Grotesque literature
Parents: grotesque - literature
Related: satire - literature of the absurd
Connoisseurs: Joyce Carol Oates - Philip Thomson
The basic definition of the grotesque: the unresolved clash of incompatibles in work and response. It is significant this clash is paralleled by the ambivalent nature of the abnormal as present in the grotesque: we might consider a secondary definition of the grotesque to be the 'ambivalently abnormal' (Philip Thomson, The Grotesque (1972), 27).
Examples: Watt (1953) - Samuel Beckett
Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque (1994) - Carol Joyce Oates [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Definition
In fiction, a character is usually considered a grotesque if he induces both empathy and disgust. (A character who inspires disgust alone is simply a villain or a monster.) Obvious examples would include the physically deformed and the mentally deficient, but people with cringe-worthy social traits are also included. The reader becomes piqued by the grotesque's positive side, and continues reading to see if the character can conquer his darker side.
Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the most celebrated grotesques in literature. Dr. Frankenstein's monster can also be considered a grotesque.
Sherwood Anderson, in his short story collection Winesburg, Ohio, included a prefatory chapter titled "The Book of the Grotesque" in which he established the idea of the grotesque character as an overarching principle in the book.
Southern Gothic is the genre most frequently identified with grotesques and William Faulkner is often cited as the ringmaster. Flannery O'Connor wrote, "Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one" ("Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction," 1960). In her often-anthologized short-story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," the Misfit is clearly a maimed soul, utterly callous to human life but driven to seek the truth. The less obvious grotesque is the polite, doting grandmother who is unaware of her own astonishing selfishness. Another oft-cited example of 'The Grotesque' from O'Connor's work is her short-story entitled "A Temple Of The Holy Ghost." --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotesque#In_literature [Apr 2006]
The Grotesque (1972) - Philip John Thomson
The Grotesque (1972) - Philip John Thomson [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
See entry for Philip John Thomson
The grotesque in English literature (1965) - Arthur Clayborough
The grotesque in English literature (1965) - Arthur Clayborough [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
"Grotesqueness may appear in anything which is found to be in sufficiently grave conflict with accepted standards to arouse emotion" (109). --http://www.sebsteph.com/Professional/sebsportfolio/journals/grotesque/grotesquechange.htm [Jan 2006]
See also: grotesque - English literature - grotesque literature
The Grotesque in Art and Literature : Theological Reflections (1997) - James Luther Adams, Wilson Yates
The Grotesque in Art and Literature : Theological Reflections (1997) - James Luther Adams, Wilson Yates [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Book Description
While there has been a growing interest in the use of grotesque imagery in art and literature, very little attention has been given to the religious and theological significance of such imagery. This fascinating book redresses that neglect by exploring the religious meaning of the grotesque and its importance as a subject for theological inquiry.
See also: grotesque - religion
The Modern Satiric Grotesque: And Its Traditions (1991) - John R. Clark
In search of the grotesque
The Modern Satiric Grotesque: And Its Traditions (1991) - John R. Clark [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
satiric grotesque, modern grotesque, literary disruptions, performing self
Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Evelyn Waugh, Kurt Vonnegut, Don Quixote, Donald Barthelme, John Barth, Big Mama, Jonathan Swift, Norman Mailer, Samuel Beckett, Alexander Pope, Giles Goat-Boy, Henry James, Cat's Cradle, Humbert Humbert, James Thurber, Mark Twain, Martinus Scriblerus, Middle Ages, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Snow White, Stanislaw Lem, Thomas Mann, Woody Allen, Animal Farm, Cide Hamete Benengeli
See also: grotesque - Modernism
Fiction of the Modern Grotesque (1989) - Bernard McElroy
Fiction of the Modern Grotesque (1989) - Bernard McElroy [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
See also: grotesque - grotesque literature
On the grotesque: Strategies of contradiction in art and literature (1982) - Geoffrey Galt Harpham
On the grotesque: Strategies of contradiction in art and literature (1982) - Geoffrey Galt Harpham [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
See also: grotesque - grotesque literature
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