All he saw was a bug.

[frindle]

Hello,
I'm reading a story about Stolen Mona Lisa. I don't understand the underlined sentence. 'A bug' means really an insect? Or is there any other meaning in this context? Please help!!! Thank you.


Even the great Austrian writer Franz Kafka, who would have marveled at my cunning, came to stare solemnly at the space that once held the fair lady. All he saw was a bug.

(The narrator is a thief who stole Mona Lisa. and the fair lady here means Mona Lisa. When Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911 from Louvre, there came lots of people to see the space where Mona Lisa had been. And Kafak was among them.)

 

[Tdol]

Could it be a reference to the story Metamorphosis?

 

[BobK]

Or I suppose all that could be seen, where the Mona Lisa, had been, was a security listening device (though I can't imagine what use such a bug might serve. The possible giveaway - 'You distract the guards and I'll take the picture' - doesn't seem likely or worth listening for)...

b

 

[Tdol]

Would they have had that sort of bug in 1911?

Could the thief be suggesting that the space with a bug (insect) inspired Kafka?

 

[BobK]

Would they have had that sort of bug in 1911?

Could the thief be suggesting that the space with a bug (insect) inspired Kafka?

Good idea. Gets my vote. :up: ;-)

b