February 10, 2004

Oxford, the Sublime + the Grotesque

           Even in modern day literature the theme of good versus evil persists.  Belief in such polarity was based upon Christian belief in God and Satan:  God, the creator of all living things, was good; Satan, the dark angel, was evil.  God came first.  Satan once served God as angel.  One day Satan decides to rebel against God; he strives to individualize himself from God, and becomes his eternal rival.  No matter how these two opposites differ, they are inseparable to this day.  What is good without evil?  One defines the other.  In Oxford the good versus evil theme prevails along the walls and in the interior stone work.  The Church, which represents the worship of God, cannot become complete without enveloping itself in the evil, satanic grotesques.  Like F. Bligh Bond, architect and architectural historian, I believe that “in its grotesques ‘the Church overcomes and converts to good uses even the most monstrous forms of evil’” (243).  The hope of triumph over evil also continues to exist.

            The most elaborate display of grotesques is found at the Magdalen College at Oxford.  Unfortunately, much of the original grotesque art work eroded away under the forces of nature.  “Oxford’s prevailing south-west winds used to bring the sulphurous fumes from the Gas Works” (235) which ate away at the Magdalen carvings.  What exists today is merely medievalist, the attempt to create medieval

 work: Between 1977 and 1981 Pat Coloney, Percy Quick, and Michael Groser begin renovation by “replac[ing]…heads [of the high carving with] senior and long-serving members of the College” (235). 

            The most extraordinary collection of grotesques at Magdalen exists in the cloisters.  These 22 grotesque carvings are best known as the “hieroglyphicals” which antiquarian William Stukley described as “‘whimsical figures’ which ‘amuse the vulgar’” (240).  In a credible interpretation Dr. William Reeks decided that “they represented various virtues and vices connected with the academic life” (240).  Interestingly, Blackwood deemed Sobriety and Temperance as the most necessary virtue of collegiate life.  These 22 grotesques symbolize both the evil and good choices present in academia.

The architect of New College, Michael Groser, preferred the seven virtues for he set them south of the Bell Tower where the sun could reach.  Conversely, the seven vices were oriented north of the Bell Tower where the sun could not reach and therefore was cold.  The head carvings were special, for they had hands; “they certainly add greatly to their expressiveness” (247).  In this case, different expressions among the grotesques manifested the good versus evil theme. 

The close cousins to the grotesques, the Green Men, can also be found in Oxford.  Supposedly, they symbolize “the natural, fallen world in contrast to the unchanging heights of Heaven” and demonstrate the continuity of nature (232).  Why all the sudden Green Men when the grotesques could have surpassed to convey a similar meaning?  Perhaps the Green Men were just a medieval fad at the time. 

Christina Rosseti’s “Goblin Market” also continues the theme of good versus evil.  Laura and Lizzie, the epitome of beauty in goodness, struggle to resist the tempting fruits of the goblin men.  The complete story parallels the story of Eve, the apple and the snake.  Once again the goblins, similar to grotesques, symbolize evil, because of their hideous looks, their attempt to tempt the girls, and their violent fits when Lizzie refuses the fruits.