{"id":"01KG2TRA9TDH5B66JH933VJF6W","cid":"bafkreihdaujktlapw6bvvyz72ua3f5u5ihfw7wln5aax7hqfq6bpn66ug4","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":854,"extracted_at":"2026-01-28T17:34:53.083Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 4","source_file":"01KG2T4R8J3C5MCD884PSP9QX4","start_line":795,"text":"was, of course, no question of her ever becoming fully used to the\r\nsituation—that Gregor would sometimes catch a friendly comment, or at\r\nleast a comment that could be construed as friendly. “He’s enjoyed his\r\ndinner today”, she might say when he had diligently cleared away all\r\nthe food left for him, or if he left most of it, which slowly became\r\nmore and more frequent, she would often say, sadly, “now everything’s\r\njust been left there again”.\r\n\r\nAlthough Gregor wasn’t able to hear any news directly he did listen to\r\nmuch of what was said in the next rooms, and whenever he heard anyone\r\nspeaking he would scurry straight to the appropriate door and press his\r\nwhole body against it. There was seldom any conversation, especially at\r\nfirst, that was not about him in some way, even if only in secret. For\r\ntwo whole days, all the talk at every mealtime was about what they\r\nshould do now; but even between meals they spoke about the same subject\r\nas there were always at least two members of the family at home—nobody\r\nwanted to be at home by themselves and it was out of the question to\r\nleave the flat entirely empty. And on the very first day the maid had\r\nfallen to her knees and begged Gregor’s mother to let her go without\r\ndelay. It was not very clear how much she knew of what had happened but\r\nshe left within a quarter of an hour, tearfully thanking Gregor’s\r\nmother for her dismissal as if she had done her an enormous service.\r\nShe even swore emphatically not to tell anyone the slightest about what\r\nhad happened, even though no-one had asked that of her.\r\n\r\nNow Gregor’s sister also had to help his mother with the cooking;\r\nalthough that was not so much bother as no-one ate very much. Gregor\r\noften heard how one of them would unsuccessfully urge another to eat,\r\nand receive no more answer than “no thanks, I’ve had enough” or\r\nsomething similar. No-one drank very much either. His sister would\r\nsometimes ask his father whether he would like a beer, hoping for the\r\nchance to go and fetch it herself. When his father then said nothing\r\nshe would add, so that he would not feel selfish, that she could send\r\nthe housekeeper for it, but then his father would close the matter with\r\na big, loud “No”, and no more would be said.\r\n\r\nEven before the first day had come to an end, his father had explained\r\nto Gregor’s mother and sister what their finances and prospects were.\r\nNow and then he stood up from the table and took some receipt or\r\ndocument from the little cash box he had saved from his business when\r\nit had collapsed five years earlier. Gregor heard how he opened the\r\ncomplicated lock and then closed it again after he had taken the item\r\nhe wanted. What he heard his father say was some of the first good news\r\nthat Gregor heard since he had first been incarcerated in his room. He\r\nhad thought that nothing at all remained from his father’s business, at\r\nleast he had never told him anything different, and Gregor had never\r\nasked him about it anyway. Their business misfortune had reduced the\r\nfamily to a state of total despair, and Gregor’s only concern at that\r\ntime had been to arrange things so that they could all forget about it\r\nas quickly as possible. So then he started working especially hard,\r\nwith a fiery vigour that raised him from a junior salesman to a\r\ntravelling representative almost overnight, bringing with it the chance\r\nto earn money in quite different ways. Gregor converted his success at\r\nwork straight into cash that he could lay on the table at home for the\r\nbenefit of his astonished and delighted family. They had been good\r\ntimes and they had never come again, at least not with the same\r\nsplendour, even though Gregor had later earned so much that he was in a\r\nposition to bear the costs of the whole family, and did bear them. They\r\nhad even got used to it, both Gregor and the family, they took the\r\nmoney with gratitude and he was glad to provide it, although there was\r","title":"Chunk 4"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG2TQ7A5MZD3VA61WZP25MDM","peer_label":"II","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG2T4R8J3C5MCD884PSP9QX4","peer_label":"metamorphoses.txt","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG2T49K0H5GDRB0G4YDTPG8H","peer_label":"Test Collection","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG2TR9ER7XZG64KKQSCCA635","peer_label":"Chunk 3","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG2TRA96Q8MYQ58P3G5DS8J4","peer_label":"Chunk 5","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-28T17:34:55.090Z","ts":"2026-01-28T17:34:57.320Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}