1 That's just prejudice but they have no particular reason to think better of it.
2 The first response to his situation had been confident and wise, and that made him feel better.
3 And he could not knock himself out now at any price; better to stay in bed than lose consciousness.
4 She answered him with subdued voice, and openly pressed her face into his chest: "Mother's fainted, but she's better now."
5 But now, of course, he had far better control of his body than before and, even with a fall as great as that, caused himself no damage.
6 At the same time, though, he did not forget to remind himself that calm consideration was much better than rushing to desperate conclusions.
7 Once during that long evening, the door on one side of the room was opened very slightly and hurriedly closed again; later on the door on the other side did the same; it seemed that someone needed to enter the room but thought better of it.
8 He could actually have used this surplus money to reduce his father's debt to his boss, and the day when he could have freed himself from that job would have come much closer, but now it was certainly better the way his father had done things.
9 His sister, naturally, tried as far as possible to pretend there was nothing burdensome about it, and the longer it went on, of course, the better she was able to do so, but as time went by Gregor was also able to see through it all so much better.
10 But you, sir, you have a better overview than the rest of the staff, in fact, if I can say this in confidence, a better overview than the boss himself - it's very easy for a businessman like him to make mistakes about his employees and judge them more harshly than he should.
11 The greatest improvement for the time being, of course, would be achieved quite easily by moving house; what they needed now was a flat that was smaller and cheaper than the current one which had been chosen by Gregor, one that was in a better location and, most of all, more practical.
12 Soon after dinner, his father would go to sleep in his chair; his mother and sister would urge each other to be quiet; his mother, bent deeply under the lamp, would sew fancy underwear for a fashion shop; his sister, who had taken a sales job, learned shorthand and French in the evenings so that she might be able to get a better position later on.