Winesburg, Ohio (1919) – Sherwood Anderson
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In fiction, a character is usually considered a grotesque if he induces both empathy and disgust. (A character that 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.
In European literature, Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the most celebrated grotesques.
In American literature, one often cites Sherwood Anderson’s short story collection Winesburg, Ohio.
The most recent literary theory on the grotesque has been by two American scholars: Philip Thomson (1972) and David Lavery (a continuing online contribution).
I’ve cleaned up my own pages on the grotesque somewhat and transcribed some lists to Wikipedia. Please follow the links.
A final question, the beautiful cover painting on Anderson’s novel (a larger picture here), is it by Edward Hopper, that architect of American loneliness who recently guided me through chapter two of de Botton’s The Art of Travel?
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Jonathan, I think I will, thanks.
If this is the definition we choose for the grotesque: to elicit both empathy and disgust, than I think it is fair that to be human is to be grotesque. This definition is vastly simplified. I believe it is missing the mark of Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio by a mile. There are far more subtle complexities in the characters presented and the fractured truths they hold eminent.