi th sheer rage a tbeing poorly looked after;and although unable to pic-ture anything that mighttempt his appetite, he didt r y t o d e v i s e w a y s o fgetting into the pantry and,while not hungry, takingwha t was u l t ima te ly h i sdue. No longer paying anyheed to what might be aspecial treat for Gregor,the sister, before hurryingoff to work in the morningand after lunch, would useh e r f o o t t o s h o v e s o m erandom food into Gregor’sroom. Then, in the evening,indifferent as to whetherthe food had been merelytas ted or -mos t o f ten thec a s e - l e f t e n t i r e l yu n t o u c h e d , s h e w o u l dsweep it out with a swingo f t h e b r o o m . S h ew o u l d n o w t i d y u pt h e r o o m i n t h ee v e n i n g , a n d s h ec o u l d n o t h a v e d o n ei t a n y f a s t e r . G r i m ys t r e a k s l i n e d t h ew a l l s , k n o t s o f d u s ta n d f i l t h l i t t e r e d t h ef l o o r . I n t h eb e g i n n i n g , w h e n t h es i s t e r a r r i v e d ,G r e g o r w o u l d s t a t i o nh i m s e l f i n s u c hp a r t i c u l a r l yo f f e n s i v e c o r n e r s a si f t o c h i d e h e r . B u t hecould have waited there forweeks on end without hermaking [169] anyimprovement; she certainlysaw the dirt as clearly as he

dices, el mozo de los reca-dos , t an duro de mol le ra ,dos o tres amigos de otrast iendas, la camarera de unhotel de provincias, un re-cue rdo t i e rno y fugaz , l acajera de una sombrerería ala que había cortejado se-riamente, aunque con exce-siva lentitud; todos ellos sele aparecían mezclados congente extraña o ya olvida-da, pero en vez de ayudar-lo a él y [78] a su familia,eran todos inaccesibles , yGregor se alegraba cuandodesaparecían. Después, esosí , ya no estaba de humorp a r a p r e o c u p a r s e p o r s ufami l i a , so lo sen t ía rab iapor el mal cuidado que ledispensaban, y aunque nopodía imaginarse nada quedespertase su apetito, hacíaplanes sobre cómo l legar ala despensa para coger al l ít odo l o que , de hecho , yaunque no tuviera hambre,le correspondía. Sin poner-se a pensar ya con qué po-dría darle un gusto part icu-la r a Gregor, la hermana,antes de irse a trabajar porla mañana y a l mediodía ,empujaba a toda prisa conel pie cualquier pi tanza alin te r io r de l a hab i t ac ión ,para luego , por l a noche ,s i n f i j a r s e s i é l l a h a b í ap r o b a d o o - y e s t e e r a e lcaso más f recuen te - s i l ah a b í a d e j a d o i n t a c t a , r e -cogerla de un escobazo . Lalim p i e z a d e l a h a b i t a -c i ó n , q u e a h o r a r e a l i -z a b a s i e m p r e p o r l an o c h e , n o h u b i e r a p o -d i d o h a c e r s e m á s d e -p r i s a . F r a n j a s d e m u -g r e r e c o r r í a n l a s p a r e -d e s , y a q u í y a l l á s ev e í a n o v i l l o s d e p o l v oy s u c i e d a d . A l p r i n c i -p i o , G r e g o r s e c o l o c a -b a e n a l g ú n r i n c ó n p a r -t i c u l a r m e n t e s u c i oc u a n d o l l e g a b a l a h e r -m a n a p a r a h a c e r l e a s í ,c o m o q u i e n d i c e , u nr e p r o c h e . Pero lo cierto esque habría podido quedarseallí semanas enteras sin que lahermana se apl icara; puesaunque veía la mugre tan biencomo él, había decidido no to-

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

w h i c h e v e r y o n e i n t h ef a m i l y u n d e r s t o o d -

c l e a n i n g u p G r e g o r ’ sr o o m w a s f o r h e r a n d h e r

a l o n e . G r e g o r ’ s m o t h e rd i d o n c e t h o r o u g h l y

c l e a n h i s r o o m , a n dn e e d e d t o u s e s e v e r a l

b u c k e t f u l s o f w a t e r t o d oi t - a l t h o u g h t h a t m u c hd a m p n e s s a l s o m a d e

G r e g o r i l l a n d h e l a y f l a to n t h e c o u c h , b i t t e r a n d

i m m o b i l e . B u t h i sm o t h e r w a s t o b e

p u n i s h e d s t i l l m o r e f o rw h a t s h e h a d d o n e , a s

h a r d l y h a d h i s s i s t e ra r r i v e d h o m e i n t h ee v e n i n g t h a n s h e n o t i c e d

t h e c h a n g e i n G r e g o r ’ sr o o m a n d , h i g h l y

a g g r i e v e d , r a n b a c k i n t ot h e l i v i n g r o o m w h e r e ,

d e s p i t e h e r m o t h e r s r a i s e da n d im plor ing hands , she

broke into convulsive tears .Her f a the r, o f cour se , was

start led out of his chair andthe two pa ren t s l ooked onastonished and helpless; then

they, too , became agi ta ted;Gregor ’s father, s tanding to

t h e r i g h t o f h i s m o t h e r,accused her o f no t l eav ing

t h e c l e a n i n g o f G r e g o r ’sroom to his s is ter ; from her

l e f t , G r e g o r ’s s i s t e rscreamed at her that she wasnever to clean Gregor’s room

again; while his mother tr iedto draw his father, who was

bes ide h imse l f wi th anger,into the bedroom; his s is ter,

quaking with tears , thumpedon the table with her small

f i s t s ; and Gregor h issed inanger that no-one had even

though t o f c los ing the doorto save h im the s igh t o f th i sand a l l i t s no i se .

G r e g o r ’s s i s t e r w a s

exhausted from going out tow o r k , a n d l o o k i n g a f t e r

Gregor as she had done beforewas even more work for her,

but even so his mother oughtcertainly not to have taken herplace. Gregor, on the other

h a n d , o u g h t n o t t o b eneglected. Now, though, the

charwoman was he re . Th i selderly widow, with a robust

bone structure that made her

carla. Al mismo tiempo sepreocupaba , con unasuscept ibi l idad totalmentenueva en ella y que, en gene-ral, se había apoderado detoda la familia, de que el arre-glo de la habitación de Gregorle estuviera reservado [79]solo a ella. En cierta ocasiónla madre sometió a una lim-pieza a fondo la habitación deGregor, cosa que solo consi-guió después de utilizar varioscubos de agua -tanta humedadmortificó también a Gregor, quepermaneció extendido sobre elsofá, inmóvil y amargado-,pero el castigo no tardó enllegar. Pues esa misma noche,en cuanto la hermana advir-tió el cambio en la habita-ción, se precipitó, profunda-mente ofendida, a la sala deestar y, pese a las manos dela madre levantadas en acti-tud implorante , estalló en unllanto convulsivo que los pa-dres -el padre, claro está, sedespertó sobresaltado en susillón- observaron primerocon asombro y sin saber quéhacer, hasta que también ellosempezaron a actuar; el padre,a su derecha, reprochaba a lamadre que no dejara en manosde la hermana la limpieza dela habitación de Gregor, y asu izquierda decía a gritos ala hermana que nunca máspermitiría que la limpiara; lamadre, mientras, intentaballevar al dormitorio al padre,que estaba fuera de sí por laexcitación; la hermana, presade fuertes sollozos, aporrea-ba la mesa con sus pequeñospuños, y Gregor silbaba rui-dosamente de pura rabia por-que a nadie se le ocurría ce-rrar la puerta y ahorrarle eseespectáculo y ese barullo.

D e t o d o s m o d o s , a u ncuando la hermana, agotadapor su trabajo en la tienda,estuviera ya harta de cuidarde Gregor como antes , l amadre no tenía por qué sus-tituirla ni tampoco hacía fal-ta que Gregor quedara aban-donado. Pues para eso esta-ba la [80] asistenta. Esa vie-ja v iuda , que en su l a rgavida debía de haber supera-do lo peor con ayuda de su

simply decided to leave itthere. At the same time shesaw to it, with a touchinessthat was quite new to her andwas [47] indeed affecting thewhole family, that thecleaning of Gregor’s roomshould remain herprerogative. On one occasionhis mother had undertaken athorough c leaning ofGregor’s room, which shehad only managed with thehelp of several buckets ofwater - all this dampness, ofcourse, upset Gregor, who laystretched out on the couch,sullen and immobile - but hismother d id not gounpunished. For as soon ashis sister noticed the changein Gregor ’s room thatevening, she ran into theliving-room, deeply hurt, anddespi te her mother ’simploringly uplifted hands,burst into a fit of sobbing thathis parents - his father ofcourse had been startled outof his chair - at first watchedin helpless amazement, untilthey too got exci ted; hisfa ther, to h is r ight ,reproached his mother for notleaving the c leaning ofGregor’s room to his sister;to his left, on the other hand,he yelled at his sister, sayingthat never again would she bepermitted to clean Gregor’sroom; while his mother triedto drag his father, who wasbeside himself with agitation,into the bedroom; his sister,shaken with sobs, hammeredthe table with her small fists;and Gregor hissed loudlywith rage, because nobodythought to close the door andspare him such a spectacleand row.

But even if his sister,worn out by her job, hadgrown tired of caring forGregor as she had once done,there was absolutely no needfor his mother to take herplace, and no reason forGregor to be neglected. Forthe cleaning woman was nowthere. This elderly widow,whose powerful frame had nodoubt helped her weather theworst in the course of her

s e u l e m e n t e l l e a v a i tdécidé une fois pour toutesde la laisser en place : voilà.Cela ne l’empêchait d’ailleurspas de veiller plus jalousementque jamais à ce qu’on luiconservât le monopole dunettoyage de la chambre; ceregain de susceptibilité s’étaitmontré contagieux; c’est [67]ainsi que la mère opéra un jourun grand lavage de la pièce quinécessita plusieurs seaux d’eau- et ce déluge mortifiaprofondément le pauvreGrégoire étalé sur son canapédans une immobilité amèremais la punition ne tarda pas.A peine la soeur, en rentrant lesoir, eut-e l le en effe tremarqué cette innovationque, se sentant profondémentoffensée, elle courut à la salleà manger pour y piquer unecrise de larmes malgré lessupplications de sa mèrequ i l ança i t l e s b ra s auxcieux; le père, assis, s’étaitl e v é e n s u r s a u t ; i l sa s s i s t è r e n t d ’ a b o r d a udésastre, lui et sa femme,a v e c u n é t o n n e m e n timpuissant; puis l’agitationles gagna; le père hurlanta t t r apa l a mère à d ro i t epour n’avoir pas laissé lesoin du nettoyage à la fille,et défendit à gauche à safille de jamais se risquer ànettoyer; la mère chercha àentraîner dans la chambre àcoucher le père affolé decolère; la fille, secouée desanglots, travaillait la tableavec ses petits poings, etGrégoire sifflait de rage detoutes ses forces en voyantque personne ne songeait àf e rmer l a fo r t e pour lu iépargner ce spectacle et cefracas.

D’ail leurs, s’ i l étai tdevenu trop pénible à la soeur,épuisée par le magasin, des’occuper aussisoigneusement qu’autrefoisde Grégoire, on aurait pus’arranger quand même pourne pas le négliger sansrecourir à la mère. On avait eneffet sous la main une femmede peine, une vieille veuveque sa charpente osseuseavait aidée à sortir des pires

ne pas y toucher. Et cependante l l e v e i l l a i t a v e c u n e

s u s c e p t i b i l i t é t o u t ep a r t i c u l i è r e , q u i s ’ é t a i t

emparée d’ailleurs de toute lafamille, à ce que lui fût réservé

l’entretien de la chambre. Unjour, la mère avait soumis la

chambre de Gregor à un grandnettoyage, qui avait nécessitéplusieurs seaux d’eau - toute

c e t t e h u m i d i t é a v a i td ’ a i l l e u r s é t é p o u r G r e g o r

une cause de sou ff r ance e t i lé t a i t r e s t é c o u c h é d e t o u t

s o n l o n g s u r l e c a n a p é ,im mobi le e t p le in d’a igreur -

m a i s l e c h â t i m e n t p o u r l am è r e n e s ’ é t a i t p a s f a i ta t t e n d r e . A p e i n e l a s o e u r

e u t - e l l e r e m a r q u é l echangement dans la chambre

d e G r e g o r q u e , s e s e n t a n tp ro fondément o f fensée , e l l e

courut dans la sa l le de sé joure t , en dépi t des adjurations de

la mère, qui levait les deux mainsvers le ciel, elle fut saisie d’une

crise de larmes, à laquelle lesparents - car le père, effrayé,s’était naturellement levé, lui

aussi, de sa chaise - assistèrentd’abord avec un é tonnement

impuissant; puis l’agitation lesgagna à leur tour ; le père , à

droite, faisait des reproches à lamère, parce qu’elle n’avait pas

la i s sé à sa f i l l e l e so in dunettoyage; à gauche, il interdisaità Grete de toucher désormais à la

chambre de Gregor ; i l ne seconna issa i t p lus à fo rce

d’énervement e t l a mèrecherchait à l’entraîner dans la

c h a m b r e à c o u c h e r ; G r e t e ,secouée de sanglots, tapait sur

la table avec ses petits poings;et Gregor sifflait de rage, parce

q u e p e r s o n n e n e s o n g e a i t àfermer la porte et à lui épargnerce spectacle et ce vacarme.

M a i s m ê m e s i l a s o e u r,

é p u i s é e p a r s o n t r a v a i lprofessionnel, s’était lassée de

s ’occuper de Gregor commeel le le fa isa i t auparavant , la

mère n’aurait pas eu besoin dele fa i re à sa p lace , sans queGregor fût pour autant négligé.

Car i l y ava i t main tenan t l afemme de peine. Cette vieille

v e u v e a v a i t s û r e m e n t d û ,charpentée comme elle était ,

supporter les pires épreuves au

h e , b u t s h e h a d s i m p l ymade up her mind to leaveit there. At the same time,with a test iness that wasnew to her and had in facto v e r t a k e n t h e w h o l efamily, she made certainthat this tidying remainedin her so le domain . Them o t h e r o n c e s u b j e c t e dGregor ’s room to thoroughcleaning that was effectedonly after many buckets ofwa te r - a l l t h i s dampnesssickened Gregor of course,and he lay sprawled on thes o f a , e m b i t t e r e d a n dimmobile-but the mother’spunishment was not far off.B e c a u s e a s s o o n a s t h esister noticed the change inG r e g o r ’s r o o m t h a tevening, she ran into theliving room deeply insultedand despi te the mother ’shands, raised imploringly,bu r s t i n to a f i t o f t e a r sw h i l e t h e a s t o n i s h e dp a r e n t s - t h e f a t h e r w a snatural ly shocked out ofh ; s c h a i r - l o o k e d o nh e l p l e s s l y . T h e n t h e yq u i c k l y s t a r t e d i n ; t h ef a t h e r a d m o n i s h e d t h emother to his right for nothaving left the cleaning ofGregor’s room to the sisterand shouted at the sister tohis left that she was nevera g a i n a l l o w e d t o c l e a nGregor ’s room; meanwhilethe mother tried to drag theoverexcited father to theb e d r o o m , t h e s i s t e rshaking with sobs beat hersmal l f i s t s on the tab le ,a n d G r e g o r h i s s e dfuriously because no onehad thought to c lose h isdoor and spare h im th i sracket and spectacle.

But even if the sister,worn out by her job, ceasedto tend to him as she usedto, there was no need forthe mother’s interventionor for Gregor to be at allneglected. For now therewas the charwoman. Thisold widow, who must haveweathered the worst in herlong life with the help ofher sturdy bone structure,w a s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y

pero estaba, por lo visto,decidida a dejarla. Con unasusceptibilidad en ella com-pletamente nueva, pero quese había extendido a toda lafamilia, no admitía que nin-guna otra persona intervi-niese en el arreglo de la ha-bitación. Un día, la madrequiso l impiar a fondo elcuarto de Gregorio, tareaque solo pudo llevar a cabocon varios cubos de agua -yverdad es que la humedad lehizo daño a Gregorio, queyacía amargado e inmóvildebajo del sofá-, mas el cas-tigo no se hizo esperar: ape-nas hubo advertido la her-mana, al regresar por la tar-de, el cambio operado en lahabitación, sintióse ofendi-da en lo más íntimo de suser, precipitóse en el come-dor, y, sin reparar en la ac-titud suplicante de la madre,rompió en una crisis de lágrimasque sobrecogió a los padres porcuanto tenía de extraña y des-consolada. Por fin, los padres -elpadre, [82] asustado, había dadoun brinco en su butaca- setranquilizaron; el padre, a laderecha de la madre,reprochábale el no haber cedi-do por entero a la hermana elcuidado de la habitación deGregorio; la hermana, a la iz-quierda, aseguraba a gritos queya no le sería posible encargar-se de aquella limpieza. Entretan-to, la madre quería llevarse a laalcoba al padre, que no podíacontener su excitación; la her-mana, sacudida por los sollozos,daba puñetazos en la mesa consus manitas, y Gregorio silbabade rabia, porque ninguno se ha-bía acordado de cerrar la puertay de ahorrarle el tormento deaquel espectáculo y aquel jollín.

Mas si la hermana, exte-nuada por el trabajo, hallábaseya cansada de cuidar aGregorio como antes, no teníapor qué remplazarla la ma-dre, ni Gregorio tenía por quésentirse abandonado, que ahíestaba la asistenta. Esta viu-da, harto crecida en años y aquien su huesuda constitu-ción debía haber permitidoresistir las mayores amargu-ras en el curso de su dilatada

did, but she had simply madeup her mind to leave it there.Never theless , wi th atouchiness that aside frombeing quite novel for her hadactually seized hold of theentire family, she made surethat this tidying-up remainedher bail iwick. Once, themother had subjectedGregor’s room to a majorcleansing, which hadrequired several buckets ofwater (the great dampness, ofcourse, made Gregor ill, andafterwards he sprawled onthe settee, embittered andimmobile). But the mother’spunishment was not long incoming. For that evening, theinstant the sister noticed thechange in Gregor’s room, sheran, deeply offended, intothe parlor, and even thoughthe mother raised her handsbeseechingly, the sister hada crying fit. The father was,naturally, startled out of hisarmchair, and both parentsgaped, at first in helplessastonishment, until they toos t a r t ed i n : t he f a the rupbraided the mother, onhis right, for not leaving thecleaning to the sister and heyelled at the sister, on hisleft, warning her that shewou ld neve r aga in beallowed to clean Gregor’sroom. The mother tried todrag the father, who wasbeside himself with rage,into the bedroom; the sister,quak ing wi th sobs , kep thammering the table withher little fists; and Gregorhissed loudly in his furybecause no one thought ofclosing his door to shieldhim from this spectacle andcommotion.

But even if the sister,exhausted from her work atthe shop, was fed up withlook ing a f t e r Grego r a sbefore, by no means did themother have to step in tokeep Gregor f rom be ingneg lec t ed . Fo r now the[170] charwoman was here.This old widow, who, withthe help of her strong bones t ruc tu re , mus t havemanaged to overcome the

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

able to withstand [resist] thehardest of things in her long

life, wasn’t really repelled byGregor. Just by chance one

d a y, r a t h e r t h a n a n y r e a lcuriosity, she opened the door

to Gregor’s room and foundherself face to face with him.

H e w a s t a k e n t o t a l l y b ysurprise, no-one was chasinghim but he began to rush to

and fro while she just stoodthere in amazement with her

hands crossed in front of her.From then on she never failed

to open the door slightly everyevening and morning and look

briefly in on him. At first shewould call to him as she dids o w i t h w o r d s t h a t s h e

probably considered friendly,such as “come on then, you

old dung-beetle!”, or “look atthe old dung-beet le there!”

Gregor never responded tobeing spoken to in that way,

but just remained where hewas without moving as if the

d o o r h a d n e v e r e v e n b e e nopened. If only they had toldthis charwoman to clean up

his room every day instead ofletting her disturb him for no

reason whenever she felt likei t ! O n e d a y, e a r l y i n t h e

morning while a heavy rains t r u c k t h e w i n d o w p a n e s ,

perhaps indicating that springw a s c o m i n g , s h e b e g a n t ospeak to him in that way once

again. Gregor was so resentfulof it that he started to move

toward her, he was slow andinfirm, but it was like a kind

of a t tack . Ins tead of be ingaf ra id , the charwoman jus t

l i f t ed up one of the cha i r sfrom near the door and stood

there with her mouth open,clearly intending not to closeher mouth until the chair in

her hand had been slammedd o w n i n t o G r e g o r ’s b a c k .

“ A r e n ’t y o u c o m i n g a n ycloser, then?”, she asked when

Gregor turned round again,and she calmly put the chair

back in the corner.

Gregor had almost entirely

s topped ea t ing . Only i f hehappened to find himself next

to the food tha t had beenprepared for him he might take

some of it into his mouth to

sólida osamenta, no sentíarealmente la menor repug-nancia por Gregor. Sin serlo que se dice curiosa, unavez hab ía ab ie r to por ca-sualidad la puerta de la ha-b i t a c i ó n d e G r e g o r y, a lverlo, se había quedado in-móvil , con las manos jun-tas en el regazo, mientrasél , totalmente sorprendido,se lanzó a correr de un ladopara otro aunque nadie lopers iguiera . Desde enton-c e s e l l a n u n c a d e j a b a d eabrir un poco la puerta, porla mañana y por la tarde, yecharle un fugaz vistazo aGregor. Al principio lo lla-maba con palabras que pro-bablemente le parecían ca-riñosas, como: «¡Ven aquí,viejo escarabajo!» o: «¡Ca-ramba con el viejo escarabajoestercolero!». Gregor no dabarespuesta alguna a esas llama-das, sino que permanecía in-móvil en su sitio, como si nohubieran abierto la puerta.¡Ojalá hubiesen ordenado a esaasistenta que le limpiara cadadía la habitación, en vez depermitir que lo molestase inú-tilmente a su antojo! Una ma-ñana temprano -una intensalluvia, quizá ya un signo de lavecina primavera, azotaba loscristales-, cuando la asistentaempezó una vez más a llamar-lo, Gregor se irritó tanto que sevolvió hacia ella como para ata-carla, aunque lentamente y sinbrío. Pero la asistenta, en vezde asustarse, levantó simple-mente una silla que había cer-ca de la puerta, y como per-maneció allí de pie y con laboca muy abierta, quedó cla-ro que su intención era ce-rrar la boca solo [81] cuan-do la silla que sostenía en lamano se estrellase contra laespalda de Gregor. «¿Con-que no seguimos avanzando,eh?», preguntó a l ver queG r e g o r v o l v í a a d a r s e l avuelta, y colocó nuevamentela silla en el rincón.

Gregor ya casi no comíanada. Solo cuando por ca-sualidad pasaba junto a lacomida que le preparaban,se llevaba por jugar un tro-zo a la boca, le daba vuel-

long life, had no real horrorof Gregor. Without being inthe least inquisitive, she hadonce accidentally opened thedoor to Gregor’s room, andat the sight of Gregor, who,taken completely by surprise,began to run back and forthalthough no one was chasinghim, had s tood s t i l l inamazement, her hands [48]folded in front of her. Fromthat time on she never failedto open the door a little everymorning and every evening tolook in at Gregor. At thebeginning she even calledhim over to her with wordsshe probably regarded asfriendly, such as, ‘Come overhere, you old dung-beetle!’ or‘Jus t look a t the olddungbeetle!’ Gregor neverresponded to such forms ofaddress but remainedmotionless where he stood, asif the door had never beenopened. If only, instead ofallowing this cleaning lady todis turb him point less lywhenever she felt like it, theyhad given her orders to cleanhis room every day! Once,early in the morning - heavyrain , perhaps a s ign ofapproaching spr ing, wasbeat ing agains t thewindow-panes - Gregor feltso exasperated when thecleaning woman s tar tedprattling again that he turnedon her, albeit slowly and likean invalid, as if to attack.Ins tead of taking f r ight ,however, the cleaning ladymerely picked up a chair thatwas near the door, and as shestood there with her mouthwide open, it was clear thatshe only intended to shut hermouth when the chair in herhand had come crashingdown on Gregor’s back. ‘Youkeep your d is tance,understand?’ she said, asGregor turned around again,and calmly placed the chairback in the corner.

Gregor by now waseating practically nothing.Only when he accidentallywent past the food laid outfor him would he take a biteas a game, hold it for hours

malheurs au cours, de salongue carrière, et dont onn’aurait [68] pu dire queGrégoire la dégoûtâtréellement. Bien qu’elle ne fûtpas curieuse, il lui était arrivéune fois d’ouvrir la porte de lachambre, et elle était restéeplantée là les mains sur leventre, tout étonnée à la vue del’autre qui s’était mis à trotterçà et là dans sa surprise bienque personne ne songeât à lechasser. Depuis ce jour, matinet soir, la vieille ne manquaitjamais de jeter en passant uncoup d’oeil à travers la porte.Au début elle appelaitGrégoire pour le faire venir, enlui criant par manière amicale: «Voyez-moi ce vieuxmangebouse», ou «Arrive ici,vieux cancrelat ». A de tellesinvitations Grégoire nerépondait jamais que par lesilence; il restait à sa place,immobile, comme si personnen’était entré. Au lieu de laissercette salariée faire ses capriceset le déranger inutilement, oneût mieux fait, estimait-il, delui donner l’ordre de nettoyersa chambre tous les jours. Unmatin où une pluie quiprésageait peut-être leprintemps frappait les carreauxavec violence, Grégoire futtellement irrité contre la vieillequi recommençait à lui déviderses gentillesses qu’il seretourna contre elle, d’unefaçon plutôt pesante e tincertaine à vrai dire, maiscomme pour l’attaquer. Il nelui fit d’ailleurs pas peur; elleattrapa simplement la chaisequi se trouvait près de laporte et la brandit dans lesairs en ouvrant la bouchetoute grande avec l’intentionvisible de ne la refermerqu’en assenant le coup sur ledos de Grégoire. «Eh bien!C’est tout? demanda-t-elle enle voyant revenir à [69] saposition primitive. Et ellereposa tranquillement la chaisedans le coin.

Maintenant Grégoire nemangeait presque plus; quandil passait par hasard devant sapitance, il s’amusait à enprendre un morceau qu’ilgardait dans la bouche pendant

cours de sa longue vie et ellen’éprouva i t pas de vér i tab le

r é p u g n a n c e d e v a n t G r e g o r.B i e n q u ’ e l l e n e f û t p a s

cur ieuse , e l le ava i t une fo i souvert par hasard la porte de la

c h a m b r e , e t , à l a v u e d eGregor, qui, tout à fait étonné,

s’était mis à courir, bien quepersonne ne l’eût chassé, elleétait demeurée stupéfaite, les

deux mains jo in tes dans song i r o n . D e p u i s , e l l e n e

n é g l i g e a i t j a m a i s , s o i r e tmatin, d’entrouvrir la porte et

d e j e t e r u n c o u p d ’ o e i l s u rG r e g o r. A u d é b u t , e l l e

l’appelait en se servant de motsqu’e l l e deva i t p robab lementc o n s i d é r e r c o m m e a m i c a u x ,

te ls que: « Arr ive ic i , v ieuxbousier!» ou « Regardez-moi

ce vieux bousier!» Gregor ner é p o n d a i t p a s à c e s

i n t e r p e l l a t i o n s , i l r e s t a i timmobile à sa place, comme si

on n’avait pas ouvert la porte.Si seulement on avai t donné

l’ordre à cette domestique denet toyer sa chambre tous lesjours, au l ieu de la laisser le

t o u r m e n t e r i n u t i l e m e n t ! U nj o u r, d e g r a n d m a t i n - u n e

v i o l e n t e p l u i e , p e u t - ê t r eannonciatr ice de la venue du

printemps, frappait contre lesvitres -Gregor fut à tel point

irrité contre la domestique, quis ’ a p p r ê t a i t à l u i t e n i r s e sp r o p o s o r d i n a i r e s , q u ’ i l s e

t o u r n a v e r s e l l e , d ’ u nmouvement à vrai dire lent et

g a u c h e , m a i s c o m m e p o u rl’attaquer. Mais la domestique,

au l ieu d’avoir peur, soulevaseu lement une cha ise qu i se

trouvait à proximité de la portee t , à l a v o i r l à , d e b o u t , l a

b o u c h e g r a n d e o u v e r t e , o ncomprenait que son intentionétait de ne refermer la bouche

que quand le s iège se se ra i tabattu sur le dos de Gregor. «

E h b i e n ! c ’ e s t t o u t ?» ,d e m a n d a - t - e l l e , e n v o y a n t

Gregor fa i re demi- tour, puise l l e r emi t t r anqu i l l emen t l a

chaise dans son coin.

Gregor ne mangeait presque

plus. Quand il passait par hasardà côté de la nourriture qu’on lui

ava i t p réparée , i l en prena i tseulement un morceau dans la

bouche, par manière de jeu, l’y

d i s g u s t e d b y G r e g o r .Without being truly nosy,she happened to open thedoor to Gregor ’s room oneday and , a t the s igh t o fG r e g o r - w h o w a sc o m p l e t e l y c a u g h t o f fguard [41] and, a l thoughno one chased him, beganr u n n i n g b a c k a n df o r t h - s h e m e r e l y s t o o dsti l l , her arms folded overher middle, in amazement.S i n c e t h e n s h e n e v e rfai led to briefly open thedoor a crack every morningand evening to look in onGregor. Initially she wouldalso call him over to herwith words she probab lyconsidered f r iendly, l ike“Come on over, you o lddung beetle !” (8) or “Justl o o k a t t h e o l d d u n gbee t l e ! ” Grego r d id no trespond to these overturesbut remained in his place asif the door had never beenopened. If only they hadordered this charwoman toclean his room every dayinstead of allowing her touselessly barge in on himwhenever the whim seizedher! Early one morning-aheavy rain, maybe a sign oft h e c o m i n g s p r i n g , w a spelting the windowpanes-Gregor was so exasperatedwhen the charwoman startedup again with her sayingsthat he turned toward her asif to attack, albeit decrepitlyand slowly. Instead of beingfr ightened, however, thecharwoman simply raised achair that was close to thedoor and stood there withher mouth wide open; it wasclearly her intention to shuther mouth only when thecha i r was smashed onGregor’s back. “So you’renot coming any closer?” sheinqu i r ed when Grego rturned back around, andcalmly put the chair backdown in the corner.

Gregor now ate next ton o t h i n g . O n l y w h e n b ychance he passed the foodset out for him would hetake a bite just for fun, holdit in his mouth for hours,

existencia, no sentía haciaGregorio ninguna repulsiónpropiamente dicha. Sin queello pudiese achacarse a unafán de curiosidad, abrió undía la puerta del cuarto deGregorio, y, a la vista de éste,que en su sorpresa, y aunque[83] nadie le perseguía, co-menzó a correr de un ladopara otro, permaneció inmu-table, con las manos cruzadassobre el abdomen. Desde en-tonces, nunca se olvidaba deentreabrir, tarde y mañana,furtivamente la puerta, paracontemplar a Gregorio. Alprincipio, incluso le llama-ba, con palabras que s induda creía cariñosas, como:«¡Ven aquí, pedazo de bi-cho! ¡Vaya con el pedazo debicho este!» A estas llamadas,Gregorio no solo no respondía,sino que seguía inmóvil en susitio, como si ni siquiera se hu-biese abierto la puerta. ¡Cuán-to más no hubiese valido quese le ordenase a esta sirvientalimpiar diariamente su cuarto,en lugar de aparecer para im-portunarle a su antojo, sin pro-vecho ninguno! Una mañanatemprano -mientras la lluvia, talvez heraldo de la primaverapróxima, azotaba furiosamentelos cristales- la asistenta co-menzó de nuevo sus manejos,y Gregorio irritóse a tal punto,que se volvió contra ella, lentay débilmente, es cierto, pero endisposición de atacar. Mas ella,en vez de asustarse, levantósimplemente en alto una sillaque estaba junto a la puerta, yquedóse en esta actitud, con laboca abierta de par en par, cualdemostrando a las [84] clarassu propósito de no cerrarla has-ta después de haber descarga-do sobre la espalda de Gregoriola silla que tenía en mano.

—¿ C o n q u e n o s e g u i -mos adelante? -preguntó,al ver que Gregorio retro-ced ía . Y t r anqu i l amen tevolvió a colocar la s i l laen el r incón.

Gregorio casi no comía.Al pasar junto a los alimen-tos que tenía dispuestos, to-maba algún bocado a modode muestra, lo guardaba en laboca durante horas, y casi

worst things in her long life,felt no actual repugnancetoward Gregor. While notreal ly snooping, she hadonce happened to open thedoor to his room and, at thes igh t o f Gregor, who ,comple t e ly caugh t o ffguard , began scrambl ingeve ry wh ich way eventhough no one was chasingh im, she had ha l t ed i nastonishment with her handsfo lded on he r abdomen .Since then, she had neverfailed to quickly open thedoor a crack every morningand evening and peep in onhim. Ini t ial ly, she wouldeven summon h im wi thphrases that she must haveconsidered f r iendly, l ike“C’mon over, you old dungbeetle!” or “Just look at theo ld dung bee t l e ! ” Bu tGregor refused to respondto such overtures; he stayedmotionless in his place asthough the door had notbeen opened. If only theyhad ordered this charwomanto c l ean h i s r oom da i lyin s t ead o f l e t t i ng he rgra tu i tous ly d i s turb h imwhenever the mood struckher ! Ear ly one morning ,when a violent rain, perhapsa sign of the coming spring,was pe l t ing aga ins t t hewindowpanes , t hecharwoman launched intoher phrases again. Gregorfel t so bi t ter ly provokedthat he charged toward heras if to attack, albeit slowlyand f eeb ly. Bu t t hecha rwoman , undaun ted ,merely heaved up a chair bythe door and stood therewith her mouth wide open,obviously intending to closeit only when the chair in herhand smashed down intoGregor’s back. “So that’s asfar as you’re going?” sheasked when he shifted away,and she calmly returned thechair to the corner.

Gregor was now eatingnext to nothing. It was only[171] when he happened topass the food left for himthat he would playfully takea morsel into his mouth, keep

109108

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

play with it, leave it there af e w h o u r s a n d t h e n , m o r e

o f t e n t h a n n o t , s p i t i t o u tagain. At first he thought it

was distress at the state of hisroom that stopped him eating,

but he had soon got used tothe changes made there. They

h a d g o t i n t o t h e h a b i t o fputting things into this roomt h a t t h e y h a d r o o m f o r

anywhere else, and there werenow many such things as one

of the rooms in the flat hadb e e n r e n t e d ou t t o t h r e e

g e n t l e m e n . T h e s e e a rnes tgentlemen - all three of them

had fu l l bea rds , a s Gregorlearned peering through thecrack in the door one day -

were pa inful ly ins is tent onthings’ being tidy. This meant

not only in their own roombut , s ince they had taken a

room in this establishment, inthe entire flat and especially

in the kitchen. Unnecessaryclutter was something they

could not tolerate, especiallyi f i t w a s d i r t y. T h e y h a dm o r e o v e r b r o u g h t m o s t o f

t h e i r o w n f u r n i s h i n g s a n dequipment with them. For this

r e a s o n , m a n y t h i n g s h a dbecome superf luous which ,

a l though they could not besold, the family did not wish

to discard. All these thingsfound their way into Gregor ’sroom. The dustbins from the

kitchen found their way in theretoo . The charwoman was

always in a hurry, and anythingshe couldn’t use for the time

being she would just chuck inthere. He, fortunately, would

usually see no more than theobject and the hand that held it.

The woman most likely meant tofetch the things back out againwhen she had t ime and the

opportunity, or to throweverything out in one go, but

what actually happened was thatthey were left where they landed

when they had first been thrownunless Gregor made his way through

the junk and moved it somewhereelse. At first he moved it because,with no other room free where he

could crawl about, he was forced to,but later on he came to enjoy it

although moving about in the wayleft him sad and tired to death and

he would remain immobile for

tas durante horas y, por logeneral, volvía a escupirlo.Primero pensó que la triste-za por el estado de su habi-tación era lo que le impedíacomer, pero muy pronto sereconcilió con los cambiosocurridos en ella. Se habíanacos tumbrado a me te r enella las cosas que no podíancolocar en otro sitio, y aho-ra había muchas de esas co-sas porque habían alquiladouna de las habitaciones delpiso a tres huéspedes. Esosserios señores -los tres te-nían barba, como una vezpudo comprobar Gregor poruna r end i j a de l a pue r t a -eran par t idar ios de un or-den met iculoso no solo ensu habi tac ión, s ino, pues-to que habían decidido ins-t a l a r s e a l l í , e n t o d a l acasa, y muy part icularmen-te en la cocina . No podíansoportar t rastos inúti les ni ,mucho menos, sucios. Ade-m á s , s e h a b í a n t r a í d o l amayor par te de sus propiosm u e b l e s , p o r l o q u e m u -chas cosas que no se po-dían vender, pero tampocose quer ían t i rar, acabaronresul tando inút i les . Todasel las recalaron en la habi-tación de Gregor, as í comotambién e l con tenedor delas cenizas y e l cubo de lab a s u r a . To d o c u a n t o d emomento no servía lo me-t í a [82 ] l a asistenta , quesiempre tenía mucha prisa,en la habitación de Gregor;por suerte, este solo solía verel objeto en cuest ión y lamano que lo sostenía. Quizála intención de la asistentafuera recoger otra vez las co-sas cuando se presentase laocasión, o bien tirarlas todasde golpe, pero el hecho esque se iban quedando al l ídonde las habían arrojado laprimera vez, salvo cuandoGregor se abría paso entrelos trastos y los movía, alpr incipio obl igado a e l lo ,pues ya no le quedaba espa-cio libre para arrastrarse, ymás tarde con creciente pla-cer, aunque después de esospaseos quedara muerto decansancio y de tristeza y sepasara horas sin moverse.

in his mouth and then generallyspit it out again. At first hethought it was sadness at thestate of his room that wasspoiling his appetite, but he hadvery quickly becomereconciled to precisely thesechanges in his room. His familyhad got into the habit of puttingthings in his room that couldnot be accommodatedelsewhere, and there werenow many such things, sincethey had let one room of theapartment to three lodgers.These earnest gentlemen allthree wore beards, as Gregoronce observed through a[49] crack in the door - weresticklers for order, not onlyin their own room but also,now that they were installedas lodgers, throughout theen t i re apar tment andespecially in the kitchen.They had no time for uselessjunk, especially if i t wasdirty. Besides, they had forthe most part brought theirown furniture with them. Asa result, many things hadbecome superf luous, andthough they couldn’t be sold,no one wanted to throw themout. All these things endedup in Gregor ’s room.Likewise the ash bucket andrubbish bin from the kitchen.Whatever was not for themoment be ing used wass imply f l ung by t hec leaning lady , who wasalways in a g rea t hu r ry,i n t o G r e g o r ’s r o o m ;fortunately, Gregor usuallysaw only the object inquestion and the hand thatheld it. Perhaps the cleaningwoman intended to retrievethe things when she had thet ime and opportuni ty, orthrow them all out in one go,but in reality they remainedwherever they had beentossed, except when Gregorpushed his way through thejunk and set it in motion, atfirst out of necessity, sincethere was no other space forcrawling, but la ter wi thincreasing delight, althoughafter such peregrinations hewould once again remainmotionless for hours on end,tired to death and sad.

des heures pour finir engénéral par le cracher. Il avaitd’abord attribué son manqued’appétit à la tristesse où leplongeait l’état de sa chambre;erreur sans doute, car il s’étaitvite réconcilié avec le nouvelaspect de son logis. On avaitpris l’habitude de fourrer chezlui toutes les choses qu’on nepouvait mettre autre part, et ellesse trouvaient en grand nombremaintenant qu’on avait louél’une des pièces del’appartement à trois messieurs.C’étaient des hommes sérieuxqui portaient toute leur barbe,c o m m e G r é g o i r e p u t l econstater un jour à traversune fente de la porte, et quié t a i e n t p a r t i s a n s d ’ u no r d r e m é t i c u l e u x , n o ns e u l e m e n t d a n s l e u rchambre personnelle, maisencore -puisque aussi bienc’é ta i t ic i qu’ i l s avaientélu domicile - dans tout leménage et dans la cuisineen premier lieu. Ils avaientapporté presque tout ce quil eu r é t a i t néces sa i r e , e tc e t t e p r é c a u t i o n a v a i tr e n d u s u p e r f l u s n o m b r ed’objets qu’on ne pouvaitni jeter ni vendre, et quiprirent tous le chemin de lac h a m b r e d e G r é g o i r e ,s u i v i s b i e n t ô t d e l apoube l l e e t du cendr ier.Tout ce qui se trouvaitprovisoirement inutilisable, lafemme de peine, toujourspressée, l’enfournait chez le pauvreGrégoire; il avait juste le temps devoir une main brandissant [70]l’ustensile indésirable; et il valaitmieux qu’il en fût ainsi. Peut-êtrel’intention de la vieille était-elle derevenir chercher à l’occasion lesobjets relégués là quand elle enaurait le temps, ou de les jeter unjour en bloc une fois pour toutes,mais en fait ils restaient dans lachambre, à l’endroit même où ilsavaient atterri le premier jour, àmoins que Grégoire ne fût obligéde se promener à travers le bazarpour se faire de la place, jeuauquel il finit par prendreun goût croissant malgré lat r i s t e s se e t l a f a t i gueépouvantables qui suivaientce s pé r ég r ina t i ons e t l el a i s sa i en t pa ra lysé pourd e s heures.

gardait plusieurs heures pour ler ec r ache r ensu i t e . I l pensa

d’abord que c’était la tristessequ’il éprouvait à cause de l’état

de sa chambre qui l’empêchaitde mange r ; ma i s c ’ é t a i t

p r éc i s émen t avec ce st rans format ions qu’ i l s ’é ta i t

aisément réconcilié. On s’étaithabi tué à empi ler dans ce t techambre tous les objets qu’on ne

pouvait pas mettre ailleurs et ily en avait un grand nombre, car

on ava i t l oué une p i èce del’appartement à trois messieurs.

