ABSTRACT
Many satirical novels rely heavily on dialogue as well as utilize the comic monologue. Grotesque imagery is a feature of the satirical novel in all periods. In fact, many satirists revel in whatever is ugliest and most excessive in their satiric targets. For example, Swift's Gulliver is revolted by the deformities of the Brobdingnagian women and by the disgusting behavior of the Yahoos. Dickens' characters are frequently depicted as grotesques, and, in the contemporary context, the Australian satirist David Foster reveals a recurring fascination with castration that is as disturbing as the cannibalistic feasts described by Rabelais. However, the significance of the grotesque is as varied as the satirical novels themselves and is not always simply a method of conveying the demonic or morally dissipated nature of the satiric victims portrayed.
