What Does it Mean to Feel Alone? Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and the film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Discussing what it means to feel alone. Together.

A Zulu folk saying states: “A person is a person through other persons.”

Increasingly, scientific research points to the fact that meaningful interaction with “other persons” leads us to feel we are whole human beings. Connection is how we develop a sense of belonging and inclusion. In this class session, students related their personal experiences to Gregor, the isolated man-turned-insect in Metamorphosis, and Jean-Dominique Bauby’s transformation of living with shut-in syndrome in the film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Class participants discussed the differences between solitude and loneliness and how our station in life isn’t always an indication of our feelings of isolation and connection. Participants shared personal experiences as parents, new retirees, as well as those who are single or living alone. We worked together to understand the experiences of the characters in Metamorphosis and the Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The class talked about the need for a rich imagination and a deep reservoir of curiosity as a means of stemming the tide of isolation. The group discussed that these characters, though living extreme versions of isolation, pointed to something in our collective experience of the need for solitude and the desire for authentic connection.

About the six-session class series

This course is part of a six-session class series. Participants are welcome to enroll in the full class series or session-by-session. All Premise courses are conversation-style and facilitated.

The ideal: Participate in the full class series.

Students are invited to participate in each session in the class series. The enduring questions of the class will become deeper and more complex by participating in each session. Students come to know one another and connect more deeply through participation in the full series.

The cost of the full six-session series is $125 and includes the bonus session. Register here for the full series.

Can’t make the full series? Participate as you are able.

If you can’t participate in all sessions, we encourage you to attend any session they are able. We believe in low-barrier, flexible, and adaptive learning and community-making. Therefore, you are welcome whenever you can make it at Premise!

The pay-as-you-go session cost is $35/per session.