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Shortly before his metamorphosis, Gregor framed an advertisement of a lady wearing furs and holding out a large fur muff on her arm. When he wakes up on the fateful morning as an insect, this image is one of the first things he notices. Later, when his mother and sister work to remove his furniture from his room to give him more space to crawl, an action that makes him upset and angry because it reminds him of his lost humanity and his past life, he rushes to protect the print above any other possession. The lady in the muff represents Gregor's humanity, but it means more than just that: it's an image of beauty, romance and glamour, Gregor's sole attempt at making his life more beautiful, and one of the rare hints at Gregor's possible interest in eventually finding a wife and family. Yet it's also an advertisement, tying back to Gregor's job as a traveling salesman, and to the story's concerns with appearances and superficiality.
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The Print of the Lady in the Muff Symbol Timeline in The Metamorphosis
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Print of the Lady in the Muff appears in The Metamorphosis. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Section 1
...room, containing the cloth samples for his job as a traveling salesman, and a framed print of a lady wearing a muff. He looks out the window at the gray day...
(full context)
Section 2
...out of the room, Gregor runs out from under the couch and scuttles onto the print of the lady with the muff to protect it from being removed.
(full context)
...Grete runs out to look for some smelling salts, and Gregor unsticks himself from the print and runs after her, hoping to help somehow. Grete is terrified to see him, drops...
(full context)
