VLADIMIR NABOKOV
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mother-in spite o f the chief clerk 's being there her hair was still
undone and sti cking up in a ll direc tions-first clasped her hands and
looked a t his fa ther, then took two steps towa rds Gregor and fell on the
fl oor amo ng her outspread skirts, her face quite hidden on her breas t.
H is fa ther kno tted hi s fi st with a fierce expressio n on his face as if he
meant to knock Gregor back into his room, then looked uncerta inly
round the living room , covered his eyes with his hands and wept till his
grea t ches t heaved ."
Scene VI:
Gregor tri es to ca lm the chief clerk so tha t he will not be
discha rged . "'Well ,' sa id Gregor, knowing perfec tly tha t he was the
onl y one who had reta ined any composure, 'I'll put my clothes on a t
once, pack up my sampl es and sta rt off. Will you o nl y let me go? You
see, sir, I'm no t obstina te, and I 'm willing to work ; trave ling is a hard
li fe, but I couldn 't li ve without it. Where are you go ing, sir? T o the
office? Yes? Will you g ive a true account of a ll this? One can be
tempora rily incapac ita ted , but tha t's just the moment for remembering
former services and bea ring in mind tha t la ter on , when the incapac ity
has been go t over, one will certa inly work with a ll the more industry
and concentra tion .''' But the chief clerk in ho rror and as if in a trance
is stumbling towards the sta ircase to escape. Gregor starts to wa lk
towards him-a wonderful bit here-on the hind pair of his three pairs
of legs, " but immedia tely, as he was fee ling for a support, he fell down
with a little cry upon hi s many little legs. Ha rdl y was he down when he
experienced for the first time this morning a sense o f physica l comfort;
his legs had firm ground under them ; they were comp le tely obedient, as
he no ted with joy; they even strove to carry him forward in wha tever
direction he chose; and he was inclined to believe tha t a final relief
from all his sufferings was a t hand. " His mo ther springs up, and in
backing away from him she upse ts the coffeepo t o n the breakfas t table
so tha t it pours over the rug. "'Mo ther, Mo ther,' sa id G regor in a low
vo ice, and looked up a t her. T he chief clerk , for the moment, had quite
slipped from hi s mind; instead, he could no t res ist snapping hi s jaws
toge ther a t the sight o f the streaming coffee . Tha t made hi s mother
scream aga in ." Gregor, looking now for the chief clerk , "made a
spring, to be as sure as poss ible o f overta king him; the chief clerk must
have divined his intentio n , for he leaped down several steps and
vanished ; he was still ye lling 'Ugh !' and it echoed th rough the who le
staircase."
Scene VII:
T he fa ther bru ta lly drives Gregor back into his room,
stamping his fee t and fl o uri shing a stick in o ne hand and a newspaper
