THE GROTESQUE FEMALE BODY IN THE PASSION OF NEW EVE AND THE BIGGEST MODERN WOMAN OF THE WORLD

Abstract

The female body has been the focus of many literary works, especially in recent times, in which new roles for women have been broadly discussed. In an attempt to free the female body from its cultural constraints, many authors have resorted to the grotesque with its excesses and fluid boundaries with society, as originally defined by Bakhtin. Two contemporary novels by female authors are especially relevant in this respect: The Passion of New Eve, published in 1977, by Angela Carter, and The Biggest Modern Woman of the World, published in 1983, by Susan Swan. After presenting some theoretical aspects related to the grotesque, mainly from Mikhail Bakhtin (1999) and Mary Russo (1994), this article will discuss how Carter’s and Swan’s novels deal with “freak” characters and with larger than life female protagonists who represent womanhood beyond the limits of conventional femininity.