tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post6715555604553633018..comments2024-03-18T16:55:31.971+00:00Comments on This Space: Torturing hope: Kafka's MetamorphosisStephen Mitchelmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-29437688680232714812009-02-04T20:15:00.000+00:002009-02-04T20:15:00.000+00:00Phil, I also happen to believe that Kafka intended...Phil, I also happen to believe that Kafka intended the "vermin" to be a bed bug, not a cockroach. Round, flat body: check. Foul odor: check. Stains left on linen: check. None of these descriptions apply to cockroaches. And bed bugs were common in Kafka's time. (Ironically, they are becoming more and more common in the US today.) The unspecified insect as metaphor theory is fine, but if you read the text again armed with a bit of familiarity with bedbugs, I think you will find it's undoubtably Kaftka's vermin. <BR/><BR/>Amahl Scheppach<BR/>University of Colorado at BoulderAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11851556502037629493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-3360924770209390662008-03-10T18:32:00.000+00:002008-03-10T18:32:00.000+00:00Dear Steve,I really liked your article, however I ...Dear Steve,<BR/>I really liked your article, however I would like to pick up on one point.<BR/><BR/>I am slovak, and my language is really close to checz, I speak it fluently.<BR/>I have never heard the term 'nocni moucha' before. We use 'nocni mora', that literally means nightmare.Bogihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335552413650703648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-23581366241897095812007-06-13T19:17:00.000+01:002007-06-13T19:17:00.000+01:00"The insect itself cannot be depicted."It sounds a..."The insect itself cannot be depicted."<BR/><BR/>It sounds as if this letter throws some light on Kafka's conception of the insect/bug/vermin/thing. What was the word here translated as 'insect'?<BR/><BR/>It's a tough one; I don't think there is an 'insect' word which has the overtones of Ungeziefer, but I agree that 'cockroach' is too specific (despite having the right overtones). I've seen a persuasive argument for 'bug', but it was the now obsolete BritEng usage which specifically implies 'bedbug' (and hence carries overtones of contamination and disgust) rather than the much broader AmEng usage. 'Louse' maybe?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-47919171552863153052007-06-13T12:50:00.000+01:002007-06-13T12:50:00.000+01:00Steve, my dissent is too long for a comments box, ...Steve, my dissent is too long for a comments box, so it's here:<BR/><BR/>http://ellissharp.blogspot.com/2007/06/gregor-samsas-wings.htmlEllishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11986734200144635608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-65736774449528969692007-06-13T09:34:00.000+01:002007-06-13T09:34:00.000+01:00He might have got some of the affection he so dear...He might have got some of the affection he so dearly needed, Lee. Everybody loves ladybirds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-18159166401500423162007-06-12T22:58:00.000+01:002007-06-12T22:58:00.000+01:00"ladybird" - Aw, that's cute, Patrick.I like ladyb..."ladybird" - Aw, that's cute, Patrick.<BR/><BR/>I like ladybirds.<BR/><BR/>Lee Rourke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-36742753796307135702007-06-12T21:39:00.000+01:002007-06-12T21:39:00.000+01:00Would ladybird be misleading?Would ladybird be misleading?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-80892345889699992862007-06-12T13:12:00.000+01:002007-06-12T13:12:00.000+01:00I am with you on this one Steve. There is nothing ...I am with you on this one Steve. There is nothing better than a dispute about translation, not because it is an academic issue, since you can always look at a dictionary, but it usually gets to the heart of the story or translation - cockroach too definite<BR/><BR/>Will LargeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-28796738055711535482007-06-10T16:40:00.000+01:002007-06-10T16:40:00.000+01:00Steve,It was a pleasure to read this; really, it w...Steve,<BR/><BR/>It was a pleasure to read this; really, it was.<BR/><BR/>We cannot escape the insect anymore, which I find irksome. I just feel Hofmann knew he couldn't escape it either; so he uses a word that, in modern vernacular, may denote something of the rotten stench Kafka was trying to convey, as well as placating all those who find the insect valid and real.<BR/><BR/>But you know, as well as I do, that Kafka wasn't concerned with the insect; just his readers are.<BR/><BR/>It's funny that people turn to Nabokov and not Blanchot to help elucidate their views - probably why they can't escape that insect.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this post,<BR/><BR/>Lee Rourke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-60292040951216014992007-06-09T10:44:00.000+01:002007-06-09T10:44:00.000+01:00Magisterial, Steve. Absolutely spot-on.Magisterial, Steve. Absolutely spot-on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com