Ces messieurs d’allure grave -tous t rois portaient la barbe,

comme Gregor le constata unjour à travers la fente de la porte- e x i g e a i e n t u n o r d r e

m é t i c u l e u x , n o n s e u l e m e n td a n s l e u r c h a m b r e , m a i s ,

puisqu’ i ls avaient loué à cetendroit, dans tout le ménage et

en premier lieu à la cuisine. Ilsn e t o l é r a i e n t a u c u n f o u i l l i s

inutile ni surtout rien de sale.I ls avaient d’ai l leurs apporté

e u x - m ê m e s l a p l u s g r a n d ep a r t i e d e l e u r é q u i p e m e n t .Beaucoup d’objets étaient de la

s o r t e d e v e n u s i n u t i l e s , d e so b j e t s q u i n ’ é t a i e n t p a s

vendab le s , ma i s que ma lg rétout on ne voula i t pas je te r.

Tous pr i rent le chemin de lac h a m b r e d e G r e g o r. S u i v i s

bientôt par la poubelle où l’onjetait les cendres et par la boîteà ordures de la cuisine. Tout ce

qui paraissait à première vuei n u t i l e , l a f emme de pe ine ,

toujours pressée, l’enfournaitsimplement dans la chambre de

Gregor; celui-ci n’apercevai theureusement d’ordinaire que

l’objet en question et la main quile tenait. La femme de peine avait

peut-être l’intention, quand elle entrouverait le temps ou qu’elle enaurait l’occasion, de venir recher-

cher ces choses ou de les jetertoutes à la fois; mais en fait elles

étaient restées à l’endroit même oùon les avait reléguées le premier

jour, à moins que Gregor ne fûtvenu rôder dans ce bazar et ne

l’eût déplacé, ce qu’il fit d’abordcontraint et forcé parce qu’il nelui restait plus aucune place pour

bouger, mais ensuite avec unplaisir croissant, encore qu’après

ces randonnées , i l r es tâ timmobile pendant des heures,

triste et las à périr.

and mostly spit it back out.At first he thought he wasmourning the state of hisroom and that this kept himfrom eating, but he soong r e w a c c u s t o m e d t oprecisely these changes. Ithad become habi t to putanything that had no otherplace in the house in thisroom, and these things nowamounted to a lot becausea room in the house hadbeen let to three gentlemenboarders . (9) These dourmen-all three had full beards,as Gregor ascertained oncethrough a crac k i n t h edoor-were passionate aboutorder, not only in their roombut , s ince they wereboarding there, throughoutthe whole household ,especially the kitchen. Theycould not abide useless, letalone dirty, junk. Besides,they had for the most partbrought their own householdgoods with them. For thisreason many th ings hadbecome superf luous, andwhi le they had nocommercial worth they alsocould not be thrown away.All these things ended up inGregor ’s room. Thisincluded the ash can and therubbish bin from the kitchen.Anything deemed uselessfor now was hast i ly [42]h u r l e d i n t o G r e g o r ’ sroom by the charwoman ;G r e g o r w a s u s u a l l yl u c k y e n o u g h t o s e e j u s tt h e o b j e c t i n q u e s t i o na n d t h e h a n d t h a t f i e l di t . P e r h a p s t h ec h a r w o m a n i n t e n d e d t oc o l l e c t t h e s e t h i n g s i st i m e a n d o p p o r t u n i t ya f f o r d e d , o r t o t h r o we v e r y t h i n g o u t t o g e t h e r ,b u t i n f a c t t h e y l a yw h e r e v e r t h e yh a p p e n e d t o l a n d u n l e s sG r e g o r w a d e d t h r o u g ht h e junk pile and set it inm o t i o n , i t f i r s t o u t o fnecessity because there wasno other free space to crawlbut la ter with increasingpleasure, though after theseforays he lay still for hours,a c h i n g l y t i r e d a n dmiserable.

siempre lo escupía. Al prin-cipio, pensó que su desganaera efecto, sin duda, de la me-lancolía en qué le sumía elestado de su habitación; peroprecisamente se habituó muypronto al nuevo aspecto deésta. Habían ido tomando lacostumbre de colocar allí lascosas que estorbaban en otraparte, las cuales eran muchas,pues uno de los cuartos de lacasa había sido cedido a treshuéspedes. Estos, tres seño-res muy formales -los tresusaban barba, según compro-bó Gregorio una vez por larendija de la puerta-, cui-daban de que reinase el or-den más esc rupu loso nos o l o e n s u p r o p i a h a -bitación, sino en toda y entodo lo de la casa, puestoque en ella vivían, y muyespecialmente en la coci-na. Trastos inútiles, y [85]mucho menos cosas sucias,no los sopor taban . Ade-más, habían traído consigola mayor, parte de su mo-b i l i a r i o , l o c u a l h a c í a -innecesarias varias cosasimposibles de vender, peroque tampoco se querían ti-r a r. Y todas e s t a s cosasiban a parar al cuarto deGregorio, de igual modoque el cogedor de las ce-nizas y el cajón de la ba-sura. Aquello que de mo-mento no había de ser uti-l izado, la asistenta, que enesto se daba mucha prisa, loarrojaba al cuarto de Gregorio,quien, por fortuna, la mayoría delas veces, solo lograba divisarel objeto en cuestión y la manoque lo esgrimía. Quizá tuvieseintención la asistenta de volveren busca de aquellas cosas cuan-do tuviese tiempo y ocasión, ode tirarlas fuera todas de unavez; pero el hecho es que per-manecían allí donde habían sidoarrojadas en un principio. Amenos que Gregorio se revolvie-se contra el trasto y lo pusieseen movimiento, impulsado a elloprimero porque éste no le dejabaya sitio libre para arrastrarse, yluego por verdadero afán, aun-que después de tales paseos que-daba horriblemente triste y fati-gado, sin ganas de moverse du-rante horas enteras.

it in for hours and hours, andthen usually spit it out again.At first, he thought that hisanguish about the condition ofhis room was what kept himfrom eating, but he very sooncame to terms with thosevery changes. The family hadgotten used to storing thingshere that could not be putanywhere else, and now therewere many such items here,for they had rented out oneroom of the apartment tot h r e e b o a r d e r s . Theseearnest gentlemen-all threehad full beards, as Gregoronce ascertained through thecrack of the door—weresticklers for order, not onlyin their room, but also, sincethey were lodg ing here ,throughout the apartment,especially the kitchen. Theycould not endure useless,much less d i r ty re fuse .Moreover, they had largelybrought in the i r ownhousehold goods. For thisreason, many of the family’sbe long ings had becomesuperfluous; but while theyhad no prospects of sellingthem, they did not want tothrow them out either. Allthese i tems wound up inGregor’s room—as did theash bucket and the garbagecan f rom the k i tchen . I fanything was unusable att he momen t , t hecharwoman , who wasalways in a mad rush, wouldsimply toss it into Gregor’sroom; luckily, he most lys a w o n l y t h e o b j e c t i nquestion and the hand thath e l d i t . S h e m a y h a v eintended to come for theset h i n g s i n h e r o w n g o o dtime or dump them all outi n o n e f e l l s w o o p ; b u ti n s t e a d , t h e y r e m a i n e dwherever they happened tol a n d , u n l e s s G r e g o rtwis ted h i s way throughthe clutter, making it shift.At first, he had no choice,there being nowhere else forhim to crawl; but later [172]on it got to be more andm o r e f u n , e v e n i f ,dead-tired and mournful aftersuch treks, he would lie unstirringfor hours on end.

X X

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

hours afterwards.

The gentlemen who rentedthe room would somet imes

take the i r even ing mea l a thome in the living room that

was used by everyone, and sothe doo r t o t h i s r oom was

o f t e n k e p t c l o s e d i n t h eevening. But Gregor found iteasy to g ive up having the

door open, he had, after all,often failed to make use of it

when it was open and, withoutthe family having noticed it,

lain in his room in its darkestcorner. One time, though, the

charwoman left the door to theliving room slightly open, andi t remained open when the

g e n t l e m e n w h o r e n t e d t h eroom came in in the evening

and the light was put on. Theys a t u p a t t h e t a b l e w h e r e ,

formerly, Gregor had taken hism e a l s w i t h h i s f a t h e r a n d

m o t h e r, t h e y u n f o l d e d t h eserviettes and picked up their

kn ives and forks . Gregor ’smother immediately appearedin the doorway with a dish of

m e a t a n d s o o n b e h i n d h e rcame his s is ter wi th a dish

piled high with potatoes. Thefood was steaming, and filled

the room with its smell. Thegentlemen bent over the dishes

set in front of them as if theywanted to test the food beforeeating it, and the gentleman in

the middle , who seemed tocount as an authority for the

other two, did indeed cut off apiece of meat while it was still

in its dish, clearly wishing toe s t a b l i s h w h e t h e r i t w a s

sufficiently cooked or whetherit should be sent back to the

k i t c h e n . I t w a s t o h i ss a t i s f a c t i o n , a n d G r e g o r ’smother and s is ter, who had

been looking on anxious ly,began to breathe again and

smiled.

The family themselves atein the ki tchen. Nonetheless,

Gregor ’s father came into thel iving room before he wentinto the kitchen, bowed once

with his cap in his hand anddid h i s round of the tab le .

The gentlemen stood as one,and mumbled something into

their beards. Then, once they

Como los huéspedes ce-naban a veces en casa, en lasala de estar compartida, lapuerta que daba a la habita-ción de Gregor permanecíaalgunas noches cerrada; aGregor, sin embargo, no lecostó casi nada renunciar aque la abrieran, pues tampo-co había aprovechado cier-t a s noches en que e s t abaabierta, y, sin que la fami-lia lo notase, se había ins-talado en el rincón más os-curo de su cuarto. Una vez ,s in embargo , l a a s i s t en tahab ía de jado en t reab ie r t al a p u e r t a q u e d a b a a l asa la de estar, y así estabatambién cuando llegaron loshuéspedes y encendieron laluz. Se sentaron a la mesa,donde en otros t iempos sehabían sentado el padre, lamadre y Gregor, desdobla-ron las servilletas y empu-ñaron cuchillo y tenedor. Alm o m e n t o a p a r e c i ó e n l apuer ta la m a d r e c o n u n ab a n d e j a d e c a r n e , y d e -t r á s m i s m o l a h e r m a n ac o n o t r a f u e n t e repleta depatatas [83] apiladas. La co-mida despedía un vapor muydenso. Los huéspedes se in-cl inaron sobre las fuentesque les habían puesto delan-te, como si quisieran pro-barlas antes de comer, y, dehecho, el que estaba senta-do en medio y parecía seruna autoridad para los otrosdos cortó un trozo de carneen la misma bandeja, al pa-recer para comprobar si es-taba lo suficientemente tier-na o si debían llevársela denuevo a la cocina . Quedósatisfecho, y la madre y lahermana, que habían obser-vado todo con suma aten-ción, sonrieron aliviadas.

La famil ia comía en lacocina. Pese a lo cual el pa-dre, antes de ir a la cocina,entraba en esa habitación y,haciendo una sola reveren-c ia , daba una vue l t a a l am e s a c o n l a g o r r a e n l amano. Los huéspedes se po-nían de pie y murmurabanalgo entre dientes. Luego,cuando se quedaban solos,

As the lodgers sometimesa l so had the i r supper a thome in the communall iv ing- room, there werecertain evenings on whichthe living-room door stayedshut, but Gregor could dovery well without the doorbeing opened, there had afterall been quite a few eveningswhen he had taken noadvantage of it being openand had lain, unnoticed bythe family, in the darkestcorner of his room. But onone occasion the cleaningwoman had le f t theliving-room door ajar, and itremained like that when thelodgers came home in theevening and the lamp was lit.They sat down at the head ofthe table, where in the olddays his father, his motherand Gregor had sat, unfolded[50] the i r napkins andpicked up their knives andforks . Gregor ’s motherpromptly appeared in thedoorway with a dish of meat,closely followed by his sisterwith another dish piled highwith potatoes. The food gaveoff thick clouds of steam.The lodgers bent over theplates that were set in frontof them as i f wishing toexamine them before eating,and indeed the one in themiddle, whom the othersseemed to regard as anauthority, sliced a piece ofmeat while it was still on thedish, obviously to ascertainwhether it was tender enoughor whether i t should notperhaps be sent back to thekitchen. He was satisfied,and mother and sister, whohad been watch ingapprehensively, began tosmile with relief.

The family itself ate inthe kitchen. Gregor’s father,however, before going intothe k i t chen , en te red thel iving-room and, bowinglow, made a tour of the table,cap in hand. The lodgers alls tood up and mumbledsomething into their beards.When they were alone again,they ate in almost complete

Comme les locatairesdînaient quelquefois à lamaison dans la sal lecommune, la porte de cettepièce restait fermée certainssoirs; Grégoire n’y attachaitd’ai l leurs plus autantd’importance; i l lui étai tarrivé plusieurs fois dans lesderniers temps de ne pasprofiter des soirées où onl’ouvrait et de rester couchédans le coin le plus sombre desa chambre sans que la familles’en aperçût. Mais un jour lafemme de peine oublia derefermer complètement laporte de la salle à manger quiresta entrouverte jusqu’aumoment où les locatairesrentrèrent et allumèrent legaz. Ils allèrent s’asseoir àtable aux placesqu’occupaient autrefois lepère, la mère et Grégoire,déplièrent leurs serviettes etprirent en mains leurfourchette et leur couteau.Aussitôt la mère apparut auseuil avec un plat de viande;la soeur, derrière, portait unéchafaudage de pommes deterre sur un second plat. Lesnourritures [71] fumaientavec une vapeur épaisse.Quand on les eut disposéesdevant eux, les locataires sepenchèrent sur elles commepour les soumettre à unexamen préalable, et celui quiétait assis au milieu et quisemblait faire autorité coupaen effet un morceau de viandedans le plat même, pour savoirapparemment si elle étaitassez tendre ou s’il devait larenvoyer à la cuisine. Il futsatisfait et les deux femmesqui avaient suivianxieusement l’opérationlaissèrent voir un sourire desoulagement.

La famille même mangeaità la cuisine; cependant le père,avant de s’y rendre, vint voir àla salle à manger; il s’inclina,la casquette à la main, une seulefois pour tous les convives, etfit le tour de la table. Leslocataires se levèrent en choeuren marmottant quelque chosedans leur barbe. Une fois seuls,ils se mirent à manger sans un

C o m m e l e s l o c a t a i r e s

prenaient que lquefo is éga le-ment leur repas du so i r à la

m a i s o n d a n s l a s a l l e d es é j o u r, l a p o r t e d e c e l l e - c i

r e s t a i t pa r fo i s f e rmée , ma i sGregor renonçai t volont iers à

l ’ouver ture de la por te i l lu ié ta i t a r r ivé , cer ta ins so i rs oùel le é ta i t ouver te , de ne pas

en avoi r t i ré par t i e t de s ’ê t reré fug ié dans l e co in l e p lus

sombre de sa chambre , sansq u e s a f a m i l l e s ’ e n f û t

a p e r ç u e . M a i s u n s o i r , l afemme de peine avai t la issé la

por te du sé jour en t rouver te ,m ê m e q u a n d l e s t r o i sloca ta i res rent rèrent e t qu’on

al luma la lumière . I ls a l lèrents ’asseo i r au hau t bout de l a

table , là où jadis le père , lam è r e e t G r e g o r p r e n a i e n t

l e u r s r e p a s , i l s d é p l i è r e n tl e u r s s e r v i e t t e s , p r i r e n t e n

main l eu r fourche t t e e t l eu rc o u t e a u . L a m è r e a p p a r u t

aussitôt dans l’ouverture de lap o r t e , p o r t a n t u n p l a t d ev i a n d e e t i m m é d i a t e m e n t

derr ière e l le sa f i l le , avec unéchafaudage de pommes de

t e r r e su r un au t r e p l a t . Desd e u x m e t s s ’ é l e v a i t u n e

épaisse fumée. Les loca ta i ress e p e n c h è r e n t s u r c e s p l a t s

qu’on venai t de poser devante u x , c o m m e p o u r l e se x a m i n e r, e t e n e ff e t , c e l u i

q u i é t a i t a s s i s a u m i l i e u e ta u q u e l l e s d e u x a u t r e s

s e m b l a i e n t c o n c é d e r d el ’ a u t o r i t é , d é c o u p a u n

morceau de viande dans le plat,manifestement pour vérifier si

elle était cuite à point ou s’ilfallait par hasard la renvoyer à

la cuisine. Il parut satisfait etla mère et la fille, qui l’avaientregardé faire avec inquiétude,

purent à nouveau respi rer e tsourire.

L a f a m i l l e e l l e - m ê m e

mangeait à la cuisine. Le pèrecependant, avant de s’y rendre,

entra dans la salle de séjour et,après s’être une fois incliné, fitle tour de la table, sa calotte à

l a m a i n . L e s l o c a t a i r e s s esoulevèrent tous les t ro is de

l e u r s i è g e e n m a r m o n n a n tquelque chose dans leur barbe.

Lorsqu’ils se trouvèrent seuls à

S ince t he boa rde r ssome t imes t ook t he i revening meal in the commonl iv ing room as wel l , thel iv ing room door s tayedshut certain evenings, yetG r e g o r w a s e a s i l yreconc i led to the door ’sc l o s i n g : O n m a n yevenings i t was opened hehad not taken advantage ofit but, without the familynoticing i t , had lain in thed a r k e s t c o r n e r o f h i sroom. One time, however,t h e c h a r w o m a n h a d l e f tt h e l i v i n g r o o m d o o rsl ight ly a jar and i t s tayedo p e n , e v e n w h e n t h eb o a r d e r s e n t e r e d i n t h eevening and the lamp waslit . They sat at the head ofthe table where the father,mo the r, and Gregor hadsat in the old days; theyu n f o l d e d t h e i r n a p k i n sand took knife and fork inhand. The mother a t onceappeared in the doorwaywith a plat ter of meat andd i r ec t ly beh ind he r wasthe s is ter wi th a heapingd i s h o f p o t a t o e s . T h i c kp l u m e s o f s t e a m r o s ef r o m t h e f o o d . T h eb o a r d e r s b e n t o v e r t h ed i s h e s a s i f t o e x a m i n et h e m b e f o r e e a t i n g ; i nfact the one in the middle,seemingly regarded as ana u t h o r i t y b y t h e o t h e rtwo, cu t in to a p iece o fmeat s t i l l on the plat ter,e v i d e n t l y t o d e t e r m i n ew h e t h e r i t w a s t e n d e renough o r needed to besent back to the ki tchen.H e w a s s a t i s f i e d a n dm o t h e r a n d s i s t e r , w h owere anxiously watching,re leased their breath andbegan to smile .

The family itself ate inthe kitchen. Neverthelessthe fa ther came in to theliving room before retiringto t he k i t chen , boweddeeply, ha t in hand, andmade t he rounds o f t hetable. The boarders stood upas one and mumbledsomething into their beards.When they were alone again

Los huéspedes, algunosdías cenaban en [86] casa,en el comedor común, conlo cual la puerta que daba aesta habitación permanecíatambién cerrada algunas no-ches; mas esto a Gregorioimportábale ya muy poco,pues incluso algunas nochesen que l a pue r t a e s t abaabierta, no había aprovecha-do esta coyuntura, sino quese había retirado, sin que lafamilia lo advirtiese, al rin-cón más oscuro de su habi-tación. Pero aconteció undía que la s i rvienta dejóalgo entornada la puerta quedaba al comedor, y que éstapermaneció de igual guisacuando los huéspedes entra-ron por la noche y dieron laluz. Sentáronse a la mesa, enlos sitios antaño ocupadospor el padre, la madre yGregorio, desdoblaron lasservilletas y empuñaron cu-chillo y tenedor. Al puntoapareció en la puerta la ma-dre con una fuente de carne,seguida de la hermana, quetraía una fuente con una pilade patatas. De la comida seelevaba una nube de humo.Los huéspedes inclináronsesobre las fuentes colocadasante ellos, cual si quisiesenprobarlas antes de servirse,y, en efecto, el que se halla-ba sentado en medio, y pa-recía el más autorizado delos tres, cortó un pedazo decarne en la fuente misma,sin duda para comprobarque es taba bas tante [87]tierna y que no era menes-ter devolverla a la cocina.Exteriorizó su satisfacción,y la madre y la hermana, quehabían observado suspensasla operación, respiraron ysonrieron.

Entretanto, la familia co-mía en la cocina. A pesar delo cual, el padre, antes de di-rigirse hacia ésta, entraba enel comedor, hacía una reve-rencia general y, gorra enmano, daba la vuelta a lamesa. Los huéspedes se po-nían en pie y murmurabanalgo para sus adentros. Des-pués, ya solos, comían casi en

Since the boarderssomet imes a lso a te thei rsupper a t home in thecommon parlor, the doorbe tween tha t room andGregor’s would remain shuton those even ings . ButGregor easily did without theopen door—after all, therehad been evenings when hehad no t even takenadvantage of i t ; ins tead,unnoticed by the family, hehad crouched in the darkestnook of his room. Once,however, the charwoman hadleft the parlor door ajar, andit remained ajar even whenthe boarders came in thatevening and the light wasturned on. Settling down atthe head of the table, wherethe father, the mother, andGregor had eaten in earliertimes, they unfolded theirnapkins and took hold ofthe i r kn ives and forks .Ins tan t ly the motherappeared in the k i t chendoorway with a platter ofmeat and, right behind her,the sister with a heapingpla t t e r o f po ta toes . Thesteaming food gave off thickfumes. The platters were setdown in f ron t o f theboarders , who bent overthem as if to test the foodbefore eating it; and indeedthe man sitting in the middle,and apparently looked up toas an authority by the twoothers, cut up a piece of meaton the plat ter, c learly inorder to determine whetheri t was t ender enough orshould perhaps be sent backto the k i tchen . He wassatisfied, and so mother ands i s te r, who had beenwatching in suspense, beganto smile with sighs of relief.

The family itself ate inthe kitchen. Nevertheless,before heading there, thefather would stop off in the[173] parlor, bowing once,with his cap in his hand, andc i r c l e t he t ab l e . Theboarders would all rise andmumble some th ing in tothe i r bea rds . Then , bythemse lves aga in , t hey

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

were alone, they ate in nearp e r f e c t s i l e n c e . I t s e e m e d

r e m a r k a b l e t o G r e g o r t h a tabove al l the various noises

of eating their chewing teethc o u l d s t i l l b e h e a r d , a s i f

t h e y h a d w a n t e d t o S h o wGregor that you need teeth in

order to eat and i t was notpossible to perform anythingwith jaws that are toothless

however nice they might be.“I’d l ike to eat something”,

said Gregor anxiously, “butn o t a n y t h i n g l i k e t h e y ’ r e

e a t i n g . T h e y d o f e e dthemselves. And here I am,

dying!”

Throughout al l this t ime,

Gregor could not rememberhaving heard the violin being

played, but this evening it beganto be heard from the kitchen.

The three gentlemen had alreadyfinished their meal, the one in

the middle had produced anewspaper, given a page to each

of the others, and now they leantback in their chairs reading themand smoking. When the violin

began playing they becameattentive, stood up and went on

tip-toe over to the door of thehal lway where they s tood

pressed agains t each other.Someone must have heard them

in the kitchen, as Gregor’s fathercal led out : “ Is the p layingperhaps unpleasant for the

gent lemen? We can s top i ts t ra ight away. “ “On the

contrary” , sa id the middlegentleman, “would the young

lady not like to come in and playfor us here in the room, where it

is, after all, much more cosy andcomfortable?” “Oh yes, we’d

love to”, called back Gregor’sfather as if he had been theviol in player h imself . The

gentlemen stepped back into theroom and wai ted . Gregor ’s

father soon appeared with themusic stand, his mother with the

music and his sister with theviolin. She calmly prepared

everything for her to beginplaying; his parents, who hadnever rented a room out before

and therefore showed anexaggerated courtesy towards

the three gentlemen, did noteven dare to sit on their own

chairs; his father leant against

comían en un silencio casiabsoluto. A Gregor le pare-cía extraño que, entre losdistintos ruidos propios de lacomida, se oyeran siempreunos dientes que masticabancomo queriendo demostrarque para comer hacían faltadientes, y que de nada ser-vían las mandíbulas más be-l l a s s i no t en ían d i en te s .«Pues yo tengo apetito», sedecía Gregor preocupado,«aunque no de este tipo decosas. ¡Cómo engullen estoshuéspedes , y yo aquí mu-riéndome de hambre!» .

Precisamente aquella no-che -Gregor no recordabahaber oído el violín en todoese t iempo- l legaron unossonidos desde la cocina. Loshuéspedes ya [84] habíanterminado de cenar, el de enmedio había sacado un pe-riódico y repartido una hojaa cada uno de los otros, y lost r e s l e í a n y f u m a b a nretrepados en sus s i l l a s .Cuando empezó a sonar elviolín, prestaron atención, selevantaron y avanzaron depuntillas hasta la puerta delvestíbulo, donde permane-cieron de pie, apretados unocontra el otro. Debieron deoírlos desde la cocina, puesel padre exclamó: «¿Les des-agrada la música a los seño-res? Puede dejar de sonarahora mismo». «Todo lo con-trario», dijo el señor de enmedio. «¿No querría la seño-rita venir con nosotros y to-car en esta sala, donde seestá mejor y es más agrada-ble?» « ¡Claro que sí!» , ex-clamó el padre, como si elviolinista fuera él. Los seño-res volvieron a la sala de es-tar y esperaron. Al poco ratoentró el padre con el atril, lamadre con la partitura y lahermana con el viol ín. Lahermana lo preparó tranqui-lamente todo para tocar; lospadres, que antes jamás ha-bían alquilado habitacionesy por e l lo exageraban lasmuestras de cortesía ante loshuéspedes, no se atrevían atomar asiento en sus propiassillas; el padre se apoyó enla puerta, con la mano dere-

silence. It seemed odd toGregor that, among all themultifarious sounds of themeal, he kept picking out thenoise o f the i r champingteeth, as though he werebeing shown that one neededteeth to eat and that evenwith the finest toothless jawsnoth ing cou ld beaccomplished. ‘I do have anappeti te ,’ Gregor said tohimself, full of worry, ‘butnot for those things. Lookhow these lodgers gorgethemselves, while I wasteaway!’

On this same evening -Gregor could not rememberhaving heard it once in allth i s t ime - the sound ofviolin-playing came fromthe ki tchen. The lodgershad already finished theirs u p p e r , t h e o n e i n t h em i d d l e h a d p r o d u c e d anewspaper, given each ofthe others a page, and now,leaning back in their chairs,they were read ing andsmoking. When the violinbegan to play, they prickedup their ears, stood up andtiptoed to the door leadinginto the hall , where theystood in a huddle. Their [51]movements must have beenheard in the kitchen, for hisfather called out, ‘Do youfind the playing unpleasant,gentlemen? It can be stoppedat once: ‘On the contrary,’said the gentleman in themiddle, ‘wouldn’t the younglady like to join us and playin here where it’s much morecosy and comfor tab le? ’‘With pleasure,’ cried hisfather, as i f he were theviol in is t . The gent lemenwent back into the room andwaited. Gregor’s father sooncame in wi th the mus icstand, his mother with themusic, his sister with theviol in . His s is ter ca lmlyprepared herself to play; hisparen t s , who had neverpreviously rented out roomsand therefore treated thelodgers wi th excess ivepoliteness, did not even daresit down on their own chairs;his father leaned against the

mot. Chose étrange, pensaGrégoire, on ne cessaitd’entendre revenir à traverstous les bruits de la table leclaquement de leurs mâchoiresau travail comme s’il s’était agide lui prouver qu’il faut devraies dents pour manger et queles plus belles mandibules dumonde ne sauraient yparvenir.«J’ai bien faim,pensait Grégoire tout soucieux,mais je n’ai plus faim de ceschoses-là. Comme cesmessieurs se nourrissent!Pendant ce temps, moi, j’ai ledroit de mourir.»

Il ne se souvenait plusd’avoir entendu jouer sa soeurdepuis l’arrivée des locataires;mais ce soir-là le son du violonretentit à la cuisine. Les troismessieurs [72] venaient determiner leur repas; celui du’milieu avait sorti un journal etdistribué une des feuilles àchacun des deux autres;maintenant ils lisaient toustrois en fumant, renversés surle dossier de leurs chaises. Leson du violon éveilla leurattention, ils se levèrent et sedirigèrent sur la pointe despieds vers la porte duvestibule où ils firent halte engroupe serré. Malgré toutesleurs précautions on les avaitentendus de la cuisine, car lepère se mit à crier : «Est-ceque le violon gêne cesmessieurs? On pourrait lefaire cesser tout de suite.»«Mais au contraire, réponditle monsieur du milieu; simademoiselle voulait venirchez nous, dans la salle àmanger, elle y serait mieux,c’est plus confortable.» «Mais bien sûr », s’écria le pèrecomme si c’était lui qui jouait.Les messieurs rentrèrent doncdans la salle et attendirent. Lepère arriva bientôt avec lepupi t re , la mère avec lamusique et la soeur avec leviolon. La soeur préparatranquillement ses partitions,les parents qui, louant leurchambre pour la premièrefois, exagéraient la politesseenvers leurs hôtes ,craignirent de se montrergrossiers en utilisant leurspropres s ièges : le père

nouveau, ils se mirent à mangers a n s p r e s q u e s ’ a d r e s s e r l a

parole. Il parut curieux à Gregorde discerner parmi les divers

bruits du repas celui que leursdents ne cessaient de faire en

mâchant, comme s’il s’agissaitde lui démontrer qu’il faut des

dents pour manger et que la plusbelle mâchoire, quand elle estédentée, n’arrive à rien. « J’ai

de l’appétit », se disait Gregorpensivement, « mais pas pour

ces choses-là. Comme ces troisloca ta i res saven t se nour r i r,

a lors que je suis en t ra in depérir!»

Ce so i r - l à , p r éc i s émen t -Gregor ne se rappelait pas, les

jours précédents , avoir jamaisentendu le son du violon - , ce

soir- là , on entendit un air deviolon qui venait de la cuisine.

Les locataires avaient terminél e u r d î n e r , c e l u i d u m i l i e u

avait t i ré un journal , en avai tdonné une feuille à chacun des

d e u x a u t r e s e t m a i n t e n a n t ,renversés sur le dossier de leurchaise, ils lisaient en fumant.

Lorsqu’on commença à jouer duviolon, ils tendirent l’oreille, se

levèrent et allèrent sur la pointedes pieds jusqu’à la porte du

v e s t i b u l e , o ù i l s r e s t è r e n tdebout, pressés les uns contre

l e s a u t r e s . O n a v a i t d û l e sentendre de la cuisine, car lep è r e s ’ é c r i a : « L e v i o l o n

gêne - t - i l ce s mess i eu r s? Onpeut l’arrêter tout de suite.» «

Au contraire », dit le monsieurdu milieu, « la demoiselle ne

voudrait-elle pas entrer et jouerici dans la pièce? c’est bien plus

commode et plus agréable.» «Oh! je vous en prie », répondit

l e p è r e , c o m m e s ’ i l é t a i tl u i -même l e v io lon i s t e . Lesmess ieurs ren t rè ren t dans la

p ièce e t a t tendi ren t . Bien tô tarriva le père avec le pupitre,

s u i v i d e l a m è r e a v e c l apartition et de la soeur avec son

v i o l o n . L a s o e u r p r é p a r at r anqu i l l emen t tou t ce qu ’ i l

fallait pour se mettre à jouer;les parents, qui n’avaient jamaisloué de chambre auparavant et

qui, à cause de cela, exagéraientl a p o l i t e s s e e n v e r s l e u r s

l o c a t a i r e s , n ’ o s a i e n t p a ss’asseoir sur leurs chaises; le

père restait appuyé à la porte,

they ate in virtual silence. Itseemed odd to Gregor thatout of the myriad noisesf rom the meal , he coulda lways d i s t i ngu i sh t hemash ing t ee th , a s i f t oindicate to Gregor that teethwere needed in order to eatand even t he be s t o ftoo th l e s s j aws cou ld dono th ing . “ I ’m hungryenough,” sa id Gregor tohimself mournfully, “but notfor these things. How theseboarders stuf f themselvesand here I am starving todeath!”

[43 ] On th i s ve ryevening-Gregor could notremember having heard thev io l i n a l l t h i s t ime - thesound of the violin camef rom the ki tchen. Theboarders had already finishedtheir supper, the middle onehad taken out a newspaperand distributed a sheet eachto the two others, and theywere now l eaning back,reading and smoking. Whenthe viol in began playingthey all looked up, got totheir feet, and tiptoed to thefoye r doo r, whe re t heyhuddled together. They musthave been heard from thekitchen because the fatherca l l ed ou t : “Are t hegentlemen disturbed by theviolin playing? It can bestopped at once.” “On thecontrary,” said the middlegentleman, “wouldn’t theyoung lady care to come inhere with us and play wherei t i s more spac ious andcomfo r t ab l e?” “Oh ,certainly,” cried the father,a s t hough he we re t hev io l i n i s t . The boa rde r sretreated to the room andwa i t ed . Soon the f a the ren t e r ed w i th t he mus i cstand, the mother with themusic and the sister with theviol in. The sis ter calmlyprepared everything to startplaying; the parents, whohad never before let a roomand were consequen t lyexcessively pol i te to theboarders, did not dare to sitin the i r own cha i r s ; thefather leaned against the

silencio. A Gregorioresultábale extraño percibirsiempre, entre los diversosruidos de la comida, el que losdientes hacían al masticar,cual si quisiesen demostrar aGregorio que para comer senecesitan dientes, y que lamás hermosa mandíbula, vir-gen de dientes, de nada pue-de servir. «Pues sí que tengoapetito -decíase Gregorio,preocupado-. Pero no son és-tas las cosas que me apete-cen... ¡Cómo comen estoshuéspedes! ¡Y yo, mientras,muriéndome!»

Aquel la misma noche-Gregorio no recordaba haberoído el violín en todo aqueltiempo-, sintió tocar en la co-cina. Ya habían acabado loshuéspedes de cenar. El queestaba en medio había saca-do un periódico [88] y dadouna hoja a cada uno de losotros dos, y los tres leían yfumaban recostados haciaatrás. Al sentir el violín, que-dó fija su atención en la músi-ca; se levantaron, y, de punti-llas, fueron hasta la puerta delrecibimiento, junto a la cualpermanecieron inmóviles,apretados uno contra otro. Sinduda se les oyó desde la coci-na, pues el padre preguntó:

—¿Tal vez a los señores lesdesagrada la música?

Y añadió:—En ese caso, puede cesar al momento.—Al contrario -aseguró el

señor de más autoridad-. ¿Noquerría entrar la señorita y to-car aquí? Sería mucho más-cómodo y agradable.

— ¡Claro, no faltaba más!-respondió el padre, cual si fue-se él mismo el violinista.

Los huéspedes tornaron alinterior del comedor, y espera-ron. Muy pronto llegó el padrecon el atril, luego la madre conlos papeles de música, y, porfin, la hermana, con el violín.La hermana lo dispuso todo tran-quilamente para comenzar a to-car. Mientras, los padres, que nun-ca habían tenido habitaciones al-quiladas y que, por lo mismo, ex-tremaban la cortesía para con loshuéspedes, no se atrevían a sen-tarse en sus [89] propias butacas.El padre quedó apoyado en la

would eat in almost totalsilence. It struck Gregor asbizarre that amid al l thevarious and sundry noisesof eating, he kept makingou t t he no i s e o f t he i rchewing as if he were beingshown that one needed teethfor eating and that one couldaccomplish nothing wi theven the most wonderfultoothless jaws. “I do havean appetite,” Gregor toldhimself, “but not for thesefoods . How we l l t he seboa rde r s ea t , and I ’mstarving to death!”

T h a t v e r y e v e n i n g(Gregor could not recal lhear ing i t a l l th is t ime) ,t h e s o u n d o f t h e v i o l i nc a m e f r o m t h e k i t c h e n .The boarders had alreadyfinished their supper. Themiddle one had pulled outa newspaper, g iv ing theother two one page each;a n d n o w t h e y w e r eleaning back, reading andsmoking. When the violinbegan to play, the boarderspricked up their ears, got totheir feet, and tiptoed over tothe ves t ibule doorway,crowding in to i t andremaining there. They musthave been overheard from thekitchen, for the father called:“Do you gentlemen mind theviol in? We can s top i timmediately.” “Quite thecontrary,” said the middlegentleman, “would the younglady care to come and play inthis room, which is far moreconvenient andcomfortable?” “Oh, thankyou,” called the father as ifhe were the violinist. Thegentlemen came back into theparlor and waited. Soon thefather arrived with the musicstand, the mother with thesheet music, and the sisterwith the violin. The sistercalmly prepared everything[174] for the playing. Theparents, having never rentedout rooms before, which waswhy they were being so overlycourteous to the boarders, didnot dare si t in their ownchairs. The father leanedagainst the door, slipping his

115114

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

the door with his right handpushed in between two buttons

on his uniform coat; his mother,though, was offered a seat by

one of the gentlemen and sat -leaving the chair where the

gentleman happened to haveplaced it - out of the way in a

corner.

H i s s i s t e r b e g a n t o

p l a y ; f a t h e r a n d m o t h e rp a i d c l o s e a t t e n t i o n , o n e

o n e a c h s i d e , t o t h em o v e m e n t s o f h e r h a n d s .

D r a w n i n b y t h e p l a y i n g ,G r e g o r h a d d a r e d t o c o m e

f o r w a r d a l i t t l e a n da l r e a d y h a d h i s h e a d i nt h e l i v i n g r o o m . B e f o r e ,

h e h a d t a k e n g r e a t p r i d ei n h o w c o n s i d e r a t e h e w a s

b u t n o w i t h a r d l yo c c u r r e d t o h i m t h a t h e

h a d b e c o m e s ot h o u g h t l e s s a b o u t t h e

o t h e r s . W h a t ’ s m o r e ,t h e r e w a s n o w a l l t h e

m o r e r e a s o n t o k e e ph i m s e l f h i d d e n a s h e w a sc o v e r e d i n t h e d u s t t h a t

l a y e v e r y w h e r e i n h i sr o o m a n d f l e w u p a t t h e

s l i g h t e s t m o v e m e n t ; h eca r r i ed th reads , ha i r s , and

r e m a i n s o f f o o d a b o u t o nh i s back and s ides ; he was

m u c h t o o i n d i f f e r e n t t oe v e r y t h i n g n o w t o l a y o nh i s back and wipe h imse l f

o n t h e c a r p e t l i k e h e h a dused to do severa l t imes a

d a y . A n d d e s p i t e t h i sc o n d i t i o n , h e w a s n o t t o o

shy to move forward a l i t t l eo n t o t h e i m m a c u l a t e f l o o r

of the l iv ing room.

N o - o n e n o t i c e d h i m ,t h o u g h . T h e f a m i l y w a st o t a l l y p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h

t h e v i o l i n p l a y i n g ; a t f i r s t ,t h e t h r e e g e n t l e m e n h a d

p u t t h e i r h a n d s i n t h e i rp o c k e t s a n d c o m e u p f a r

t o o c l o s e b e h i n d t h e m u s i cs t a n d t o l o o k a t a l l t h e

n o t e s b e i n g p l a y e d , a n dt h e y m u s t h a v e d i s t u r b e dG r e g o r ’s s i s t e r, b u t s o o n ,

i n c o n t r a s t w i t h t h efami ly, t hey w i thd rew back

t o t h e w i n d o w w i t h t h e i rh e a d s s u n k a n d t a l k i n g t o

e a c h o t h e r a t h a l f v o l u m e ,

cha oculta entre dos botonesde su librea abrochada; unode los señores le ofreció unasilla a la madre, quien, porno moverla de donde el se-ñor la había dejado al azar,permaneció sentada en unrincón.

