Over many centuries, grotesque imagery has played an essential role in the arts, literature, and cultures around the world. Attempting to assign a clear definition to the word grotesque has proven to be a challenge for historians and literary scholars since its definition has changed over time, but the role it plays in each of these topics is essentially the same. Grotesque serves to depart from conventional beauty standards, to distort and exaggerate, and to combine the familiar with the unfamiliar, much like the strange. For this reason, Gothic literature often incorporates grotesque imagery to further emphasize themes of chaos, madness, and other dark aspects of the human condition. This essay will examine the concept of grotesque imagery and the role it plays in challenging conventional notions of the body in Stevenson's The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and McCullers' Ballad of the Sad Cafe. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay When first introduced to the word grotesque, most people would think of its adjectival form: “very strange or ugly in a way that is not normal.” or natural. (The Master’s review). Although these are indeed common grotesque elements, they do not necessarily constitute the full meaning of the word. Since the word itself has evolved and changed meanings over the years, previous iterations were used in a way that blurred the line between the real and the unreal (The Masters Review). More recently, Grotesque is used in literature to focus on the physical aspect of the human body. However, the grotesque is both an artistic and literary term that implies a combination of the real and the unreal, the human and the non-human, horror and comedy. An example of grotesque literature that merges horror and comedy can be found in the short story “The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol. , which tells the story of a man named Ivan who wakes up one day to find that his nose has run away and is now wandering around Russia disguised as a policeman. The nose harasses him when he accuses him of running away from him, then fails to stop him (LetterPile). Obviously, this plot is disturbing, but it is also so far-fetched that it becomes comical. The Grotesque tends to defy clear definitions and boundaries that occupy a middle ground between life and death, and is inherently ambiguous. In literature as in art, the grotesque is defined by what it does to boundaries – transgressing them, merging them, or destabilizing them (Connelly 4). The presumed universals of classical beauty often involve symmetry, aesthetically pleasing subjects, and perfect body proportions. Grotesque imagery, however, is the complete opposite of this. To quote Victor Hugo, “ideal beauty has only one standard while the possible variations and combinations for the grotesque are unlimited”. (Connelly 4). Visual imagery often represents the grotesque as monstrous, distorted, and ugly. In her academic essay titled “The Grotesque Body: Fleshing Out the Subject,” Sara Cohen Shabot defines grotesque art as “art whose form and subject seem to be part, albeit contradictory, of the natural, social, or personal worlds.” of which we are part. His images most often embody distortions such that they appear to us as strange and disordered” (Shabot 58). An example of this can be seen in the painting The Skat Players (pictured below), by Otto Dix. In the painting, Dix chooses to represent his subjects ashorrific hybrids of machine and man in order to make a statement about the technological revolution that was occurring at the time he painted it, in the 1920s. Like Dix, Robert Louis Stevenson also used grotesque images to developing the character of Hyde in his novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in order to make a political statement. He wrote this novel in London in the late 19th century. It was common for people to present themselves in a very respectable manner and things like expressing sexuality (especially homosexuality) were considered taboo. In the novel, Stevenson describes Hyde as "pale and dwarfed, he gave an impression of deformity without any noticeable deformity, he had an unpleasant smile... but all this together could not explain the hitherto unknown disgust, hatred and fear with which Mr. Utterson looked at him. (Stevenson 16). Describing him as a primitive and deformed creature, Stevenson uses Hyde as an allegory for the repressed desires and evil tendencies that are an inevitable part of human nature. The fear and hatred generated towards Hyde by other characters in the novel symbolizes the attitudes of members of the elite of London society and their tendency to heavily veil the transgressions and dark aspects of their personalities during this period. In Ballad of the Sad Cafe, Cousin Lymon is also described as being extremely deformed and dwarf-like. McCullers writes: “…this man was a hunchback. He was barely over four feet tall and wore a dusty, tattered coat that only reached his knees. Her crooked little legs seemed too skinny to support the weight of her large, misshapen chest and the hump that rested on her shoulders. (McCullers). This description of Cousin Lymon is different from that of Hyde in that Lymon is not as threatening, but he is described in such a strange way that it is slightly comical. Despite his seemingly unthreatening demeanor, the reader later discovers that Cousin Lymon is actually very manipulative and untrustworthy. The initial grotesque description of Lymon serves to create a sense of unease and mystery about him, which can be seen as a foreshadowing of his flawed character which is revealed later in the story when he betrays Miss Amelia during her fight with Marvin Macy. Considering these two examples of grotesque body images, one can see how effective it is in grabbing the reader's attention when such bold and unconventional body images are presented. Other motives behind the use of grotesque imagery come from cultural developments such as the introduction. photography, mass media, science fiction and weapons of mass destruction (Connelly 1). In his scientific journal article "The Grotesque: First Principles", Geoffrey Harpham describes constantly evolving grotesque ideals, saying: "As our perceptions of the physical world change – as the world itself is altered by technology, pollution, wars and urbanization. - certain things that appeared as distortions are now considered banal... Each era redefines the grotesque according to what threatens its sense of essential humanity. (Harpham 463). For example, Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde was composed at a time when society was beginning to develop social sciences such as psychology, where multiple personality disorder and other dissociative disorders were first beginning to be diagnosed in the story. In today's society, writers can draw inspiration for the grotesque from things such as space exploration, disasters.