Gothic Literature Part 2 - The Grotesque

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'Ladies and gentlemen, why have you come here? to be delighted...or disgusted?'

The word grotesque comes from Italian grotte or cave.  Such places were filled with various rocks, animals and vegetation and therefore the term grottechi, or as we would say grotesque came into literature to describe the combining of human, beast and vegetable elements.

There are many fine examples of grotesque characters throughout Gothic Literature, a genre which delightfully indulges in anything sickening, horrific and repulsive.  However grotesque in Literature is a hard adjective to define. Here are some of my thoughts.

Animal, vegetable, human intermingling

Take Joyce Oates Secret Observations on The Goat Girl. Here is a character who is seen as grotesque because she inhabits the third space, undefined as goat or human. However although the reader finds her disgusting, we can also empathize with the poor creature who is rejected by the family. Both disgust and empathy are factors which characterize the grotesque.

Then there is Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, born of a human creator he is so grotesque that he is unable to fit into society. Frankenstein’s physical deformities induce negative responses in the reader, that of horror, repulsion and rejection. Such feelings were considered the appropriate responses to arts and architecture that did not conform to the neoclassical ideals of harmony, unification and order.

The grotesque was also used by Shelly as a vehicle to warn against the dangers of attempting to play God and dabble in experimental science.

The attraction of the grotesque

Grotesque characters spark interest. It seems the reader is attracted, fascinated by them and we find intrigue and enjoyment in reading about characters who are deformed. In Victorian times fair goers could pay to see the Elephant Man or some other unfortunate deformed human being. The grotesque in literature is then an extension of our delight and disgust with anything a bit inappropriate!

The grotesque is not specific to Gothic Literature. Other characters who would classify as grotesque are Gollum in Lord of The Rings who is both repulsive in appearance and behaviour but also pitiable. He is ‘outcasted’ from society by the power of the ring.  Gollum also encompasses mental illness as a clearly paranoid schizophrenic. Interestingly we also find the character comical, he only has to utter the words ‘hobbitses’ or prance about on all fours singing to himself to make us laugh. Comedy is another aspect of the grotesque.

The grotesque in Children’s Literature.

Lewis Carroll’s characters in Alice in Wonderland take on the uncanny aspect of the grotesque. However they were not made disturbing enough as to be unsuitable for a child audience.