Distortion as identity from the grotesque to l'humour noir: Hugo, Baudelaire, Lautreamont, Jarry

This dissertation explores the historical relationship between the Romantic grotesque, as theorized in Hugo's preface to Cromwell, and black humor, which is identified and celebrated by Breton as a distinctly "modern" phenomenon in L'Anthologie de l'humour noir. Although both the grotesque and dark humor intermingle, to varying degrees, the horrible and le bouffon, close readings of Baudelaire, Lautréamont, and Jarry reveal several distinguishing characteristics between the two modes.;In black humor, physical violence and the body generally are represented from a markedly detached perspective that diverges sharply from the more intense, emotionally charged grotesque imagery of Romanticism. Depictions of the distorted or disfigured body, prevalent in the early works of Baudelaire, Lautréamont, and Jarry, are minimized or are altogether absent in these authors' later works. Moreover, in this gradual shift away from the Romantic grotesque and toward l'humour noir, parodical reworkings of prior texts appear with increasing frequency and thus reinforce our sense of the (grotesque) body's diminishing role, as textual distortion effectively replaces physical distortion. In this respect, the evolution of Jarry's Ubu character may be viewed as emblematic of the larger historical progression. Posited by Breton as the very embodiment of black humor, Ubu is first portrayed in Symbolist poetic and theatrical contexts, yet the autoparody of the late puppet play Ubu sur la butte gently mocks these earlier representations.;Finally, I hope to have shown that in contrast to related genres, such as Baudelaire's comique absolu, black humor tends to minimize or suppress laughter. Laughter for Hugo often underscores mankind's utter vulnerability, whereas for Baudelaire it signifies a paradoxical combination of superiority and inferiority. Breton's humour noir, however, through its explicit resistance to laughter and through its refusal of (self-)pity even in the worst of circumstances, asserts "l'invulnérabilité du moi.".