La hermana empezó a to-car; el padre y la madre se-gu ían con a t enc ión , cadauno desde su sitio, los mo-v i m i e n t o s d e s u s m a n o s .Atraído por la música, [85]Gregor se había atrevido aasomarse un poco más y te-nía ya toda la cabeza en lasala de estar. Apenas se sor-prendía de la escasa consi-deración que, en los últimostiempos, tenía para con losdemás , una cons iderac iónque antes había sido su or-gullo. Y, sin embargo, aho-ra hubiera tenido más moti-vos que nunca para escon-derse, pues debido al polvoque lo cubría todo en su ha-b i t a c i ó n y s e e s p a r c í a a lmenor movimiento, tambiénél estaba completamente cu-bierto de polvo; sobre su es-palda y a los lados arrastra-ba cons igo h i los , pe los yrestos de comida; su indife-rencia hacia todo era dema-siado grande para permitir-le tumbarse de espaldas yrestregarse contra la alfom-bra, como antes hacía variasveces al día. Y, a pesar desu estado, no se avergonzóde avanzar un poco más pore l s u e l o i m p e c a b l e d e l asala de estar.

C i e r t o e s q u e n a d i eh a b í a r e p a r a d o e n é l . L af a m i l i a e s t a b a t o t a l m e n -t e a b s o r t a e n l a m ú s i c ad e l v i o l í n ; l o s h u é s p e -d e s , e n c a m b i o , q u e a lp r i n c i p i o , c o n l a s m a n o se n l o s b o l s i l l o s d e l p a n -t a l ó n , s e h a b í a n i n s t a l a -d o d e t r á s y d e m a s i a d oc e r c a d e l a t r i l d e l a h e r -m a n a , d e s u e r t e q u e h u -b i e r a n p o d i d o l e e r l ap a r t i t u r a - l o c u a l , s i nd u d a , t e n í a q u e m o l e s t a ra l a h e r m a n a - , s e r e t i r a -r o n p r o n t o , c o n l a c a b e -z a g a c h a y c o n v e r s a n d o a

door, his right hand insertedbetween two buttons of hislivery jacket; but his motherwas offered a chair by one ofthe gentlemen and sat downwhere the gentleman hadhappened to place it, tucked awayin a corner.

His sister began to play.Father and mother, f rome i t h e r s i d e , f o l l o w e dattentively the movementso f h e r h a n d s . G r e g o r ,at t racted by the playing,had ventured out a l i t t lefurther and already had hishead in the l iv ing-room.He was hardly surpr isedthat he had recently shownsuch l i t t le cons idera t ionf o r o t h e r s ; s u c hc o n s i d e r a t i o n h a d o n c ebeen h i s g r ea t e s t p r ide .And now there was evenmore reason for him to stayout of sight because, as aresult of the dust that layall over his room and blewa r o u n d a t t h e s l i g h t e s tm o v e m e n t , h e t o o w a sc o m p l e t e l y c o v e r e d i ndus t ; he dragged aroundwith him, on his back andalong his sides, lengths ofthread, hair and scraps offood; his indifference toeverything was much toogreat for him to turn overo n h i s b a c k a n d s c r u bh i m s e l f c l e a n o n t h ecarpet. And in spite of hisc o n d i t i o n , h e w a s n o tashamed to inch out a littlefur ther onto the spot lessliving-room floor.

Not that anyone noticedh i m . T h e f a m i l y w a scompletely [52] absorbedby the violin-playing; thelodgers on the other hand,w h o , h a v i n g s t a t i o n e dt h e m s e l v e s , h a n d s i npockets , much too c losebehind his sister ’s musicstand so that they could allhave read the music, whichmust surely have botheredhis sister, soon withdrew,muttering to one anotherwith lowered heads, to thew i n d o w w h e r e t h e yr e m a i n e d , a n x i o u s l ywatched by his father. I t

s’appuya donc contre la porte,une main entre les boutons desa l ivrée, mais l’un desmessieurs offrit une chaise àla mère qui n’osa pas lachanger de place et restaassise à part dans un coindurant le reste de la séance.

L a f i l l e s e m i t àj o u e r t a n d i s q u e l e p è r ee t l a mère observaient dedeux cô té s d i f f é ren t s l emouvemen t [73 ] de s e sma ins . A t t i r é pa r l amusique, Grégoire - audace!- s’était avancé légèrementet il avait déjà toute la têtedans l a s a l l e . I I nes’étonnait pas d’avoir perdudans l e s de rn i e r s t empscette perpétuelle crainte degêner qui faisait autrefoisson orgueil; et pourtant iln’avait jamais eu tant deraisons de se cacher, car,avec l e s s a l e t é s qu is’étalaient dans sa chambreet qui volaient au moindremouvement, il était toujourscouver t de poussière , debouts de fil, de cheveux, derestes de mangeaille qui secollaient sur son dos ou surses pattes et qu’il traînaitpartout avec lui; son apathieé t a i t devenue b i en t r opgrande pour qu’il songeâtenco re à s e ne t t oye rp lu s i eu r s fo i s pa r j ou rcomme au t r e fo i s en s efrottant sur le tapis, et sasa le té ne l ’ empêcha pasd ’avance r enco re s ansvergogne sur le plancherimmaculé.

I I faut d i re auss i quepe r sonne ne l ’ ava i tremarqué. La famille étaittrop absorbée par le violon,e t l e s l oca t a i r e s , qu is’étaient d’abord installés,les mains dans les poches,beaucoup t rop p rè s dupup i t r e - c e qu i gêna i tforcément la soeur obligéeainsi de voir danser leurimage au milieu des notes -ava i en t v i t e f i n i pa r s er e t i r e r, en bava rdan t àmi-voix , la tê te ba issée ,ve r s l a f enê t r e où i l srestèrent décidément sous leregard préoccupé du père

l a m a i n d r o i t e e n t r e d e u xb o u t o n s d e s a l i v r é e

soigneusement fermée; mais und e s m e s s i e u r s p r o p o s a u n e

chaise à la mère qui, laissant lesiège là où le monsieur l’avait

posé par hasard, s’assit à l’écartdans un coin.

G r e t e s e m i t à j o u e r ; l ep è r e e t l a m è r e s u i v a i e n t

a t t e n t i v e m e n t , c h a c u n d el e u r c ô t é , l e m o u v e m e n t d e

se s ma ins . Grego r , a t t i r é pa rl a m u s i q u e , s ’ é t a i t u n p e u

r i s q u é e n a v a n t e t i l p a s s a i td é j à l a t ê t e d a n s l a s a l l e . I l

s ’ é t o n n a i t à p e i n e d ’ a v o i rp r e s q u e e n t i è r e m e n t c e s s é ,c e s d e r n i e r s t e m p s , d e t e n i r

c o m p t e d e s g e n s ; j a d i s , i l ym e t t a i t s o n p o i n t d ’ h o n n e u r.

E t p o u r t a n t , i l n ’ a u r a i tj a m a i s e u p l u s d e r a i s o n s d e

s e c a c h e r , c a r, à c a u s e d e l asa le té qu i recouvra i t tou te sa

c h a m b r e e t q u i s ’ e n v o l a i t àl a m o i n d r e o c c a s i o n , i l é t a i t

l u i - m ê m e c o u v e r t d ep o u s s i è r e ; d e s f i l s , d e sc h e v e u x , d e s r e s t e s d e

n o u r r i t u r e t r a î n a i e n t s u r s o nd o s e t s u r s e s f l a n c s ; s o n

i n d i f f é r e n c e e n v e r s t o u té t a i t b i e n t r o p g r a n d e p o u r

qu’ i l songeâ t enco re , commei l l e f a i s a i t a u p a r a v a n t

p l u s i e u r s f o i s p a r j o u r , à s ec o u c h e r s u r l e d o s p o u r s eb r o s s e r s u r l e t a p i s . E t ,

m a l g r é l ’ é t a t o ù i l s et r o u v a i t , i l n ’ é p r o u v a

a u c u n e v e r g o g n e à a v a n c e rd ’ u n p a s s u r l e p l a n c h e r

i m m a c u l é d e l a s a l l e d esé jou r.

I l f a u t d i r e q u e p e r s o n n e

n e p r e n a i t g a r d e à l u i . L af a m i l l e é t a i t e n t i è r e m e n tp r i s e p a r l e j e u d u v i o l o n ;

l e s l o c a t a i r e s , e n r e v a n c h e ,q u i , l e s m a i n s d a n s l e s

p o c h e s d e l e u r p a n t a l o n ,s ’ é t a i e n t t e n u s t o u t d ’ a b o r d

s i p r è s d u p u p i t r e q u ’ i l sa u r a i e n t p u l i r e l a p a r t i t i o n ,

c e q u i d e v a i t c e r t a i n e m e n tg ê n e r G r e t e , a v a i e n t f i n i , e nb a i s s a n t l a t ê t e e t e n s e

p a r l a n t à m i - v o i x , p a r s er e t i r e r d u c ô t é d e l a f e n ê t r e ,

o ù s o u s l e s r e g a r d s i n q u i e t sd u p è r e , i l s a v a i e n t d é c i d é

d e r e s t e r . O n c o m p r e n a i t

door with his r ight handtucked between two buttonso f h i s f a s t ened un i fo rmjacket; the mother, however,was offered a chair by oneof the gentlemen and satdown where he had chancedto put it, off in a corner.

T h e s i s t e r b e g a n t op l a y ; t h e m o t h e r a n df a t h e r o n e i t h e r s i d e o fh e r a t t e n t i v e l y f o l l o w e dt h e m o v e m e n t o f h e rh a n d s . G r e g o r , s e d u c e db y t h e p l a y i n g , h a dv e n t u r e d f a r t h e rf o r w a r d a n d h i s h e a dw a s a l r e a d y i n t h el i v i n g r o o m . H i sg r o w i n g l a c k o f c o n c e r nf o r t h e o t h e r s h a r d l ys u r p r i s e d h i m , w h e r e a sp r e v i o u s l y h e h a dp r i d e d h i m s e l f o n b e i n gc o n s i d e r a t e . A n d y e tn o w h e h a d m o r e r e a s o nt h a n e v e r t o s t a yh i d d e n : H e w a s c o a t e dw i t h t h e d u s t t h a tb l a n k e t e d h i s r o o m a n db l e w a r o u n d a t t h es l igh te s t movemen t , b i t so f f l u f f , h a i r , a n d f o o ds t u c k t o h i s b a c k a n dt ra i led f rom his s ides ; hewas so deeply indi fferentt h a t h e w o u l d n o t t u r nove r and sc rape h i s backc lean aga ins t t he ca rpe ta s h e o n c e d i d s e v e r a lt imes a day. And desp i t eh is condi t ion , he was no ta shamed to i nch f a r the ro n t o t h e i m m a c u l a t el iv ing room f loo r.

N o o n e , t o b e s u r e ,p a i d h i m a n y m i n d . T h ef a m i l y w a s c o m p l e t e l ya b s o r b e d b y t h e v i o l i np l a y i n g ; t h e b o a r d e r s o nt h e o t h e r h a n d h a d a tf i r s t s t o o d w i t h t h e i rhands in the i r pocke t s soc l o s e b e h i n d t h e s i s t e rt h a t t h e y c o u l d a l l h a v er e a d t h e m u s i c , w h i c h[ 4 4 ] m u s t h a v e i r r i t a t e dh e r , b u t t h e y s o o nw i t h d r e w t o t h e w i n d o we n d s t a y e d t h e r e w i t hl o w e r e d h e a d s a n dh a l f - h e a r d g r u m b l i n g sw h i l e t h e f a t h e r e y e d

puerta, con la mano derecha me-tida entre dos botones de la libreacerrada; pero a la madre, uno delos huéspedes le ofreció una bu-taca, y se sentó en un rincón apar-tado, pues no movió el asiento delpunto en que aquel señor lo ha-bía, casualmente, colocado.

Comenzó a tocar la her-mana, y el padre y la madre,cada uno desde su sitio, se-guían todos los movimientosde sus manos. Gregor io ,a t ra ído por la música ,atrevióse a avanzar un poco,y encontróse con la cabeza enel comedor. Casi no le sor-prendía la escasa considera-ción que guardaba a los de-más en los últimos tiempos,y, sin embargo, antes, esaconsideración había sido pre-cisamente su mayor orgullo.Empero, ahora más que nun-ca, tenía él motivo para ocul-tarse, pues, debido al estadode suciedad de su habitación,cualquier movimiento quehacía levantaba olas de pol-vo en torno suyo, y él mismoestaba cubierto de polvo yarrastraba consigo, en la es-palda y en los costados ,hilachos, pelos y restos decomida: Su indiferencia ha-cia todos era harto mayor quecuando, cual antaño variasveces al día, podía, echadosobre la espalda, restregarsecontra la alfombra. Y, sin em-bargo, a pesar [90] del esta-do en que se hallaba, no sen-tía’ el menor rubor en avan-zar por el suelo inmaculadodel comedor.

Verdad es que nadie secuidaba de é l . La fami l iaha l lábase comple tamentea b s o r t a p o r e l v i o l í n , ylo s huéspedes , que a l opr imero habíanse coloca-do , con las manos en losb o l s i l l o s d e l p a n t a l ó n ,jun to a l a t r i l , demas iadocerca de és te , con lo cua ltodos pod ían i r l eyendol a s n o t a s y m o l e s t a b a nseguramente a la herma-na , no t a rda ron en r e t i -rarse hacia la ventana, end o n d e p e r m a n e c í a n c u -ch icheando, con las t es -tas incl inadas, y observa-

right hand between twobuttons of his buttoned-upuniform jacket; the mother,however, was offered a chairby one gentleman and, leavingit where he happened to placeit, she sat off to the side, in acorner.

T h e s i s t e r b e g a n t op lay ; the f a the r and them o t h e r , o n e i t h e r s i d e ,c l o s e l y f o l l o w e d t h em o t i o n s o f h e r h a n d s .G r e g o r , d r a w n t o t h eplaying, had ventured a bitf u r t h e r o u t , s o t h a t h i shead was already st ickingi n t o t h e p a r l o r. H e w a shardly aware of his recentl a c k o f c o n s i d e r a t i o nt o w a r d t h e o t h e r s ,a l t h o u g h e a r l i e r h e h a dpr ided h imse l f on be ingconsiderate. For now morethan ever he had reason tohide, thoroughly coated ashe was with the dust thatshrouded everything in hisroom, f lur ry ing about a tt h e v a g u e s t m o v e m e n t .F u r t h e r m o r e , t h r e a d s ,h a i r s , a n d s c r a p s o fl e f t o v e r f o o d w e r es t icking to h is back andh i s s i d e s , f o r h e h a db e c o m e m u c h t o oapathetic to turn over ands c o u r h i s b a c k o n t h eca rpe t a s he u sed t o doseveral t imes a day. Ands o , d e s p i t e h i s p r e s e n ts t a te , he had no qua lmsa b o u t a d v a n c i n g a b i tacross the spotless parlorfloor.

N o r , t o b e s u r e , d i danyone take any not ice ofh i m . T h e f a m i l y w a se n g r o s s e d i n t h e v i o l i nplaying; the boarders , inc o n t r a s t , t h e i r h a n d s i ntheir t rouser pockets , hadi n i t i a l l y p l a c e dt h e m s e l v e s m u c h t o oclose to the sister ’s musics t a n d s o t h e y c o u l d a l lread the score, which wasbound to f luster her. As ar e s u l t , [ 1 7 5 ] h a l fmutter ing with loweredheads, they soon retreatedto the window, where theyremained, with the fa ther

117116

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

a n d t h e y s t a y e d b y t h ew i n d o w w h i l e G r e g o r ’ s

f a t h e r o b s e r v e d t h e ma n x i o u s l y. I t r e a l l y n o w

s e e m e d v e r y o b v i o u s t h a tt h e y h a d e x p e c t e d t o h e a r

s o m e b e a u t i f u l o re n t e r t a i n i n g v i o l i n p l a y i n g

b u t h a d b e e n d i s a p p o i n t e d ,t h a t t h e y h a d h a d e n o u g ho f t h e w h o l e p e r f o r m a n c e

a n d i t w a s o n l y n o w o u t o fp o l i t e n e s s t h a t t h e y

a l l o w e d t h e i r p e a c e t o b ed i s tu rbed . I t was espec ia l ly

unne rv ing , t he way they a l lb l e w t h e s m o k e f r o m t h e i r

c i g a r e t t e s u p w a r d s f r o mt hei r mouth and noses . Ye tGregor ’s s i s t e r was p lay ing

so beaut i fu l ly. Her face waslean t to one s ide , fo l lowing

t h e l i n e s o f m u s i c w i t h ac a r e f u l a n d m e l a n c h o l y

express ion . Gregor c rawleda l i t t l e f u r t h e r f o r w a r d ,

k e e p i n g h i s h e a d c l o s e t othe g round so tha t he cou ld

mee t he r eyes i f the chancecame. Was he an an imal i fmus ic cou ld cap t iva t e h im

so? I t seemed to h im tha t hewas be ing shown the way to

t h e u n k n o w n n o u r i s h m e n th e h a d b e e n y e a r n i n g f o r.

He was de te rmined to makeh i s w a y f o r w a r d t o h i s

s i s te r and tug a t her sk i r t tos h o w h e r s h e m i g h t c o m einto his room with her violin,

a s n o - o n e a p p r e c i a t e d h e rplaying here as much as he

would . He never wan ted tole t he r ou t o f h i s room, no t

whi le he l ived , anyway; h i ss h o c k i n g a p p e a r a n c e

s h o u l d , f o r o n c e , b e o fsome use to h im; he wan ted

t o b e a t e v e r y d o o r o f h i sr o o m a t o n c e t o h i s s a n dsp i t a t t h e a t t a c k e r s ; h i s

s i s t e r s h o u l d n o t b ef o r c e d t o s t a y w i t h h i m ,

t h o u g h , b u t s t a y o f h e ro w n f r e e w i l l ; s h e w o u l d

s i t b e s i d e h i m o n t h ec o u c h w i t h h e r e a r b e n t

d o w n t o h i m w h i l e h et o l d h e r h o w h e h a da l w a y s i n t e n d e d t o s e n d

h e r t o t h e c o n s e r v a t o r y,h o w h e w o u l d h a v e t o l d

e v e r y o n e a b o u t i t l a s tC h r i s t m a s - h a d

C h r i s t m a s r e a l l y c o m e

m e d i a v o z , h a c i a l a v e n -t a n a , d o n d e s e q u e d a r o n ,o b s e r v a d o s c o n p r e o c u -p a c i ó n p o r e l p a d r e . E r ad e m a s i a d o e v i d e n t e q u ep a r e c í a n d e c e p c i o n a d o se n s u s e x p e c t a t i v a s d eo í r u n r e c i t a l d e v i o l í nh e r m o s o o e n t r e t e n i d o ,q u e e s t a b a n h a r t o s [ 8 6 ]d e l a f u n c i ó n y q u e s o l op o r c o r t e s í a p e r m i t í a nq u e s e l e s m o l e s t a s e . S o -b r e t o d o l a m a n e r a c o m oe x p u l s a b a n e l h u m o d es u s p u r o s p o r l a n a r i z yp o r l a b o c a d e l a t a b a s ug r a n a g i t a c i ó n . ¡ C o n l ob i e n q u e t o c a b a la herma-na! Es ta había ladeado lac a r a y s u m i r a d a s e g u í a ,t r i s t e y e s c r u t a d o r a , l o spentagramas. Gregor avan-zó un poco más y mantuvol a c a b e z a m u y p e g a d a a lsuelo para que, a ser posi-ble, su mirada se encontra-ra con la de ella. ¿Era real-mente un animal, puesto quel a m ú s i c a l o e m o c i o n a b atanto? Le pareció que se leabría el camino hacia el an-helado y desconocido al i -mento . Es taba dec id ido aavanzar hasta donde se ha-llaba la hermana, tirarle dela falda e insinuarle así queentrase en su habitación cone l v io l ín , pues a l l í nad ieagradecía su interpretacióncomo él deseaba agradecér-sela. No quería dejarla salirya nunca más de su habita-ción, al menos no mientrasestuviera v ivo; por pr ime-ra vez su horr ib le f igura leser ía ú t i l ; quer ía es tar ent o d a s l a s p u e r t a s d e s ucuar to a la vez y rechazara los ag res o r e s ; p e r o l ah e r m a n a n o d e b e r í aq u e d a r s e c o n é l p o r l af u e r z a , s i n o v o l u n t a -r i a m e n t e ; d e b e r í a s e n -t a r s e a s u l a d o e n e ls o f á , i n c l i n a r e l o í d oh a c i a é l , y é l l e c o n -f i a r í a e n t o n c e s q u e t e -n í a l a f i r m e i n t e n c i ó nd e m a n d a r l a a l c o n s e r -v a t o r i o y , d e n o h a b e r -s e i n t e r p u e s t o a q u e l l ad e s g r a c i a , s e l o h a b r í ad i c h o a t o d o s l a N a v i -d a d p a s a d a - ¿ y a h a b í a

really did seem abundantlyc l e a r t h a t t h e y w e r ed i s a p p o i n t e d i n t h e i re x p e c t a t i o n o f h e a r i n gs o m e b e a u t i f u l o renjoyable violin-playing,that they were tired of thewhole pe r fo rmance , andt h a t i t w a s o n l y o u t o fcou r t e sy t ha t t hey we repermitting their peace tob e f u r t h e r d i s t u r b e d . I twas in part icular the waythey al l b lew their c igars m o k e i n t o t h e a i rt h r o u g h t h e n o s e a n dmouth that suggested theywere highly stressed. Yethis sister was playing sobeautifully. Her face wastilted to one side, her eyeslooked sad and searching asthey followed the lines ofthe score. Gregor crawled al i t t l e f u r t he r f o rward ,keeping his head close tothe floor so that their eyesmight meet. Could he be ananimal if music moved himso? He felt as if he werebeing shown the way to theunknown nourishment thathe so c r aved . He wasdetermined to press forwardunt i l he had reached hiss i s t e r , and sugges t bytugging her skirt that sheshould come into his roomwith her violin, for no onehe re app rec i a t ed he rp l ay ing a s he wou ldapp rec i a t e i t . He wou ldnever again let her out of hisroom, at least not as long ashe lived; his nightmarishappearance would for onceserve some useful purpose;he would be at all the doorsof his room at once and spitat his aggressors; his sister,h o w e v e r , w o u l d n o t b ecompelled to stay with him,but would do so of her ownf ree wi l l ; she wou ld s i tbeside him on the couchand incline her ear towardsh im, and he wou ld thenconfide to her that i t hadbeen his f irm intention tos e n d h e r t o t h econservatoire, and that ift h e c a t a s t r o p h e h a d n o t[53] intervened, he wouldh a v e a n n o u n c e d t h i s t oeveryone last Christmas -

qu i l e s obse rva i ta t t en t i vemen t . I l é t a i tdevenu trop évident qu’ilsavaient été déçus dans leurespoir d’entendre un beaumorceau de violon ou toutau moins une petite mélodiemusante, que [74] tout celal e s f a t i gua i t e t qu ’ i l sn ’ accep t a i en t p lu s l edé rangemen t que pa rpolitesse. A la façon dont ilssoufflaient la fumée de leurscigares , à l ’énergie aveclaquelle ils l’envoyaient auplafond par le nez ou par labouche, on devinai t leuragacement . E t l a soeu rjouait pourtant si bien! Levisage penché de côté, ellesuivai t sa par t i t ion d’unregard si profond, si triste.Grégoire avança encore unpeu et approcha la tête leplus près possible du solpour essayer de rencontrerce regard. N’était-il doncqu’une bête? Cette musiquel ’émouvai t t an t . I l ava i tl’ impression qu’une voies ’ouv ra i t à l u i ve r s l anourriture inconnue qu’ildésirai t s i ardemment. I létait décidé à se frayer unchemin jusqu’à sa soeur età la tirer par la robe pour luif a i r e comprend re qu ’ i lfallait venir chez lui parceque pe r sonne i c i nerécompensai t sa musiquepa r l ’ admi ra t i on qu ’ i lsaurait lui témoigner. Il nela laisserait plus sortir de sachambre, tout au moins tantqu’il vivrait; pour une foissa fo rme ho r r ib l e l u iservirait à quelque chose, ilserait à toutes les portes àl a fo i s , r epoussan t l e sagresseurs de son soufflerauque. Entendons-nous, il ‘ne voulait pas obliger sasoeur à rester chez lui; elledev ra i t y demeure rvolontairement, s’asseoirprès de lui sur le canapé etlui prêter enfin l’oreille :a l o r s i l l u i d i r a i t enconfidence qu’il avait eul’intention bien arrêtée del’envoyer au Conservatoiree t qu’ i l eû t déc laré ce ladevant tout le monde sanss’inquiéter des objections,pas plus [75] tard qu’à la

m a i n t e n a n t a v e c p l u sd ’ é v i d e n c e q u ’ i l n ’ é t a i t

n é c e s s a i r e q u ’ a p r è s a v o i re s p é r é e n t e n d r e u n b e a u

m o r c e a u d e v i o l o n o u d um o i n s q u e l q u e c h o s e d e

r é c r é a t i f , i l s a v a i e n t é t éd é ç u s d a n s l e u r a t t e n t e ,

q u ’ i l s é t a i e n t l a s s é s d e c ec o n c e r t e t q u ’ i l sn ’ a c c e p t a i e n t p l u s q u e p a r

p o l i t e s s e d ’ ê t r e a i n s id é r a n g é s d a n s l e u r r e p o s . A

l a f a ç o n d é j à d o n t t o u s t r o i sc h a s s a i e n t e n l ’ a i r l a f u m é e

de l eu r s c iga re s pa r l e nez e tp a r l a b o u c h e , o n d e v i n a i t

l e u r g r a n d e n e r v o s i t é . E tGrete pour tant jouai t s i b ien .El le avai t le v isage penché de

côté e t , de ses yeux a t tent i f se • ‘ c i s t e s , e l l e s u i v a i t l e s

notes sur les por tées . Gregorf i t un pas de p lus en rampant ,

l a t ê t e c o l l é e a u s o l , p o u re s s a y e r d e r e n c o n t r e r s o n

regard. N’étai t- i l qu’une bête,s i l a m u s i q u e l ’ é m o u v a i t

p a r e i l l e m e n t ? I l a v a i tl ’ i m p r e s s i o n q u e s ’ o u v r a i td e v a n t l u i l e c h e m i n d e l a

nourri ture inconnue à laquellei l a s p i r a i t s i a r d e m m e n t . I l

é t a i t d é c i d é à s e f r a y e r u npassage jusqu’à sa soeur, à la

t i rer par sa jupe pour lu i fa i rec o m p r e n d r e q u ’ e l l e d e v a i t

ven i r dans s a chambre avecson v io lon , ca r pe r sonne nesaurai t prof i ter de sa musique

au tan t qu ’ i l s ’ apprê ta i t à l efa i re . I l ne la la i ssera i t p lus

q u i t t e r s a c h a m b r e , a u s s il o n g t e m p s d u m o i n s q u ’ i l

r e s t e r a i t e n v i e ; p o u r l ap r e m i è r e f o i s , s o n a s p e c t

terr i f iant le servirai t ; i l serai tà toutes les portes à la fois, i l

c rachera i t son ven in su r l e sagr e s s e u r s ; i l n ’ e x e r c e r a i td ’ a i l l e u r s a u c u n e c o n t r a i n t e

sur sa soeur, e l l e r e s t e r a i td e s o n p l e i n g r é ; e l l e

s ’ a s s i é r a i t à c ô t é d e l u is u r l e c a n a p é ,

p e n c h e r a i t l ’ o r e i l l ev e r s l u i ; i l l u i

c o n f i e r a i t a l o r s q u ’ i la v a i t l a f e r m e i n t e n t i o nd e l ’ e n v o y e r a u

C o n s e r v a t o i r e e t q u e , s il e m a l h e u r n ’ é t a i t p a s

a r r i v é , i l a v a i t e u l ep r o j e t d e l ’ a n n o n c e r à

t o u t l e m o n d e à l a N o ë l

t h e m n e r v o u s l y . I n d e e di t was more than obvioust h a t t h e i r h o p e s o fhear ing the v io l in p layedw e l l o r e n t e r t a i n i n g l yw e r e d i s a p p o i n t e d , t h a tthey had had enough o fthe rec i t a l and were on lys u f f e r i n g t h r o u g h t h i sd i s t u r b a n c e o f t h e i rpeace ou t o f po l i t enes s .In pa r t i cu la r, the mannerin wh ich they b l ew the i rc louds o f c iga r smoke tot h e c e i l i n g t h r o u g hthe i r mouths and nose sd i s p l a y e d s e v e r ea g g r a v a t i o n . A n d y e tt h e s i s t e r p l a y e d s ob e a u t i f u l l y . H e r f a c ew a s t i l t e d t o o n e s i d ea n d s h e f o l l o w e d t h en o t e s w i t h s o u l f u l a n dp r o b i n g e y e s . G r e g o ra d v a n c e d a l i t t l e ,k e e p i n g h i s e y e s l o w s ot h a t t h e y m i g h t p o s s i b l ym e e t h e r s . W a s h e ab e a s t i f m u s i c c o u l dm o v e h i m s o ? H e f e l t a st h o u g h t h e p a t h t o h i su n k n o w n h u n g e r s w a sb e i n g c l e a r e d . H e w a sg r i m l y d e t e r m i n e d t or e a c h t h e s i s t e r a n d t u go n h e r s k i r t t o s u g g e s tt h a t s h e t a k e h e r v i o l i na n d c o m e i n t o h i s r o o m ,f o r n o o n e h e r e w a s a sw o r t h y o f h e r p l a y i n g a sh e w o u l d b e . H e w o u l dn e v e r l e t h e r l e a v e h i sr o o m , a t l e a s t a s l o n g a sh e l i v e d ; f o r t h e f i r s tt i m e , h i s h o r r i f y i n ga p p e a r a n c e w o u l d w o r kt o h i s a d v a n t a g e : H ew o u l d s t a n d g u a r d a t a l l t h ed o o r s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y, h i s s i n ga t t h e a t t a c k e r s ; t h e s i s t e r ,ho w e v e r , w o u l d n o t b ef o r c i b l y d e t a i n e d b u tw o u l d s t a y w i t h h i mo f h e r o w n f r e e w i l l .S h e w o u l d s i t b e s i d eh i m o n t h e s o f a , s h ew o u l d l e a n d o w n a n dl i s t e n a s h e c o n f i d e d ,h o w h e h a d i n t e n d e d t os e n d h e r t o t h eC o n s e r v a t o r y a n d h o ,i f m i s f o r t u n e h a d n o ti n t e r f e r e d , h e w o u l dh a v e a n n o u n c e d t h i sp l a n t o e v e r y o n e l a s t

dos por e l padre , a qu ienes ta ac t i tud v is ib lementep r e o c u p a b a . Y e s q u ea q u e l l o p a r e c í a d e c i rbas tan te a l as c la ras quesu i lus ión de o í r mús icase lec ta o d iver t ida hab ías ido de f raudada , que yaempezaban a cansa r se yque solo por cortesía con-sentían que siguiese mo-lestándoles y turbando sus a n t a t r a n q u i l i d a d .E s p e c i a l m e n t e e l m o d oque todos tenían de echarpor la boca o la nariz elhumo de sus cigarros, de-la taba g ran nerviosidad.Y, empero, ¡qué bien tocabala hermana! Con el rostro la-deado seguía atenta y triste-mente leyendo el pentagrama.Gregorio se arrastró otro pocohacia adelante y mantuvo lacabeza pegada al suelo, ha-ciendo por encontrar con sumirada la mirada de la herma-na. ¿Si sería una fiera, que lamúsica tanto le impresionaba?Le parecía como si se abrieseante él el camino que había deconducirle hasta un alimentodesconocido, ardientementeanhelado. Sí, estaba decididoa llegar hasta la hermana, atirarle de la falda y a hacerlecomprender de este modo quehabía de venir a su cuarto conel violín, porque nadie pre-miaba aquí su música cual élquería hacerlo. En adelante,ya no la dejaría salir de aquelcuarto, al menos en tanto élviviese. Por primera vez ha-bía de servirle de algo aque-lla su espantosa forma. Que-ría poder estar a un tiempo entodas las puertas, pronto a sal-tar sobre todos los que preten-diesen ataca r l e . Pe ro e rapreciso q u e l a h e r m a n ap e r m a n e c i e s e j u n t o a é l ,n o a l a f u e r z a , s i n o v o -l u n t a r i a m e n t e ; e r a p r e -c i s o q u e s e s e n t a s e j u n -t o a é l e n e l s o f á , q u e s ei n c l i n a s e h a c i a é l , y e n -t o n c e s l e c o n f i a r í a a lo í d o q u e h a b í a t e n i d o l af i r m e i n t e n c i ó n d e e n -v i a r l a a l C o n s e r v a t o r i o ,y que de no habe r sob re -v e n i d o l a d e s g r a c i a , d u -r a n t e l a s p a s a d a s N a v i -d a d e s - ¿ p u e s l a s N a v i -

eyeing them uneas i ly. I tn o w t r u l y s e e m e d m o r et h a n o b v i o u s t h a t t h e i rh o p e o f l i s t e n i n g t o al o v e l y o r e n t e r t a i n i n gv i o l i n r e c i t a l h a d b e e ndashed , that they had hadenough of the performance,and that i t was only out ofsheer cour tesy tha t theywere al lowing themselvest o b e p u t u p o n i n t h e i rle isure . I t was especial lythe manner in which theyall blew their cigar smokea l o f t t h r o u g h t h e i rm o u t h s a n d n o s e s t h a th i n t e d a t h o w f i d g e t yt h e y w e r e . A n d y e t t h es i s t e r w a s p l a y i n g s obeaut i ful ly. Her face wasl ean ing t o t he s i de , he rs a d , p r o b i n g e y e s w e r ef o l l o w i n g t h e l i n e s o fno tes . Gregor c rawled ab i t f a r t h e r o u t , k e e p in gh i s h e a d c l o s e t o t h ef loor, so tha t the i r eyesmight possibly meet . Washe a beast to be so movedby music? He fel t as i f hew e r e b e i n g s h o w n t h epath to the unknown foodhe was yearning for. Hewas determined to creepa l l t h e w a y o v e r t o t h esis ter, tug at her skir t tosuggest that she take herviol in and come into hisr o o m , f o r n o o n e h e r ewould reward her playingas he intended to rewardi t . He wanted to keep hert h e r e a n d n e v e r l e t h e ro u t , a t l e a s t n o t i n h i sl i f e t i m e . F o r o n c e , h i sterr i fying shape would beusefu l to h im; he wouldbe at a l l the doors of hisr o o m s i m u l t a n e o u s l y,h i ss ing a t the a t t ackers .H i s s i s t e r , h o w e v e r ,shou ld r ema in wi th h imnot by force , bu t o f herown free wil l . She shoulds i t n e x t t o h i m o n t h es e t t e e , l e a n i n g d o w n t ohim and l i s ten ing to h imconf ide tha t he had beenin ten t on sending her tot h e c o n s e r v a t o r y , a n dthat i f the misfor tune hadnot in te r fe red , he wouldhave announced h is p lant o e v e r y o n e [ 1 7 6 ] l a s t

119118

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

a n d g o n e a l r e a d y ? - i ft h i s m i s f o r t u n e h a d n ’ t

g o t i n t h e w a y , a n dr e f u s e t o l e t a n y o n e

d i s s u a d e h i m f r o m i t . O nh e a r i n g a l l t h i s , h i s

s i s t e r w o u l d b r e a k o u t i nt e a r s o f e m o t i o n , a n d

G r e g o r w o u l d c l i m b u p t oh e r s h o u l d e r a n d k i s s h e rn e c k , w h i c h , s i n c e s h e h a d

been go ing ou t to work , sheh a d k e p t f r e e w i t h o u t a n y

n e c k l a c e o r c o l l a r.

“Mr. Samsa!”, shouted them i d d l e g e n t l e m a n t o

G r e g o r ’s f a t h e r , p o i n t i n g ,w i t h o u t w a s t i n g a n y m o r ewords, with his forefinger at

Gregor as he slowly movedf o r w a r d . T h e v i o l i n w e n t

s i l e n t , t h e m i d d l e o f t h ethree gentlemen f irs t smiled

at h is two f r iends , shakingh i s h e a d , a n d t h e n l o o k e d

back a t Gregor. H i s f a the rs e e m e d t o t h i n k i t m o r e

important to calm the threeg e n t l e m e n b e f o r e d r i v i n gGregor out, even though they

w e r e n o t a t a l l u p s e t a n dseemed to think Gregor was

more en t e r t a in ing t ha t t heviol in playing had been. He

rushed up to them with hisa r m s s p r e a d o u t a n d

attempted to drive them backinto their room at the sametime as t rying to block their

v i e w o f G r e g o r w i t h h i sbody. Now they did become

a l i t t le annoyed, and i t wasnot clear whether i t was his

f a t h e r ’s b e h a v i o u r t h a tannoyed them or the dawning

realisation that they had hada neighbour like Gregor in the

next room without knowingit. They asked Gregor ’s fatherfor explanations, raised their

a r m s l i k e h e h a d , t u g g e dexcitedly at heir beards and

m o v e d b a c k t o w a r d s t h e i rr o o m o n l y v e r y s l o w l y.

Meanwhi l e Gregor ’s s i s t e rhad overcome the despair she

h a d f a l l e n i n t o w h e n h e rp l a y i n g w a s s u d d e n l yinterrupted. She had let her

hands drop and let violin andbow hang l imply [flaccidly]

for a while but continued tolook at the music as if st i l l

p l a y i n g , b u t t h e n s h e

p a s a d o l a N a v i d a d ? - ,s i n p r e o c u p a r s e p o rl a s p o s i b l e s o b j e c i o -n e s . T r a s e s a d e c l a r a -c i ó n , l a h e r m a n a , e m o -c i o n a d a , e s t a l l a r í a e nl l a n t o , y G r e g o r [ 8 7 ]s e l e s u b i r í a h a s t a e lh o m b r o y l e b e s a r í a e lc u e l l o , q u e e l l a , d e s d eq u e t r a b a j a b a e n l at i e n d a , l l e v a b a s i nc i n t a s n i a d o r n o s d en i n g ú n t i p o .

« ¡ S e ñ o r S a m s a ! » , l eg r i tó e l s eñor de en med ioa l p a d r e y s e ñ a l ó c o n e lí n d i c e , s i n m a l g a s t a r u n ap a l a b r a m á s , a G r e g o r ,q u e s e g u í a a v a n z a n d ol e n t a m e n t e . E l v i o l í nenmudec ió , e l s eño r de enm e d i o s o n r i ó m o v i e n d op r i m e r o l a c a b e z a e nd i r e c c i ó n a s u s a m i g o s yl u e g o v o l v i ó a m i r a r aG r e g o r . A l p a d r e l ep a r e c i ó m á s u r g e n t et r a n q u i l i z a r a l o shuéspedes que echar fueraa Gregor, aunque e s to s noe s t a b a n n a d a n e r v i o s o s yGregor parec ía d iver t i r losm á s q u e e l v i o l í n . C o r r i óh a c i a e l l o s e i n t e n t ó , c o nl o s b r a z o s e s t i r a d o s ,h a c e r l o s r e t r o c e d e r a s uhab i t ac ión e imped i r l e s a lm i s m o t i e m p o , c o n s uc u e r p o , v e r a G r e g o r .P e r o e s t a v e z s í q u e s ee n f a d a r o n u n p o c o , n o s es a b í a s i p o r e lcompor tamien to de l padreo p o r q u e d e p r o n t o s ed i e ron cuen t a de que , sinsaberlo, habían tenido un vecinocomo Gregor en l a c a s a .P id ie ron exp l icac iones a lpadre, alzaron también losbrazos, tiraron, inquietos, desus barbas y solo lentamentese retiraron a su habitación.Entretanto la hermana habíasuperado el desconcierto enque cayera al dejar de tocarbruscamente, y después des o s t e n e r u n m o m e n t o e lv i o l í n y e l a r c o e n s u sm a n o s , q u e c o l g a b a nlánguidas, y de mirar un ratomás la partitura como si aúnsiguiera tocando, reaccionóde golpe, puso el instrumento

Christmas had presumablyb e e n a n d g o n e ? - a n dwould not have listened toany objections. After thisd e c l a r a t i o n h i s s i s t e rwould burst into tears ofe m o t i o n , a n d G r e g o rwould raise himself to thelevel of her shoulder andk i s s h e r o n t h e n e c kw h i c h , e v e r s i n c e s h estarted going out to work,she had left bare withouta ribbon or collar.

‘Herr Samsa!’ the middlelodger c r ied , address ingGregor’s father, and withoutwas t ing ano ther wordpointed with his index fingera t the s lowly advanc ingGregor. The v io l in fe l ls i lent , the middle lodgerwith a shake of his headsmiled first at his friends,then looked at Gregor again.His father seemed to feelthat getting rid of Gregorwas for the moment lessurgent than reassuring thelodgers, although they wereno t a t a l l ag i t a ted andseemed to der ive morepleasure from Gregor thanthe v io l in -p lay ing . Hehurried over to them andtried with outstretched armsto d r ive them in to the i rroom, and at the same timeto block their view of Gregorwith his body. Now theyreally did get a little angry,though i t was no longerpossible to tell whether thiswas due to h i s fa ther ’sbehaviour or because of thedawning real isat ion that ,without their knowledge,they had had such a flatmateas Gregor. They demandedexplanations from his father,they themselves now raisedtheir arms, they pluckedexcitedly at their beards andonly slowly retreated to theirroom. His sister meanwhilehad overcome herbewilderment, caused by theabrupt end to her playing,and had suddenly, a f te rholding violin and bow for atime in her limply hanginghands, while continuing tolook at the music as if shewere still playing, pulled

Noël dernière (la Noël étaitbien passée?) si le malheurn’était survenu si tôt. Lasoeu r émue de ce t t eexp l i ca t i on éc l a t e r a i tsû remen t en l a rmes e tGrégoire , gr impant a lorsju squ ’à son épau l e ,l’embrasserait sur le cou; ceserait d’autant plus facilequ’elle ne portait plus ni coln i ruban; depuis qu’e l leallait au magasin elle étaittoujours décolletée.

