Anderson's Grotesques

Sherwood Anderson’s Winseburg, Ohio revolves much around the grotesque. The Oxford Dictionary defines the noun grotesque as “a very ugly or distorted figure, creature, or image.” Anderson seems to use the term to describe characters that are crippled emotionally and spiritually. In the novel, many characters can be considered grotesques due to their apparent lack of ability to discern the difference between appearance and dark realities. We are first introduced to the concept of the grotesque in the first chapter of the novel, “The Book of the Grotesque.” Through the old man in the story, Anderson divulges the idea that truth turns people into grotesques. “It was his notion that the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to life is life by it, he became a grotesque, and the truth he embraced became a falsehood.” (Anderson 5). Most of the stories that ensue present the audience with an array of characters that can be considered grotesques, the first of which is Wing Biddlebaum.

Wing can be considered a grotesque because of the way he feels about his hands. The hands are his distinguishing feature and “the source of his fame,” yet he does his best to keep them hidden, “forever striving to conceal themselves in his pockets or behind his back.” (Anderson 9). The source of the shame and dislike of his own hands dates back to his days as a schoolteacher, when he was accused of inappropriately touching his pupils and was chased from Pennsylvania. The “touching” was only, in fact, Wing’s approach at sharing his truth with his students. He wanted them to dream, rather than live their lives in conformity. The incident left Wing a grotesque, living in Winesburg, unable to reconnect with society.

The grotesque is also paramount in “The Strength of God.” Curtis Hartman, the grotesque in the story, is a local reverend/preacher. Priests are commonly accepted to be prime examples of morally upright human beings. Reverend Curtis can be considered a grotesque because he finds pleasure in viewing the bare skin of Kate Swift, distorting the image usually associated with religious men.  The reverend discovers that his “truth” is the suppressed lust he has kept within him.

What these characters have in common is that they both centered their life on a truth—a truth of their own. By doing this, both characters became grotesques, distorted figures of the image they were before. Through this, change, they went from ideal images to real characters. They lost an innocence that was central to their identity. Wing was a teacher, an image associated with parenting and upbringing. Curtis is a priest, an image associated with a perfect example of moral righteousness. Yet because of their truths, each became a grotesque, a distorted figure of the perfect image associated with their roles in society. Through this change, however, they also became more real—more human. We can therefore infer that reality is what makes people grotesques.