Differently-beautiful, pleasantly freak: the eccentric anatomy and its itineraries of reconciliation

Abstract

The Freak show has passed through the centuries, and it is still continuing today. Science has explained the causes of atypical morphology, thus freeing the human anomaly from the ancient burden of myth. In spite of the scientific progress, and despite that we are constantly exposed to horrific pictures, the freak nevertheless still continues to hold a sinister appeal. The aesthetic analysis of the freak and of the artistic products originated from it illustrates the reasons of its timeless success, and explains why such unpleasant shape can charm and can be paradoxically considered as a beauty. The display of the pathology causes thus dread, but also pleasure and laughter; the reason doesn’t lie just in the intrinsic ridiculous features of the freak, but also, and above all, in ourselves.