«Monsieur Samsa!» criale monsieur du milieu enm o n t r a n t d e l ’ i n d e xG r é g o i r e q u i s ’ a v a n ç a i tlentement. Le violon se tutbrusquement, le monsieurdu milieu se tourna vers sesa m i s a v e c u n s o u r i r ea c c o m p a g n é d ’ u nhochement de t ê t e , pu i sramena les regards sur lefils. Le père sembla trouverplus urgent de rassurer seslocataires que de chasserson fils de la chambre bienq u e l e s m e s s i e u r s n eparussent nullement émusd u s p e c t a c l e e t q u eGrégoire eût même l’air deles amuser beaucoup plusq u e l e v i o l o n . L e p è r ecourut, les bras en croix,sur les trois messieurs qu’iltâcha de refouler dans leurc h a m b r e t o u t e n l e u rcachant la vue de Grégoirea v e c s o n c o r p s . I l scommencèrent a lors à sefâcher réellement, mais onne savait plus si c’était àcause du père ou à cause duvoisinage qu’on leur avaitimposé à leur insu et dontils prenaient brusquementconscience. Ils demandèrentdes explications, levèrent euxaussi les bras, tiraillèrentnerveusement leur barbe etreculèrent vers leur porte.Entre-temps la soeur s’étaitremise de l’émoi où l’avaitprécipitée la brusqueinterruption [76] de samusique; après être restée unmoment complètementdésorientée - avec le violon etl’archet qui pendaient au boutde ses mains molles à suivresa partition des yeux commesi elle jouait encore, elle

d e r n i è r e ( l a N o ë l é t a i tb i e n p a s s é e ? ) , s a n s

s ’ i n q u i é t e r d e so b j e c t i o n s . É m u e p a r

c e t t e d é c l a r a t i o n , e l l ef o n d r a i t e n l a r m e s e t

G r e g o r s e r e d r e s s e r a i tj u s q u ’ à l a h a u t e u r d e

s o n é p a u l e e tl ’ e m b r a s s e r a i t d a n s l ec o u q u e , d e p u i s q u ’ e l l e

t r a v a i l l a i t a u m a g a s i n ,e l l e g a r d a i t n u , s a n s c o l

n i r u b a n .

« M o n s i e u r S a m s a ! » ,c r i a a u p è r e l e m o n s i e u r d u

m i l i e u , s a n s d i r e u n s e u lm o t ; i l d é s i g n a i t d el ’ i n d e x G r e g o r , q u i

s ’ a v a n ç a i t l e n t e m e n t . L ev i o l o n s e t u t , l e m o n s i e u r

d u m i l i e u s e t o u r n ad ’ a b o r d v e r s s e s a m i s e n

s o u r i a n t e t e n h o c h a n t l at ê t e , p u i s i l p o r t a à

n o u v e a u s e s r e g a r d s d uc ô t é d e G r e g o r . L e p è r e

t r o u v a p l u s i m p o r t a n t , a ul i e u d e c h a s s e r G r e g o r ,d ’ a p a i s e r d ’ a b o r d s e s

l o c a t a i r e s , b i e n q u ec e u x - c i n e s e m b l a s s e n t

n u l l e m e n t n e r v e u x e t q u eG r e g o r p a r û t l e s a m u s e r

p l u s q u e l e v i o l o n . I lb o n d i t v e r s e u x e t c h e r c h a ,

l e s b r a s é c a r t é s , à l e sr e f o u l e r d a n s l e u r c h a m b r e ,t o u t e n m a s q u a n t a v e c s o n

c o r p s l a v u e d e G r e g o r . I l sc o m m e n c è r e n t a l o r s à s e

f â c h e r u n p e u , s a n s q u ’ o np û t s a v o i r s i c ’ é t a i t à c a u s e

d e l ’ a t t i t u d e d u p è r e o up a r c e q u ’ i l s v e n a i e n t

soudain de comprendre qu’ i l sava i ent eu, sans le savoir, un

v o i s i n d e c h a m b r e t e l q u eGrego r. I l s demandèren t dese x p l i c a t i o n s a u p è r e , e n

l e v a n t l e s b r a s e t e n t i r a n tnerveusement sur leur barbe

e t e n n e r e c u l a n t v e r s l e u rc h a m b r e q u e p a s à p a s .

E n t r e - t e m p s , l a s o e u r é t a i ts o r t i e d e l a t o r p e u r d a n s

l a q u e l l e e l l e é t a i t t o m b é eq u a n d s o n j e u a v a i t é t é s is o u d a i n e m e n t i n t e r r o m p u ;

après avoi r un moment la i ssém o l l e m e n t t o m b e r s e s b r a s ,

qui tenaient encore v io lon e tarchet e t cont inué à regarder

s a p a r t i t i o n , c o m m e s i e l l e

C h r i s t m a s - h a dC h r i s t m a s r e a l l yp a s s e d a l r e a d y ? - a n db r o o k e d n o a r g u m e n t .A f t e r t h i s d e c l a r a t i o nt h e s i s t e r w o u l d b u r s ti n t o e m o t i o n a l t e a r sa n d G r e g o r w o u l dr a i s e h i m s e l f t o h e rs h o u l d e r a n d k i s s h e rn e c k , w h i c h s h e k e p tb a r e s i n c e s h e s t a r t e dw o r k i n g , w e a r i n g n or i b b o n o r c o l l a r .

“Herr Samsa!” yelled themiddle man to the father,and without wasting anotherword po in t ed h i s i ndexfinger at Gregor, who wasslowly crawling forward.The violin stopped abruptly,and the middle boarder firstsmi l ed a t h i s f r i ends ,shaking his head, and thenlooked a t Gregor aga in .Rather than drive Gregorout, the father seemed toconsider it more urgent topac i fy t he boa rde r s ,a l t hough t hey we re no tupse t i n t he l e a s t andappea red t o be moreentertained by Gregor thanthe v io l i n p l ay ing . Thefather rushed to them andtried to herd them back tothe i r r oom wi th h i soutstretched arms while atthe same time blocking theirview [45] of Gregor with hisbody. They now became abit annoyed, but it was notclear whether the father ’sbehavior was to blame orwhether the realization wasdawning on them that theyhad unwi t t i ng ly h a d an e i g h b o r l i k e G r e g o r .They demanded explana-tions from the father, theyraised their arms at him andne rvous ly yanked t he i rbea rds , t hen t hey ve ryreluctantly backed away to-ward the i r room. In t hemeantime the sister woke upfrom the bewildered stateshe had fallen into after thesudden interruption of hermusic; after she listlesslydangled the violin and bowawhile in her slack handsand gazed at the music asthough she we re s t i l l

d a d e s y a h a b í a n p a s a d o ,n o ? - , a s í s e l o h u b i e r ad e c l a r a d o a t o d o s , s i nc u i d a r s e [ 9 2 ] d e n i n g u -n a o b j e c i ó n e n c o n t r a . Ya l o í r e s t a e x p l i c a c i ó n ,l a h e r m a n a , c o n m o v i d a ,r o m p e r í a a l l o r a r , yG r e g o r i o s e a l z a r í a h a s -t a s u s h o m b r o s , y l a b e -s a r í a e n e l c u e l l o , q u e ,d e s d e q u e i b a a l a t i e n -d a , l l e v a b a d e s n u d o , s i nc i n t a n i c u e l l o .

—Señor Samsa -dijo depronto al padre el señor queparecía ser el más autorizado.Y, sin desperdiciar ningunapalabra más, mostró al padre,extendiendo el índice enaquella dirección, a Gregorio,que iba lentamente avanzan-do. El violín enmudeció alpunto, y el señor que parecíaser el más autorizado sonrióa sus amigos, sacudiendo lacabeza, y tornó a mirar aGregorio. Al padre le pareciólo más urgente, en lugar dearrojar de allí a Gregorio,tranquilizar a los huéspedes,los cuales no se mostraban nimucho menos intranquilos, yparecían divertirse más con laaparición de Gregorio que conel violín. Precipitóse haciaellos, y, extendiendo los bra-zos, quiso empujarlos hacia suhabitación a la vez que lesocultaba con su cuerpo la vis-ta de Gregorio: Ellos, enton-ces, no disimularon su enojo,aunque no era posible saber siéste obedecía a la actitud delpadre o al enterarse en aquelmomento de que habían con-vivido, [93] sin sospecharlo,con un ser de aquella índole.Pidieron explicaciones al pa-dre, alzaron a su vez los bra-zos al cielo, se estiraron labarba con gesto inquieto, y noretrocedieron sino muy lenta-mente hasta su habitación.Mientras, la hermana habíalogrado sobreponerse a la im-presión que hubo de causarleen un principio el verse brus-camente interrumpida.Quedóse un punto con los bra-zos caídos, sujetando con in-dolencia el arco y el violín, yla mirada fija en el papel demúsica, cual si todavía toca-

Christmas (Christmas wasalready past , wasn’t i t?) ,absolutely refusing to take“no” for an answer. Afterh i s d e c l a r a t i o n , t h es i s t e r w o u l d b u r s t i n t ot e a r s o f e m o t i o n , a n dGregor would lift himself allthe way up to her shoulderand kiss her throat, whichshe had been keeping freeo f a n y r i b b o n o r c o l l a rsince she had f i r s t s ta r tedworking.

“Mr. Samsa!” the middlegen t l eman ca l l ed t o t hef a the r and , no t was t i nganother word, pointed hisindex finger at Gregor, whowas slowly edging forward.The violin broke off, themidd le gen t l eman f i r s tsmi l ed a t h i s f r i ends ,shaking his head, and thenlooked back at Gregor. Thefather, instead of drivingGrego r ou t , ev iden t lycons idered i t impera t ivefirst to calm the boarders,even though they were nott he l e a s t b i t upse t andappeared to f ind Gregormore entertaining than theviolin playing. The fatherhurried over to them and,with outspread arms, triedto push them into their roomwhi l e s imu l t aneous lyb lock ing t he i r v i ew o fGregor with his body. Theynow in fact began to grow abit irate, though there wasno telling whether it wasdue to the father ’s behavioro r t o t he i r g r adua lreal izat ion that they hadunknowingly had a neighborl i ke Grego r i n t he nex troom. They demandedexp lana t ions f rom thefather, raised their arms likehim, plucked at their beards,and only very slowly backedaway toward their room.Meanwhile the sister hadmanaged to overcome herbewilderment, caused by theabrupt end to her playing,and after a time of holdingthe violin and the bow in herslackly dangling hands andgazing at the score as if stillp l ay ing , she sudden lypulled herself together, left

brook digest, endure, stick out, stomach, bear, stand, tolerate, support, abide, suffer, put up put up with something or somebody unpleasant; «I cannot bear his constant criticism»;«The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks»; «he learned to tolerate the heat»; «She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage»

121120

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

s u d d e n l y p u l l e d h e r s e l ftogether, lay the instrument

on her mother ’s lap who stillsat laboriously struggling for

breath where she was, and ranin to t he nex t r oom wh ich ,

u n d e r p r e s s u r e f r o m h e rfa ther, the three gent lemen

were more qu ick ly movingt o w a r d . U n d e r h i s s i s t e r ’sexperienced hand, the pillows

and covers on the beds flewup and were put in to order

and she had already finishedmaking the beds and slipped

ou t aga in be fo re t he t h r eegen t lemen had reached the

room. Gregor ’s father seemedso obsessed with what he wasdoing that he forgot al l the

r e s p e c t h e o w e d t o h i stenants. He urged them and

pressed them until , when hewas already at the door of the

room, the middle of the threeg e n t l e m e n s h o u t e d l i k e

thunder and stamped his footand thereby brought Gregor ’s

fa ther to a ha l t . “ I dec lareh e r e a n d n o w ” , h e s a i d ,raising his hand and glancing

at Gregor’s mother and sisterto ga in the i r a t ten t ion too ,

“ t h a t w i t h r e g a r d t o t h er e p u g n a n t c o n d i t i o n s t h a t

prevail in this flat and with thisf a m i l y ” - h e r e h e l o o k e d

briefly but decisively at thef l o o r - “ I g i v e i m m e d i a t enotice on my room. For the

days that I have been livinghere I wi l l , o f course , pay

nothing at all, on the contraryI w i l l cons ide r whe the r t o

proceed wi th some k ind ofaction for damages from you,

and believe me i t would bev e r y e a s y t o s e t o u t t h e

grounds for such an action.”H e w a s s i l e n t a n d l o o k e dstraight ahead as if wait ing

for something. And indeed, histwo friends joined in with the

wor d s : “ A n d w e a l s o g i v eimmediate notice.” With that,

he took hold of the door handleand slammed the door.

G r e g o r ’ s f a t h e rs t a g g e r e d b a c k t o h i s s e a t ,

f e e l i n g h i s w a y w i t h h i sh a n d s , a n d f e l l in to i t ; i t

looked as if he was s t r e t c h i n gh i m s e l f o u t f o r h i s u s u a l

e v e n i n g n a p b u t f r o m

en el regazo de la madre, quecontinuaba sentada en su silla,respirando fatigosamente [88]con los pulmones sometidos aun violento esfuerzo, y corrióluego a la habitación contigua,a la que los huéspedes seacercaban ya rápidamenteempujados por el padre. Se pudover cómo, bajo las diestrasmanos de la hermana, las mantasy almohadas volaron hacia loalto y se fueron disponiendo enorden. Y antes de que losseñores l legaran a lahabitación, ella ya había hecholas camas y se hab í aescabullido fuera. El padreparecía , una vez más , t andominado por su obstinaciónque olvidó el respeto que, detodas formas , debía a sushuéspedes . No hac ía s inoempuja r y empuja r, has taque, ya en la puerta de lahabitación, el señor de enmedio pegó una atronadorapatada contra el suelo y sed e t u v o . « D e c l a r of o r m a l m e n t e » , d i j o l e -v a n t a n d o l a m a n o ybuscando con la mirada tam-b i é n a l a m a d r e y a l ahermana, «que en vista de lar epugnan te s i t uac ión queimpera en es ta casa y fa-m i l i a » - a l l l e g a r a q u íe s c u p i ó r e s u e l t a m e n t e a ls u e l o - , « a b a n d o n o a h o r amismo mi habi tación. Porsupuesto que no voy a pagarun solo céntimo por los díasque he vivido aquí, y másbien estoy pensando si nod e b e r í a p r e s e n t a r l e u n a scuantas reclamaciones que,créame, serían muy fácilesde justificar.» Calló y miróh a c i a d e l a n t e c o m o s iesperase algo. Y, en efecto,sus dos amigos intervinierond e i n m e d i a t o c o n l a ss i g u i e n t e s p a l a b r a s :«Nosotros también nos iremosahora mismo». Tras lo cual cogióel picaporte y cerró la puertadando un fuerte golpe.

[ 8 9 ] E l p a d r e a v a n z ót a m b a l e a n t e y p a l p a n d oc o n l a s m a n o s h a s t a s us i l l ó n , e n e l q u e s e d e j óc a e r ; p a r e c í a d i s p o n e r s ea e c h a r s u h a b i t u a ls iestecilla nocturna, pero la

herself together, placed theinstrument on her mother’slap, as she sat in her chairf ighting for breath withviolently pumping lungs, andhad run into the adjoiningroom which the lodgers,driven on [54] by his father,were now approaching morerapidly. Blankets and pillowscould be seen flying into theair and falling back onto thebed, guided by his sister ’spractised hands. Even beforethe lodgers had reached theirroom, she had finishedmaking the beds and slippedout. His father seemed oncemore so overwhelmed byhis obstinacy that he forgotevery scrap of respect thathe should, after all , haveshown his tenants. He keptd r iv ing t hem on and onu n t i l , a l r e a d y a t t h ebedroom door, the middlelodger s t amped h i s foo twith a sound like thunder,and so brought his father toa halt. ‘I hereby declare,’he said, raising his handa n d l o o k i n g r o u n d f o rGregor’s mother and sisteras well, ‘that in view of ther e p e l l e n t c o n d i t i o n sprevailing in this apartmentand fami ly he re he spa twith sudden resolve ontot h e f l o o r - ‘ I i n t e n d t ovacate this room as of now.I shall not of course pay apenny for the period I havealready spent here; I shallon the other hand considertaking action against youwith claims that - I assureyou - will be very easy tosubstantiate.’ He fell silentand looked straight ahead,a s i f he were expec t ingsomething. And, indeed, histwo fr iends chimed in atonce with, ‘We also given o t i c e a s o f n o w. ’Whereupon he seized thedoor handle and slammedthe door.

G r e g o r ’s f a t h e rstaggered, groped his wayto his chair and s lumpedo n t o i t ; h e m i g h t h a v eb e e n s t r e t c h i n g h i m s e l fo u t f o r h i s c u s t o m a r ye v e n i n g n a p , b u t t h e

s’était soudainement ressaisie,avait déposé son instrument dansle giron de sa mère -qui étaitrestée sur sa chaise à étouffer, lespoumons travaillant avec violence- et s’était précipitée dans lachambre voisine dont leslocataires se rapprochaient avecune rapidité croissante sousl’impulsion de M. Samsa. On vitvoler sous les mains exercées deGrete les oreillers et lescouvertures qui retombaientensuite en bon ordre sur les lits.Les trois messieurs n’avaient pasencore atteint la chambre que leurcouche était déjà prête et queGrete se glissait hors de chez eux.Quant au père il semblait si bienpossédé par son humeur bizarrequ’il en avait oublié le respectdû malgré tout à ses locataires.Et de les presser, de lesrefouler jusqu’à la porte de lachambre où le monsieur dumilieu le fit stopperbrusquement en frappant dupied sur le sol avec un bruit detonnerre : «Je vous annonce»,dit cet homme en levant là mainet en cherchant du regard lesdeux femmes, «qu’en présencede la situation infecte qui règnedans cette famille et quidéshonore ces murs - ici,prenant une décision brusque,il cracha sur le parquet - je voussignifie mon congé immédiat.Naturellement vous netoucherez pas un sou pour letemps que j’ai habité chez vous;je me demande [77] même si jene dois pas exiger undédommagement qui seraitfacile à motiver, croyez-m’en;c’est une question que je vaismettre à l’étude.» Il se tut etregarda dans le vide comme s’ilattendait quelque chose.Effectivement ses deux amisprirent aussitôt la parole :« Nous vous signifions, nousaussi, notre congé immédiat.»Là-dessus le monsieur dumilieu saisit la poignée de laporte et sortit en faisant claquerle battant.

Le père se dir igea versson fau teu i l en tâ tonnantet se la issa tomber dessusc o m m e u n e m a s s e ; i la v a i t l ’ a i r d e s ’ ê t r ea l l o n g é p o u r s a p e t i t es ies te vespéra le, mais, à la

jouait encore, elle s’était tout à coupressaisie, avait déposé son

instrument sur les genoux de samère - qui était restée assise sur sa

chaise, aux prises avec unétouffement et qu’on entendait

respirer péniblement - et elle s’étaitprécipitée vers la chambre voisine,

dont les locataires, poussés par lepère, se rapprochaient maintenantun peu plus vite. On vit, sous les

mains expertes de la soeur, oreillerset couvertures voler en l’air et

retomber en bon ordre sur les lits.Les trois messieurs n’avaient pas

encore atteint leur chambre, qu’elleavait déjà terminé de faire les lits et

s’était glissée au-dehors. Quant aupère , i l avai t é té repr is à cepoint par son entêtement qu’i l

f inissai t par oublier le respectq u ’ e n t o u t é t a t d e c a u s e i l

d e v a i t à s e s l o c a t a i r e s . I lc o n t i n u a i t à l e s p r e s s e r

toujours davantage , jusqu’aum o m e n t o ù l e m o n s i e u r d u

mil ieu , parvenu déjà au seui ld e s a c h a m b r e , f r a p p a

violemment du pied sur le sol ,obl igeant le père à s ’ar rê ter :« Je déclare », di t - i l en levant

l a m a i n e t e n c h e r c h a n t d uregard l a mère e t l a f i l l e , «

q u e , v u l e s c o n d i t i o n srépugnantes qui règnent dans

cet appar tement e t dans ce t tefamil le » - ce disant , i l cracha

par te r re d’un a i r déc idé - , «je déc lare que je vous donnec o n g é s u r - l e - c h a m p . B i e n

entendu, je ne pa iera i pas unsou pour les journées où j ’a i

h a b i t é i c i . J e v a i s v o i r a uc o n t r a i r e s i j e n e d o i s p a s

e x i g e r d e v o u s u ndédommagement , qu’i l serai t ,

c r o y e z - m o i , t r è s f a c i l e d em o t i v e r . » I l s e t u t e n

regardant devant lu i , commes’ i l a t tendai t encore quelquec h o s e . E f f e c t i v e m e n t , s e s

deux amis repr i ren t auss i tô tla paro le : « Nous auss i , nous

v o u s d o n n o n s c o n g é àl ’ ins tant même.» Làdessus , i l

sa is i t la poignée e t c laqua laporte .

L e p è r e s ’ a v a n ç av e r s s a c h a i s e e n

t â t o n n a n t e t s el a i s s a t o m b e r . O n

e û t d i t q u ’ i ls ’ a l l o n g e a i t p o u r s a

p e t i t e s i e s t e v e s p é r a l e ,

playing, she pulled herselftogether, put the instrumentin the mother ’s l ap ( themother was s t i l l sea ted ,gasping asthmatically forbreath, and ran into the nextroom, which the boarderswere rapidly nearing underthe father ’s pressure. Onecould see b lanke t s andpillows fly in the air aroundthe bed and a r rangethemselves under the sister’spracticed hands. Before themen even reached the roomshe had finished making theb e d s a n d s k i p p e d o u t .O n c e a g a i n t h e f a t h e rseemed so overpowered byhis own obstinacy that heh a d f o r g o t t e n t h e v e r yl e a s t c o u r t e s y d u e h i st e n a n t s . H e j u s t k e p tpushing and pushing themup to the very door of theroom, where the midd leboarder brought h im to ah a l t b y t h u n d e r o u s l ys tamping down h is foo t .“ I h e r e b y d e c l a r e , ” h esaid, ra is ing his hand andl o o k i n g a r o u n d f o r t h emothe r and s i s t e r, “ tha tin v iew of the revol t ingcond i t ions p reva i l ing int h i s h o u s e h o l d a n dfamily”-here he promptlyspa t on the f loor -” I g ivei m m e d i a t e n o t i c e .Natura l ly I wi l l not pay acent for the days I havealready spent here; on thecont rary I sha l l ser ious lycons i d e r p u r s u i n g s o m el e g a l c l a i m a g a i n s t y o ut h a t - b e l i e v e m e - w i l lb e q u i t e e a s y t osubstant iate .” He stoppedand stared direct ly beforeh i m a s t h o u g h a w a i t i n gsometh ing . Sure enough,his two fr iends jumped inwi th the words : “We toog i v e o u r n o t i c e . ”T h e r e u p o n h e g r a b b e dthe door handle and bangedshut the door.

T h e f a t h e r s t a g g e r e da n d g r o p e d f o r h i sc h a i r , w h i c h h e c o l -l a p s e d i n t o ; i t l o o k e dl i k e h e w a s s t r e t c h i n go u t f o r h i s u s u a le v e n i n g n a p , b u t t h e

se. Y de pronto estal ló:plantóle el instrumento en losbrazos a la madre, que seguíasentada en su butaca, medioahogada por el dificultosotrabajo de sus pulmones, y seprecipitó al cuarto contiguo,al que los huéspedes, empu-jados por el padre, íbanseacercando ya más rápidamen-te. Con gran destreza apartóe hizo volar por lo alto man-tas y almohadas, y aun antesde que los señores penetrasenen su habitación, ya había ter-minado de arreglarles las ca-mas y se había escabullido.El padre hallábase a tal puntodominado por su obstinación,que se olvidaba hasta del máselemental respeto debido a loshuéspedes, y los seguía empu-jando frenéticamente. [94] Has-ta que, ya en el umbral, el queparecía ser el más autorizado delos tres dio una patada en elsuelo, y, con voz tonante, le de-tuvo con las siguientes palabras:

—Participo a ustedes -yalzó la mano al decir esto ybuscaba con la mirada tambiéna la madre y a la hermana--,participo a ustedes que, en vis-ta de las repugnantes circuns-tancias que en esta casa y fa-milia concurren -y al llegaraquí escupió con fuerza en elsuelo-, en este mismo momen-to me despido. Claro está queno he de pagar lo más mínimopor los días que aquí he vivi-do; antes al contrario, medita-ré si he de exigir a usted algu-na indemnización, la cual, nolo dude, sería muy fácil de jus-tificar. Calló y miró en tornosuyo, como esperando algo. Y,efectivamente, sus dos amigoscorroboraron al punto lo di-cho, añadiendo por su cuenta:

—También nosotros nosdespedimos al instante.

Tras de lo cual, el queparecía ser el más autori-zado de los tres agarró elpicaporte y cerró la puertade un golpe.

El padre , con paso va-ci lante , tanteando con lasmanos, d i r ig ióse hacia subutaca , y se de jó caer enel la . Parecía disponerse a[ 9 5 ] e c h a r s u a c o s t u m -brado sueñeci l lo de todas

the instrument [177] in themother’s lap (she was stilli n h e r c h a i r , h e r l u n g sh e a v i n g v i o l e n t l y ) , a n drushed into the next room,toward which the fa therw a s m o r e a n d m o r ef o r c e f u l l y h e r d i n g t h eboarders . One could seethe blankets and pillows inthe beds flying aloft , thenb e i n g n e a t l y a r r a n g e dunder the sister’s practicedh a n d s . B e f o r e t h egentlemen ever reached ther o o m , s h e h a d f i n i s h e dmaking up the beds ands l i p p e d o u t . The fa therseemed once aga in sothoroughly overcome by hisobstinacy that he neglectedto pay the tenants the respectnevertheless due them. Hemerely kept shoving until themiddle gentleman, who wasalready in the doorway of theroom, brought him to a haltby thunderously stampinghis foot. “I hereby declare,”said the middle gentleman,raising his hand and lookingaround for the mother andthe sister as well, “that incons idera t ion of therepulsive conditions” (herehe abruptly spit on the floor)“prevailing in this apartmentand in th i s fami ly, I amgiving immediate notice inregard to my room. Naturally,I will not pay a single pennyfor the days I have residedhere; on the other hand, I willgive serious thought to theeventuality of pursuing somesort of claims against you, forwhich—believe me—excellent grounds can easilybe shown.” He paused andpeered straight ahead as ifexpecting something. Andindeed, his two fr iendspromptly chimed in, saying, “Weare giving immediate notice too.”Thereupon he grabbed thedoorknob and slammed thedoor with a crash.

T h e f a t h e r , g r o p i n ga n d s t a g g e r i n g a l o n g ,c o l l a p s e d i n t o h i sc h a i r ; h e l o o k e d a s i fh e w e r e s t r e t c h i n g o u tf o r h i s u s u a l e v e n i n gn a p , b u t h i s h e a d ,

123122

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

t h e u n c o n t r o l l e d w a yh i s h e a d k e p t n o d d i n g

i t c o u l d b e s e e n t h a th e w a s n o t s l e e p i n g a t

a l l . T h r o u g h o u t a l lt h i s , G r e g o r h a d l a i n

s t i l l w h e r e t h e t h r e eg e n t l e m e n h a d f i r s t

s e e n h i m . H i sd i s a p p o i n t m e n t a t t h ef a i l u r e o f h i s p l a n ,

a n d p e r h a p s a l s ob e c a u s e h e w a s w e a k

f r o m h u n g e r , m a d e i ti m p o s s i b l e f o r h i m t o

m o v e . H e w a s s u r et h a t e v e r y o n e w o u l d

t u r n o n h i m a n ym o m e n t , a n d h e w a i t e d .H e w a s n o t e v e n

s t a r t l e d o u t o f t h i s s t a t ew h e n t h e v i o l i n o n h i s

m o t h e r ’ s l a p f e l l f r o mh e r t r e m b l i n g f i n g e r s

a n d l a n d e d l o u d l y o nt h e f l o o r .

“ F a t h e r , M o t h e r ” ,

s a i d h i s s i s t e r , h i t t i n gt h e t a b l e w i t h h e r h a n da s i n t r o d u c t i o n , “ w e

c a n ’ t c a r r y o n l i k e t h i s .M a y b e y o u c a n ’ t s e e i t ,

b u t I c a n . I d o n ’ t w a n tt o c a l l t h i s m o n s t e r m y

b r o t h e r , a l l I c a n s a yi s : w e h a v e t o t r y a n d

g e t r i d o f i t . W e ’ v ed o n e a l l t h a t ’ s h u m a n l yp o s s i b l e t o l o o k a f t e r i t

a n d b e p a t i e n t , I d o n ’ tt h i n k a n y o n e c o u l d

a c c u s e u s o f d o i n ga n y t h i n g w r o n g . ”

“ S h e ’s a b s o l u t e l y r i g h t ” ,

s a i d G r e g o r ’s f a t h e r t oh i m s e l f . H i s m o t h e r, w h o

s t i l l h a d n o t h a d t i m e t oca tch he r b rea th , began tocough dully, her hand held out

in front of her and a derangedexpression in her eyes.

G r e g o r ’s s i s t e r r u s h e d

t o h i s m o t h e r a n d p u t h e rh a n d o n h e r f o r e h e a d . H e r

w o r d s s e e m e d t o g i v eG r e g o r ’ s f a t h e r s o m em o r e d e f i n i t e i d e a s . H e

s a t u p r i g h t , p l a y e d w i t hh i s u n i f o r m c a p b e t w e e n

t h e p l a t e s l e f t b y t h et h r e e g e n t l e m e n a f t e r

t h e i r m e a l , a n d

f u e r z a c o n q u e m o v í a l acabeza , como suspendidaen el aire, demostraba quen o e s t a b a d u r m i e n d o e na b s o l u t o . G r e g o r h a b í apermanecido todo el tiemposilencioso en el sitio dondel o s o r p r e n d i e r o n l o shuéspedes . La de s i l u s iónante el fracaso de su plan,p e r o q u i z á t a m b i é n l adebil idad debida a toda elhambre que estaba pasando,l e i m p e d í a n c u a l q u i e rmovimiento. Temía ya concierta seguridad que de unm o m e n t o a o t r o s e d e s -c a rg a s e s o b r e é l u n atormenta y permaneció a lae s p e r a . N i s i q u i e r a l os o b r e s a l t ó e l r u i d o d e lv i o l í n q u e , d e s l i z á n d o s eentre los temblorosos dedosde la madre, se le cayó delregazo y retumbó con fuerzaal llegar al suelo.

«Queridos padres», di jol a h e r m a n a d a n d o u n apalmada en la mesa a guisade in t roducción , «es to nop u e d e s e g u i r a s í . S ivosotros no os dais cuenta,y o s í l o v e o c l a r o . N oq u i e r o p r o n u n c i a r e lnombre de mi hermano anteeste monstruo, por lo quediré simplemente: debemosintentar librarnos de él. He-mos hecho lo humanamentep o s i b l e p o r c u i d a r l o ysoportarlo, y creo que nadiep o d r á h a c e r n o s e l m e n o rreproche».

«Tiene razón una y milveces», di jo el padre parasí. La madre, que aún seguías in r ecupe ra r de l t odo e la l i e n t o , e m p e z ó a t o s e rsordamente con l a manoante la boca y una expresiónde locura en los ojos.

[90] La hermana corrióh a c i a e l l a y l e s u j e t ó l afrente. El padre, al que lasp a l a b r a s d e l a h e r m a n aparecían haber le suger idoideas más precisas, se habíai n c o r p o r a d o e n s u s i l l a ,jugueteaba con su gorra deordenanza entre los platos,que aún seguían en la mesad e s d e l a c e n a d e l o s

h e a v y n o d d i n g o f h i shead, as i f i t had lost a l lsuppor t , showed tha t hewas by no means as leep.All th is t ime Gregor hadb e e n l y i n g m o t i o n l e s sw h e r e t h e l o d g e r s f i r s td i s c o v e r e d h i m .D i s a p p o i n t m e n t a t t h ef a i l u r e o f h i s p l a n , b u tperhaps also the weaknessc a u s e d b y s o m u c hf a s t i n g , m a d e i ti m p o s s i b l e f o r h i m t om o v e . H e f e a r e d , w i t hsome degree of cer ta inty,that any moment now hew a s a b o u t t o s u f f e r agene ra l b r eakdown , andw a i t e d . N o t e v e n t h ev io l in [55 ] s t a r t l ed h imwhen i t s l ipped from hism o t h e r ’ s t r e m b l i n gf inge r s , f e l l o f f he r l apand h i t the f loor wi th aresounding clang.

‘ D e a r p a r e n t s , ’ s a i dh i s s i s t e r , h i t t i n g t h et a b l e w i t h h e r h a n d b yw a y o f i n t r o d u c t i o n ,‘ th ings cannot go on l iket h i s . M a y b e y o u d o n ’ trea l i se i t , bu t I do . I wi l ln o t u t t e r m y b r o t h e r ’sn a m e i n f r o n t o f t h i smons te r, and so a l l I sayis : we must t ry to ge t r ido f i t . We ’ v e d o n ee v e r y t h i n g h u m a n l yposs ib le to t ake ca re o fi t , to pu t up wi th i t , noo n e c a n r e p r o a c h u s i nthe s l ightes t . ’

‘She’s absolutely right,’said his father to himself.His mother, who still couldnot catch her breath, beganto cough into her hand witha h o l l o w s o u n d , a n d acrazed look came in hereyes.

His sister hurried overto her and put a hand onher forehead. His father,whose thoughts seemed toh a v e c r y s t a l l i s e d a s aresult of his sister’s words,had sat up straight and wasp l a y i n g w i t h h i smessenger’s cap among theplates that sill lay on thet a b l e f r o m t h e l o d g e r s ’

façon dont il balançait satête, à grands coups comme aubout d’un ressort cassé, onvoyait bien qu’il songeait àtout autre chose qu’à dormir.Grégoire était resté tout letemps sans bouger à l’endroitoù l’avaient surpris leslocataires . IL se sentaitcomplètement paralysé par ladéception que lui causaitl’échec de son plan, peutêtreaussi par la faiblesse due à sesjeûnes prolongés. Il redoutaitque la maison tout entière nefinît par s’écrouler sur son dos,il situait avec précision lemoment de cette catastrophedans la minute qui allait suivreet il attendait. Aussi le violonlui-même ne réussit-il pas àl’effrayer en tombant avec unbruit déchirant des doigtstremblants de la mère quil’avait tenu jusqu’alors sur sesgenoux.

Mes chers parents, déclara lasoeur en frappant de la main surla table par manièred’introduction, [78] cette situationne peut pas durer. Si vous nevous en rendez pas compte, moije le sens. Je ne veux pasprononcer le nom de mon frèreen parlant du monstre qu’il y aici, je vous dirai donc simple-ment : Il faut chercher à nousdébarrasser de ça: Nous avonsfait tout ce qui était humainementpossible pour le soigner et lesupporter; je crois que personnene pourra nous adresser lemoindre reproche.»

« E l l e a c e n t f o i sr a i s o n » , d i t l e p è r e .M a i s l a m è r e , q u in ’ a r r i v a i t t o u j o u r s p a sà r e p r e n d r e s o n s o u ff l e ,t o u s s a s o u r d e m e n td a n s s a m a i n , l e s y e u xh a g a r d s .

La soeur se précipita verse l le pour lu i souten i r lef ron t . Le père , don t l esparoles de Grete semblaientavo i r p réc i sé l es p lans ,s’étai t redressé dans sonfauteuil et jouait entre lesassiettes avec sa casquettede livrée, sur la table quin’ava i t pas encore é tédesservie depuis le dîner des

m a i s q u ’ i l n e p o u v a i t p l u st e n i r s a t ê t e e t a u x

m o u v e m e n t s q u ’ e l l ef a i s a i t , o n v o y a i t q u ’ i l n e

d o r m a i t p a s d u t o u t .G r e g o r é t a i t r e s t é c o u c h é

t o u t c e t e m p s - l à à l a p l a c eo ù l ’ a v a i e n t s u r p r i s l e s

l o c a t a i r e s . L a d é c e p t i o nq u e l u i c a u s a i t l ’ é c h e c d es o n p l a n , m a i s p e u t - ê t r e

a u s s i l a f a i b l e s s e d u e às e s j e û n e s p r o l o n g é s

l ’ e m p ê c h a i e n t d e f a i r e l em o i n d r e m o u v e m e n t . I l

r e d o u t a i t c o m m e u n eq u a s i - c e r t i t u d e p o u r

l ’ i n s t a n t s u i v a n t u n t o t a le f f o n d r e m e n t d o n t i l a l l a i tê t r e l a v i c t i m e e t i l

a t t e n d a i t . M ê m e l e b r u i t q u ef i t l e v i o l o n , q u e l e s d o i g t s

t r e m b l a n t s d e s a m è r ea v a i e n t l â c h é e t q u i v e n a i t

de tomber su r l e so l , ne l e f i tp a s s u r s a u t e r.

« Mes chers parents », dit la

soeur en frappant sur la table enmanière d’introduction, « celane peut plus continuer comme

cela. Si vous ne vous en rendezpas compte, j’en suis, quant à

moi, convaincue. Je ne veux pas,devan t c e t t e ho r r i b l e bê t e ,

prononcer le nom de mon frèreet je me contente de dire : il faut

nous débarrasser de ça. Nousavons essayé tout ce qui étaithuma inemen t pos s ib l e pou r

prendre soin de lui et pour leto l é r e r. J e ne c ro i s pa s que

personne puisse nous faire lemoindre reproche.»

« Elle a mil le fois raison »,

di t le père à part lui . La mère,qui ne parvenait toujours pas

à retrouver son souffle , se mità t o u s s e r d ’ u n e v o i xcaverneuse en tenant sa main devant

la bouche, avec une express ionhagarde dans les yeux.

L a s o e u r a l l a v i v e m e n t

v e r s s a m è r e e t l u i t i n t l ef r o n t . L e p è r e , à q u i l e s

paro les de sa f i l le sembla ientavo i r i n sp i ré des idées p lusp réc i ses , s ’ é t a i t r ed ressé su r

s o n s i è g e , j o u a i t a v e c s ac a s q u e t t e d e s e r v i c e a u

m i l i e u d e s a s s i e t t e s q u ié t a i e n t r e s t é e s s u r l a t a b l e

après l e d îne r des loca ta i r e s

s e e m i n g l yu n c o n t r o l l a b l e b o b b i n gof h i s head r evea led tha th e w a s a n y t h i n g b u tas leep. Al l th is t ime Gre-g o r h a d l a i n q u i e t l yw h e r e t h e b o a r d e r s h a df i r s t s p i e d h i m . T h ed i s a p p o i n t m e n t a t h i sp l a n ’ s f a i l u r e a n dp e r h a p s a l s o t h e w e a k -n e s s c a u s e d b y h i sp e r s i s t e n t h u n g e r k e p th im f i rmly rooted to [46]he spot . He feared , wi tha fa i r degree of cer ta inty,tha t in the next momenthe would bare the bruntof the whole disaster, andso he wai ted . He d id no ts t i r, even when the viol ins l i p p e d f r o m t h em o t h e r ’s s h a k y f i n g e r sa n d f e l l f r o m h e r l a pw i t h a r e v e r b e r a t i n gtwang.

“ M y d e a r p a r e n t s , ”sa id the s i s te r, poundingth e t ab l e w i th he r h a ndby way o f i n t roduc t ion ,“ th ings can’ t go on l iket h i s . M a y b e y o u d o n ’ tr e a l i z e i t , b u t I d o . Ir e fuse t o p ronounce mybrother ’s name in front ofth is monstros i ty, and so Isay: We have to t ry to getr i d o f i t . We ’ v e d o n ee v e r y t h i n g h u m a n l ypossible to care for i t andt o l e r a t e i t ; I d o n ’ tb e l i e v e a n y o n e c o u l dreproach us .”

“ S h e ’ s a b s o l u t e l yr i g h t , ” t h e f a t h e r s a i dt o h i m s e l f . T h e m o t h e r ,w h o w a s s t i l l s t r u g g l i n gt o c a t c h h e r b r e a t h a n dh a d a wild look in her eyes,began to cough hollowly intoher hand.

