He is happy to finally be alone, expressing his joy internally, "and then at last there was quiet." .
Physical abuse is no walk in the park, but emotional abuse can often be much more painful and leave longer-lasting damage. Gregor's journey through his metamorphosis is filled with emotional mistreatment. His mother can't even look at him without falling into a fit, " she cried in a hoarse, screaming voice, 'Oh my God, oh my God!' and with arms outspread, as though abandoning everything she had, fell across the sofa, and didn't stir." (Kafka 122) A lot of time has passed since Gregor's transformation, and yet his mother still can't bear the sight of him. These kinds of reactions coming from family members begin to strip Gregor down emotionally, shrinking his sense of identity further with feelings of inferiority and a lack of self worth. .
These feelings manifest themselves in Gregor's character through his increasing desire to be alone in the darkness of his room rather than having the door open, " Gregor hardly missed to opening of the door. After all, there were enough evenings when it had been open, and he had not profited from it, but, instead, without the family noticing at all, had merely lain still in the darkest corner of his room." (Kafka 133) Even when the family allows Gregor to observe their family meals, he prefers to lie by himself in the 'darkest corner of his room'. These anti-social tendencies are a new addition to his character. His desire to be even near his family has been stripped away in the time since his transformation. The tone of this piece of text also suggests a twang of resentment towards his family. Kafka writes that even when the door is open, Gregor is able to lie alone in his room 'without the family even noticing at all'. This upsets Gregor and causes him to emotionally shut himself off to his family, preferring solitude to the feelings of inferiority that come from opening himself up to the rejection of his family members.