Isolation:
A major theme that was in both The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is Isolation. "Isolation is easily confused with other forms of aloneness such as loneliness and alienation, but the condition of being isolated requires that one be detached from others through reasons not in one’s control" (http://literacle.com/literary-isolation/).
Isolation in The Yellow Wallpaper:
The isolation in the Yellow Wallpaper became evident in the beginning of the story when the wife wanted to go see her cousins, but her husband wouldn't let her. "Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick. I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia. But he said I wasn't able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there; and I did not make out a very good case for myself, for I was crying before I had finished" (Gilman, 477).
Isolation in The Metamorphosis:
In the Metamorphosis by John Kafka, isolation became prominent in the beginning as well as the Yellow Wallpaper. Gregor Samsa's family tried to help him at first, but in the end they locked him away and didn't even do anything for him. "He was barely inside the room before the door was slammed shut, bolted, and locked. ... It was his sister who had been in such a hurry. She'd been standing there, ready and waiting, and then had sprung swiftly forward, before Gregor had even heard her coming. "At last!" she cried to her parents as she turned the key in the lock" (Kafka, 345).
Transformation:
complete or major change in someone's or something's appearance, form, etc." (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transformation)
The second major theme of both stories is Transformation. "[Transformation is] aTransformation in The Yellow Wallpaper:
Transformation is present at the end of The Yellow Wallpaper. "[John] said, very quietly indeed,"Open the door, my darling!" "I can't," said I. ... "What is the matter?" he cried. "For God's sake, what are you doing!" ... "I've got out at last," said I, "in spite of you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" (Gilman, 483).
Transformation in The Metamorphosis:
Transformation is found in the middle of The Metamorphosis.
"Almost unthinkingly, and not without a faint sense of shame, he scurried under the couch. There, although his back was slightly cramped and he could no longer raise his head, he immediately felt very much at home, and his only regret was that his body was too wide to fit completely under the couch" (Kafka, 329)
"Almost unthinkingly, and not without a faint sense of shame, he scurried under the couch. There, although his back was slightly cramped and he could no longer raise his head, he immediately felt very much at home, and his only regret was that his body was too wide to fit completely under the couch" (Kafka, 329)