T h e s i s t e r r u s h e d t ot h e m o t h e r a n d c r a d l e dher forehead. The father ’sthoughts seemed to havec leared in the a f te rmathof the s is ter ’s words; hes a t u p s t r a i g h t , p l a y e dw i t h t h e c a p o f h i suniform among the dishesthat s t i l l lay on the tablef r o m t h e b o a r d e r s ’

las noches , pe ro l a p ro-funda i nc l i nac ión de suc a b e z a , c a í d a c o m o s i npeso , demost raba que nod o r m í a . D u r a n t e t o d oeste t iempo, Gregorio ha-b ía permanecido ca l lado ,inmóvil en e l mismo s i t ioen que lo habían sorpren-d i d o l o s h u é s p e d e s . E ld e s e n c a n t o c a u s a d o p o re l f racaso de su p lan , yta l vez también la debi l i -d a d p r o d u c i d a p o r e lhambre , hacíanle imposi-ble el menor movimiento.No s in razón , t emía ve rc e r n i r s e d e n t r o d e m u yp o c o s o b r e s í u n a t o r -menta genera l , y espera-ba . Ni s iqu ie ra se sobre-s a l t ó c o n e l r u i d o d e lv io l ín , escur r ido de l re -gazo de la madre ba jo e li m p u l s o d e l t e m b l o r d esus dedos .

—Queridos padres -dijo lahermana, dando, a modo deintroducción, un fuerte puñe-tazo sobre la mesa-, esto nopuede continuar así. Si voso-tros no lo comprendéis, yo medoy cuenta de ello. Ante estemonstruo, no quiero ni siquie-ra pronunciar el nombre de mihermano; y, por tanto, solodiré esto: es forzoso intentarlibrarnos de él. Hemos hechocuanto era humanamente po-sible para cuidarle y tolerar-le, y no creo que nadie pueda,por tanto, hacernos el másleve reproche.

[96] —Tienes mil veces ra-zón -dijo entonces el padre.

La madre, que aún nopodía resp i ra r a sus an-chas, comenzó a toser sor-damente, con la mano en elpecho y los ojos extravia-dos como una loca.

La hermana corrió haciaella y le sostuvo la frente.Al padre, las palabras de lahermana parecieron inducir-le a concretar algo más supensamiento. Se había in-corporado en la butaca, ju-gaba con su gorra de orde-nanza por entre los platos,que aún quedaban sobre lamesa, de la comida de los

d a n g l i n g a s [ 1 7 8 ] i fu n s u p p o r t e d , r e v e a l e dt h a t h e w a s a n y t h i n g b u ta s l e e p . A l l t h i s w h i l e ,G r e g o r h a d b e e n l y i n gr igh t whe re t he boa rde r sh a d f i r s t s p o t t e d h i m .H i s f r u s t r a t i o n a t t h ef a i l u r e o f h i s p l a n , a n dp e r h a p s a l s o t h ef e e b l e n e s s c a u s e d b yh i s p e r s i s t e n t h u n g e r ,m a d e i t i m p o s s i b l e f o rh i m t o m o v e . D r e a d i n gw i t h s o m e c e r t a i n t y t h a ta t a n y m o m e n t n o w h ew o u l d h a v e t o b e a r t h eb l a m e f o r t h e o v e r a l ld i s a s t e r, h e w a i t e d . H ew a s n o t e v e n s t a r t l e dw h e n t h e v i o l i n , s l i d i n ga w a y f r o m t h e m o t h e r ’st r e m b l i n g f i n g e r s ,p l u n g e d f r o m h e r l a pw i t h a r e v e r b e r a t i n gt h u d .

“My dear parents,” saidthe s i s t e r, pound ing he rhand on the table by wayof i n t roduc t ion , “ th ingscannot go on like this. Youmay not real ize i t , but Ido. I wil l not pronouncemy brother’s name in frontof this monstrosity, and soall I will say is: We mustt r y t o g e t r i d o f i t . Weh a v e d o n e e v e r y t h i n ghumanly possible to lookafter i t and put up with i t ;I do not bel ieve there isa n y t h i n g w e c a n b ereproached for.”

“She couldn’t be moreright ,” said the father tohimself. The mother, stills t r u g g l i n g t o c a t c h h e rbreath and with an insanelook in her eyes, began tocough in to her muff l inghand.

The sister hurried overto the mother and held herf o r e h e a d . T h e f a t h e r ,a p p a r e n t l y s t e e r e d t om o r e c o n c r e t e t h o u g h t sby the s is ter ’s words, satbolt upright now, toyingwith his a t tendant’s cap,w h i c h l a y o n t h e t a b l e ,a m o n g t h e b o r d e r s ’l e f t o v e r s u p p e r d i s h e s .

125124

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

huéspedes, y de rato en ratom i r a b a a G r e g o r , q u epermanecía en silencio.

« D e b e m o s i n t e n t a rlibrarnos de él», repitió lahermana, dirigiéndose ahorae x c l u s i v a m e n t e a l p a d r e ,pues la madre, con su tos, noo í a n a d a ; « a c a b a r ámatándoos a los dos, lo veov e n i r. C u a n d o h a y q u etrabajar tan duramente comon o s o t r o s , n o s e p u e d e ,encima, soportar en casa estat o r t u r a i n t e r m i n a b l e . Yot a m p o c o p u e d o m á s » . Yr o m p i ó a l l o r a r c o n t a lf u e r z a q u e s u s l á g r i m a scaían sobre el rostro de lam a d r e , d e d o n d e l a se n j u g a b a m o v i e n d omecánicamente la mano.

« P e r o , h i j a » , d i j o e lpadre en tono compasivo yc o n s o r p r e n d e n t ecomprensión, «¿qué quieresque hagamos?».

La hermana se l imitó aencogerse de hombros parahacer ver la perplejidad que,e n c o n t r a s t e c o n s useguridad anterior, se habíaapoderado de ella mientraslloraba.

« S i a l m e n o s n o scomprendiese», dijo el padrecomo preguntando a medias;p e r o l a h e r m a n a , e n s ullanto, agitó con violencia lam a n o e n s e ñ a l d e q u ea q u e l l o e r a s i m p l e m e n t einconcebible.

« S i a l m e n o s n o scomprendiese» , rep i t ió e lpadre y, cerrando los ojos,hizo suya la convicción del a [91 ] he rmana sob re l ai m p o s i b i l i d a d d e q u ea q u e l l o p u d i e r a o c u r r i r ,«quizá sería posible l legara un acuerdo con él . Peroasí . . .» .

« Ti e n e q u e i r s e » ,exclamó la hermana, «es laú n i c a s o l u c i ó n , p a d r e .Intenta desechar la idea deque es Gregor, y ya está. Elhaberlo creído tanto tiempoha s ido nuest ra verdadera

supper, casting occasionalg l a n c e s a t G r e g o r ’smotionless form.

‘We must try to get ridof it,’ his sister now said,addressing only her father,since her mother couldn’thear a word because of hercoughing, ‘or it will be thedeath of both of you, I cansee it coming. Anyone whoworks as hard as we all docannot take this constanttorture at home as well. Ican’t stand i t any more.’And she burst into such aviolent fit of weeping thather tears flowed onto hermother’s face from whereshe wiped them away withmechanical movements ofher hand.

‘My ch i ld , ’ sa id herf a t h e r s y m p a t h e t i c a l l ya n d w i t h n o t i c e a b l eunders tanding, ‘but whatshould we do?’

G r e g o r ’s s i s t e r, w h owas normally so assured,m e r e l y s h r u g g e d h e rshoulders to indicate theh e l p l e s s n e s s t h a t h a dcome over her during herfi t of weeping. [56]

‘ I f h e c o u l du n d e r s t a n d u s , ’ s a i d h i sf a t h e r h a l f - q u e s -t i o n i n g l y, b u t h i s s i s t e r ,s t i l l w e e p i n g , w a v e dh e r h a n d v i o l e n t l y t os h o w t h a t t h i s w a su n t h i n k a b l e .

‘ I f h e c o u l dunderstand us , ’ his fa therrepea ted , and by c los ingh i s e y e s c o m p r e h e n d e dhis daughter ’s convict iontha t th i s was imposs ib le ,‘ t h e n m a y b e w e c o u l dc o m e t o a n a g r e e m e n twi th h im. Bu t a s th ingsare - ’

‘It has to go,’ hissister cried, ‘it’s the onlyway, Father. You must tryto forget that it’s Gregor.Our real downfall is thatwe’ve be l ieved i t for solong . But how can i t be

loca ta i res ; de t emps entemps il arrêtait ses regardssur l’immobile Grégoire.

«Il faut chercher à nous endébarrasser», répéta alors lasoeur, ne s’adressant plusqu’au père, car la mère,secouée par sa toux,n’entendait rien. «Il finirait pasvous conduire à la tombe, etsans tarder. Quand on a untravail comme le nôtre toute lajournée, on ne peut passupporter par-dessus le marchéce supplice perpétuel en ren-trant chez soi. Moi, je suis àbout.» Et elle fut prise d’unecrise de larmes si violente queses [79] pleurs endégoulinaient sur le visage dela mère où elle les essuyait dela main machinalement.

«Mais, ma petite», répliquale père d’une voix apitoyée -c’était étonnant de voir commeil comprenait sa fille - «quedevons-nous faire alors?»

La soeur se contenta dehausser les épaules pourmarquer la perplexité quia v a i t r e m p l a c é p e n d a n ts e s l a r m e s l ’ a s s u r a n c ed o n t e l l e f a i s a i t p r e u v eauparavant.

«S’il nous comprenait »,d i t l e pè re à demiinterrogatif; mais la soeur,sans cesser de pleurer, fit ungeste violent de la main pourmont re r qu’ i l f a l l a i tdéfinitivement renoncer àcette hypothèse.

«S’il nous comprenait »,répéta le père - et il fermait lesyeux tout en parlant commepour indiquer qu’il adoptait laconviction de sa fille touchantla vanité d’une telle supposition- «s’il nous comprenait,peut-être y aurait-il moyen des’entendre avec lui; mais dansces conditions...»

«Qu’il aille au diable », criala soeur, «c’est la seulesolution, papa. Tu n’as qu’àtâcher de te débarrasser del’idée que c’est Grégoire. Nousavons cru cela trop longtempset c’est là tout notre malheur.

e t , d e t e m p s e n t e m p s , i lp o r t a i t s e s r e g a r d s s u r

Gregor, qui res ta i t immobi le .

« Il faut chercher à nous endébarrasser », dit la soeur en

s’adressant uniquement à sonpère, car la mère, à force de

t o u s s e r , n e p o u v a i t r i e nentendre, « cette chose-là peute n c o r e v o u s m e n e r t o u s l e s

deux dans la tombe, ce la netardera pas. S’il faut travailler

d u r c o m m e n o u s l e f a i s o n st o u s , o n n e p e u t p a s a v o i r

p a r - d e s s u s l e m a r c h é c esupplice perpétuel à la maison.

D’ailleurs, je n’en peux plus.»E t e l l e f o n d i t e n l a r m e s s iv i o l e m m e n t q u e s e s p l e u r s

coulaient sur le visage de samère; Grete les essuyait d’un

geste machinal de la main.

« M o n e n f a n t ! » , d i t l ep è r e d ’ u n e v o i x a p i t o y é e

e t e n m a r q u a n t u n ev é r i t a b l e c o m p r é h e n s i o n ,

« m a i s q u e f a i r e ? »

L a s o e u r s e c o n t e n t a d e

h a u s s e r l e s é p a u l e s p o u re x p r i m e r l a p e r p l e x i t é

q u i , d e p u i s q u ’ e l l es ’ é t a i t m i s e à p l e u r e r ,

a v a i t r e m p l a c é s ap r é c é d e n t e a s s u r a n c e .

« S i s e u l e m e n t i l n o u sc o m p r e n a i t » , d i t l e p è r e

c o m m e u n e q u e s t i o n , m a i sl a s o e u r s e c o u a

v i o l e m m e n t l a m a i n a um i l i e u d e s e s l a r m e s , p o u r

s i g n i f i e r q u ’ i l n e f a l l a i tp a s y c o m p t e r .

« Si seulement il nous compre-

nait », répéta le père, - et enfermant les yeux, il exprimaitqu’il partageait la conviction de

sa fille sur l’impossibilité d’unetelle hypothèse - , « s’i l nous

c o m p r e n a i t , o n p o u r r a i tpeut-être arr iver à un accord

a v e c l u i . M a i s , d a n s c e sconditions...»

« I I f au t qu ’ i l s ’ en a i l l e ,père », s’écria la soeur, « il n’y

a pas d’autre moyen. Tu n’asqu’à tâcher de te débarrasser de

l’idée qu’il s’agit de Gregor.Tout vo t re malheur v ien t de

l’avoir cru si longtemps. Mais

supper, and from t ime tot i m e g l a n c e d o v e r a tGregor ’s iner t form.

“We have to t ry to ge tr i d o f i t , ” s a i d t h es i s t e r , a d d r e s s i n g o n l yt h e f a t h e r b e c a u s e t h em o t h e r c o u l d h e a rn o t h i n g o v e r h e rc o u g h i n g . “ I t ’ l l k i l l y o ub o t h , I c a n s e e t h a tc o m i n g . We a l l w o r k t o oh a r d t o c o m e h o m e t ot h i s i n t e r m i n a b l et o r t u r e . A n d I c a n ’ ts t a n d i t a n y m o r e . ” A n ds h e b e g a n s o b b i n g s ov i o l e n t l y t h a t h e r t e a r sc o u r s e d d o w n o n t o t h emother ’s face , where shem e c h a n i c a l l y w i p e dt h e m a w a y.

“ O h , c h i l d , ” s a i d t h ef a t h e r c o m p a s s i o n a t e l ya n d w i t h a p p a r e n tu n d e r s t a n d i n g , “ w h a tc a n w e d o ? ”

The sister just shruggedher shoulders, displayingthe helplessness that hadovertaken her during hercrying jag in stark contrastt o he r fo rmerself-confidence.

“ I f o n l y h e c o u l du n d e r s t a n d u s , ” t h ef a t h e r s a i d , a l m o s t a s aq u e s t i o n ; t h e s i s t e r ,s t i l l s o b b i n g ,v e h e m e n t l y w a v e d h e rh a n d t o s h o w h o wu n t h i n k a b l e i t w a s .

“ I f o n l y h e c o u l dunders tand us , ” r epea tedt h e f a t h e r , c l o s i n g h i se y e s t o a b s o r b t h es i s t e r ’s c o n v i c t i o n t h a tt h i s w a s i m p o s s i b l e“ t h e n w e m i g h t b e a b l et o c o m e t o s o m e s o r t o fag reemen t w i th h im. Bu ta s i t i s - ”

“ I t ha s t o go , ” t he s i s t e rc r i e d , “ t h a t ’s t h e o n l yw a y, F a t h e r . [ 4 7 ] Yo uh a v e t o t r y t o s t o pt h i n k i n g t h a t t h i s i sG r e g o r . O u r t r u emisfor tune is that we’ve

huéspedes, y, de cuando encuando, dirigía una miradaa Gregorio, impertérrito.

—Es preciso que inten-temos deshacernos de é l-repitió, por último, la her-mana al padre; pues la ma-dre, con su tos, no podíao í r n a d a - . E s t o a c a b a r ámatándoos a los dos, lo es-toy v iendo . Cuando hayque trabajar lo que noso-tros trabajamos, no es po-s ib l e su f r i r , además , encasa estos tormentos. Yot a m p o c o p u e d o m á s . Yr o m p i ó a l l o r a r c o n t a lfuerza , que sus lágr imascayeron sobre el rostro dela madre, quien se las lim-pió mecánicamente con lamano.

— H i j a m í a - d i j o e n -tonces e l padre con [97]compas ión y sorprenden-te luc idez- . ¡Y qué le va-mos a hacer !

Pero la hermana contentósecon encogerse de hombros,como para demostrar la perple-jidad que se había apoderado deella mientras lloraba, y que tangran contraste hacía con su an-terior decisión.

—Si siquiera él nos com-prendiese -dijo el padre entono medio interrogativo.Pero la hermana, sin cesar dellorar, agitó enérgicamentela mano, indicando con elloque no había ni que pensaren semejante cosa.

—Si siquiera nos com-prendiese -insistió el padre,cerrando los ojos, como paradar a entender que él tam-bién se hallaba convencidode lo imposible de esta su-posición-, tal vez pudiése-mos entonces l legar a unacuerdo con él. Pero en es-tas condiciones...

—Es preciso que se vaya-dijo la hermana-. Este es el úni-co medio, padre. Basta que pro-cures desechar la idea de que setrata de Gregorio. El haberlocreído durante tanto tiempo es,en realidad, el origen de nues-

o c c a s i o n a l l y l o o k e d d o w na t G r e g o r a s h e l a y t h e r e

i m m o b i l e .

“ We have to t ry and ge tr i d o f i t ” , s a i d G r e g o r ’ s

s is ter, now speaking only toh e r f a t h e r, a s h e r m o t h e r

w a s t o o o c c u p i e d w i t hcough ing to l i s t en , “ i t ’ l l bethe dea th o f bo th o f you , I

can see i t coming . We can’ta l l work as ha rd as we have

to and then come home to beto r tu red l ike th i s , we can’t

endure i t . I can’t endure i tany more . ” And she b roke

ou t so heav i ly in t ea r s tha tthey f lowed down the faceo f h e r m o t h e r , a n d s h e

w i p e d t h e m a w a y w i t hm e c h a n i c a l h a n d

movements .

“ M y c h i l d ” , s a i d h e rf a t h e r w i t h s y m p a t h y

a n d o b v i o u su n d e r s t a n d i n g , “ w h a t

a r e w e t o d o ? ”

H i s s i s t e r j u s t s h r u g g e d

h e r s h o u l d e r s a s a s i g n o ft h e h e l p l e s s n e s s t h a t h a d

t a k e n h o l d o f h e r ,d i s p l a c i n g h e r e a r l i e r

c e r t a i n l y w h e n s h e h a db r o k e n i n t o t e a r s .

“ I f h e c o u l d j u s tu n d e r s t a n d u s ” , s a i d h i s

f a t h e r a l m o s t a s aq u e s t i o n ; h i s s i s t e r s h o o k

h e r h a n d v i g o r o u s l yt h r o u g h h e r t e a r s a s a s i g n

t h a t o f t h a t t h e r e w a s n oq u e s t i o n .

“ I f h e c o u l d j u s t

u n d e r s t a n d u s ” , r e p e a t e dG r e g o r ’ s f a t h e r , c l o s i n gh i s e y e s i n a c c e p t a n c e o f

h i s s i s t e r ’s c e r t a i n t y t h a tt h a t w a s q u i t e i m p o s s i b l e ,

“ t h e n p e r h a p s w e c o u l dc o m e t o s o m e k i n d o f

a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h h i m . B u ta s i t i s . ”

“ I t ’s go t to go” , shou tedh i s s i s t e r, “ tha t ’s the on ly

way, Fa the r. You’ve go t tog e t r i d o f t h e i d e a t h a t

t h a t ’s G r e g o r. We ’ v e o n l yh a r m e d o u r s e l v e s b y

b e l i e v i n g i t f o r s o l o n g .

Every so often he glanceda t G r e g o r , w h o k e p tsi lent .

“We’ve got to get r idof i t ,” the s is ter now saidexclusively to the fa ther,f o r t h e m o t h e r h e a r dn o t h i n g t h r o u g h h e rcoughing, “ i t wil l ki l l theboth of you, I [179] cansee i t coming. People whohave to work as hard aswe do can’t a l so enduret h i s n o n s t o p t o r t u r e a th o m e . I c a n ’ t s t a n d i tanymore ei ther.” And sheb e g a n s o b b i n g s ov i o l e n t l y t h a t h e r t e a r sf l o w e d d o w n t o t h emother’s face, from whichs h e w i p e d t h e m w i t hmechanical gestures .

“But , ch i ld ,” sa id thef a t h e r w i t h c o m p a s s i o na n d m a r k e du n d e r s t a n d i n g , “ w h a tshould we do?”

T h e s i s t e r m e r e l ys h r u g g e d h e r s h o u l d e r sto convey the pe rp l ex i tytha t , i n con t ras t wi th he re a r l i e r s e l f - a s s u r a n c e ,had ove rcome he r a s shewept .

“ I f h e u n d e r s t o o du s , ” s a i d t h e f a t h e r ,h a l f w o n d e r i n g . T h es i s t e r , i n t h e t h i c k o fh e r w e e p i n g , w i l d l yf l a p p e d h e r h a n d t os i g n a l t h a t t h i s w a si n c o n c e i v a b l e .

“ I f he unders tood us ,”t h e f a t h e r r e p e a t e d ,c los ing h i s eyes i n o rde rt o t a k e i n t h e s i s t e r ’ sconv ic t ion tha t t h i s wasi m p o s s i b l e , “ t h e np e r h a p s w e m i g h t c o m et o s o m e s o r t o f t e r m swi th h im. Bu t a s t h ingsa re now-”

“ I t h a s t o g o , ”exclaimed the sister, “that’sthe only way, Father. Yousimply have to try and getr id of the idea that i t i sGregor. Our real misfortuneis that we believed it for

127126

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

desdicha. ¿Cómo podría serGregor? Si lo fuera, habríac o m p r e n d i d o h a c e y atiempo que la convivenciaent re seres humanos y una n i m a l s e m e j a n t e e simposible y se habr ía idopor su propia voluntad. Nosquedaríamos s in hermano,p e r o p o d r í a m o s s e g u i rv i v i e n d o y h o n r a n d o s umemoria . Así , en cambio,e s t e b i c h o n o s pers igue ,ahuyenta a los huéspedes y esobvio que quiere apoderarsede toda la casa y hacernosdormir en la cal le . ¡Mira ,padre!», gritó de pronto. «¡Yavuelve a las andadas!» Y enun arranque de pánico deltodo incomprens ib le pa raGregor, la hermana abandonóinc luso a l a madre , seincorporó bruscamente de susilla, como si prefiriera sacri-ficar a la madre antes quequedarse cerca de Gregor, y serefugió detrás del padre que,i r r i t ado por su reacc ión ,también se puso en p ie ylevantó a medias los brazosdelante de ella, como paraprotegerla.

Pero Gregor no tenía lam á s r e m o t a i n t e n c i ó n d easustar a nadie y, menos aún,a su hermana. Simplementehabía empezado a darse lavue l ta para regresar a suhabitación, lo cual, hay quedecirlo, llamaba la atención,pues, debido a su lamentable[92] e s t ado , pa ra da r e savuelta tan difícil tenía quea y u d a r s e c o n l a c a b e z a ,a l z á n d o l a y a b a t i é n d o l acontra el suelo varias veces.De pronto se detuvo y miróa s u a l r e d e d o r. P a r e c í a nhaber adver t ido su buenaintención; solo había sido unsusto pasajero. Ahora todosl o m i r a b a n t r i s t e s y e nsilencio. La madre seguía enl a s i l l a c o n l a s p i e r n a sestiradas y muy juntas, y losojos casi se le cerraban deagotamiento; el padre y lahermana es taban sentadosuno junto al otro, la hermanarodeando con su brazo e lcuello del padre.

« Q u i z á a h o r a p u e d a

Gregor? If it were Gregor,h e w o u l d h a v e r e a l i s e dl o n g a g o t h a t i t i s n ’ tpossible for humans to liveside by side with an animallike that, and would havegone away of his own freewi l l . Then w e w o u l d n ’ thave a bro ther bu t wouldb e a b l e t o g o o n l i v i n gand honour h i s memory.But as i t i s , th i s an imalpersecutes us, drives awayour lodgers, clearly wants totake over the wholeapartment and have us sleepin the street. Look, Father,’she suddenly screamed, ‘he’sat it again!’ And in a fit ofter ror that Gregor foundquite incomprehensible, sheeven abandoned her mother,literally pushing herself offfrom the chair, as i f shewould rather sacrifice hermother than remain inGrego r ’s v i c i n i t y , a n ddashed behind her fatherwho , a l a rm e d s o l e l y b yher behaviour, a lso s toodu p a n d h a l f - r a i s e d h i sarms in f ront of her, as i fto protect her.

But Gregor hadn’t thes l ightes t wish to frightenanyone, especially not hissister. He had merely begunto turn round in order to goback to his room, and thatwas naturally conspicuousbecause in h i s a i l ingcondi t ion he cou ld on lyexecute the d i f f i cu l tmanoeuvre with the help ofhis head, raising and bangingit many times against thef loor. He s topped in h i stracks and looked round.They must have recognisedh is good in ten t ions ; theterror had only been [57]temporary. Now they a l llooked at him sadly and ins i l ence . His mother wasslumped in her chair, herlegs s t re tched ou t andpressed together, her eyesa lmos t c los ing f romexhaustion; his father andsister sat side by side, hissister had put her arm aroundtheir father’s neck.

‘Perhaps they’l l let me

Comment cela pourrait-il êtreGrégoire? Si c’était lui il yaurait beau temps qu’il auraitreconnu l’impossibilité de fairecohabiter des hommes avec unepareille vermine et qu’il seraitparti de lui-même. Sans doutenous n’aurions plus de frère,mais la vie serait encorepossible et nous honorerionsson souvenir. Au lieu qu’ainsinous [80] avons toujours cettebête qui nous poursuit et quichasse nos locataires; ilvoudrait peut-être prendre toutl’appartement pour lui? et nousfaire coucher dans la rue? Voisdonc, papa, vois donc »,s’écriat-elle tout à coup, «levoilà déjà qui recommence.»Et, dans un accès de terreurauquel Grégoire ne compritrien, elle abandonna soudain samère si brusquement que lefauteuil en vacilla; on eût ditqu’elle aimait mieux la sacrifierque de rester à proximité deGrégoire; elle se précipitaderrière son père que saconduite finissait par affoler etqui se leva devant elle enécartant les bras comme pourla protéger.

Mais Grégoire ne pensaità rien moins qu’à effrayerquelqu’un, surtout sa soeur;i l ava i t s imp lemen tcommencé un mouvementde conversion destiné à leramener dans sa chambre, etc ’ é t a i t , i l f au t l er econna î t r e , d ’un e f fe tp lu tô t i nd i s c r e t , c a r s af a ib l e s se l ’ ob l i gea i t às’aider de la tête dans lestournants difficiles; on levoyait alors lever le crâne àplusieurs reprises et se taperl e s mand ibu l e s su r l eplancher. Il finit cependant Jpas s’arrêter pour observer lafamille. On avait l’air d’avoirreconnu sa bonne intention.‘l’out le monde le regardaitavec une tristesse muette. Lamère gisait dans son fauteuil,les jambes tendues et jointes,les yeux presque clos rtefatigue; le père et la soeurétaient assis l’un à côté del’autre, et la soeur tenait lepère par le cou.

«Maintenant, ils vont sans

c o m m e n t p o u r r a i t - c e ê t r eGregor? Si c’était Gregor, i l y

a l o n g t e m p s q u ’ i l a u r a i tcompris qu’il est impossible de

f a i r e c o h a b i t e r d e s ê t r e shumains avec un tel animal, et

i l s e r a i t p a r t i d e l u i - m ê m e .Dans ce cas-là, nous n’aurions

p l u s d e f r è r e , m a i s n o u spourrions continuer à vivre etnous honorerions sa mémoire.

Ta n d i s q u e c e t a n i m a l n o u sp e r s é c u t e , i l f a i t f u i r l e s

locataires, il veut manifestementp rend re pos se s s ion de t ou t

l ’ appa r t emen t e t nous f a i r ecoucher dans la rue. Regarde,

père », cria-t-elle tout à coup, «le voilà qui recommence!» Et,dans un accès de peur, qui resta

tout à fa i t incompréhens ib lepour Gregor, e l le abandonna

même sa mère , bond i tlittéralement hors de sa chaise,

comme si elle préférait sacrifiersa mère plutôt que de rester à

proximité de Gregor et alla seréfugier derrière son père qui,

uniquement affolé par l’attitudede sa fille, se dressa à son tour,en levant à demi les bras devant

e l l e comme s ’ i l vou l a i t l aprotéger.

Mais Gregor n’avait pas le

moins du monde l’intention defaire peur à quiconque, surtout

p a s à s a s o e u r. I l a v a i ts i m p l e m e n t c o m m e n c é à s etourner pour rentrer dans sa

chambre, mais i l faut dire quece mouvement étai t bien fai t

pour at t i rer l ’at tent ion, car, àc a u s e d e s a m a u v a i s e

c o n d i t i o n p h y s i q u e , i l é t a i to b l i g é , p o u r p r e n d r e l e s

tournants difficiles, de s’aiderde la tê te , qu’ i l soulevai t e t

l a i s s a i t r e t o m b e r s u r l e s o lp l u s i e u r s f o i s d e s u i t e . I ls ’ a r r ê t a e t s e r e t o u r n a . O n

avait l ’air d’avoir reconnu sabonne intention. Ce n’avait été

q u ’ u n i n s t a n t d ’ é p o u v a n t e .To u t l e m o n d e l e r e g a r d a i t

maintenant t r is tement et sansr i e n d i r e . L a m è r e é t a i t

c o u c h é e s u r s a c h a i s e , l e sj a m b e s é t e n d u e s e t s e r r é e sl’une contre l ’autre; le père et

s a f i l l e é t a i e n t a s s i s l ’ u n àcôté de l’autre, la f i l le tenai t

son père par le cou.

« J e v a i s p e u t - ê t r e

be l ieved i t so long . Buth o w c a n i t b e G r e g o r ?B e c a u s e G r e g o r w o u l dhave understood long agothat people can’t possiblylive with such a creature,and he would have goneaway of his own accord.Then we would have nobrother, but we could goon l iv ing and honor h i smemory. But instead thiscreature persecutes us anddrives out the boarders; itobv ious ly wan t s to t akeover the whole apartmentand throw us out into thegutter. Just look, Father,”she sudden ly s c r eamed ,“he’s at it again!” And in as t a t e o f pan i c t ha t wastotally incomprehensible toGregor-she even abandonedthe mother, she l i te ra l lybolted from the chair as ifshe would rather sacrificethe mother than stay in thev i c in i t y o f Grego r - sherushed behind the father,who got to his feet only outo f ag i t a t i on f rom he rbehavior and half-raised hisarms as if to protect her.

B u t G r e g o r h a d n oin t en t ion o f f r i gh t en inga n y o n e , l e a s t o f a l l h i ss i s t e r . H e h a d m e r e l ybegun to turn around tostart the journey back tohis room, although i t wasan alarming operat ion towatch, since his enfeebledcond i t ion fo rced h im touse his head to achieve thec o m p l e x r o t a t i o n s b yal ternate ly l i f t ing i t andthen banging i t down. Hepaused and looked aroundhim. His good intentionsa p p e a r e d t o h a v e b e e nr e c o g n i z e d ; i t h a d o n l ybeen a momentary alarm.Now they all watched himi n g l u m s i l e n c e . T h em o t h e r l a y b a c k i n h e rc h a i r , h e r l e g soutstretched but squeezedt o g e t h e r a n d h e r e y e sa l m o s t s h u t f r o mexhaustion the father andsister sat side by side-herhand around his neck.

“ N o w m a y b e I c a n

tra desgracia. ¿Cómo puede seresto Gregorio? Si tal fuese, yahace tiempo que hubiera com-prendido que no es posible queunos seres humanos vivan en co-munidad [98] con semejante bi-cho. Y a él mismo se le habríaocurrido marcharse. Habríamosperdido al hermano, pero po-dríamos seguir viviendo, y sumemoria perduraría eternamen-te entre nosotros. Mientras queasí, este animal nos persigue,echa a los huéspedes y mues-tra claramente que quiere apo-derarse de toda la casa y de-jarnos en la calle. ¡Mira, pa-dre -púsose a gritar de repen-te-, ya empieza otra vez! Ycon un terror que a Gregorioparecióle incomprensible, lahermana abandonó incluso ala madre, apartóse de la buta-ca, cual si prefiriese sacrifi-car a la madre que permane-cer en las proximidades deGregorio, y corrió a refugiar-se detrás del padre; el cual,excitado a su vez por esta ac-titud suya, púsose también enpie, extendiendo los brazosante la hermana, en ademánde protegerla.

Pero la cosa es que aGregorio no se le había ocurri-do en absoluto querer asustar anadie, ni mucho menos a su her-mana. Lo único que había he-cho era empezar a dar la vueltapara volver a su habitación, yesto fue, sin duda, lo que sobre-cogió a los demás, pues, a cau-sa de su estado doliente, tenía,para realizar aquel difícil movi-miento, que ayudarse con la ca-beza, levantandola [99] y vol-viendo a apoyarla en el suelovarias veces. Se detuvo y miróen torno suyo. Parecía habersido adivinada su buena inten-ción: aquello solo había sido unsusto momentáneo. Ahora todosle contemplaban tristes y pen-sativos. La madre estaba en subutaca, con las piernas extendi-das ante sí, muy juntas una con-tra otra, y los ojos casi cerradosde cansancio. El padre y la her-mana hallábanse sentados uno allado del otro, y la hermana ro-deaba con su brazo el cuello delpadre.

—Bueno, ta l vez pue-

How can tha t be Gregor? I fi t w e r e G r e g o r h e w o u l d

have seen long ago tha t i t ’sn o t p o s s i b l e f o r h u m a n

b e i n g s t o l i v e w i t h a na n i m a l l i k e t h a t a n d h e

would have gone of h i s ownfree wi l l . We wouldn’t have

a b r o t h e r a n y m o r e , t h e n ,bu t we cou ld ca r ry on wi thour l ives and remember h im

w i t h r e s p e c t . A s i t i s t h i sa n im a l i s p e r s e c u t i n g u s,

it’s driven out our tenants, itobviously wants to take over

the whole flat and force us tosleep on the streets. Father,

look, just look”, she suddenlys c r e a m e d , “ h e ’s s t a r t i n gagain!” In her alarm, which

was totally beyond Gregor ’scomprehension, his sister even

abandoned his mother as shepushed herself vigorously out

of her chair as if more willingto sacrifice her own mother

t h a n s t a y a n y w h e r e n e a rGregor. She rushed over to

behind her fa ther, who hadb e c o m e e x c i t e d m e r e l ybecause she was and stood up

half raising his hands in fronto f Gregor ’s s i s t e r a s i f t o

protect her.

B u t G r e g o r h a d h a d n oi n t e n t i o n o f f r i g h t e n i n g

a n y o n e , l e a s t o f a l l h i ss i s t e r. Al l he had done wasbeg in to turn round so tha t

h e c o u l d g o b a c k i n t o h i sroom, a l though tha t was in

i t se l f qu i t e s t a r t l ing as h i sp a i n - w r a c k e d c o n d i t i o n

m e a n t t h a t t u r n i n g r o u n dr e q u i r e d a g r e a t d e a l o f

ef fo r t and he was us ing h i shead to he lp h imse l f do i t ,

r e p e a t e d l y r a i s i n g i t a n ds t r ik ing i t aga ins t the f loor.H e s t o p p e d a n d l o o k e d

round. They seemed to haverea l i sed h i s good in ten t ion

and had on ly been a la rmedbrief ly. Now they a l l looked

a t h im in unhappy s i l ence .His mother l ay in he r cha i r

wi th he r l egs s t r e t ched ou ta n d p r e s s e d a g a i n s t e a c ho t h e r , h e r e y e s n e a r l y

c losed wi th exhaus t ion ; h i ss i s t e r sa t nex t to h i s f a the r

w i t h h e r a r m s a r o u n d h i sneck .

such a long time. Just howc a n t h a t p o s s i b l y b eG r e g o r ? I f t h a t w e r eG r e g o r , h e w o u l d h a v er e a l i z e d l o n g a g o t h a thuman beings can’t possi-bly live with such an animaland he would have left ofhis own accord. We mighthave no brother then, butwe could go on living andhonor his memory. Instead,this animal harries us, itdrives out the boarders, itobv ious ly wan t s to t akeover the whole apartmentand make us sleep in thegutter. Look, Father,” shesuddenly screamed, “he’ss t a r t i n g a g a i n ! ” A n d i n[180] a panic that Gregorcould not for the life of himfathom, the sister actuallydeserted the mother. Liter-ally thrusting away from herchair as if she would rathersacrifice her mother thanremain near Gregor, shedashed behind the father,who, made frantic only bythe sister ’s behavior, stoodup, half raising his hands toshield her.

Yet Gregor never evend r e a m e d o f s c a r i n ga n y o n e , l e a s t o f a l l h i ss i s t e r . H e h a d m e r e l ys tar ted wheel ing a roundin order to lumber back toh i s r o o m , a l t h o u g hb e c a u s e o f h i s s i c k l ycondit ion his movementsdid look peculiar, for heh a d t o e x e c u t e t h ei n t r i c a t e t u r n s b yr e p e a t e d l y r a i s i n g h i sh e a d a n d b a n g i n g i ta g a i n s t t h e f l o o r . H epaused and looked around.His good intention seemedto have been recognized;the panic had only beenmomentary. Now they allg a z e d a t h i m i n d i s m a ls i l e n c e . T h e m o t h e r ,stretching out her legs andpressing them together,sprawled in her chair, her eyesalmost shut in exhaustion; thefather and the sister sat sideby side, she with her armaround his neck.

“ N o w m a y b e I c a n

harry 1 ravage or despoil (despojar). 2 harass, worry.harry 1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : 2 : to force to move along by harassing <harrying the terrified horses down out of the

mountains — R. A. Sokolov> 3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack synonym see worry. Hostigar, azuzar, acosar

129128

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

dar l a vue l t a» , pensó Gre -g o r r e a n u d a n d o s u t a r e a .N o p o d í a c o n t e n e r l o sj a d e o s d e r i v a d o s d e le s f u e r z o y t e n í a q u ed e s c a n s a r d e v e z e nc u a n d o . P o r l o d e m á s ,n a d i e l o a p r e m i a b a , e r al i b r e d e h a c e r l o q u eq u i s i e r a . C u a n d o h u b oa c a b a d o d e d a r s e l avue l ta , in ic ió su rep l ieguee n s e g u i d a , a v a n z a n d o e nl í n e a r e c t a . S e a s o m b r óde la g ran d i s tanc ia que los e p a r a b a d e s u h a b i t a c i ó ns i n p o d e r e x p l i c a r s ec ó m o , p e s e a s udeb i l idad , hab ía recor r idop o c o a n t e s e l m i s m oc a m i n o c a s i s i n d a r s ec u e n t a . P e n s a n d o s o l o e na r r a s t r a r s e c o n r a p i d e z ,a p e n a s s i a d v i r t i ó q u e n iu n a s o l a p a l a b r a oexclamación de su familialo estorbaba. Cuando l legóa l a p u e r t a v o l v i ó l acabeza , no del todo, puess in t ió que e l cue l lo se l eponía r ígido, pero aún al-canzó a ver que detrás de élnada había cambiado; tanso lo l a he rmana se hab íap u e s t o e n p i e . S u ú l t i m amirada acarició a la madre,q u e s e h a b í a q u e d a d oprofundamente dormida.

[93] Apenas entró en suhabitación, la puerta se cerróviolentamente con cerrojo yllave. Gregor se asustó tantocon el repentino ruido a susespaldas que las patitas se ledobla ron . Era la hermanaq u i e n a s í s e h a b í aa p r e s u r a d o . H a b í aaguardado allí fuera de pie,p a r a l u e g o l a n z a r s eá g i l m e n t e h a c i a d e l a n t e-Gregor no l a hab ía o ídoacercarse- y exclamar «¡Porf i n !» e n d i r e c c i ó n a s u spadres, mientras giraba lallave en la cerradura.

« t Y a h o r a ? » , s epreguntó Gregor mirando laoscuridad que lo rodeaba.Pronto descubrió que ya nopodía moverse en absoluto.Y no se sorprendió, más bienle pareció ant inatural queh a s t a e n t o n c e s h u b i e r a

turn round now,’ Gregorthought , and resumed h isl a b o u r s . H e c o u l d n o th e l p p a n t i n g w i t h t h ee f f o r t a n d h a d t o r e s tf r o m t i m e t o t i m e . N o tt h a t a n y o n e w a sh a r a s s i n g h i m ;e v e r y t h i n g w a s l e f t t oh im. When he had com-ple ted the tu rn , he beganto c rawl back a t once ina s t r a i g h t l i n e . H e w a sa s t o n i s h e d a t t h e g r e a td i s t a n c e t h a t s e p a r a t e dh im f rom h i s room, andu t t e r l y f a i l e d t ounders tand how, f ee l ingso weak , he had recent lycovered the same groundalmost wi thout rea l i s ingi t . Concentrat ing ent i re lyo n c r a w l i n g f a s t , h ehard ly no t iced tha t no t as i n g l e e x c l a m a t i o n o rw o r d d i s t u r b e d h i sp rog res s . On ly when hewas i n t he doo rway d idhe tu rn h i s head , no t a l lt he way, f o r he f e l t h i sn e c k g r o w i n g s t i f f , b u te n o u g h t o s e e t h a tn o t h i n g h a d c h a n g e db e h i n d h i m e x c e p t t h a th is s i s ter had r i sen to herfeet . His last gl impse waso f h i s m o t h e r w h o h a dfa l len fas t as leep .

H a r d l y w a s h e i n s i d eh i s r o o m t h a n t h e d o o rw a s h a s t i l y c l o s e d ,b o l t e d a n d l o c k e d . T h esudden no i se beh ind h ims c a r e d G r e g o r s o b a d l ythat his little legs buckled.It was his sister who hadbeen in such a hurry. Shehad been s tanding there ,upright and waiting, thens h e h a d l e a p t f o r w a r dnimbly - Gregor had noteven heard her coming -and she cried, ‘At last!’ toher parents as she turnedthe key in the lock.

