{"id":936,"date":"2017-01-30T17:01:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T23:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bsudlr.wordpress.com\/?p=936"},"modified":"2017-01-30T17:01:57","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T23:01:57","slug":"where-do-monsters-come-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2017\/01\/30\/where-do-monsters-come-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Do Monsters Come From?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Kathryn Hampshire\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When you hear the word \u201cmonster,\u201d what comes to mind? Is it the black-and-white, somewhat blurry image of an undead creature from that horror film your parents didn\u2019t know you were watching from behind the couch? Is it a memory of believing without a doubt that there was something sinister living under your bed or in your closet? Maybe it\u2019s the real monsters like mass murderers or cannibals that come to mind. Or is your first thought of the children in costumes running around at Halloween?<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking about monsters can solicit a plethora of images, from the terrifying to the adorable. In fact, this term encompasses such a diverse range of creatures that it can be difficult to see what actually makes something monstrous. What do Count Dracula, Frankenstein\u2019s monster, and Sasquatch have in common with Jeffrey Dahmer (a <\/span>serial killer<\/span><\/a>), the Goliath Birdeater Tarantula (<\/span>the largest spider in the world<\/span><\/a>), and Vlad the Impaler (<\/span>the \u201creal\u201d Dracula<\/span><\/a>)? How can cute, friendly characters like Mike Wazowski and James P. \u201cSulley\u201d Sullivan from <\/span>Monsters, Inc.<\/span><\/i>, belong to that same category?<\/span><\/p>\n

What they share is not clear from a simple definition of the word \u201cmonster.\u201d According to the <\/span>Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/span><\/i><\/a>, the meaning of the word is \u201ca strange or horrible imaginary creature; something that is extremely or unusually large; a powerful person or thing that cannot be controlled and that causes many problems.\u201d The full definition later adds a few more details\u2014that a monster can be \u201can <\/span>animal or plant of abnormal form or . . . strange or terrifying shape,\u201d \u201cone who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character,\u201d <\/span>\u201ca threatening force,\u201d or a \u201chighly successful\u201d person (<\/span>Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

These connections will become even clearer with an examination of the word\u2019s origin. Over time, the meanings of words evolve as cultures and languages change, and this term is no different. While an early-fourteenth-century definition may have focused mostly on living things that exhibited signs of physical disabilities, the 1500s added such meanings as \u201canimal of vast size\u201d (1520s) and \u201cperson of inhuman cruelty or wickedness\u201d (1550s) (<\/span>Online Etymology Dictionary<\/span><\/i>). The <\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i> cites an example from 1522, when a translation of Virgil\u2019s <\/span>\u00c6neid <\/span><\/i>used the phrase \u201c[t]his fatale monstre,\u201d and William Shakespeare\u2019s <\/span>King Lear<\/span><\/i> features one of the more well-known first uses of the 1550s definition, when a character named Gloucester says, \u201cHe cannot be such a monster\u201d (<\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the meaning of this term is inherently linked to its cultural context. Monster theory scholar Jeffrey Jerome Cohen\u2019s \u201cMonster Culture (Seven Theses)\u201d states that a \u201cmonster is born only at this metaphoric crossroads, as an embodiment of a certain cultural moment\u2014of a time, a feeling, and place . . . . The monstrous body is pure culture\u201d (4). In other words, the creation of a monster is in response to the cultural and historical context of the society in which it received its genesis; thus, we can look to a \u201cmonstrous body\u201d for information and insight into the society itself. Likewise, the slight evolution in definition through time also represents cultural and contextual shifts.<\/p>\n

As Cohen notes, the term\u2019s etymological roots relate to the way that these beings serve as text: \u201c[T]he monstrum is etymologically \u2018that which reveals,\u2019 [and] \u2018that which warns\u2019\u201d (4); the <\/span>Online Etymology Dictionary<\/span><\/i><\/a> adds that this Latin word also means \u201cdivine omen, portent, sign; abnormal shape; monster, monstrosity,\u201d and it has origins in the Latin root monere, which means \u201cwarn.\u201d By examining what a culture or individual describes as monstrous, we can read these creatures as artifacts for contextual understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to add further nuance to our understanding of the term, we can turn to related forms like \u201cmonstrous\u201d and \u201cmonstrosity\u201d: the <\/span>Online Etymology Dictionary<\/span><\/i> adds that these forms come from the late Latin term monstrositas (\u201cstrangeness\u201d) and the Middle French monstrueux (\u201cstrange and unnatural\u201d) (<\/span>Online Etymology Dictionary<\/span><\/i>). By extension, we can see that one trait that defines the monstrous is its distance from the self and the familiar, regardless of whether or not it is scary: even though the sight of a five-year-old Frankenstein\u2019s monster would not be physically threatening, the portrayal of a reanimated child corpse is certainly out of the norm, pushing our intellectual boundaries, and can therefore be classified as monstrous.<\/span><\/p>\n

Historically, the <\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i> provides an example from 1558 which states that \u201ca woman . . . exercise[ing] weapons\u201d was a \u201cmonster in nature\u201d (<\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i>). While this might not seem monstrous to a modern audience more accustomed to seeing images of armed female soldiers, for example, this dated application of the term alludes to the fact that it was a strange sight\u2014an \u201camazing event or occurrence\u201d (<\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i>)\u2014to witness a woman with a weapon. Furthermore, this image serves one of the monster\u2019s main purposes, according to Cohen: the monster is a warning. The image of a woman with a weapon carries implications that threaten traditional gender roles, evoking fear in those invested in patriarchal power structures and warning against the female potential for violence. By looking to the contextual implications of a term\u2019s usage, we can learn both about the contemporary culture of the time and about the differences between then and now, between here and there.<\/span><\/p>\n

While much of what was monstrous to people hundreds of years ago might be merely mundane to us today, the concept remains the same. A monster is not merely a specific class of mythical being or a descriptive label for that which incites fear; rather, it is an embodiment of cultural meaning that invites us to look beyond the physical realm into the psychological, requesting that we question not just <\/span>what<\/span><\/i> classifies as a monster, but <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> those beings are monstrous.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. \u201cMonster Culture (Seven Theses).\u201d <\/span>Monster Theory: Reading Culture<\/span><\/i>, edited by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Regents of the University of Minnesota, 1996, pp. 3-25.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cmonster.\u201d <\/span>Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/span><\/i>. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. <\/span>Merriam-Webster.com<\/span><\/i> http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/monster<\/span><\/a>. Accessed 1 Nov. 2016<\/span>.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cmonster (n.).\u201d <\/span>Online Etymology Dictionary<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>http:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/index.php?term=monster&allowed_in_frame=0<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> Accessed 1 Nov. 2016.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cmonster, n., adv., and adj.\u201d <\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i>. 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2002. <\/span>OED.com<\/span><\/i> http:\/\/www.oed.com\/view\/Entry\/121738?rskey=4vK9BC&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> Accessed 1 Nov. 2016.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Kathryn Hampshire\u00a0 When you hear the word \u201cmonster,\u201d what comes to mind? Is it the black-and-white, somewhat blurry image of an undead creature from that horror film your parents didn\u2019t know you were watching from behind the couch? Is it a memory of believing without a doubt that there was something sinister living under […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[340],"tags":[357],"class_list":["post-936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-monsters","tag-word-origin"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere Do Monsters Come From? - The Digital Literature Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2017\/01\/30\/where-do-monsters-come-from\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where Do Monsters Come From? - The Digital Literature Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Kathryn Hampshire\u00a0 When you hear the word \u201cmonster,\u201d what comes to mind? 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