Monster representation shifted from fixed periphery to Gothic mobility in modernity

Evidence

Charles Taylor has described this as a transition between enchantment and disenchantment, “the shift from symbol to mechanism.” Modernity’s encounter with monsters profoundly changed the way these creatures function, through “Gothic mobility.” … In pre-modernity, monsters—whether located inside or outside a territory’s borders—were often restricted to the spaces that exist beyond the borders of a community or the “natural world.” On medieval maps, the Plinian monstrous races are located in a region that lies south of Africa. Jewish monsters were often shown occupying areas near Christian communities. … In contrast, Christian encounters with Saracens often took place in Muslim territories, evil places where the sun was absent and every rock and stone was black. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 55

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘Gothic mobility’ and contrasts pre-modern spatial fixing of monsters (beyond borders, below earth, south of Africa) with the modern transformation.
• XREF: connects to: The category of the grotesque originally named human-animal-plant hybrids defying classical logic