‘ A n d n o w ? ’ G r e g o rasked himself, and lookedaround in the darkness. Hesoon d i scove red tha t hecould no longer move at all.That did not surprise him,in fact he found it unnaturalthat up until then he had

doute me laisser tourner »,pensa Grégoire, [81] et il seremit au travail. Il ne pouvaitréprimer un halètement defatigue et il était obligé de sereposer de temps en temps.D’ailleurs personne ne lepressait; on lui laissaitentièrement carte blanche.Quand il eut terminé saconversion il commençaimmédiatement sonmouvement de retraite, en sedirigeant droit devant lui. Il futtout étonné de la distance quile séparait encore de sachambre et n’arriva pas àcomprendre que, dans son étatde faiblesse, il eût pu faire sanss’en rendre compte un telchemin l’instant d’avant. Safamille ne le gêna par aucun cri,par aucune exclamation; maisil ne le remarqua même pas,tant il concentrait son esprit surla nécessité de faire vite. Ce nefut qu’une fois parvenu à laporte de sa chambre qu’ilsongea à tourner la tête, pascomplètement, à cause de soncou qui se raidissait, maissuffisamment tout de mêmepour pouvoir constater que rienn’avait changé derrière lui;seule, sa soeur s’était levée.Son dernier regard effleura lamère qui s’était décidémentendormie.

A peine fut-i l dans sachambre que la porte s’entrouva poussée, verrouilléeet fermée à double tour. Levacarme fut si subit qu’il enplia sur ses pattes. C’étaitsa soeur qui s’était presséeainsi. Elle s’était levée dèsle premier instant pour setenir prête et avait bondisur la por te ; au momentvoulu, d’une façon si légèreq u ’ i l n e l ’ a v a i t p a sentendue venir; en tournantla clef dans la serrure, ellec r i a : « E n f i n ! . . . » a u xparents. [82]

«Et maintenant?» se demandaGrégoire en regardant autourde lui dans le noir. Il découvritbientôt qu’il ne pouvait plusfaire un mouvement. Cela nel’étonna pas; il aurait été plutôtsurpris d’avoir pu jusqu’alorsse remuer sur des pattes aussi

p o u v o i r t o u r n e r m a i n t e n a n t» , p e n s a G r e g o r , e n

r e p r e n a n t s a b e s o g n e . I l n ep o u v a i t , d a n s s o n e f f o r t ,

r é p r i m e r u n e s o r t e d eh a l è t e m e n t e t d e v a i t

s ’ a r r ê t e r d e t e m p s e n t e m p sp o u r s e r e p o s e r . M a i s

p e r s o n n e m a i n t e n a n t n e l ep r e s s a i t ; o n l e l a i s s a i t f a i r et o u t s e u l . Q u a n d i l e u t

t e r m i n é s o n d e m i t o u r , i lr ecommença auss i tô t à ba t t re

e n r e t r a i t e d r o i t d e v a n t l u i .I l s ’ é t o n n a i t d e l a g r a n d e

d i s t ance qu i l e sépa ra i t de sac h a m b r e e t n e c o m p r e n a i t

p a s q u e , f a i b l e c o m m e i lé t a i t , i l a i t p u f a i r e l e m ê m ec h e m i n u n i n s t a n t p l u s t ô t

s a n s m ê m e l e r e m a r q u e r .U n i q u e m e n t s o u c i e u x d e

r a m p e r a u s s i v i t e q u ’ i l l ep o u v a i t , i l s ’ a p e r ç u t à p e i n e

q u ’ a u c u n e p a r o l e , a u c u n eexc l ama t ion de s a f ami l l e ne

v e n a i t l e g ê n e r . C ’ e s tseu lement quand i l fu t a r r ivé

à l a p o r t e q u ’ i l t o u r n a l at ê t e , p a s c o m p l è t e m e n t , c a ri l s e n t a i t u n r a i d i s s e m e n t

dans l e cou , a s sez cependan tp o u r v o i r q u e , d e r r i è r e l u i ,

r i en n ’ava i t changé ; s eu l e s as o e u r s ’ é t a i t l e v é e . S o n

de rn i e r r ega rd f rô l a s a mère ,q u i é t a i t m a i n t e n a n t t o u t à

f a i t e n d o r m i e .

I l é t a i t à pe ine a r r ivé dans sa

c h a m b r e q u e l a p o r t e f u tv i v e m e n t p o u s s é e , v e r r o u i l -

l é e e t f e r m é e à d o u b l e t o u r.C e b r u i t s o u d a i n l u i f i t u n e

t e l l e p e u r q u e s e s p a t t e s s ed é r o b è r e n t s o u s l u i . C ’ é t a i t

s a s o e u r q u i s ’ é t a i tp r é c i p i t é e d e l a s o r t e . E l l e

é t a i t r e s t é e d e b o u t àa t t endre , pu i s , l égè re commee l l e é t a i t , a v a i t b o n d i e n

a v a n t ; G r e g o r n e l ’ a v a i tm ê m e p a s e n t e n d u e v e n i r. «

E n f i n ! » , c r i a - t - e l l e à s e sp a r e n t s , a p r è s a v o i r t o u r n é

l a c l e f d a n s l a s e r r u r e .

« E t m a i n t e n a n t ? » , s ed e m a n d a G r e g o r e n s ere t rouvan t dans l e no i r. I l ne

tarda pas à s ’apercevoi r qu’ i ln e p o u v a i t p l u s b o u g e r d u

tou t . I l n ’en fu t pas é tonné ,i l l u i p a r a i s s a i t p l u t ô t

é t r ange d ’avo i r pu con t inue r

t u r n a r o u n d , ” G r e g o rt h o u g h t , a n d r e s u m e dh i s l a b o r . H e c o u l d n o th e l p p a n t i n g f r o m t h ee f f o r t a n d h a d t o r e s te v e r y o n c e i n a w h i l e .A t l e a s t h e l e f t o n h i so w n w i t h n o o n eh a r a s s i n g h i m . A s s o o na s h e h a d f i n i s h e dt u r n i n g , h e s t a r t e d t oc r a w l s t r a i g h t b a c k . H ew a s a s t o n i s h e d b y h o wf a r a w a y t h e r o o m w a sa n d c o u l d n o tu n d e r s t a n d h o w h e h a dr e c e n t l y a n d i n h i sp a t h e t i c c o n d i t i o n s ou n k n o w i n g l y t r a v e l e dt h a t g r e a t a d i s t a n c e .H e w a s s o i n t e n t o nc r a w l i n g r a p i d l y t h a th e b a r e l y n o t i c e d t h a tn o t a s i n g l e w o r d o ra n y i n t e r f e r e n c e c a m ef r o m h i s f a m i l y . O n l yw h e n h e w a s a l r e a d y i nt h e d o o r w a y d i d h et u r n h i s h e a d - n o t a l lt h e w a y, f o r h e f e l t h i sn e c k s t i f f e n i n g - a n ds a w t h a t n o t h i n g h a dc h a n g e d b e h i n d h i me x c e p t t h a t t h e s i s t e rh a d r i s e n . H i s f i n a lg a z e f e l l o n t h em o t h e r , w h o w a s n o wd e e p l y a s l e e p .

[48] He was hardly inh i s room when the doorw a s s h u t h a s t i l y, t h e nb o l t e d a n d l o c k e d . T h esudden noise behind himr a t t l e d G r e g o r s o m u c htha t t he l i t t l e l egs gaveway beneath him. I t wasthe sister who had been insuch a rush. She had beens t a n d i n g b y r e a d y a n dw a i t i n g a n d h a d l i g h t l yl e a p t f o r w a r d b e f o r eGregor even heard hercoming; “Finally!” she criedto the parents as she turnedthe key in the lock.

“ W h a t n o w ? ” G r e g o rwondered, peering aroundin the darkness. He soondiscovered that he couldno longer move at all. Thisdid not particularly puzzleh i m , r a t h e r i t s e e m e dunnatural to him that he

d a y a m o v e r m e - p e n s óGregorio, comenzando denuevo su penoso esfuerzo.No podía contener sus re-sopl idos , y de cuando encuando tenía que pararsea descansar. Mas nadie leapresuraba; se le de jabaen entera l iber tad. Cuan-do hubo dado l a vue l t a ,inic ió en seguida la mar-cha a t rás en l ínea rec ta .Le asombró la gran d is -tancia que le separaba desu habi tación; no acer ta-ba a comprender cómo, ensu actual es tado de debi-l idad, había podido, mo-men tos an te s , hace r e sem i s m o c a m i n o c a s i s i nnotarlo. Con la única pre-ocupación de ar ras t rarselo más rápidamente posi-b le , apenas s i reparó enque ningún [100] miembrode la fami l ia le azuzabacon palabras o gritos. All legar a l umbral , volvió,empero, la cabeza, aunquesolo a medias, pues sentíacierta rigidez en el cuello,y pudo ver que nada habíac a m b i a d o a s u e s p a l d a .Únicamente la hermana sehabía puesto en pie. Y suúltima mirada fue para lamadre, que, por fin, se ha-bía quedado dormida.

Apenas dentro de su ha-bitación, sintió cerrarse rá-pidamente la puerta y echarel pes t i l lo y la l lave. Elbrusco ruido que esto pro-dujo le asustó de tal nodo, quelas patas se le doblaron. Lahermana era quien tanta prisatenía. Había permanecido enpie, como acechando el mo-mento de poder precipitarse aencerrarlo. Gregorio no la ha-bla sentido acercarse.

— ¡Por fin! -exclamó elladirigiéndose a los padres, altiempo que daba vuelta a la lla-ve en la cerradura.

—¿Y ahora? -preguntóseGregorio mirando en torno suyoen la oscuridad. Muy prontohubo de convencerse de que leera en absoluto imposible mover-se. Esto no le asombró: antes alcontrario, no le parecía naturalhaber podido avanzar, cual lo ha-

“ M a y b e n o w t h e y ’ l l l e tm e t u r n r o u n d ” , t h o u g h t

G r e g o r a n d w e n t b a c k t ow o r k . H e c o u l d n o t h e l p

p a n t i n g l o u d l y w i t h t h ee f f o r t a n d h a d s o m e t i m e s

t o s t o p a n d t a k e a r e s t . N o -o n e w a s m a k i n g h i m r u s h

a n y m o r e , e v e r y t h i n g w a sl e f t u p t o h i m . A s s o o n a sh e h a d f i n a l l y f i n i s h e d

t u r n i n g r o u n d h e b e g a n t om o v e s t r a i g h t a h e a d . H e

w a s a m a z e d a t t h e g r e a td i s t ance tha t s epa ra t ed h im

f r o m h i s r o o m , a n d c o u l dn o t u n d e r s t a n d h o w h e h a d

c overed that distance in hisw e a k s t a t e a l i t t l e w h i l ebe fo re and a lmos t w i thou t

noticing i t . He concentratedo n c r a w l i n g a s f a s t a s h e

could and hardly noticed thatthere was no t a w o r d , n o t

a n y c r y, f r o m h i s f a m i l y t od i s t r a c t h i m . H e d i d n o t

t u r n h i s h e a d u n t i l h e h a dr e a c h e d t h e d o o r w a y. H e

d i d n o t t u r n i t a l l t h e w a yr o u n d a s h e f e l t h i s n e c kb e c o m i n g s t i ff , b u t i t w a s

n o n e t h e l e s s e n o u g h t o s e et h a t n o t h i n g b e h i n d h i m

h a d c h a n g e d , o n l y h i ss i s t e r h a d s t o o d u p . Wi t h

h i s l a s t g l a n c e h e s a w t h a th i s m o t h e r h a d n o w f a l l e n

c o m p l e t e l y a s l e e p .

H e w a s h a r d l y i n s i d e

h i s r o o m b e f o r e t h e d o o rw a s h u r r i e d l y s h u t ,

b o l t e d a n d l o c k e d . T h es u d d e n n o i s e b e h i n d

G r e g o r s o s t a r t l e d h i m t h a th i s l i t t l e l e g s c o l l a p s e d

unde r h im . I t was h i s s i s t e rw h o h a d b e e n i n s o m u c h

o f a r u s h . S h e h a d b e e ns t a n d i n g t h e r e w a i t i n g a n ds p r u n g f o r w a r d l i g h t l y ,

G r e g o r h a d n o t h e a r d h e rc o m i n g a t a l l , a n d a s s h e

t u r n e d t h e k e y i n t h e l o c ks h e s a i d l o u d l y t o h e r

p a r e n t s “ A t l a s t ! ” .

“ W h a t n o w, t h e n ? ” ,Gregor asked himsel f as hel o o k e d r o u n d i n t h e

darkness . He soon made thediscovery tha t he could no

longer move at a l l . This wasno surprise to him, i t seemed

r a t h e r t h a t b e i n g a b l e t o

t u r n a r o u n d , ” G r e g o rt h o u g h t , r e s u m i n g h i sl a b o r . H e c o u l d n o th e l p p a n t i n g f r o m t h es t r a i n a n d h e a l s o h a dt o r e s t i n t e r m i t t e n t l y.A t l e a s t , n o o n e w a sb u l l y i n g h i m , a n d h ew a s l e f t t o h i s o w nd e v i c e s . U p o nc o m p l e t i n g t h e t u r n , h eh e a d e d s t r a i g h t b a c k .A m a z e d t h a t h i s r o o mw a s f a r a w a y, h e c o u l dn o t u n d e r s t a n d h o w ,g i v e n h i s f e e b l e n e s s ,h e h a d c o m e t h i s g r e a td i s t a n c e a l m o s tu n w i t t i n g l y . B u t ,a b s o r b e d i n c r e e p i n gr a p i d l y , h e s c a r c e l yn o t i c e d t h a t n oi n t e r f e r i n g w o r d o ro u t c r y c a m e f r o m h i sf a m i l y . I t w a s o n l yu p o n r e a c h i n g t h e d o o rt h a t h e t u r n e d h i s[ 1 8 1 ] h e a d - n o t a l l t h ew a y f o r h e f e l t h i s n e c ks t i f f e n i n g ;n e v e r t h e l e s s , h e d i ds e e t h a t n o t h i n g h a dc h a n g e d b e h i n d h i m ,e x c e p t t h a t t h e s i s t e rh a d g o t t e n t o h e r f e e t .H i s f i n a l l o o k g r a z e dt h e m o t h e r , w h o w a sf a s t a s l e e p b y n o w.

N o s o o n e r w a s h einside his room than thedoor was hastily slammed,b o l t e d , a n d l o c k e d .Gregor was so terrified bythe sudden racket behindh i m t h a t h i s t i n y l e g sbuckled. I t was the sisterwho had been in such ar u s h . S h e h a d b e e nstanding there, waiting, andhad then n imbly jumpedforward, before Gregor hade v e n h e a r d h e r c o m i n g .“Finally!” she yelled to theparents while turning thekey in the lock.

“ W h a t n o w ? ” G r e g o rwondered, peering aroundi n t h e d a r k . H e s o o ndiscovered that he couldno longer budge at al l . Hewas not surprised, i t evens t ruck h im as unna tu ra lt h a t h e h a d e v e r

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

podido desplazarse con esaspatitas tan delgadas. Por lod e m á s , s e s e n t í arelativamente a gusto. Ciertoe s q u e l e d o l í a t o d o e lcue rpo , pe ro e ra como s ie s o s d o l o r e s p u d i e s e nd e b i l i t a r s e g r a d u a l m e n t ehasta acabar desapareciendodel todo. Apenas sentía ya lam a n z a n a p o d r i d a e n s uespalda y la inflamación dealrededor, cubiertas ambaspor una fina capa de polvo.P e n s ó e n s u f a m i l i a c o ne m o c i ó n y c a r i ñ o . S uconvicción de que debía de-saparecer era, si cabe, másf i r m e a ú n q u e l a d e s uhermana. En ese estado demeditación vacía y pacíficap e r m a n e c i ó h a s t a q u e e lreloj de la torre dio las tresde la madrugada. Todavíavivió el inicio de la claridadque se expandía detrás de laventana. Luego su cabeza sei n c l i n ó d e l t o d o s i n é lquererlo, y por sus orificiosnasales exhaló débilmente elúltimo aliento.

[ 9 4 ] C u a n d o l aa s i s t e n t a l l e g ó a l am a ñ a n a s i g u i e n t e , m u ytemprano -de puro br ío yp r e m u r a d a b a t a l e spor tazos que, por más quel e h u b i e s e n p e d i d oe v i t a r l o , e n t o d o e l p i s oe r a i m p o s i b l e s e g u i rdurmiendo t ranqui lamented e s p u é s d e s u l l e g a d a - ,nada, al principio, le l lamól a a t e n c i ó n e n G r e g o rd u r a n t e s u b r e v e v i s i t ahabi tual . Pensó que yacíaahí inmóvi l a propósi to yque se hac ía e l o fendido;lo cre ía capaz de cualquiera s t u c i a . C o m o p o r a z a rtenía la escoba grande enla mano , in ten tó con e l l ahacer le cosqu i l la s desdel a p u e r t a . A l v e r q u e n oconseguía nada, se i r r i tó yempezó a p inchar un pocoa Gregor, y solo cuando loh u b o d e s p l a z a d o d e s us i t i o s i n h a l l a r l a m e n o rr e s i s t e n c i a l e p r e s t óatención. Poco después , a ld a r s e c u e n t a d e l averdadera s i tuación, abr ióm u c h o l o s o j o s y d e j ó

been able to get about onsuch th in l i t t l e l egs .Otherwise, he felt relativelycomfortable. True, he [58]had pains all over his body,but he had the impressionthat they were gradual lygrowing fainter and fainterand would eventually vanishaltogether. By now he couldhardly feel the rotten applein his back and the inflamedarea around it, completelycovered with soft dust. Hereca l led h i s fami ly wi thtenderness and love. Hisconviction that he wouldhave to disappear was, ifpossible, even firmer thanhis sister ’s. He remained inth i s s t a t e o f vacan t andpeaceful reflection until theclock tower struck three inthe morning. He was stillconsc ious a s eve ry th inggrew brighter outside thewindow. Then ,involuntarily, his head sankr igh t down, and h is l as tbreath flowed feebly fromhis nostrils.

When the c lean ingwoman came early in themorn ing - ou t o f sheerenergy and impat ience ,despite frequent requests notto do so, she would slam allthe doors with such forcethat peaceful sleep, once shehad a r r ived , was animpossibility throughout theapartment - she did not atfirst find anything out of theordinary as she paid Gregorher usual brief visit . Shethought that he was lyingthere motionless on purpose,pretending that his feelingswere hurt; she credited himwith boundless intelligence.Because she happened to beholding the long broom, shetried to tickle Gregor withit from the safety of the door.When even th i s p rovedunsuccess fu l she los tpatience and gave Gregor alittle prod, and it was onlywhen she had shifted himfrom h is p lace wi thoutencountering any resistancethat she began to take notice.Having soon become awareof the true state of affairs,

grêles. D’ailleurs il éprouvaitune sensation de bien-êtrerelatif. Il sentait bien quelquesdouleurs dans son corps, maisil lui sembla qu’ellesdevenaient de plus en plusfaibles et finiraient pardisparaître complètement. Il nesouffrait déjà presque plus dela pomme pourrie incrustéedans son dos ni del’inflammation des partiesenvironnantes qui étaienttoutes couvertes d’unepoussière fine. Il resongea à safamille avec une tendresseémue. Qu’il dût partir il lesavait, et son opinion sur cepoint était encore plus arrêtée,s’il est possible, que cellemême de sa soeur. Il resta danscet état de méditation paisibleet vide jusqu’au moment oùl’horloge de la tour sonna latroisième heure du matin. II vitencore devant la fenêtre lepaysage qui commentait às’éclaircir. Puis sa têtes’affaissa malgré lui et sondernier souffle sortitfaiblement de ses narines.

Quand la femme de peinearriva de grand matin - bienqu’on le lu i eû t souventdé fendu , e l l e f a i s a i t s ib r avemen t c l aque r l e sportes dans l’excès de savigueur et de sa hâte qu’iln’y avai t p lus moyen dedo rmi r à pa r t i r de sonarrivée - elle ne remarquad’abord rien de particulieren venant rendre à Grégoiresa petite visite accoutumée.Elle [83] pensa qu’il faisaitexprès de rester immobilepou r j oue r au mons i eu roffensé, car elle le croyaitcapab l e de t ous l e sraffinements; comme elleavait par hasard le grandbalai à la main, elle cherchaà le chatouiller depuis lapor te ; l ’ insuccès de saplaisanterie la mit en colère,et elle lui envoya quelquesbons renfoncements souslesquels le corps recula sansrésistance; alors seulement lacur ios i té de la v ie i l les’alluma. Elle eut vite fait dese rendre compte de lasituation, ouvrit de grandsyeux, lâcha un coup de sifflet,

à se mouvo i r ju squ’à p résen tsur des pa t tes auss i grê les . I l

ép rouva i t au demeuran t unes e n s a t i o n d e b i e n - ê t r e

r e l a t i f . I I ava i t , i l e s t v r a i ,d e s d o u l e u r s s u r t o u t l e

c o r p s , m a i s i l l u i s e m b l aq u ’ e l l e s d i m i n u a i e n t p e u à

p e u e t q u ’ e l l e s a l l a i e n tcesser. I l ne senta i t p lus qu’àp e i n e l a p o m m e p o u r r i e

i n c r u s t é e d a n s s o n d o s n il ’ i n f l a m m a t i o n d e s p a r t i e s

e n v i r o n n a n t e s , m a i n t e n a n tr e c o u v e r t e s d ’ u n e f i n e

p o u s s i è r e . I l p e n s a à s af a m i l l e a v e c u n e t e n d r e s s e

é m u e . L’ i d é e q u ’ i l n ’ a v a i tp lus qu’à d ispara î t re é ta i t , s iposs ib le , p lus ar rê tée encore

dans son espr i t que dans celuide sa soeur. I l res ta dans ce t

é t a t d e m é d i t a t i o n v i d e e tpa is ib le jusqu’au moment où

l ’ h o r l o g e d u c l o c h e r s o n n at r o i s h e u r e s . I l v i t e n c o r e ,

d e v a n t s a f e n ê t r e , l e j o u rarriver peu à peu. Puis, sa tête

r e t o m b a m a l g r é l u i e t s e snar ines la issèrent fa ib lementpasser son dernier souff le .

L o r s q u e l a f e m m e d e

p e i n e a r r i v a a u p e t i t m a t i n- b i e n q u ’ o n l e l u i a i t

d é f e n d u , e l l e c l a q u a i t l e sp o r t e s s i v i o l e m m e n t d a n s

s o n e x c è s d e v i g u e u r e t d ep r é c i p i t a t i o n q u ’ i l n ’ ya v a i t p l u s m o y e n d e d o r m i r

d a n s t o u t e l a m a i s o n d è sq u ’ e l l e é t a i t l à - , e l l e n e

t r o u v a t o u t d ’ a b o r d r i e nd e p a r t i c u l i e r , q u a n d e l l e

f i t c h e z G r e g o r s a b r è v ev i s i t e h a b i t u e l l e . E l l e

p e n s a q u ’ i l f a i s a i t e x p r è sd e r e s t e r i m m o b i l e e t

q u ’ i l j o u a i t à l ’ o f f e n s é ,c a r e l l e l u i p r ê t a i t t o u tl ’ e s p r i t i m a g i n a b l e . E l l e

s e t r o u v a i t t e n i r s o n g r a n dbalai à la main et elle essaya

d e l e c h a t o u i l l e r d e p u i s l ap o r t e . C o m m e e l l e n ’ a v a i t

toujours pas de succès, elle sefâcha et se mit à pousser plus

fort; et c’est seulement quandelle vit que Gregor se laissaitd é p l a c e r s a n s o p p o s e r d e

résis tance qu’el le se mit à yregarder de plus près. Elle eut

vite fait de comprendre ce quis ’ é t a i t pas sé ; e l l e ouvr i t de

grands yeux et se mit à siffler

had actually been able towalk on these skinny littlel e g s . O t h e r w i s e h e f e l trelatively comfortable. Ofc o u r s e h i s w h o l e b o d yached, but it seemed to himthat the pain was graduallyf a d i n g a n d w o u l de v e n t u a l l y d i s a p p e a raltogether. He could hardlyfeel the rotten apple in hisback and the enflamed areaa r o u n d i t , w h i c h w e r ecovered over by soft dust.H i s t h o u g h t s , f u l l o ftenderness and love, wentback to his family. He wase v e n m o r e f i r m l yconvinced than his sister,if possible, that he shoulddisappear. He remained int h i s s t a t e o f e m p t y a n dpeaceful reflection until thetower clock struck three inthe morning. He hung on tos e e t h e g r o w i n g l i g h toutside the window. Thenhis head sank involuntarilyto the f loor and h is las tf e e b l e b r e a t h s t r e a m e dfrom his nostrils.

When the charwomanc a m e e a r l y i n t h em o r n i n g - f r o m s h e e renergy and impatience shea l w a y s s l a m m e d a l l t h ed o o r s , n o m a t t e r h o wmany times she had beena s k e d n o t t o , s o i t w a simpossible for anyone tosleep peacefully after herarrival-she found nothingunusual dur ing her br iefc u s t o m a r y v i s i t t oG r e g o r ’s r o o m . S h et h o u g h t h e w a s l y i n gm o t i o n l e s s o n p u r p o s e ,p r e t e n d i n g t o s u l k ; s h ei m b u e d h i m w i t h a l lmanne r o f in t e l l i gence .Since she happened to behold ing the long broom,she t r i e d t o t i c k l e h imfrom the doorway. Whenthis produced no responseshe became annoyed andbegan to jab at Gregor; i twas only when her shovesw e r e m e t w i t h n oresistance and moved himf r o m h i s p l a c e t h a t s h ebecame alerted. She soongrasped the t ru th o f thematter; her eyes went wide

cía hasta entonces, con aquellaspatitas tan delgadas. Por lo de-más, sentíase relativamente[101] a gusto. Cierto es quetodo el cuerpo le dolía; perole parecía como si estos do-lores se fuesen debilitandomás y más, y pensaba que,por último, acabarían. Ape-nas si notaba ya la manzanapodrida que tenía en la es-palda, y la inflamación, re-vestida de blanco por el pol-vo. Pensaba con emoción yca r iño en l o s suyos .Hallábase, a ser posible ,aún más firmemente con-vencido que su hermana deque tenía que desaparecer. Yen tal estado de apaciblemeditación e insensibilidadpermaneció hasta que el re-loj de la iglesia dio las tresde la madrugada. Todavíapudo vivir aquel comienzodel alba que despuntaba de-trás de los cristales. Luego,a pesa r suyo , su cabezahundióse por completo y suhocico despidió débilmentesu postrer aliento.

A la mañana siguiente,cuando entró la as is tenta-daba ta les por tazos , queen cuanto l legaba ya eraimposible descansar en lacama, a pesar de las inf i -ni tas veces que se le ha-bían rogado otras maneraspara hacer a Gregorio lab reve v i s i t a de cos tum-b r e , n o h a l l ó e n é l , a lpr incipio , nada de par t i -cular. Supuso que perma-n e c í a a s í , i n m ó v i l , c o ntoda in tenc ión , para ha-cerse e l enfad a d o , p u e sl e c o n s i d e r a b a c a p a zd e l [ 1 0 2 ] m á s c o m p l e t od i s c e r n i m i e n t o . Casual-mente llevaba en la mano eldeshollinador, y quiso coné l h a c e r l e c o s q u i l l a s aGregorio desde la puerta.Al ver que tampoco conesto lograba nada, irritósea su vez, empezó a pinchar-le, y tan solo después quele hubo empujado sin en-contrar ninguna resistencia sefijó en él, y, percatándose alpunto de lo sucedido, abriódesmesuradamente los ojos ydejó escapar un silbido de sor-

a c t u a l l y m o v e a r o u n d o nt h o s e s p i n d l y l i t t l e l e g s

unt i l then was unnatural . Hea l s o f e l t r e l a t i v e l y

comfor table . I t i s t rue tha th is ent i re body was aching,

bu t t he pa in s eemed to bes lowly ge t t i ng weake r and

w e a k e r a n d w o u l d f i n a l l yd i s a p p e a r a l t o g e t h e r . H ecould already hardly feel the

decayed apple in his back orthe inf lamed area around i t ,

which was ent i re ly coveredi n w h i t e d u s t . H e t h o u g h t

b a c k o f h i s f a m i l y w i t hemot ion and love . I f i t was

possible, he felt that he mustgo away even more stronglythan his sister. He remained

in t h i s s t a t e o f emp ty andpeaceful rumination until he

heard the clock tower striket h r e e i n t h e m o r n i n g . H e

watched as it slowly began toget light everywhere outside

t h e w i n d o w t o o . T h e n ,w i t h o u t h i s w i l l i n g i t , h i s

head sank down completely,and h i s l a s t b rea th f lowedweakly from his nostrils.

W h e n t h e c l e a n e r c a m e

i n e a r l y i n t h e m o r n i n g -t h e y ’ d o f t e n a s k e d h e r n o t

t o k e e p s l a m m i n g t h ed o o r s b u t w i t h h e r

s t r e n g t h a n d i n h e r h u r r ys h e s t i l l d i d , s o t h a te v e r y o n e i n t h e f l a t k n e w

w h e n s h e ’ d a r r i v e d a n df r o m t h e n o n i t w a s

i m p o s s i b l e t o s l e e p i np e a c e - s h e m a d e h e r u s u a l

b r i e f l o o k i n o n G r e g o ra n d a t f i r s t f o u n d n o t h i n g

s p e c i a l . S h e t h o u g h t h ew a s l a y i n g t h e r e s o s t i l l

o n p u r p o s e , p l a y i n g t h em a r t y r ; s h e a t t r i b u t e d a l lp o s s i b l e u n d e r s t a n d i n g

to him. She happened to beholding the long broom in her

hand, so she tried to tickleG r e g o r w i t h i t f r o m t h e

doorway. When she had nosuccess with that she tried to

make a nuisance of herse l fand poked at him a lit t le, ando n l y w h e n s h e f o u n d s h e

could shove him across thefloor with no resistance at all

did she start to pay attention.She soon real ised what had

really happened, opened her

succeeded in moving ont h e s e s k i nn y l i t t le legs.Otherwise he felt relativelycomfor t ab l e . H i s en t i r ebody was ach ing , bu t i tseemed to h im as i f thepains were gradually fadingand would ultimately vanishaltogether. He could barelyfeel the rotting apple in hisback or the inflamed areaa round i t , wh ich werethoroughly c loaked wi thsoft dust. He recalled hisfamily with tenderness andlove. His conviction that hewould have to d isappearwas, if possible, even firmerthan h i s s i s t e r ’s . Hel ingered in th i s s t a te o fblank and peaceful musinguntil the tower clock struckthree in the morning. Hehe ld on l ong enough tog l impse the s t a r t o f t heoverall brightening outsidethe window. Then his headinvoluntari ly sank to thefloor, and his final breathcame f eeb ly f rom h i snostrils. [182]

When the charwomans h o w e d u p e a r l y t h a tmorning (in her haste andsheer energy, and no matterhow of t en she had beena s k e d n o t t o d o i t , s h eslammed all the doors sohard that once she walkedin no peaceful sleep waspossible anywhere in theapartment), and peeked inon Gregor as usual, she atf i r s t f o u n d n o t h i n g o d dabout him. Having creditedhim with goodness knowsw h a t b r a i n p o w e r, s h ethought he was deliberatelylying there so motionless,pretending to sulk. Sinces h e h a p p e n e d t o b eclutching the long broom,she t r i e d t o t i c k l e h imfrom the doorway. This hadno effect, and so she grewannoyed and began pokingGregor. It was only uponshoving him from his placebut meeting no resistancet h a t s h e b e c a m e a l e r t .W h e n t h e t r u e s t a t e o faffairs now dawned on thec h a r w o m a n , h e r e y e sbulged in amazement and

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escapar un silbido, pero no seentretuvo mucho rato, sinoque abrió de golpe la puertadel dormitorio y exclamó avoz en cuello en la oscuridad:« ¡ Ve n g a n a v e r, l a h apalmado! ¡Ahí lo tienen, laha palmado !» .

E l s e ñ o r y l a s e ñ o r aSamsa estaban sentados enla cama de ma t r imon io ytuvieron que sobreponerse als u s t o q u e l e s p r o d u j o l aa s i s t e n t a a n t e s d e l o g r a rentender su mensaje. Peroluego bajaron rápidamentede la cama, cada uno por sulado, el señor Samsa se echóla manta sobre los hombros,mient ras la señora Samsasalió solo en camisón, y asíentraron en la habitación deGregor. Entretanto tambiénse había abierto la puerta dela sala de estar, donde Gretedormía desde la llegada del o s h u é s p e d e s ; e s t a b at o t a l m e n t e [ 9 5 ] v e s t i d a ,como si no hubiera dormidonada, y la palidez de su carap a r e c í a d e m o s t r a r l o .« ¿ M u e r t o ? » , p r e g u n t ó l aseñora Samsa alzando unamirada interrogante haciala asistenta, pese a que ellamisma podía comprobar lotodo y hasta darse cuenta delo ocurrido sin necesidad decomprobarlo. «Eso parece»,d i jo la as is tenta y, comop r u e b a , e m p u j ó u n b u e ntrecho el cadáver de Gregorcon la escoba, arrastrándolohac i a un l ado . La s eño raSamsa hizo un gesto comoqueriendo detener la escoba,p e r o s e c o n t u v o . « P u e sbien», dijo el señor Samsa,«ya podemos dar gracias aDios». Se santiguó, y las tresm u j e r e s s i g u i e r o n s ue j e m p l o . G r e t e , q u e n oapartaba la vista del cadáver,d i jo : «Mirad qué de lgadoes taba . Ya l levaba muchotiempo sin comer nada. Lasc o m i d a s s a l í a n d e l ah a b i t a c i ó n t a l y c o m oe n t r a b a n » . E n e f e c t o , e lc u e r p o d e G r e g o r e s t a b acompletamente plano y seco,aunque solo ahora se dabanc u e n t a , c u a n d o y a n o s emantenía alzado sobre sus

she reacted with amazement,whistled softly to herself,did not delay but tore openthe bedr o o m d o o r a n dye l l ed in to the da rkness :‘ Take a l ook a t t h i s ; i t ’sdead; i t ’s ly ing there asdead as dead can be!’

T h e S a m s a s s a t b o l tupright in their double bedand took a while to get overt h e f r i g h t t h e c l e a n i n gwoman had given them [59]before they finally graspedwhat she was saying. Then,howev er, Her r and F ranSamsa got hast i ly out ofbed, each on their own side;Her r Samsa t h r ew theblanket round his shoulders,F ran Samsa emerged innothing but her nightdress;in th is way they enteredGregor’s room. Meanwhilethe door of the living-room,whe re Gre t e had beensleeping since the lodgersmoved in, had also opened;she was fully dressed, as ifshe had not slept at all, animpress ion tha t her pa leface seemed to conf i rm.‘Dead?’ asked Fran Samsaand looked up enquiringlya t t he c l ean ing woman ,although she could verifyeverything for herself andsee that it was so withoutverification. ‘I’ll say,’ saidthe cleaning woman, andt o p r o v e i t s h e g a v eGregor ’s corpse ano therhuge shove to the side withh e r b r o o m . F r a n S a m s am a d e a s i f t o p u t ar e s t r a i n i n g h a n d o n t h ebroom but did not do so.‘Well , ’ said Herr Samsa,‘may God be thanked.’ Hecrossed himself , and thethree women followed hisexample . Gre te , wi thou tt a k i n g h e r e y e s o f f t h ecorpse, said, ‘Just look howthin he was. But then it’sages since he ate anything.The food used to come outagain just as it was takenin.’ And Gregor’s body wasindeed completely flat anddry, which could actuallyo n l y n o w b e o b s e r v e d ,s i n c e t h e b o d y w a s n olonger held up by his little

mais ne s’attarda pas dans lapièce; elle courut à la chambreà coucher dont elle ouvrit laporte en trombe et cria fortementces mots dans l’obscurité :«Venez donc voir, il est crevé;il est là, il est couché par terre;il est crevé comme un rat.»

Le couple Samsa s’assitsur son séant dans le l i tconjugal et dut s’occuperactivement de surmonterl’effroi que lui avait causé lavieille avant de chercher lesens de son message. Maisalors ce fut rapide : Monsieursauta hors du lit d’un côté,Madame de l’autre; Monsieurjeta la couverture sur sesépaules, Madame sortit enchemise de nuit, et ce fut danscet appareil qu’ils pénétrèrentdans la chambre de Grégoire.Entre-temps la porte de lasalle à manger s’était ouverte: Grete couchait dans cette piècedepuis l’arrivée des locataires; elleétait. complètement vêtue, commesi elle n’avait pas dormi; et la pâleurde son visage semblait égalementtémoigner de son insomnie.«Mort?» demanda [84] MmeSamsa en regardant la femme depeine d’un air interrogatif, bienq u ’ e l l e p û t t o u te x a m i n e r e l l e - m ê m e ,e t c o n s t a t e r a u s s i l ed é c è s s a n s e x a m e n .« E t c o m m e n t ! » d é c l a r al a f e m m e de peine enpoussant de côté avec son balaile cadavre de Grégoire àl’appui de son affirmation.Mme Samsa eut unmouvement comme pourre tenir le bala i , mais netermina pas son geste. «Ehbien, dit M. Samsa, nouspouvons remercier Dieu.» Ilse signa et les trois femmessuivirent son exemple. Grete,qui n’avai t pas qui t té lecadavre des yeux, déclara :«Voyez donc comme il étaitmaigre . I l y avai t s ilongtemps aussi qu’i l nemangeai t p lus r ien . Sapitance sortait de la chambreexactement comme elle yentrait.» Et, de fait, le corpsde Grégoire était tout plat ettout sec; on s’en rendai tmieux compte maintenantqu’il n’était plus supporté par

entre ses dents, mais ne s’at-tarda pas; elle ouvrit la chambre

à c o u c h e r, d o n t e l l e p o u s s aviolemment la porte, en criant

à pleine voix dans l’obscurité :« Venez donc voir, la bête est

crevée; elle est là par terre, toutce qu’il y a de crevée!»

L e m é n a g e S a m s a s eredressa dans le lit conjugal; il

dut d’abord se remettre de laf r a y e u r q u e v e n a i t d e l e u r

c a u s e r l a f e m m e d e p e i n e ,avant de comprendre ce qu’elle

venait de leur annoncer. Maise n s u i t e , M . e t M m e S a m s a

sortirent promptement de leurl i t , c h a c u n d e s o n c ô t é ; M .Samsa jeta la couverture sur ses

épaules , Mme Samsa n’avai tque sa chemise de nuit sur elle;

c’est dans cet appareil qu’ilsentrèrent dans la chambre de

G r e g o r. E n t r e - t e m p s s ’ é t a i touverte aussi la porte du séjour,

où Grete passait la nuit depuisl’emménagement des locataires;

elle était tout habi l lée , commesi e l le n’avai t pas dormi , ceque semblai t indiquer aussi la

p â l e u r d e s o n v i s a g e .« M o r t ? » , d i t M m e S a m s a ,

e n l e v a n t l e s y e u x d ’ u n a i ri n t e r ro g a t i f v e r s l a f e m m e

de pe ine , b ien q u ’ e l l e e û t p ua i s é m e n t l e c o n t r ô l e r

e l l e - m ê m e o u m ê m e l ec o m p r e n d r e s a n s r i e nc o n t r ô l e r. « E t c o m m e n t ! » ,

d i t l a f e m m e d e p e i n e , e t ,p o u r e n a d m i n i s t r e r l a

p r e u v e , e l l e d é p l a ç a e n c o r ed ’ u n g r a n d c o u p d e b a l a i l e

c a d a v r e d e G r e g o r . M m eS a m s a f i t m i n e d e r e t e n i r l e

b a l a i , m a i s n e t e r m i n a p a ss o n g e s t e . « E h b i e n ! » , d i t

M . S a m s a , « n o u s p o u v o n sr e n d r e g r â c e à D i e u .» I l s es i g n a e t l e s t r o i s f e m m e s

s u i v i r e n t s o n e x e m p l e .G r e t e , q u i n e p o u v a i t

d é t o u r n e r s e s r e g a r d s d uc a d a v r e , d i t : « R e g a r d e z

c o m m e i l é t a i t m a i g r e . I l ya v a i t l o n g t e m p s q u ’ i l n e

m a n g e a i t p l u s r i e n . L anourriture repartait comme elleé t a i t a r r i v é e . » L e c o r p s d e

Grego r é t a i t en e f f e t t ou t àf a i t p l a t e t s e c ; o n n e l e

r e m a r q u a i t g u è r e q u em a i n t e n a n t , o ù i l n ’ é t a i t

p l u s p o r t é p a r s e s p e t i t e s

and she gave a low whistlebut did not hesitate to tearopen the Samsas’ bedroomd o o r a n d y e l l i n t o t h edark: “Come and look att h i s , i t ’ s c r o a k e d ; i t ’ sl y i n g t h e r e , d e a d a s adoornail!”

