17 grotesque things in Of Human Bondage
- The way Philip limped. "Other boys saw it and began to laugh; then they all copied the first; and they ran round Philip, limping grotesquely, screaming in their treble voices with shrill laughter. "
- Hayward's elastic-sided boots: "He described one of the vivas with tolerant humour; some fellow in an outrageous collar was asking him questions in logic; it was infinitely tedious, and suddenly he noticed that he wore elastic-sided boots: it was grotesque and ridiculous; so he withdrew his mind and thought of the gothic beauty of the Chapel at King’s."
- Miss Wilkinson in her petticoat and camisole: "She had taken off her skirt and blouse, and was standing in her petticoat. It was short and only came down to the top of her boots; the upper part of it was black, of some shiny material, and there was a red flounce. She wore a camisole of white calico with short arms. She looked grotesque. "
- Foinet's description of a knee in one of Miss Price's drawings: " 'Look, those arms are not the same length. That knee, it’s grotesque. I tell you a child of five. You see, she’s not standing on her legs. That foot!' "
- A table cloth offered for sale: "The Levantine unfolded a table-cloth, red and yellow, vulgar, hideous, and grotesque."
- Miss Price: "She gave a gasp and threw him a sudden look of anguish. Then two tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked frowsy and grotesque."
- The perspective in one of Miss Price's drawings: "It was not only that they were ill-drawn, or that the colour was put on amateurishly by someone who had no eye for it; but there was no attempt at getting the values, and the perspective was grotesque."
- The British-ness of Hayward's appearance: "Hayward in order to put the rest of them at their ease had clothed himself in a tweed suit and a Trinity Hall tie. He looked grotesquely British."
- Mildred Roger's name: "He thought of this old fancy of his, and it seemed impossible that he should be in love with Mildred Rogers. Her name was grotesque."
- Philip, running: "He was strangely grotesque when he ran."
- Mildred, after some violent sobbing: "She had the grotesque look of one of those painters’ dummies used to hang draperies on. "
- Philip killing himself: "His reason told him that he would get over his unhappiness in time; if he tried with all his might he could forget her; and it would be grotesque to kill himself on account of a vulgar slut."
- The fit of a laurel wreath on the dead Cronshaw's head: " He was pleased with his idea of crowning the dead poet with this; and attempted, notwithstanding Philip’s disapproving silence, to fix it on the bald head; but the wreath fitted grotesquely."
- The way Mildred's boots protruded from her petticoats: "Mildred was asleep. She lay with her head thrown back and her mouth slightly open; her legs were stretched out, and her boots protruded from her petticoats in a grotesque fashion."
- Philip's opinion of an unpleasant scene between him and Mildred: "While his eyes sought out the newspaper shops to see the war news on the placards, he thought of the scene of the night before: now that it was over and he had slept on it, he could not help thinking it grotesque."
- Uncle William: "With his skull-cap and a crochet shawl over his shoulders he looked grotesque."
- The importance of money, when it was hard to come by: "when you had to consider every penny, money became of grotesque importance: you needed a competency to rate it at its proper value."
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