When Gregor wakes up from the shock of his back injury, which leaves him in a motionless state, his family members watch him with sympathy before departing the bedroom, and leaving the door open during the night in the hopes that Gregor could watch them.

While his mother has begun sewing lingerie for a boutique, in the hopes that she could get Grete to music school, Gregor’s father is usually slumped on the sofa upon returning home each day from his bank attendant job, still in his filthy uniform, and complaining about his new life all night long. Over time, Gregor finds out that the family has managed to get additional income through selling jewelry, swapped out the regular cleaning lady (the Maid) with an older, cheaper one (the Charwoman), and realizes that they are no longer at ease with his presence and they begin to neglect him.

Further changes continue to take place in the Samsa family home, which puts Gregor further on edge. The Charwoman braves the sight of his unusual form and attempts to conduct frequent conversation with him, sometimes immediately after having successfully sneaked into the room without Gregor’s knowledge — to which the action eventually disgusts him and leads to a direct confrontation. To make matters worse, the family invites three renters into their home, which leads to most of the furniture being removed, and the Charwoman moves into his room. This was, without a doubt, the final straw for Gregor.

On one of the nights, the renters are at home and the Charwoman inadvertently leaves Gregor’s room door wide open. This gives him the opportunity to observe them dining on her mother and sister’s cooking. Soon, the sound of a violin being played by Grete leads everyone outside the room to gather around and listen, but a lack of appreciation by the renters quickly sets in. Gregor, on the other hand, is moved by the music and creeps slowly out of his room (as it has always been his aspiration to let Grete in on his plans to enrol her into a music school) — which leads to his presence being spotted by one of the now-panicking renters. The commotion leads to Gregor’s father telling them to vacate the house without the need to pay any rent.

Considering how the insect is no longer her brother, Grete suggests that the family should get rid of it, and openly states that Gregor would have already left if he had truly understood. This puts his father in a moral dilemma, albeit slightly, who ultimately comes to the belief that his son would understand such a decision. On learning this, Gregor grows despondent and crawls to his room. His body remains stiff throughout the night while the thought of relieving his family of the burden by going away torments his mind — to which he finally succumbs.

As morning arrives, the Charwoman finds Gregor’s dead and motionless body. On hearing the news, the family gathers around and Grete notices the thinness in his body. After finally vacating the renters and writing their respective apology letters for being absent from work that day, the family decides to take a stroll. Upon their return, the Charwoman asks them about the disposal of Gregor’s body, something that the family shows little to no concern for.

On the same evening, the now-family-of-three discharge the services of the Charwoman, and make plans to move out of their current home and into a smaller one out in the countryside. Over time, they realized the change in their lives had resulted in gaining a greater amount of money than they had before. Grete has also grown to become a fair lady, which — in the mind of her parents — naturally invokes the thought of a potential suitor for their daughter.