Her r and Frau Samsa( 1 0 ) s a t u p i n t h e i rm a t r i m o n i a l b e d ,s t r u g g l i n g [ 4 9 ] t oovercome the shock of thec h a r w o m a n ’ sa n n o u n c e m e n t b e f o r ereal iz ing i ts ful l import .Then they each clamberedquickly out of bed f rome i the r s ide , Her r Samsawrapped the blanket aroundh i s s h o u l d e r s a n d F r a uS a m s a c a m e o u t i n h e rnightgown, and so attiredthey stepped into Gregor’sroom. Meanwhile the livingroom door a l so opened ,where Grete had slept sincethe advent of the boarders;s h e w a s fully dressed asthough she had not slept alln ight and her wan faceseemed to conf i rm this .“Dead?” said Frau Samsa,and looked up inquiringly atthe charwoman, a l thoughs h e c o u l d h a v einvestigated herself and itwas plain enough withoutexamination. “I’d say so,”said the charwoman, andt o p r o v e i t s h e p u s h e dGregor ’s c o r p s e w e l l t oone s ide wi th the b room.Frau Samsa made a movet o s t o p h e r , b u t c h e c k e di t . “ We l l , ” s a i d H e r rS a m s a , “ t h a n k s b e t oG o d . ” H e c r o s s e dh i m s e l f a n d t h e t h r e ew o m e n f o l l o w e d s u i t .G r e t e , h e r e y e s n e v e rleaving the corpse, sa id:“Look how th in he was .I t ’ s s o l o n g s i n c e h e ’seaten anything. The foodc a m e o u t j u s t a s i t w a sb r o u g h t i n . ” I n d e e d ,G r e g o r ’ s b o d y w a scomple te ly f la t and dry;t h i s c o u l d b e t r u l yapprec ia ted for the f i r s tt i m e , s i n c e i t w a s n ol o n g e r s u p p o r t e d b y t h el i t t l e l e g s a n d n o t h i n g

presa. Mas no se detuvo mu-cho tiempo, sino que, abrien-do bruscamente la puerta dela alcoba, lanzó a voz en gri-to en la oscuridad:

— ¡Miren ustedes, ha re-ventado! ¡Ahí le tienen, loque se dice reventado!

El señor y la señora Samsaincorporáronse en el lecho ma-trimonial. Les costó gran traba-jo sobreponerse al susto, y tar-daron bastante en comprender loque de tal guisa les anunciabala asistenta. Mas una vez com-prendido esto, bajaron al puntode la cama, cada uno por su ladoy con la mayor rapidez posible.El señor Samsa se echó la col-cha por los hombros; la señoraSamsa iba solo cubierta con sucamisón de dormir, y en esteaspecto penetraron en la habi-tación de Gregorio. Mientras,habíase abierto también la [103]puerta del comedor, en dondedormía Grete desde la llegadade los huéspedes. Grete estabadel todo vestida, cual si no hu-biese dormido en toda la noche,cosa que parecía confirmar lapalidez de su rostro.

—¿Muerto? -dijo la señora Samsa,mirando interrogativamente a la asis-tenta, no obstante poderlo com-probar todo por sí misma, e in-cluso averiguarlo sin necesidadde comprobación ninguna.

—Esto es lo que digo -con-testó la asistenta, empujandotodavía un buen trecho con elescobón el cadáver de Gregorio,cual para probar la veracidad desus palabras.

La señora Samsa hizo unmovimiento como para detener-la, pero no la detuvo.

—Bueno -dijo el señorSamsa-, ahora podemos dar gra-cias a Dios.

Se santiguó, y las tres muje-res le imitaron.

Grete no apartaba la vista delcadáver:

—Mirad qué delgado esta-ba -dijo-. Verdad es que hacíaya tiempo que no probaba bo-cado. Así como entraban lascomidas, así se las volvían allevar. El cuerpo de Gregorioaparecía, efectivamente, com-pletamente plano y seco. Deesto solo se enteraban ahora,porque ya no lo [104] soste-

e y e s w i d e , w h i s t l e d t oherself, but did not waste time

to yank open the bedroomdoors and shout loudly into

the darkness of the bedrooms:“Come and ‘ave a look at this,

i t ’s dead , jus t ly ing the re ,stone dead!”

M r. a n d M r s . S a m s a s a tu p r i g h t t h e r e i n t h e i r

m a r r i a g e b e d a n d h a d t om a k e a n e f f o r t t o g e t o v e r

t h e s h o c k c a u s e d b y t h ec l e a n e r b e f o r e t h e y c o u l d

g r a s p w h a t s h e w a s s a y i n g .B u t t h e n , e a c h f r o m h i s

o w n s i d e , t h e y h u r r i e d o u to f b e d . M r. S a m s a t h r e wt h e b l a n k e t o v e r h i s

s h o u l d e r s , M r s . S a m s a j u s tcame ou t i n he r n igh td re s s ;

a n d t h a t i s h o w t h e y w e n tin to Grego r ’s r oom. On the

w a y t h e y o p e n e d t h e d o o rt o t h e l i v i n g r o o m w h e r e

G r e t e h a d b e e n s l e e p i n gs i n c e t h e t h r e e g e n t l e m e n

had moved in; she was ful lydressed as i f she had neverbeen asleep, and the paleness

o f h e r f a c e s e e m e d t oconfirm this. “Dead?”, asked

Mrs. Samsa, looking a t thec h a r w o m a n e n q u i r i n g l y ,

even though she cou ld havec h e c k e d f o r h e r s e l f a n d

c o u l d h a v e k n o w n i t e v e nwi t h o u t c h e c k i n g . “ T h a t ’ sw h a t I s a i d ” , r e p l i e d t h e

c leaner , and to p rove i t shegave Gregor ’s body another

s h o v e w i t h t h e b r o o m ,s e n d i n g i t s i d e w a y s a c r o s s

t h e f l o o r. Mrs . Samsa madea movement as i f she wanted

to h o l d b a c k t h e b r o o m ,b u t d i d n o t c o m p l e t e i t .

“Now then”, said Mr. Samsa,“let’s give thanks to God fortha t ” . He c ros sed h imse l f ,

and the three women followedhis example.

Grete, who had not taken hereyes from the corpse, said: “Just

look how thin he was. He didn’te a t a n y t h i n g f o r s o l o n g .

T h e f o o d c a m e o u t a g a i nj u s t t h e s a m e a s w h e n i tw e n t i n ” . G r e g o r ’s b o d y

w a s i n d e e d c o m p l e t e l yd r i e d u p a n d f l a t , t h e y h a d

n o t s e e n i t u n t i l t h e n , b u tn o w h e w a s n o t l i f t e d u p

o n h i s l i t t l e l e g s , n o r d i d

she whistled to herself. Butinstead of dawdling there,she yanked the bedroomd o o r o p e n a n d h o l l e r e dinto the darkness: “Go andl o o k , i t ’s c r o a k e d ; i t ’ sl y i n g t h e r e , a b s o l u t e l ycroaked!”

Mr. and Mrs. Samsa satu p r i g h t i n t h e i rmatrimonial bed, trying toc o p e w i t h t h e s h o c kcaused by the charwoman.W h e n t h e y m a n a g e d t ograsp what she meant , thetwo of them, one on eithers i d e , h a s t i l y c l a m b e r e do u t o f b e d . M r . S a m s athrew the blanket over hiss h o u l d e r s , w h i l e M r s .S a m s a e m e r g e d i n h e rnightgown; that was howt h e y e n t e r e d G r e g o r ’ sr o o m . M e a n w h i l e , t h edoor to the par lor, whereGre te had been s leepings i n c e t h e a r r i v a l o f t h eb o a r d e r s , h a d l i k e w i s eo p e n e d ; s h e w a s f u l l ydressed and her face wasp a l e a s i f s h e h a d n o ts lept . “Dead?” said Mrs .Samsa, quizzically eyeingt h e [ 1 8 3 ] c h a r w o m a ne v e n t h o u g h s h e c o u l dh a v e g o n e t o c h e c keverything for herself , orc o u l d h a v e s u r m i s e d i tw i t h o u t c h e c k i n g . “ Youbet,” said the charwomanand by way of proof shethrust out the broom andp u s h e d G r e g o r ’s c o r p s esomewhat fu r ther to theside. Mrs. Samsa made asif to hold back the broom,but then le t i t be . “Well ,”sa id Mr. Samsa , “now wecan thank the Lord . ” Hec rossed h imse l f and thethree women imi ta ted h isexample . Gre te , he r eyesglued to the corpse , sa id :“Jus t look how sk inny hew a s . We l l , h e s t o p p e dea t ing such a l ong t imeago . The food came backo u t e x a c t l y a s i t w e n ti n . ” A n d i n d e e d ,G r e g o r ’ s b o d y w a su t t e r ly f l a t and d ry ; theyr e a l i z e d t h i s o n l y n o ww h e n i t w a s n o l o n g e rr a i s e d o n i t s t i n y l e g s

135134

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

pa t i t a s y nada d i s t r a ía l amirada.

«Grete, ven un momentoa nuestra habitación», dijo las e ñ o r a S a m s a c o n u n as o n r i s a m e l a n c ó l i c a , yGrete, no sin antes volver lam i r a d a h a c i a e l c a d á v e r,entró en el dormitorio detrásde sus padres. La asistentacerró la puer ta y abr ió laventana de par en par. Pesea lo temprano de la hora, enel aire fresco se mezclaba yacierta tibieza. Marzo estaballegando a su fin.

Los t r e s huéspedessalieron de su habitación ybusca ron con mi r ada deasombro su desayuno; se [96]habían o lv idado de e l los .«¿Dónde está el desayuno?»,preguntó el señor de en medioa la asistenta, malhumorado.P e r o e s t a s e l l e v ó e ld e d o a l a b o c a y l e si n d i c ó p o r s e ñ a s ,rápidamente y en silencio,que entraran en la habitaciónde Gregor. Estos entraron y sequedaron de p ie , con lasmanos en los bolsillos de suschaque tas a lgo ra ídas ,rodeando e l cadáver deGregor en la habitación yatotalmente iluminada.

En ese ins tante se abr ióla puer ta del dormitor io yel señor Samsa apareció enl ibrea , cogido a su mujerde un brazo y á su h i ja delo t r o . To d o s e s t a b a n u np o c o l l o r o s o s ; a r a t o sG r e t e p e g a b a s u c a r a a lbrazo del padre .

« ¡Váyanse ahora mismode mi casa!», dijo el señorSamsa señalando la puerta ys i n s o l t a r a l a s m u j e r e s .«¿Qué quiere usted decir?»,p r e g u n t ó e l s e ñ o r d e e nmedio algo desconcertado ysonr iendo dulzonamente .L o s o t r o s d o s t e n í a n l a smanos a la espalda y se lasfrotaban sin parar una contraotra, como si esperasen muycontentos una gran pelea quea ellos, sin embargo, debierafavorecerlos. «Quiero decire x a c t a m e n t e l o q u e h e

legs and there was nothingelse to distract the eye.

‘Come into our room fora while, Grete,’ said FranSamsa with a wistful smile,a n d G r e t e , n o t w i t h o u tlooking back at the corpse,followed her parents intot h e i r b e d r o o m . T h ecleaning woman closed thed o o r a n d o p e n e d t h ewindow wide. Despite theea r ly hou r t he f r e sh a i ra l r e a d y h a d a t o u c h o fmildness to it. It was, afterall, the end of March.

T h e t h r e e l o d g e r semerged from their roomand stared about them ina s t o n i s h m e n t f o r t h e i rbreakfast ; they had beenforgo t t en . ‘Where ’s ou rb r e a k f a s t ? ’ t h e m i d d l elodger sullenly [60] askedthe cleaning woman. Butshe put her f inger to herl ips and then hasti ly ands i l e n t l y b e c k o n e d t h elodgers to follow her intoGregor ’s room. They didso , and then , w i th the i rhands i n t he pocke t s o ft h e i r s o m e w h a t s h a b b yjackets, they stood aroundG r e g o r ’s c o r p s e i n t h enow sunlit room.

Then the bedroom dooropened, and Herr Samsaappeared in his uniform,with his wife on one arm, hisdaughter on the other. Theyall looked as though they hadbeen crying; from time totime Grete pressed her faceagainst her father’s arm.

‘ G e t o u t o f m ya p a r t m e n t t h i s i n s t a n t ! ’s a i d H e r r S a m s a a n dp o i n t e d t o t h e d o o r ,without let t ing go of thew o m e n . ‘ H o w d o y o um e a n ? ’ s a i d t h e m i d d l el o d g e r , s o m e w h a t t a k e naback, and smiled a sicklysmile. The other two hadthe i r hands behind the i rbacks and kept rubbing themtoge ther , as i f in joyfu lant ic ipat ion of a majorquarrel that was bound toend in their favour. ‘I mean

les pattes et que rien n’endistrayait le regard.

«Allons, Grete, viens cheznous un moment», dit MmeSamsa avec un souriremélancolique, et Grete suivitles parents dans la chambreconjugale, non sans seretourner plusieurs fois pourjeter un coup d’oeil sur lecorps. La femme’ de peineferma la porte et ouvrit lafenêtre à deux battants. Malgrél’heure matinale, l’air frais semêlait d’une sorte de tiédeur.C’était déjà la fin de mars.

L e s t r o i s l o c a t a i r e s ,s o r t i s d e l e u r c h a m b r e ,chercha ien t pa r tou t l eu rd é j e u n e r a v e cétonnement : on les avaito u b l i é s . « O ù e s t l ed é j e u n e r ? » d e m a n d a e nbougonnant le monsieurdu milieu à [85] la vieille.Mais elle mit un doigt sursa bouche et leur fit signed e l a s u i v r e d ’ u n g e s t emuet et hâtif . I ls vinrentdonc et restèrent plantés làa u t o u r d u c a d a v r e d eGrégoire, les mains dansles poches de leurs vestonsun peu usagés, au milieu decette chambre où le soleilbrillait déjà.

Alors la porte des épouxs’ouvrit aussi et M. Samsaapparut dans sa livrée, safemme à un bras, sa fille àl’autre. Ils avaient tous unpeu l’air d’avoir pleuré etGrete appuyait de temps entemps son visage contre lebras de son père.

«Quittez immédiatementma maison », dit M. Samsa enmontrant la porte sans lâcherses femmes du bras.«Comment l’entendez-vous?»fit le monsieur du milieu, unpeu interloqué, avec un souriredouceâtre. Les deux autresayant croisé les mains derrièrele dos se frottaient les paumessans interruption comme s’ilsattendaient joyeusement unegrande dispute qui dût seterminer par leur victoire. «Jel’entends exactement commeje le dis», répondit M. Samsa,

p a t t e s e t o ù r i e n n ed i s t r a y a i t p l u s l e r e g a r d .

« Vi e n s u n m o m e n t c h e z

n o u s , G r e t e » , d i t M m eS a m s a a v e c u n s o u r i r e

mélanco l ique , e t Gre te , nons a n s j e t e r e n c o r e u n r e g a r d

sur l e cadavre , en t ra de r r i è res e s p a r e n t s d a n s l e u rchambre à coucher. La femme

d e p e i n e f e r m a l a p o r t e e to u v r i t g r a n d l a f e n ê t r e .

Malg ré l ’heure ma t ina le , unpeu de t i édeur se mê la i t dé jà

à l a f r a î c h e u r d e l ’ a i r. O napprocha i t de l a f in mars .

L e s t r o i s l o c a t a i r e sso r t i r en t de leur chambre et,

d’un air étonné, cherchèrent duregard leur petit déjeuner; on

les avait oubliés . « Où est led é j e u n e r ? » , d e m a n d a l e

monsieur du milieu à la femmed e p e i n e d ’ u n a i r b o u g o n .

M a i s c e l l e - c i m i t s o n d o i g ts u r s a b o u c h e e t s a n s r i e n

d i r e f i t r a p i d e m e n t s i g n eà c e s m e s s i e u r s d ’ e n t r e rd a n s l a c h a m b r e d e G r e g o r .

I l s e n t r è r e n t d o n c e t l e sm a i n s d a n s l e s p o c h e s d e

l e u r s v e s t o n s u n p e uu s a g é s , i l s r e s t a i e n t l à ,

d a n s l a p i è c e m a i n t e n a n tb a i g n é e d e s o l e i l , a u t o u r

d u c a d a v r e d e G r e g o r .

La por t e de l a chambre à

c o u c h e r s ’ o u v r i t , e t M .Samsa apparut dans sa l ivrée ,

t e n a n t d ’ u n b r a s s a f e m m e ,de l ’au t re sa f i l l e . I l s ava ien t

t o u s u n p e u l ’ a i r d ’ a v o i rp l e u r é ; G r e t e a p p u y a i t d e

t e m p s e n t e m p s s o n v i s a g econ t re l e b ras de son pè re .

« Quittez tout de suite mamai son! » , d i t M. Samsa en

mon t r an t l a po r t e , s ansabandonner le bras des deux

femmes . « Que vou lez -vousdire?» , demanda le monsieur du

milieu, un peu décontenancé,avec un sourire doucereux. Les

deux autres avaient croisé leursmains derrière le dos et lesfrottaient sans cesse l’une contre

l’autre, comme s’i ls seréjouissaient de voir se déclencher

une grande dispute qui,pensaientils, ne pouvait se terminer

qu’à leur honneur. « Je l’entends

e l s e d i s t r a c t e d t h e i rg a z e .

“Grete, come in with usfor a whi le ,” sa id FrauSamsa, with a sad smile, andGre te t ra ipsed a f te r he rparents into their bedroomwithout looking back at thecorpse. The charwoman shutGregor’s door and openedthe window wide. Althoughi t was very ea r ly in themorn ing , the re was amildness in the fresh air. Itwas, after all, already theend of March.

T h e t h r e e b o a r d e r semerged from their rooma n d l o o k e d a r o u n d i na s t o n i s h m e n t f o r t h e i rbreakfast ; they had beenf o r g o t t e n . “ W h e r e i sb r e a k f a s t ? ” t h e m i d d l eg e n t l e m a n g r u f f l yd e m a n d e d o f t h echarwoman. But she justshushed the men wi th af inger to the mouth andsilently ushered them intoGregor ’s room. They filedi n t o t h e n o w f u l l y l i troom and ci rc led aroundG r e g o r ’ s c o r p s e , w i t htheir hands in the pocketso f t h e i r r a t h e r s h a b b ycoats .

Just then the bedroomdoor opened and Herr Samsaappeared in his uniform withhis wife on one arm and hisdaughter on the other. Theywere all a little teary-eyed,and from time to time Gretepressed her face against herfather’s sleeve.

“Leave my house a tonce!” p ronounced Her rSamsa, and [50] pointed tothe door without releasingthe women. “Whatever doyou mean?” said the mildlyd isconcer ted middleboarder, with a sugary smile.The two other gentlemenstood with their hands heldbeh ind the i r backs ,incessantly rubbing themtogether as i f in g leefu lanticipation of a terrificrow that they were bound towin. “I mean exactly what I

nían sus patitas, y nadie apar-taba de él la mirada.

—Grete, vente un ratito connosotros -dijo la señora Samsa,sonriendo melancólicamente.

Y Gre te , s in de j a r dem i r a r h a c i a e l c a d á v e r ,s igu ió a sus pad res a l aa l coba . La a s i s t en t a ce -r ró l a pue r t a , y ab r ió l av e n t a n a d e p a r e n p a r .Era todav ía muy t empra -no , pe ro e l a i r e t en í a ya ,en su f r e sco r , c i e r t a t i -b i eza . Se e s t aba ju s to af ines de marzo .

L o s t r e s h u é s p e d e ss a l i e r o n d e s u h a b i t a -c i ó n y b u s c a r o n c o nl a v i s t a s u d e s a y u n o .L o s h a b í a n o l v i d a d o .

—¿Y e l desayuno?-preguntóle a la asistentacon mal humor el señor que pa-recía ser el más autorizado de los tres.

Pero la asistenta, poniéndo-se el índice ante la boca, invitósilenciosamente, con señas enér-gicas, a los señores a entrar enla habitación de Gregorio.

Entraron, pues, y allí estuvie-ron, en el cuarto inundado de clari-dad , en to rno a l cadáver deGregorio, con expresión desdeñosay las manos hundidas en los bolsi-llos de sus algo raídos chaqués.

Entonces se abrió la puerta dela alcoba y apareció el señorSamsa, enfundado en [105] su li-brea, llevando de un brazo a sumujer y del otro a su hija. Todostenían trazas de haber lloradoalgo, y Grete ocultaba de cuan-do en cuando el rostro contrael brazo del padre.

Abandonen ustedes inmedia-tamente mi casa -dijo el señorSamsa, señalando la puerta, perosin soltar a las mujeres:

—¿Qué pretende usted dara entender con esto? pregun-tón el más autorizado de losseñores, algo desconcertado ysonriendo con timidez. Losotros dos tenían las manos cru-zadas a la espalda, y se las fro-taban sin cesar una contra otra,cual si esperasen gozosos unapelea cuyo resultado había deserles favorable.

—Pretendo dar a entender

h e d o a n y t h i n g t o m a k et h e m l o o k a w a y.

“Gre te , come wi th us in

here for a l i t t le while”, saidM r s . S a m s a w i t h a p a i n e d

s m i l e , a n d G r e t e f o l l o w e dher parents into the bedroom

but not without looking backat the body. The cleaner shutt h e d o o r a n d o p e n e d t h e

w i n d o w w i d e . A l t h o u g h i twas still early in the morning

the fresh air had somethingof warmth mixed in with i t .

I t w a s a l r e a d y t h e e n d o fMarch, after al l .

T h e t h r e e g e n t l e m e ns t e p p e d o u t o f t h e i r r o o m

a n d l o o k e d r o u n d i na m a z e m e n t f o r t h e i r

b r e a k f a s t s ; t h e y h a d b e e nf o rg o t t e n a b o u t . “ W h e r e i s

o u r b r e a k f a s t ? ” , t h em i d d l e g e n t l e m a n a s k e d

t h e c l e a n e r i r r i t a b l y . S h ej u s t p u t h e r f i n g e r o n h e r

l i p s a n d m a d e a q u i c k a n ds i l e n t s i g n t o t h e m e n t h a tt h e y m i g h t l i k e t o c o m e

i n t o G r e g o r ’s r o o m . T h e yd i d s o , a n d s t o o d a r o u n d

G r e g o r ’ s c o r p s e w i t ht h e i r h a n d s i n t h e p o c k e t s

o f t h e i r w e l l - w o r n c o a t s .I t w a s n o w q u i t e l i g h t i n

t h e r o o m .

T h e n t h e d o o r o f t h e

b e d r o o m o p e n e d a n d M r.S a m s a a p p e a r e d i n h i s

uniform with his wife on onearm and his daughter on the

other. All of them had beencrying a little; Grete now and

then pressed her face againsther father’s arm.

“Leave my home. Now!”,sa id Mr. Samsa , ind ica t ing

the door and without let t ingthe women from him. “What

d o y o u m e a n ? ” , a s k e d t h em i d d l e o f t h e t h r e e

g e n t l e m e n s o m e w h a tdisconcerted, and he smiled

sweetly. The other two heldt h e i r h a n d s b e h i n d t h e i rbacks and continually rubbed

t h e m t o g e t h e r i n g l e e f u la n t i c i p a t i o n o f a l o u d

quarrel which could only endin their favour. “I mean just

what I said”, answered Mr.

and noth ing e l se divertedtheir eyes.

“Grete, come into ourroom for a bit,” said Mrs.Samsa, smiling wistfully,and Gre te , no t wi thoutlooking back at the corpse,followed her parents into thebedroom. The charwomanclosed the door to Gregor’sroom and opened thewindow all the way. Thoughit was still early morning,there was a touch of warmthin the fresh air. It was alreadylate March, after all.

T h e t h r e e b o a r d e r sstepped out of their rooma n d , a s t o n i s h e d , c a s tabout for their breakfast;they had been forgot ten.“Where is breakfast?” them i d d l e g e n t l e m a np e e v i s h l y a s k e d t h echarwoman . Bu t pu t t ingher finger on her l ips, sheh a s t i l y a n d s i l e n t l yb e c k o n e d f o r t h egen t l emen t o come in toGregor’s room. And comethey d id , and wi th the i rhands i n t he pocke t s o ftheir somewhat threadbarejackets, they stood aroundG r e g o r ’s c o r p s e i n t h enow sunlit room. [184]

Next, the bedroom dooropened, and Mr. Samsa, inhis livery, appeared with hiswife on one arm and hisdaughter on the other. Theireyes we re a l l s l i gh t l ytearstained; now and then,Grete pressed her face intothe father ’s arm.

“Leave my home at once!”Mr. Samsa told the threegentlemen, pointing at the doorwithout releasing the women.

“What do you mean?”asked the middle gentleman,somewhat dismayed and witha sugary smile. The t w oo t h e r g e n t l e m e n h e l dt h e ir hands behind theirbacks, incessantly rubbingt h e m t o g e t h e r a s i fgleefully looking forwardto a grand argument thatthey were bound to win.

“I mean exactly what I

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dicho», respondió el señorSamsa, y en l ínea con susdos acompañantes avanzóhacia el huésped. Al princi-pio este guardó si lencio ymiró al suelo, como si lasc o s a s s e e s t u v i e r a nreordenando en su cabeza.«En ese caso nos vamos»,dijo luego alzando la miradahacia el señor Samsa, como si,en un súb i to a r ranque dehumildad, le pidiese una nuevaautorización para tomarincluso esa decisión. El señorSamsa se [97] limitó a asentirvarias veces con los ojos muyabiertos. Tras lo cual, en efecto,el huésped se dirigió al vestíbuloa grandes pasos; sus dos amigosya llevaban un ratito escuchandocon atención y las manos bienquietas, y ahora salieron detrásde él a un pasito trotón, comotemiendo que el señor Samsapudiera entrar antes que ellos enel vestíbulo e impedirles elcontacto con su guía. Ya en elrecibidor, los tres cogieron sussombreros del perchero, sacaronsus bastones de la bastonera, seinclinaron en silencio yabandonaron el piso. Con unadesconfianza totalmenteinfundada, como se demostróluego, el señor Samsa salió conlas dos mujeres al rellano;apoyados en la barandilla sequedaron mirando cómo los tresseñores bajaban lentamente,pero sin detenerse, la largaescalera, desaparecían en cadaplanta tras una determinadacurva del hueco de la escalera yvolvían a aparecer al cabo deunos instantes; cuanto másbajaban, más se perdía el interésde la familia Samsa por ellos, ycuando un oficial de carniceroque subía muy ufano con sucarga en la cabeza se cruzó conlos tres hombres y continuóescaleras arriba, el señor Samsaabandonó la barandilla con lasmujeres y todos juntos volvierona entrar en el piso, comoaliviados.

Decidieron dedicar aqueldía a descansar y a pasear;n o s o l o s e m e r e c í a n e s apausa en el trabajo, sino quela necesitaban con urgencia.De modo que se sentaron ala mesa y escribieron tres

precisely what I say,’ repliedHerr Samsa, and, escortedby the two women, marchedin a straight line towards thelodger. The latter stood stillat first and looked at the floor,as if the thoughts in his headwere being rearranged.‘We’l l be going, then,’ heconcluded, and looked upat Herr Samsa as though, ina sudden onset of humility,he were seeking f reshapproval for even th isdecision. Herr Samsa merelygave him several brief nodsand glared a t h im.Whereupon the gentlemandid indeed s t r ideimmediately into the hallway;his two friends, who for somet ime had been l i s teningintent ly and had stoppedrubbing their hands, nowpractically skipped after him,as if afraid that Herr Samsamight reach the hall beforethem and cut them off fromtheir leader. In the hall allthree of them took their hatsfrom the coat rack, pulledtheir canes from the umbrellastand, bowed silently and leftthe apar tment . With amistrust that proved totallyunfounded, Herr Samsastepped out onto the landingwith the two women; [61]leaning against the banister,they watched the threegentlemen slowly but steadilydescend the long flight ofstairs , disappear on eachlanding at the same bend ofthe stairwell, then reemergea few moments later; thefurther down they got, themore the Samsa family’s interestin them dwindled, and when abutcher’s boy, proudly bearinghis basket on his head, passedthem coming up and thenclimbed high above them, HerrSamsa and the women soonleft the landing, and they allwent back, as if relieved,into their apartment.

They decided to spend theday resting and going for awalk; not only had they earnedthis break from work, theypositively needed it. And sothey sat down at the table andwrote three letters of apology

et il marcha sur le locataireavec ses deux femmes, enobservant l’alignement. Lelocataire resta d’abordtranquillement à sa place, lesyeux rivés sur le sol commepour procéder à un nouvelagencement de ses pensées. «Eh bien, donc, nous nous enallons», dit-il enfin en levantles yeux sur M. Samsa commepour quêter, dans un brusqueaccès d’humili té ,l’approbation de cette décisionque l’autre lui imposait. M. Samsase contenta de hocher la tête àplusieurs reprises en [86] luiroulant de gros yeux. Là-dessusle monsieur sortit à grands pas etgagna rapidement l’antichambre;ses deux amis qui, depuis unmoment déjà, écoutaient avec desmains plus calmes,l’accompagnèrent dans sa retraiteen bondissant littéralementderrière lui comme s’ilscraignaient que M. Samsa pûtarriver avant eux et gêner leurliaison avec leur chef. Parvenusdans le vestibule ils prirent leurschapeaux aux patères, sortirentleurs cannes du porte-parapluie,s’inclinèrent en silence et quit-tèrent l’appartement. Pris d’uneméfiance totalement injustifiée,comme on put s’en apercevoir parla suite, M. Samsa sortit aussitôtsur le palier avec ses deuxfemmes, et se pencha sur la rampepour voir partir les trois messieursqui, descendant l’interminableescalier d’une allure lente maissoutenue, disparaissaient une foispar étage à hauteur d’un certaintournant et reparaissaient aubout de, quelques secondes; àmesure qu’ils s’enfonçaientdavantage dans la vrille, l’intérêtde la famille Samsa baissait deplus en plus, et lorsqu’ils furentenfin rejoints, puis dépassés, parun garçon boucher qui gravissaitfièrement les étages» avec sonpanier sur la tête, M. Samsa netarda pas à quitter la rampe avecses femmes et ils rentrèrent toustrois d’un air soulagé.

Ils décidèrent immédiatement

de consacrer cette journéeau repos et à la promenade;ils avaient bien mérité cerépit, ils en avaient surtoutun besoin indispensable. Ilss’assirent donc à la table

exactement comme je viens devous le dire », répondit M. Samsa

et, les deux femmes et lui sur unrang, il avança dans la direction du

locataire. Celui-ci resta d’abordimmobile, les yeux rivés sur le sol,

comme si les choses prenaient danssa tête une tournure nouvelle :

« Eh bien, soit! nous partons »,dit-il enfin, en levant les yeuxvers M. Samsa, comme si, pris

d ’ u n a c c è s d ’ h u m i l i t é , i la t tendai t pour cet te décis ion

une nouvelle approbation. M.Samsa se contenta de hocher la

t ê t e à p l u s i e u r s r e p r i s e s e nroulant de gros yeux. Sur quoi,

le monsieur s’engagea en effetà grands pas dans le vestibule;ses deux amis , qu i s ’é ta ien t

c o n t e n t é s d e p u i s u n b o nmoment d’écouter sans même

bouger l e s ma ins , bond i ren tm a i n t e n a n t l i t t é r a l e m e n t

d e r r i è r e l u i , c o m m e s ’ i l scraignaient que M. Samsa ne

les devance dans le vestibule,en coupant leur communication

avec leur guide. Arrivés dans levestibule, i ls prirent tous troisl e u r s c h a p e a u x a u

portemanteau, leurs cannes aup o r t e - c a n n e s , s ’ i n c l i n è r e n t

s a n s m o t d i r e e t q u i t t è r e n tl ’ a p p a r t e m e n t . P r i s d ’ u n e

méfiance qui devai t s ’avérert o u t à f a i t i m m o t i v é e , M .

S a m s a e t l e s d e u x f e m m e ss’avancèrent jusqu’au pal ier ;a p p u y é s s u r l a r a m p e , i l s

regardèrent les trois messieursdescendre lentement mais sans

s’arrêter ; à chaque étage, i lsd i spa ra i s s a i en t à un ce r t a in

tournant de la cage d’escalierp o u r r e p a r a î t r e q u e l q u e s

instants après; à mesure qu’ilss ’ e n f o n ç a i e n t , l ’ i n t é r ê t q u e

leur portai t la famil le Samsad i m i n u a i t p e u à p e u e tlorsqu’ils furent croisés par un

g a rço n b o u ch e r q u i mo n ta i tfièrement l’escalier, son panier

sur la tê te , M. Samsa e t sesfemmes qu i t t è ren t l a rampe ,

l’air soulagé, et rentrèrent chezeux.

I l s d é c i d è r e n t d ec o n s a c r e r l a j o u r n é e a u

r e p o s e t à l a p r o m e n a d e ; i l sa v a i e n t b i e n m é r i t é c e

c o n g é , i l s e n a v a i e n t m ê m ea b s o l u m e n t b e s o i n . I l s

s ’ a s s i r e n t d o n c à l a t a b l e e t

sa id ,” answered He r rSamsa, making a beeline forthe boarders with his twocompanions in tow. Themidd le boa rde r qu i e t l ystood his ground at f irst,eyeing the floor as ifreordering things in his head.“Wel l t h e n , w e ’ l l b eg o i n g , ” h e s a i d , a n dlooked up at Herr Samsaas though in a sudden fi to f h u m i l i t y h e w e r eseeking fresh approval forthis decision. Herr Samsaj u s t n o d d e d b r i e f l yseveral times with his eyesb u l g i n g . T h e r e u p o n t h eg e n t l e m a n i m m e d i a t e l ystrode into the foyer; hist w o f r i e n d s h a d b e e nstanding at at tention for awhile and now posit ivelyc h a s e d a f t e r h i m ,s e e m i n g l y f e a r f u l t h a tHer r Samsa might reachthe foyer before them andc u t t h e m o ff f r o m t h e i rl eade r. In t he foye r, a l lthree took their hats fromthe coatrack, their canesfrom the umbrel la s tand,s i lent ly bowed, and thenleft the apartment. In whatp roved to be un foundedmistrust , Herr Samsa andt h e t w o w o m e n s t e p p e dout onto the landing and,leaning on the banisters ,t h e y w a t c h e d t h eg e n t l e m e n s l o w l y b u tsu re ly descend the longstaircase, disappearing oneach floor at a certain turna n d t h e n r e a p p e a r i n g am o m e n t l a t e r ; a s t h e yd w i n d l e d d o w n , t h efamily’s interest in themw a n e d , a n d w h e n ab u t c h e r ’s b o y c o c k i l ycarrying a tray on his headswung past them and on upthe stairs, Herr Samsa andt h e w o m e n q u i t t h eb a n i s t e r a n d , a s i fre l ieved, re turned to theapartment.

They decided to spendthe day resting and goingfor a walk; they not onlydeserved this respite fromw o r k , t h e y d e s p e r a t e l yneeded it. So they sat downat the table to write three

exactamente lo que digo -contes-tó el señor Samsa,~ avanzandocon sus dos acompañantes en unasola línea hacia el huésped.

Este permaneció un puntocallado y tranquilo, con la mira-da fija en el suelo, cual si sus pen-samientos se fuesen organizan-do en una nueva disposición den-tro de su magín.

—En ese caso, nos vamos -dijo,por fin, mirando al señor Samsa, comosi una fuerza repentina le impulsase apedirle autorización incluso para esto.[106] El señor Samsa contentósecon abrir mucho los ojos e incli-nar repetidas veces, breve y afir-mativamente, la cabeza. Tras deesto, el huésped encaminóse congrandes pasos al recibimiento.Hacía ya un ratito que sus doscompañeros escuchaban, sin fro-tarse las manos, y ahora salieronpisándole los talones y dandobrincos, como si temiesen que elseñor Samsa llegase antes queellos al recibimiento y se inter-pusiese entre ellos y su guía. Unavez en el recibimiento, los trescogieron sus respectivos sombre-ros del perchero, sacaron sus res-pectivos bastones del paragüero,se inclinaron en silencio yabandonaron la casa. Con unadesconfianza que nada justifica-ba, cual hubo de demostrarseluego, el señor Samsa y las dosmujeres salieron al rellano y, debruces sobre la barandilla, mi-raron cómo aquellos tres seño-res, lenta, pero ininterrumpida-mente, descendían la larga es-calera, desapareciendo al llegara la vuelta que daba ésta en cadapiso, y reapareciendo unos se-gundos después.

A medida que iban bajando, de-crecía el interés que hacia ellos sen-tía la familia Samsa, y al cruzarsecon ellos primero, y seguir subien-do después, el repartidor de una[107] carnicería, que sosteníaorgullosamente su cesto en la cabe-za, el señor Samsa y las mujeresabandonaron la barandilla y; alivia-dos de un verdadero peso, entráronsede nuevo en la casa.

Decidieron dedicar aqueldía al descanso y a pasear:no solo tenían bien ganadaesta tregua en su trabajo,sino que les era hasta indis-pensable. Sentáronse, pues,a la mesa, y escribieron tres

S a m s a , a n d , w i t h h i s t w oc o m p a n i o n s , w e n t i n a

s t r a i g h t l i n e t o w a r d s t h eman. At f irs t , he stood there

still , looking at the ground asi f the contents of h i s head

were rearranging themselvesi n t o n e w p o s i t i o n s .

“ A l right, we’ll go then”, hesa id , and looked up a t Mr.Samsa as i f he had been

sudden ly overcome wi thhumility and wanted permission

again from Mr. Samsa for hisdecision. Mr. Samsa merely

opened h i s eyes wide andbriefly nodded to him several

t imes. At that , and withoutdelay, the man actually did takelong s t r ides in to the f ron t

hallway; his two friends hadstopped rubbing their hands

some time before and had beenlistening to what was being

said. Now they jumped off aftertheir friend as if taken with a

sudden fear that Mr. Samsamight go into the hallway in

front of them and break theconnection with their leader.Once there, all three took their

hats from the stand, took theirsticks from the holder, bowed

without a word and left thepremises. Mr. Samsa and the

two women followed them outonto the landing; but they had

had no reason to mistrust themen’ intentions and as theyleaned over the landing they

saw how the three gentlemenmade slow but steady progress

down the many steps. As theyturned the corner on each floor

they disappeared and wouldreappear a few moments later;

the further down they went, themore that the Samsa family lost

in te res t in them; when abutcher’s boy, proud of posturewi th h i s t r ay on h i s head ,

passed them on his way up andcame nearer than they were, Mr.

Samsa and the women cameaway f rom the landing and

went, as if relieved, back intothe flat.

They decided the best wayto make use of that day was

for relaxation and to go for awalk; not only had they earned

a break from work but theywere in serious need of it. So

they sat at the table and wrote

said,” replied Mr. Samsa, andwith his two companions hemade a beeline toward thetenant. The latter at first stoodhis ground, eyeing the floor asif his thoughts were beingrearranged to form a newpattern in his head.

“Well, then we’ll go,” hesaid, looking up at Mr. Samsaas if, in a sudden burst ofhumility, he were requestingsanction even for thisdecision. Mr. Samsa, withbulging eyes, merelyvouchsafed him a few briefnods. Thereupon thegentleman strode right into thevestibule. His two friends, whohad been listening for a shortwhile with utterly calm hands,now quite literally hoppedafter him as if fearing that Mr.Samsa might precede theminto the vestibule and mightthrust himself between themand their leader. Once in thevestibule, all three boarderspulled their hats from the coatrack, their canes from theumbrella stand, bowedwordlessly, and left theapartment. Impelled by a [185]suspicion that proved to bethoroughly groundless, Mr.Samsa and the two womenstepped out on the landing. Asthey leaned on the banister,they watched the threegentlemen marching down thelong stairway slowly butsteadily, vanishing on everyfloor in the regular twist of thestaircase, and popping upagain several moments later.The lower the gentlemen got,the more the Samsa familylost interest in them, and asa butcher ’s boy, proudlybalancing a basket on hishead , came toward thege n t l e m e n a n d t h e nm o u n t e d w e l l b e y o n dthem, Mr. Samsa and thewomen left the banister, andas i f r e l i eved , they a l lreturned to their apartment.

