Analysis of the Representation of Grotesque Elements in the Novels The Image of a Girl in the Last Moment and Night Bat by Siamak Golshiri

Grotesque is a literary style that portrays the abnormalities of society in a realistic yet unconventional and extreme manner. By analyzing how these features are represented in literary texts, one can gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of society and the hidden abnormal realities within it. Siamak Golshiri employs a grotesque style in his works to express the challenges and social anomalies of the contemporary era. This article uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the function of grotesque elements in two of Golshiri's works, The Image of a Girl in the Last Moment and The Night Bat, to examine the differences and similarities of the characteristics of these two works and ultimately extracts and analyzes the implicit meanings of these components. Among the findings of this article, it can be noted that Golshiri's works frequently exhibit grotesque features, such as abnormality and disgust, in both texts. The perspective derived from the analysis of Golshiri's works on the concept of the grotesque aligns with Kaiser's negative view, which addresses the representation of unpleasant, frightening experiences and negative elements.
Introduction:
Since the beginning of the eighteenth century, the concept of the grotesque—with its characteristic features of abnormality, absurdity, and horror—has entered the realm of literature. In 1957, Wolfgang Kayser, the German writer and critic, gave this concept a comprehensive form through his seminal work. The grotesque in art and literature has been established as both a literary school and an approach. This concept has appeared in the works of numerous foreign and Iranian poets and authors, each providing a unique interpretation. Among contemporary Iranian writers, Siamak Golshiri employs a grotesque style to reveal the bitter truths and social abnormalities concealed beneath the surface of society. By examining the grotesque elements in his works, one can analyze how the author portrays and responds to the harsh realities of contemporary social life.
Regarding the significance of this study, it is important to note that authors of grotesque literary works use exaggerated portrayals of social deviations to reveal truths that embody a form of “grotesque realism.” Analyzing literary works written in the grotesque style enables a deeper understanding of the grotesque aspects of the real world. Through critical reading and analysis, the reader encounters a world that starkly contrasts with the realm of fantasy.
Golshiri’s novel The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment revisits traditional beliefs, family violence, and murder—harsh realities that persist in society and confront the reader directly. Similarly, The Night Bat is inspired by a real criminal case involving serial murders committed by Gholamreza Khoshroo, known as The Night Bat, was executed on August 13, 1997, in the warehouse of Azadi Stadium after multiple prison escapes. He brutally murdered and dismembered numerous women and girls after torturing them. Thus, in each of Golshiri’s works, one can observe a disordered and chaotic world that reflects the turmoil of contemporary existence. With deeper contemplation, it becomes possible to perceive, beneath the surface of these grotesque representations, the corrupt and sometimes demonic elements of the real world. Analyzing and extracting grotesque components provide valuable tools for sociological and psychological studies, enabling a better understanding of character contradictions and the social distortions that surround them.
Methodology:
This study employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods to identify and analyze the primary features of the grotesque and to examine their frequency of occurrence in two of Siamak Golshiri’s works: The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment and The Night Bat.
Furthermore, the shared and divergent grotesque elements in these two novels are compared, and the implicit meanings embedded within them are explored. The theoretical foundation of this research is based on the grotesque perspectives of Wolfgang Kayser and Mikhail Bakhtin, whose frameworks provide the conceptual basis for interpreting the manifestations and functions of the grotesque in Golshiri’s narratives.
Results and Discussion:
The concept of the grotesque—characterized by elements such as horror and humor, metamorphosis, disgust, exaggeration, abnormality, disharmony, and gothic or terrifying settings—has long been explored across various artistic and literary domains. It remains a concept of great interest to many contemporary artists, writers, and poets who seek to create works inspired by its unsettling power. The grotesque, whose most prominent aspect is an exaggerated form of realism, stands in contrast to the notions of fantasy and imagination.
  In this study, an analysis of the grotesque elements in two of Siamak Golshiri’s major works reveals that the author successfully employs grotesque imagery and its underlying meanings not only to evoke fear and horror but also to prompt readers to reflect upon the real-world roots of social disorders and the authenticity of human disharmony.Golshiri uses various grotesque devices—such as the creation of terrifying and abnormal settings, the depiction of chaos, anger, and hatred, metamorphosis and transformation, mockery, profanity, references to revolting and nauseating events, and the portrayal of contradiction and reincarnation—to mirror the instability of contemporary society.
In The Night Bat, the elements of fear and terror, as well as frightening settings, appear with a frequency of 12%; dialogues with corpses, mockery, and irony with 9%; profanity with 18%; metamorphosis with 17%; and abnormality and disgust with an average of 23%—all of which function as marked indicators carrying negative connotations. In contrast, The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment represents an exemplary adventure-themed narrative with a special focus on horror: fear with 5%, frightening settings with 16%, illusory or ghostly sounds with 8%, profanity with 1%, anger and hatred with 18%, revolting events with 24%, surprise with 8%, and metamorphosis with 10%.Although one of the novels may surpass the other in terms of the intensity of horror, both works contain prominent and shared grotesque elements that firmly place them within the grotesque literary tradition and vividly evoke the concept in the reader’s mind. Ultimately, Golshiri’s approach to the grotesque is influenced by Wolfgang Kayser’s perspective, which emphasizes the representation of bitterness, hardship, and negative aspects of existence.tesque components identified in the two novels.
Conclusion:
Through the analysis and examination of grotesque elements in "The Night Bat" and "The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment," it becomes evident that both novels feature a high frequency of grotesque components, although the degree and manner of their manifestation differ. For example, the atmosphere of horror—one of the key indicators of the grotesque—is more prominent in "The Night Bat," with an average occurrence of 12%, largely due to the novel’s theme of serial murders. In contrast, this feature appears with an average frequency of 5% in "The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment," where the narrative primarily centers on adventure, and the sensations of murder, crime, and repulsion are mostly confined to the novel’s final sections. What stands out more in "The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment" is the sense of surprise and unpredictability, with an average frequency of 8%. In "The Night Bat," however, the reader is aware from the very beginning that they are encountering a crime novel involving serial murders; consequently, the element of astonishment is far less pronounced.
 
The use and depiction of cold weapons, such as knives and machetes, are prominent in The Night Bat, whereas The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment features other forms of abnormality, including acid attacks, hangings, and self-immolation. In The Night Bat, there is no sense of sympathy or compassion, while in The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment, emotional and even empathetic dimensions emerge within the perpetrators themselves. Metamorphosis, or dehumanization—one of the defining features of the grotesque—manifests differently in the two novels. In The Night Bat, with an average of 17%, the grotesque is represented through the savage and beastly behavior of the killer. In contrast, The Image of a Girl at the Last Moment, with an average of 10%, portrays a physically deformed character engaged in horrifying acts, alongside animalistic behavior exhibited by murderers toward their own kin. Overall, although both novels incorporate several grotesque elements, The Night Bat exhibits a greater frequency and intensity of grotesque imagery. From the outset, the narrative immerses the reader in an atmosphere of disgust, fear, and vivid depictions of horror.