In which I use this funny title to talk about transformation and its themes in art

^{Full Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian nor a psychiatrist. All I say is my own conjecture and opinion based on what I know and have experienced. If you are any of those, please drop a comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter!}

I first read Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” back when I was 18. At the time I had just started to live on my own and had begun to feel more comfortable with a lot of things surrounding myself. Being a furry, being “gay” (oh you poor summer child), and in general a weirdo.

So I sit down and start browsing the web for “Books About Transformation”. It had always been a subject I enjoyed tremendously, ever since a kid the idea of a person turning into something else had lived rent-free in my brain. (I blame the Aladdin TV Show. There’s an episode where Jasmine gets turned into a snake and… listen that changed my brain chemistry when I was a little grub)

So I go and start looking for REAL literature written by REAL writers. It was a sort of way to try and validate my obsession with the thematic. No shade to all the furry artists whose work I’d enjoyed reading and looking… But to a silly young adult (moth) it didn’t feel like “real art”. Just, you know, kink material.

And so, oh boy oh boy, I find “The Metamorphosis” as presented with the blurb “Story about a man who finds himself turned into a large insect.”. Yeah THIS IS WHAT I WANT, LET’S GOOO

If anyone reading this has read “The Metamorphosis”, you’ll know that while it’s a fantastic story… It is definitely not a “fun” one.

It shook me to my core and left me extremely thoughtful of how society treats disabled people.

But… I wanted cool bug transformation?

I felt betrayed, in a sense, that the book presented Gregor’s ordeal as the “worst thing that could’ve happened ever”. Of course, for the metaphor, and the point of the story, it was a perfect match.

However, I couldn’t shake out the feeling that “transformation as punishment” was the usual modus operandi of most writers who dabbled in the theme. It was the eternal “Beauty and the Beast” situation. Look, he was turned into a huge monster! What a tragedy!

My man… You’re a huge fucking monster? Make use of that shit!

^{Of course, I’m being silly. After all, hard to see “huge fucking monster” as something desirable in medieval France.}

Even if you go way back in time, to pull a bit from Greek Mythology… Spiders literally only exist because Athena wanted to teach a mortal not to be jealous. So of course she turns her into one as punishment.

What I’m getting at is… While transformation “to make a point” as a metaphor in a story is rather common, from fables to fairy tales to modern fantasy stories, to mythology… the amount of art that uses transformation as a method of positive catharsis or self-fulfillment for the characters is very, very little.

And this method just never… Vibed with me? Being a transformation enjoyer ™️, I hard time wrapping my head around as to why all of this art indulged in what is essentially the same way to portray and talk about transformation? Why did it always have to be something bad?

Kafka… I’m sorry, but giant bugs are cool.

I could spend more time explaining how these themes are used in a “moral of the story” kind of way, but I think everyone’s seen enough of this to get my point. Probably.

So here’s the thing. To me this is a perfectly valid narrative or thematic trope. It’s cool really! I’m just tired of it!

To me, transformation was always so much more about self-realization, about attaining that ideal form or finally living the life you want to live. And even if it’s a surprise, letting the subjects get used to their new situation, to learn how to make the best use of it, to find joy and comfort in the situation they find themselves into. To me those are the themes and emotions transformation art is absolutely revolutionary at evoking.

Give me the stories in which the mad scientist turns into a lizard to cure cancer, or one where the hero becomes powerful enough to beat the bad guy by turning into a huge dragon, let the princess finally experience gender euphoria by asking a witch to turn her into a minotaur, let the abandoned protagonist find a new family along with their new form.

^{I think I might just be repeating myself at this point}

So what’s the point of this mini essay thing?

^{None, really.}
I just wanted to talk about one of my favorite tropes around. I still think it’s a bit underused to it’s full potential, narratively.

I was pleasantly surprised, for example, to see some transformation indulgence on the writing of the recently released Baldur’s Gate 3... but again it comes with the caveats. Why yes I would like to become a squidperson with a huge brain! What do you mean I lose my soul and die in the process?…

I won’t blame the writers for this, they’re just following D&D lore. But regardless, it’s still possible to read this process of transformation as a welcome change, as giving your protagonist agency and power. But that’d be another discussion entirely, especially regarding that game.

In the end, I think a lot of writers would ask themselves, “No one would want to become a huge bug, would they?”

And my answer is: MORE PEOPLE THAN YOU’D THINK ACTUALLY

^{And I haven't even touched on how much this also intersects with transhumanism... Part 2 sometime?}

^{Edit: I've had this in my drafts for MONTHS, and just now I noticed I wrote "it's" instead of "its" oh my god}