They decided to spendt h i s d a y r e s t i n g a n dstrolling; not only had theye a r n e d t h i s b r e a k f r o mw o r k , t h e y a b s o l u t e l yneeded it. And so they satdown at the table to write

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

cartas pidiendo disculpas: elseñor Samsa a la dirección,la [98] señora Samsa a quienle hacía los encargos, y Gre-te al propietario de la tienda.Mientras escribían entró laasistenta a decir que ya seiba porque había concluidosu trabajo de la mañana . Lost res s igu ie ron e sc r ib i endoy s e l i m i t a r o n a a s e n t i rc o n l a c a b e z a , s i nl e v a n t a r l a m i r a d a ; p e r ocomo l a mu je r no acababad e i r s e , l a m i r a r o ni r r i t a d o s . « ¿ Q u é h a y ? » ,p r e g u n t ó e l s e ñ o r S a m s a .L a a s i s t e n t a e s t a b a d e p i ej u n t o a l a p u e r t a ,s o n r i e n t e , c o m o s i t u -v i e r a q u e p a r t i c i p a r u n ag r a t a n o t i c i a a l a f a m i l i a ,p e r o d a n d o a e n t e n d e r al a v e z q u e l o h a r í a s o l o s il a i n t e r r o g a b a n a f o n d o .L a p e q u e ñ a p l u m a d ea v e s t r u z q u e s e e r g u í ac a s i r e c t a s o b r e s us o m b r e r o y h a b í a i r r i t a d os i e m p r e a l s e ñ o r S a m s ad esde que contra tara susservic ios osc i l abal i g e r a m e n t e e n t o d a sdirecciones. «Bueno , ¿qué eslo que desea?», preguntó la señoraSamsa, que era la que más respetoinspiraba a la asistenta. «Pues»,respondió esta sin poder seguirhablando de tanto reír afablemente,«no se preocupen de cómodesembarazarse de la cosa esa de allado. Ya está todo arreglado».La señora Samsa y Grete seinc l ina ron o t ra vez sobresus cartas como para seguire s c r i b i e n d o ; e l s e ñ o rSamsa, que advirtió que laa s i s t e n t a s e d i s p o n í a adesc r ib i r lo t odo con lu jode deta l les , la h izo ca l larex t end iendo l a mano congesto decidido. Como no lepermit ieron contar nada, lamujer recordó las grandespr isas que ten ía , exc lamóv i s i b l e m e n t e o f e n d i d a« ¡ A d i ó s a t o d o s ! » , s ev o l v i ó b r u s c a m e n t ey s a l i ó d e l p i s od a n d o u n t e r r i b l ep o r t a z o .

[99] «Esta tarde quedarádesped ida» , d i jo e l señorS a m s a , p e r o n o o b t u v o

- Herr Samsa to his superiorsat the bank, Frau Samsa to heremployers, and Grete to theproprietor of the shop whereshe worked. While they werewriting, the cleaning womancame in to say that she wasgoing because she had finishedher morning’s work. The threeletter-writer s m e r e l yn o d d e d a t f i r s t w i t h o u tlooking up, but when thecleaning woman still gaveno s ign of leaving , theylooked up in annoyance.‘What i s i t then?’ askedHerr Samsa. The cleaningwoman stood smiling in thedoorway, as though she hadsome great good news forthe family which, however,she would only disclose ifthoroughly qu izzed . Thea l m o s t v e r t i c a l l i t t l eostrich feather in her hat ,which had i r r i ta ted HerrSamsa all the time she hadb e e n w o r k i n g f o r t h e m ,s w a y e d g e n t l y i n a l ldirections. ‘Well, what is ity o u w a n t ? ’ a s k e d F r a uS a m s a , f o r w h o m t h ecleaning lady still had them o s t r e s p e c t . ‘ I t ’s l i k ethis,’ answered the cleaningw o m a n a n d c o u l d n ’ tcontinue immediately fors o m u c h g o o d - n a t u r e dl a u g h t e r , ‘ I m e a n y o umustn’t worry about how toclear out that thing in there.It’s already taken care of.’Frau Samsa and Grete bentover their letters, as if toc o n t i n u e w r i t i n g ; H e r rSamsa, perceiving that [62]the cleaning woman noww i s h e d t o d e s c r i b ee v e r y t h i n g i n d e t a i l ,checked her firmly with anupheld hand. But since shewas no t permi t ted to te l lh e r s t o r y , s h eremembered she was in ag r e a t h u r r y, c a l l e d o u t ,o b v i o u s l y i n s u l t e d :‘Good r iddance to a l l o fyou,’ turned furiously onh e r h e e l s a n d l e f t t h eapar tment wi th a te r r ib les lamming of doors .

‘She’ l l ge t her not iceth i s even ing , ’ sa id Her rSamsa, but he received no

[87] pour écrire trois lettresd’excuse, M. Samsa à sondirecteur, Mme Samsa à sonpatron et Grete à son chef derayon. La femme de peineentra au cours de la séancepour déc l a r e r que sontravail était fini et qu’elles ’ en a l l a i t . Les t r o i sépistoliers se contentèrentd’abord de hocher la tête sanslever les yeux; mais comme lavieille ne se décidait pas àpartir, ils finirent par lâcherleurs plumes pour lui lancerun regard de mauvaisehumeur. «Eh bien? demandaM. Samsa. La femme de peineétait plantée sur la porte,souriante, comme si elle avaitun grand bonheur à leurannoncer mais qu’elle ne vou-lût parler qu’après s’être faitprier longtemps. La petiteplume d’autruche qui ornaitpresque verticalement sonchapeau et qui avait toujoursagacé M. Samsa depuis que lafemme était à son service,oscillait légè r e m e n t d a n stoutes les directions. «Ehbien! qu’y a-t-il donc?» demandaMme Samsa à qui la vieille avaittoujours témoigné plus de respectqu’aux autres. «Ah! voilà!...»,répondit-elle, secoué d’un rired’amitié qui l’empêcha de pour-suivre immédiatement sonexplication : «Eh bien, il ne fautpas vous tracasser pour emporterle machin d’à côté. C’est déjàréglé.» Mme Samsa et Gretese penchèrent de nouveausur leurs lettres comme pourcon t inuer à éc r i re ; M.Samsa, remarquant que lafemme allait commencer à sejeter dans une explicationdétaillée, fit signe de sa maintendue pour couper courténergiquement à tout récit.Alors, ne pouvant raconter,e l l e se rappe la [88]brusquement qu’elle étaitt r ès p ressée , l ançaun«Adieu, tout l e monde»v e x é , e x é c u t a u ndemi tour en coup de vente t d i s p a r u t e n f a i s a n tc l aque r s auvagemen t l e spor t e s .

«Ce so i r, on lacongédie » , d é c l a r a M .S a m s a ; i l n ’ é v e i l l a

r é d i g è r e n t t r o i s l e t t r e sd ’ e x c u s e , M . S a m s a à s a

d i r e c t i o n , M m e S a m s a à s o ne m p l o y e u r e t G r e t e à s o n

chef de r ayon . La f emme dep e i n e e n t r a p e n d a n t q u ’ i l s

é t a i e n t e n t r a i n d ’ é c r i r e ,pour déc la re r que son t r ava i l

d u m a t i n é t a i t t e r m i n é e tq u ’ e l l e a l l a i t p a r t i r . L e st r o i s s e c o n t e n t è r e n t

d ’ a b o r d d e h o c h e r l a t ê t es a n s l e v e r l e s y e u x . M a i s ,

c o m m e e l l e n e p a r t a i tt o u j o u r s p a s , i l s f i n i r e n t ,

n o n s a n s i r r i t a t i o n , p a r l ar e g a r d e r . « E h b i e n ? » ,

d e m a n d a M . S a m s a . L af e m m e d e p e i n e r e s t a i t d a n sl a p o r t e à s o u r i r e , c o m m e s i

e l l e a v a i t q u e l q u e c h o s e d et r è s a g r é a b l e à l e u r d i r e ,

m a i s q u ’ e l l e a t t e n d a i t , p o u rl e f a i r e , d ’ a v o i r é t é d û m e n t

i n t e r r o g é e . L a p e t i t e p l u m ed ’ a u t r u c h e , d r e s s é e p r e s q u e

v e r t i c a l e m e n t s u r s o nchapeau e t qu i ava i t tou jours

a g a c é M . S a m s a d e p uis que lafemme é ta i t à leu r s e r v i c e ,s’agitait en tous sens. «Alors,

que voulez-vous donc? » ,demanda Mme Samsa, à qui la

femme de peine avait toujourstémoigné plus de respect qu’aux

autres. « C’est que », répondit-elle, en riant de si bonne humeur

qu’elle n’était pas en mesure decontinuer sa phrase, « c’est quevous n’avez pas besoin de vous

faire du souci pour la chose d’àcôté. C’est déjà réglé .» Mme

S a m s a e t G r e t e s er e p l o n g è r e n t d a n s l e u r s

l e t t r e s , c o m m e s i e l l e sv o u l a i e n t con t inue r à éc r i r e ;

M . S a m s a , e n v o y a n t q u e l afemme de pe ine s ’apprê ta i t à

t o u t d é c r i r e e n d é t a i l , l u i f i tu n s i g n e d e l a m a i n p o u rl ’ i n v i t e r à s ’ e n a b s t e n i r .

E m p ê c h é e d e r a c o n t e r s o nh i s t o i r e , e l l e s e r a p p e l a .

t o u t à c o u p q u ’ e l l e é t a i tp r e s s é e , s ’ é c r i a « A d i e u ,

t o u t l e m o n d e » , d ’ u n a i rm a n i f e s t e m e n t v e x é , f i t

b r u t a l e m e n t d e m i - t o u r e tq u i t t a l ’ a p p a r t e m e n t e nfaisant claquer les portes avec

un bru i t e ff royable .

« C e s o i r, o n l a m e t à l ap o r t e » , d i t M . S a m s a , s a n s

o b t e n i r d e r é p o n s e n i d e s a

l e t t e r s o f e xcuse ,” HerrSamsa to the bank director,Frau Samsa to her client,and Gre t e t o t heshopkeepe r. Whi l e t heyw e r e w r i t i n g , t h ec h a r w o m a n c a m e i n t oannounce that she was off,as her morning chores weredone . The three scr i b e sm e r e l y n o d d e d a t f i r s twi thou t l o o k i n g u p , b u tw h e n t h e c h a r w o m a nk e p t h o v e r i n g t h e y e y e dh e r i r r i t a b l y . “ We l l ? ”a s k e d H e r r S a m s a . T h ec h a r w o m a n s t o o dg r i n n i n g i n t h e d o o r w a ya s i f a b o u t t o r e p o r ts o m e g r e a t n e w s f o r t h ef a m i l y b u t w o u l d o n l yd o s o a f t e r b e i n gp r o p e r l y q u e s t i o n e d .The l i t t l e os t r i ch f ea the rs i t t i n g a l m o s t e r e c t o nt o p o f h e r h a t , which hada n n o y e d H e r r S a m s athroughout the [51] wholeof her employ, f lu t te redab o u t i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s .“Well, what is it then?” queriedFrau Samsa, for whom thecharwoman had the mostrespect. “Well,” answeredthe charwoman, interruptingherself with good-naturedch u c k l i n g , “ w e l l , y o ud o n ’ t h a v e t o w o r r ya b o u t g e t t i n g r i d o ft h e t h i n g n e x t d o o r .I t ’ s a l r e a d y b e e nt a k e n c a r e o f . ” F r a nSamsa and Gre te bowedtheir heads to the le t tersas i f to resume wr i t ing ;Herr Samsa, who real izedt h a t s h e w a s e a g e r t ob e g i n d e s c r i b i n g t h ed e t a i l s , c u t h e r s h o r twi th a de f in i t i ve ges tu reo f h i s h a n d . B u t s i n c es h e c o u l d n o t t e l l h e rs t o r y , s h e r e m e m b e r e dt h a t s h e w a s i n a g r e a th u r r y , a n d , o b v i o u s l yinsu l t ed , she ca l l ed ou t :“ S o l o n g , e v e r y o n e , ”t h e n f u r i o u s l y whi r l edaround and slammed out ofthe apartment with a terrificbang of the door.

“ S h e ’ l l b e d i s m i s s e dt o n i g h t , ” s a i d H e r rS a m s a , r e c e i v i n g n o

cartas disculpándose: el se-ñor Samsa, a su jefe; la se-ñora Samsa, al dueño de latienda, y Grete, a su prin-cipal. Cuando estaban ocu-pados en estos menesteres,entró la asistenta a decir quese iba, pues ya había termi-nado su trabajo de la mañana.Los tres siguieron escribiendo,sin prestarle atención,contentáronse con hacer un sig-no afirmativo con la cabeza.Pero, al ver que ella no acaba-ba de marcharse, alzaron losojos, con enfado.

—¿Qué pasa? -preguntó elseñor Samsa.

La asistenta permanecíasonriente en el umbral, cual situviese que comunicar a la fa-milia una felicísima nueva, peroindicando con su actitud quesolo lo haría después de habersido convenientemente interro-gada. La plumita plantada de-recha en su sombrero, y que yamolestaba al señor Samsa [108]desde el momento en que ha-bía entrado aquella mujer a suservicio, bamboleábase en to-das las direcciones.

—Bueno, vamos a ver, ¿quédesea usted? -preguntó la señoraSamsa, que era la persona a quienmás respetaba la asistenta.

—Pues -contestó ésta, y la risano le dejaba seguir-, pues que notienen ustedes ya que preocupar-se respecto a cómo van a quitarsede en medio el trasto ése de ahí allado. Ya está todo arreglado.

L a s e ñ o r a S a m s a yG r e t e i n c l i n á r o n s e o t r avez sobre sus cartas, comopara seguir escribiendo, yel señor Samsa, advirtien-do que la sirvienta se dis-ponía a contarlo todo mi-nuciosamente, la detuvo,extendiendo con energía lamano hacia ella.

La asistenta, al ver queno le permitían contar loque traía preparado; recor-dó que tenía mucha prisa.

— ¡Queden con Dios!-dijo, visiblemente ofendida.

Dio media vuelta con granirritación, y abandonó la casadando un portazo terrible.

—Esta noche la despido-dijo el señor Samsa.

Pero no recibió respuesta, ni

three let ters of excusal , Mr.Samsa to his employers, Mrs.

Samsa to her contractor andGrete to her pr incipal . The

c leaner came in whi le theywere writing to tell them she

w a s g o i n g , s h e ’ d f i n i s h e dher work fo r tha t morn i n g .

T h e three o f t h e m a t f i r s tj u s t n o d d e d w i t h o u tl ook i n g u p f r o m w h a t t h e y

w e r e w r i t i n g , a n d i t w a so n l y w h e n t h e c l e a n e r s t i l l

d i d n o t s e e m t o w a n t t ol e a v e t h a t t h e y l o o k e d u p

i n i r r i t a t i o n . “ We l l ? ” ,a s k e d M r . S a m s a . T h e

c h a r w o m a n s t o o d i n t h ed o o r w a y w i t h a s m i l e o nh e r f a c e a s i f s h e h a d s o m e

t r e m e n d o u s g o o d n e w s t or e p o r t , b u t w o u l d o n l y d o

i t i f s h e w a s c l e a r l y a s k e dt o . T h e a l m o s t v e r t i c a l

l i t t l e o s t r i ch f ea the r on he rh a t , w h i c h h a d b e e n s o u r c e

o f i r r i t a t i o n t o M r. S a m s aa l l t h e t i m e s h e h a d b e e n

w o r k i n g f o r t h e m , s w a y e dg e n t l y i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s .“What is i t you want then?”,

asked Mrs. Samsa, whom thecleaner had the most respect

f o r. “ Ye s ” , s h e a n s w e r e d ,a n d b r o k e i n t o a f r i e n d l y

laugh that made her unable tospeak s t r a igh t away, “we l l

then, that thing in there, youn e e d n ’ t w o r r y a b o u t h o wyou’re going to get r id of i t .

That’s al l been sor ted out .”Mrs. Samsa and Grete bent

down over their let ters as i fi n t e n t o n c o n t i n u i n g w i t h

what they were wri t ing; Mr.Samsa saw that the c leaner

wanted t o s t a r t d e s c r i b i n ge v e r y t h i n g i n d e t a i l b u t ,

wi th ou t s t re tched hand , hemade i t qui te c lear tha t shewas not to . So, as she was

prevented f rom te l l ing thema l l a b o u t i t , s h e s u d d e n l y

r e m e m b e r e d w h a t a h u r r ys h e w a s i n a n d , c l e a r l y

peeved , ca l led out “Cheer iot h e n , e v e r y o n e ” , t u r n e d

r o u n d s h a r p l y a n d l e f t ,s lamming the door te r r ib lyas she went .

“Tonight she gets sacked”,

s a i d M r. S a m s a , b u t h ereceived no reply from either

his wife or his daughter as

three letters of explanation:Mr. Samsa to his superiors,M r s . S a m s a t o h e rcustomer, and Grete to heremploye r. As t hey werew r i t i n g , t h e c h a r w o m a ncame in to tell them she wasleaving, for her morning’swork was done. The threel e t t e r w r i t e r s a t f i r s tm e r e l y n o d d e d w i t h o u tglancing up; i t was onlywhen she kept hover ingt h a t t h e y l o o k e d u p i nannoyance. “Well?” askedM r. S a m s a . T h ec h a r w o m a n s t o o dbeaming in the doorwaya s i f s h e w e r e a b o u t t oa n n o u n c e s o m e g r e a twindfa l l fo r t he f ami ly,bu t would do so on ly i ft h e y d r a g g e d i t o u t o fh e r . O n h e r h a t , t h es m a l l , a l m o s t e r e c tos t r ich p lume, which hada n n o y e d M r. S a m s at h r o u g h o u t h e r s e r v i c eh e r e , s w a y e d l i g h t l y i na l l direct ions. “What canwe do for you?” asked Mrs.S a m s a , w h o m t h echarwoman respected themost. [186]

“Well,” the charwomanreplied with such frien d lychuckl ing tha t she had tob r e a k o f f , “ l i s t e n , y o udon’t have to worry aboutget t ing r id o f t h a t s t u f fi n t h e n e x t r o om . I t ’ sa l l b e e n t a k e n c a re o f .”

Mrs . Samsa and Gretehuddled over their lettersas if to keep writing; Mr.S a m s a , a w a r e t h a t t h ec h a r w o m a n w a s o n t h everge of launching into ablow-by-blow description,resolutely stretched out hisarm to ward her off. Notbeing allowed to tel l hers t o r y, s h e s u d d e n l yremembered that she was inan awful hurry, and clearlyoffended, she called out:“So long, everybody.” Shethen vehemently whirledaround and charged out of theapartment with a horrible slamof the door.

“ S h e ’ l l b e d i s m i s s e dtonight ,” said Mr. Samsa,receiving no answer f rom

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Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

respuesta alguna de su mu-je r n i de su h i j a , pues l aa s i s t e n t a p a r e c í a h a b e rvuelto a perturbar su reciénrecobrada tranquilidad. Lasd o s s e l e v a n t a r o n , s ed i r ig i e ron a l a ven tana ypermanecieron all í de pie,abrazadas. El señor Samsa sevolvió en su silla hacia ellas,observándolas en silencio unbreve rato. Luego exclamó:« Va m o s , v e n i d a q u í .O l v i d a d d e u n a v e z p a r asiempre las viejas historias.Y pensad un poco más enm í » . A l m o m e n t o l oo b e d e c i e r o n l a s m u j e r e s ,c o r r i e r o n h a c i a é l , l oacariciaron y terminaron atoda prisa sus cartas.

Luego sal ieron los t resjun tos de l p i so , cosa quel levaban var ios meses s inhace r, y s e d i r i g i e ron entranvía a las afueras de laciudad. Todo el vagón, en elq u e i b a n s o l o s , e s t a b ainundado por un cálido sol.Reclinados cómodamente ensus asientos, hablaron de lasp e r s p e c t i v a s f u t u r a s yllegaron a la conclusión deque, bien mirado, estas nose p resen taban nada mal ,p u e s s u s t r e s p u e s t o s d et r a b a j o - y e s t o e r a a l g oa c e r c a d e l o c u a l n o s ehabían in terrogado aún e luno al otro- eran sumamenteven ta josos y, sobre todo ,muy prometedores para másadelante. De momento , l ap r i n c i p a l m e j o r í a d e s us i t u a c i ó n d e b e r í ap r o d u c i r s e , c l a r o e s t á ,c a m b i a n d o d e v i v i e n d a ;q u e r í a n a l q u i l a r u n p i s om á s p e q u e ñ o y b a r a t o ,pero mejor s i tuado y, an tetodo , más p rác t i co que e lac tua l , que todav ía hab íaescogido Gregor. Mientrasconversaban as í , e l señory [ 1 0 0 ] l a s e ñ o r a S a m s ar e p a r a r o n c a s i a l m i s m ot i e m p o , a l v e r a s u h i j acada vez más an imada , enque ú l t imamente , y pese at o d a s l a s d e s g r a c i a s q u eh a b í a n h e c h o p a l i d e c e rsus me j i l l a s , Gre te hab íaf l o r e c i d o h a s t ac o n v e r t i r s e e n u n a

a n s w e r f r o m e i t h e r h i swife or his daughter, fort h e c l e a n i n g w o m a nseemed to have shatteredo n c e m o r e t h e i r b a r e l yrega ined peace of mind .They got up, went over tot h e w i n d o w a n d s t a y e dthere, clasping each othertightly. Herr Samsa turnedh i s c h a i r r o u n d t o f a c ethem, and watched them insilence for a while. Thenhe called out, ‘Come overhere, s top brooding overthe past . And have a l i t t leconsideration for me.’ Thew o m e n o b e y e d h i m a tonce, hurried over to him,caressed him and quicklyfinished their let ters.

Then all three of themleft the apartment together,s o m e t h i n g t h e y h a d n o tdone for months, and tookthe tram into the countryjust outside the town. Thec a r r i a g e , i n w h i c h t h e ywere the only passengers,was brightly lit by the warms u n . L e a n i n g b a c kcomfortably in their seats,t h e y d i s c u s s e d t h e i rprospects for the future ,w h i c h o n c l o s e rexamination appeared to befar from bad, for all threeof them had jobs which,t h o u g h t h e y h a d n e v e rreal ly discussed i t , wereent i re ly sa t i s fac tory andboded ve ry we l l fo r thef u t u r e . T h e g r e a t e s timmediate improvement int h e i r s i t u a t i o n c o u l d o fcourse be expected from as i m p l e c h a n g e o fa c c o m m o d a t i o n ; t h e ywould now take a smallerand cheaper apartment, butbetter situated and in everyway simpler to manage thanthei r present one , whichGregor had found. Whilethey were talking in thisway, Herr and Frau Samsarealised at almost the samemoment, as they watchedthe i r daughter becomingincreasingly animated, [63]that recently, despite all thetroubles that had turned herc h e e k s p a l e , s h e h a dblossomed into a beautiful

d ’ a i l l e u r s a u c u n é c h on i c h e z s a f e m m e n ic h e z Gre te ; l a v ie i l l en’avait pu réussir à troublerleur paix trop fraîchementreconquise . E l les sel e v è r e n t , a l l è r e n t à l af e n ê t r e e t r es tè ren tenla c é e s ; M . S a m s a , s et o u r n a n t v e r s e l l e sd a n s s o n f a u te u i l , l e so b s e r v a u n i n s t a n t e ns i l e n c e p u i s i l c r i a :«Allons, venez. Ne ruminez doncp l u s c o m m e ç a l e s v i e i l l e shistoires; vous pouvez bien penserun peu à moi.» Ses femmes luio b é i r e n t a u s s i t ô t , e l l e s s eprécipitèrent sur lui, le couvrirentde caresses et se dépêchèrent definir leurs lettres.

Ensuite, ils quittèrent enchoeur l’appartement, ce qui neleur était plus arrivé depuis desmois, et ils allèrent prendre letramway pour filer à lacampagne. Dans la voiture iln’y avait pas d’autresvoyageurs; elle était toutensoleillée, il y régnait unedouce chaleur.Confortablement appuyés àleurs dossiers, ils discutèrentleurs chances d’avenir; il setrouva qu’à y regarder de prèsces chances n’étaient pas, monDieu, tellement mauvaises, car- c’était un point sur lequel ilsne s’étaient jamais encoreexpliqués à fond - ils avaienttrouvé tous les trois dessituations vraimentintéressantes et quipromettaient surtout beaucouppour plus tard. La plus grosseamélioration de [89] leursituation actuelle, ilsl’obtiendraient en déménageantimmédiatement; ils loueraientun appartement moins cher etplus petit, mais plus pratique etsurtout mieux situé que leurlogement présent qui avait étéchoisi par Grégoire. Enregardant parler leur fille quis’animait de plus en plus, M. etMme Samsa remarquèrentpresque en même temps queGrete, malgré les crèmes debeauté qui lui avaient fait lesjoues pâles, s’étaitconsidérablement épanouiedans les derniers mois; c’étaitmaintenant une belle jeune fille

f e m m e n i d e s a f i l l e , c a r l ad o m e s t i q u e s e m b l a i t a v o i r

à n o u v e a u d é t r u i t l e u rt r a n q u i l l i t é f r a î c h e m e n t

r e c o n q u i s e . E l l e s s el e v è r e n t , a l l è r e n t à l a

f e n ê t r e e t r e s t è r e n t l à e n s et e n a n t e n l a c é e s . M . S a m s a

s e t o u r n a s u r s a c h a i s e , e tr e s t a u n p e t i t m o m e n t à l e so b s e r v e r . P u i s , i l s ’ é c r i a :

« Ve n e z d o n c p a r i c i !L a i s s e z u n e f o i s p o u r

t o u t e s l e s v i e i l l e sh i s t o i r e s . E t t â c h e z d e

p e n s e r u n p e u à m o i . » L e sd e u x f e m m e s l u i o b é i r e n t

a u s s i t ô t , a l l è r e n t l er e j o i n d r e , l e c a j o l è r e n t e tt e r m i n è r e n t r a p i d e m e n t

l e u r s l e t t r e s .

S u r q u o i , t o u s t r o i sq u i t t è r e n t e n s e m b l e

(appar tement , ce qui ne leuré t a i t p a s a r r i v é d e p u i s d e s

m o i s ; p u i s , i l s p r i r e n t l et r a m w a y p o u r f a i r e u n e

e x c u r s i o n e n b a n l i e u e . L avo i tu r e , don t i l s é t a i en t l e sseuls passagers, était inondée

d e s o l e i l . C o n f o r t a b l e m e n tinstal lés sur leurs s ièges, i ls

d i s c u t è r e n t d e l e u r sp e r s p e c t i v e s d ’ a v e n i r e t i l

apparut qu’à y bien regarder,e l l e s n ’ é t a i e n t p a s s i

mauvaises; car leurs situationsà tous trois - c’était un pointqu’ils n’avaient encore jamais

abordé entre eux - étaient toutà fa i t convenables e t sur tout

t r è s p rome t t euses pou r p lu st a r d . L a m e i l l e u r e f a ç o n

d ’ a m é l i o r e r l e u r s o r t l ep l u s t ô t p o s s i b l e é t a i t

é v i d e m m e n t d e d é m é n a g e r ;i l s l o u e r a i e n t u n

a p p a r t e m e n t p l u s p e t i t e tm e i l l e u r m a r c h é , m a i sa u s s i p l u s p r a t i q u e e t

m i e u x s i t u é q u e l e u rl o g e m e n t a c t u e l , q u i a v a i t

é t é c h o i s i p a r G r e g o r. E np a r l a n t a i n s i , M . e t M m e

S a m s a r e m a r q u è r e n tp r e s q u e ’ s i m u l t a n é m e n t e n

r e g a r d a n t l e u r f i l l e , q u is ’ a n i m a i t d e p l u s e n p l u s ,q u e c e l l e - c i , m a l g r é t o u s

l e s t o u r m e n t s q u i a v a i e n tu n p e u f a i t p â l i r s e s j o u e s ,

s ’ é t a i t b e a u c o u p é p a n o u i ec e s d e r n i e r s t e m p s e t

q u ’ e l l e é t a i t d e v e n u e u n e

r e p l y f r o m e i t h e r h i swi fe o r daugh te r , f o r t hec h a r w o m a n h a dd i s m a n t l e d t h e i r b a r e l ym a i n t a i n e d c o m p o s u r e .T h e y g o t u p , w e n t t o t h ew i n d o w, a n d s t a y e dt h e r e h u g g i n g e a c ho t h e r . H e r r S a m s at u r n e d i n h i s c h a i r a n dq u i e t l y w a t c h e d t h e m al i t t l e w h i l e . T h e n h ec a l l e d : “ C o m e n o w ,c o m e o v e r h e r e . P u t t h ep a s t t o r e s t . A n d h a v e al i t t l e c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o rm e t o o . ” T h e w o m e np r o m p t l y o b e y e d h i m ,c a r e s s e d h i m , a n dh u r r i e d l y f i n i s h e d t h e i rl e t t e r s .

Then all three left theapartment together, whichthey had no t done i nmonths, and took a trolleyto the countryside on theoutsk i r t s o f town. The i rt ro l ley car had no o therpassengers and was floodedwi th wa rm sunsh ine .Leaning back comfortablyin their seats, they discussedthe i r p ro spec t s f o r t hefuture and concluded, oncloser inspection, that thesewere not at all bad; for allt h r ee had j obs wh ich ,a l though they had neverreally questioned each otherabout this , were ent i relysatisfactory and seemed tobe particularly promising.The g rea t e s t im m e d i a t ea m e l i o r a t i o n o f t h e i rc i r c u m s t a n c e s w o u l de a s i l y c o m e t o f r u i t i o nwith a change of residence:They wanted to take somep l a c e s m a l l e r a n d l e s se x p e n s i v e b u t b e t t e rs i t u a t e d a n d m o r eefficiently designed thanthe apa r tmen t t hey had ,which had been Gregor ’schoice. It occurred almosts i m u l t a n e o u s l y t o b o t hH e r r a n d F r a u S a m s a ,w h i l e t h e y w e r econversing and looking att h e i r i n c r e a s i n g l yv ivac ious daughte r, tha tdespite the recent sorrowsthat had paled her cheeks,she had blossomed into a

de su mujer ni de su hija, puesla asistenta parecía haber [109]vuelto a turbar aquella tranqui-lidad que acababan apenas derecobrar.

La madre y la hija se levan-taron y se dirigieron hacia laventana, ante la cual permane-cieron abrazadas. El señorSamsa hizo girar su butaca enaquella dirección, y estuvo ob-servándolas un momento tran-quilamente. Luego:

—Bueno -dijo-, venid ya.Olvidad ya de una vez las cosaspasadas. Tened también un pocode consideración conmigo.

Las dos mujeres le obedecie-ron al punto, corrieron hacia él,le acariciaron y terminaron deescribir.

Luego, salieron los tresjuntos, cosa que no había ocu-rrido desde hacía meses, y to-maron el tranvía para ir a res-pirar el aire libre de las afue-ras. El tranvía, en el cual eranlos únicos viajeros; hallábaseinundado de la luz cálida delsol. Cómodamente recostadosen sus asientos, fueron cam-biando impresiones acerca delporvenir, y vieron que, bienpensadas las cosas, éste no sepresentaba con tonos oscuros,pues sus tres colocaciones-sobre las cuales no se habíantodavía interrogado claramen-te unos a otros- eran muy bue-nas, y, sobre todo, permitíanabrigar para más adelantegrandes esperanzas. [101] Loque de mo m e n t o m á s h a -b r í a d e m e j o r a r l a s i t u a -c i ó n s e r í a m u d a r d ec a s a . D e s e a b a n u n ac a s a m á s p e q u e ñ a ym á s b a r a t a , y , s o b r et o d o , m e j o r s i t u a d a y -m á s p r á c t i c a q u e l a a c -t u a l , q u e h a b í a s i d o e s -c o g i d a p o r G r e g o r i o . Ym i e n t r a s a s í d e p a r t í a n ,p e r c a t á r o n s e c a s i s i -m u l t á n e a m e n t e e l s e ñ o ry l a s e ñ o r a S a m s a d eq u e s u h i j a , q u e p e s e at o d o s l o s c u i d a d o s p e r -d i e r a e l c o l o r e n l o s ú l -t i m o s t i e m p o s , h a b í a s ed e s a r r o l l a d o y c o n v e r -t i d o e n u n a l i n d a m u -c h a c h a l l e n a d e v i d a .S i n c r u z a r y a p a l a b r a ,

t h e c h a r w o m a n s e e m e d t oh a v e d e s t r o y e d t h e p e a c e

they had on ly ju s t ga ined .They got up and went over to

t h e w i n d o w w h e r e t h e yr e m a i n e d w i t h t h e i r a r m s

around each other. Mr. Samsatwisted round in his chair to

look a t them and sa t the rewatching for a while . Thenhe cal led out : “Come here ,

then. Let’s forget about a l lt h a t o l d s t u f f , s h a l l w e .

Come and give me a bi t ofa t tent ion”. The two women

immediately did as he said,hurrying over to him where

they kissed him and huggedh im and then they qu ick lyfinished their let ters .

A f t e r t h a t , t h e t h r e e o f

t h e m l e f t t h e f l a t t o g e t h e r,w h i c h w a s s o m e t h i n g t h e y

h a d n o t d o n e f o r m o n t h s ,a n d t o o k t h e t r a m o u t t o

t h e o p e n c o u n t r y o u t s i d et h e t o w n . T h e y h a d t h e

t r a m , f i l l e d w i t h w a r ms u n s h i n e , a l l t ot h e m s e l v e s . L e a n t b a c k

c o m f o r t a b l y o n t h e i r s e a t s ,t h e y d i s c u s s e d t h e i r

p r o s p e c t s a n d f o u n d t h a to n c l o s e r e x a m i n a t i o n t h e y

w e r e n o t a t a l l b a d - u n t i lt h e n t h e y h a d n e v e r a s k e d

e a c h o t h e r a b o u t t h e i rw o r k b u t a l l t h r e e h a d j o b sw h i c h w e r e v e r y g o o d a n d

h e l d p a r t i c u l a r l y g o o dp romise fo r t he fu tu re . T h e

g r e a t e s t i m p ro v e m e n t f o rt h e t i m e b e i n g , o f c o u r s e ,

w o u l d b e a c h i e v e d q u i t ee a s i l y b y m o v i n g h o u s e ;

w h a t t h e y n e e d e d n o w w a sa f l a t t h a t w a s s m a l l e r a n d

c h e a p e r t h a n t h e c u r r e n to n e w h i c h h a d b e e n c h o s e nb y G r e g o r, o n e t h a t w a s i n

a b e t t e r l o c a t i o n a n d , m o s to f a l l , m o r e p r a c t i c a l . A l l

t h e t i m e , G r e t e w a sb e c o m i n g l i v e l i e r. Wi t h a l l

t h e w o r r y t h e y h a d b e e nh a v i n g o f l a t e h e r c h e e k s

h a d b e c o m e p a l e , b u t ,w h i l e t h e y w e r e t a l k i n g ,M r. a n d M r s . S a m s a w e r e

s t r u c k , a l m o s ts i m u l t a n e o u s l y, w i t h t h e

t h o u g h t o f h o w t h e i rd a u g h t e r w a s b l o s s o m i n g

i n t o a w e l l b u i l t a n d

his wife or his daughter,f o r t h e c h a r w o m a n h a dr u ff l e d t h e p e a c e a n dquiet that they had barelygained. Standing up, thetwo women went over tothe window and remainedt h e r e , c l a s p e d i n e a c hother ’s arms. Mr. Samsal o o k e d b a c k f r o m h i schair and silently watchedthem for a whi le . Then heexclaimed: “Come on, getove r he r e . Fo rge t abou tthe past once and for a l l .A n d s h o w m e a l i t t l ec o n s i d e r a t i o n . ” T h ewomen, promptly obeyingh i m , h u r r i e d o v e r ,caressed him, and swif t lyf inished their le t ters .

Then all three of themleft the apartment together,which they had not done inmonths, and took the trolleyou t t o t he coun t ry s idebeyond the t own . Thestreetcar, where they werethe only passengers, wasf looded wi th warmsunsh ine . Lean ing backcomfortably in their seats,they discussed their futureprospects and concludedthat, upon closer perusal,these [187] were anythingbut bad; for while they hadnever actually asked oneanother for any details, theirjobs were all exceedinglyadvan tageous and a l sopromising. Naturally, theg r e a t e s t i m m e d i a t ei m p r o v e m e n t i n t h e i rs i tuat ion could easi ly beb r o u g h t a b o u t b y t h e i rm o v i n g ; t h e y h o p e d t or e n t a s m a l l e r a n dc h e a p e r a p a r t m e n t , b u tw i t h a b e t t e r l o c a t i o na n d a l t o g e t h e r m o r ep r a c t i c a l t h a n t h e i rcu r ren t p l ace , wh ich hadb e e n f o u n d b y G r e g o r.As they were convers ing,b o t h M r. a n d M r s .S a m s a , u p o n s e e i n g t h edaugh te r becoming morea n d m o r e v i v a c i o u s ,rea l ized a lmost in unisont h a t l a t e l y, d e s p i t e a l lt he so r rows tha t had l e f the r cheeks pa l e , she hadb los somed in to a l ove ly

143142

Neugroschel del Solar Stokes Vialatte Cl. David Freed Alianza Willie

muchacha hermosa y l l enade v ida . S in dec i r se nadamás y en tend iéndose cas ii n c o n s c i e n t e m e n t e c o n l am i r a d a , p e n s a r o n q u e y ai b a s i e n d o h o r a d eb u s c a r l e u n b u e n m a r i d o .Y f u e p a r a e l l o s u n ae s p e c i e d e c o n f i r m a c i ó nd e s u s n u e v o s s u e ñ o s yb u e n a s i n t e n c i o n e s e lv e r c ó m o , a l f i n a l d e lt r a y e c t o , l a h i j a s el e v a n t ó p r i m e r o y e s t i r ós u c u e r p o j o v e n .

a n d v o l u p t u o u s g i r l .G r o w i n g q u i e t e r a n dc o m m u n i c a t i n g a l m o s tu n c o n s c i o u s l y t h r o u g hg lances , t h e y r e f l e c t e dt h a t i t w o u l d s o o n b et ime to f ind he r a goodhusband. And i t was l ikea c o n f i r m a t i o n o f t h e i rn e w d r e a m s a n d g o o di n t e n t i o n s w h e n a t t h ee n d o f t h e r i d e t h e i rd a u g h t e r s t o o d u p f i r s tand s t re tched her youngbody. [64]

aux formes pleines. Leurexpansion se calma un peu, ilséchangèrent presqueinconsciemment des regardsqui se comprirent, ils songèrenttous deux qu’il allait être tempsde lui trouver un brave mari. Etil leur sembla voir dans le gestede leur fille une confirmation deleurs nouveaux rêves, unencouragement à leurs bonnesintentions, quand, au terminusdu voyage, la petite se leva lapremière pour étirer son jeunecorps.

b e l l e f i l l e p l a n t u r e u s e . I l ss e t u r e n t p e u à p e u e t e n s e

c o m p r e n a n t p r e s q u ei n v o l o n t a i r e m e n t p a r u n

é c h a n g e d e r e g a r d s , i l s s ep r i r e n t t o u s d e u x à p e n s e r

qu’ i l s e ra i t b i en tô t t emps delu i t rouver un b rave homme

c o m m e m a r i . E t i l s c r u r e n tv o i r u n e c o n f i r m a t i o n d el e u r s n o u v e a u x r ê v e s e t d e

l e u r s b e a u x p r o j e t s , q u a n d ,au t e rme du voyage , l a j eune

f i l l e s e l e v a l a p r e m i è r e e té t i r a son j eune corps .

p r e t t y a n d v o l u p t u o u sy o u n g w o m a n . G r o w i n gq u i e t e r a n d a l m o s tu n c o n s c i o u s l y [ 5 2 ]c o m m u n i c a t i n g t h r o u g hexchanged g lances , theythought it was time to findher a good husband. And itwas like a confirmation oftheir new dreams and goodi n t e n t i o n s t h a t a t t h e i rj o u r n e y ’s e n d t h e i rd a u g h t e r j u m p e d t o h e rf e e t a n d s t r e t c h e d h e ryoung body.

e n t e n d i é n d o s e c a s ii n s t i n t i v a m e n t e c o n l a sm i r a d a s , d i j é r o n s e u n oa o t r o q u e y a e r a h o r ad e e n c o n t r a r l e u n b u e nm a r i d o . Y c u a n d o , a ll l e g a r a l t é r m i n o d e lv i a j e , l a h i j a s e l e v a n -t ó l a p r i m e r a y e s t i r ós u s f o r m a s j u v e n i l e s ,p a r e c i ó c u a l s i c o n f i r -m a s e c o n e l l o l o s n u e -v o s s u e ñ o s y s a n a s i n -t e n c i o n e s d e l o s p a -d r e s .

Fin deLa Metamorfosis

b e a u t i f u l y o u n g l a d y. T h e yb e c a m e q u i e t e r. J u s t f r o m

e a c h o t h e r ’ s g l a n c e a n da l m o s t w i t h o u t k n o w i n g i t

t h e y a g r e e d t h a t i t w o u l dsoon be t ime t o f i nd a good

m a n f o r h e r. A n d , a s i f i nc o n f i r m a t i o n o f t h e i r n e w

d r e a m s a n d g o o di n t e n t i o n s , a s s o o n a s t h e yr e a c h e d t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n

G r e t e w a s t h e f i r s t t o g e tu p a n d s t r e t c h o u t h e r

y o u n g b o d y.

END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG

EBOOK, METAMORPHOSIS

and shapely gi r l . Lapsingi n t o s i l e n c e a n dc o m m u n i c a t i n g a l m o s tunconsc ious ly wi th the i reyes , t h e y r e f l e c t e d t h a ti t w a s h i g h t i m e t h e yf o u n d a d e c e n t h u s b a n df o r h e r. A n d i t w a s l i k ea c o n f i r m a t i o n o f t h e i rn e w d r e a m s a n d g o o di n t e n t i o n s t h a t a t t h ee n d o f t h e i r r i d e t h e- d a u g h t e r w a s t h e f i r s tt o g e t u p , s t r e t c h i n gh e r y o u n g b o d y. [ 1 8 8 ]