ShmoopTube

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Shmoop, it's what's for dinner.

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Well, well, well... look who's here again.

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If you want to read this passage one more time, just hit pause.

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In describing his aunt's figure, as he remembers it, as "at once pathetic and grotesque", the

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narrator draws attention to the contrast between...what?

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And here are the potential answers...

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What does it mean to call someone "pathetic"

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and "grotesque"? Hint: don't try these words out on your big crush...

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We'd like to pause this colossal dating blunder to point out that "pathetic" refers

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to someone who inspires pathos, or pity and sympathy.

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"Grotesque," on the other hand, means...well, gross or ugly.

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Knowing these definitions helps us to eliminate some of the answer choices immediately.

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We don't want to rain on its parade...

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But we know, for example, that choice (D) is wrong.

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There's some talk about how the Nebraska weather has affected poor grotesque Auntie

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G, but it's not directly referenced in this line.

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The line doesn't mention how Uncle Howard feels about his wife, so choice (E) is kind of random.

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And wrong... so so wrong. By all accounts, young Aunt Georgiana was

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neither pathetic nor grotesque before Uncle Howard came along...

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Therefore (B) can't be correct.

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While Aunt Georgiana might not have been worn down in her youth, she was already deteriorating

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when the narrator was a kid.

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Though he does talk about how she's gotten worse over time, it doesn't apply to this

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line. We can't go with (C) either.

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This leaves us with choice (A), which perfectly captures the idea that while the narrator

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feels sorry for his aunt, he can't help but be a little grossed out by her.

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This unfortunate situation perfectly fits with our definitions of "pathetic" and "grotesque."

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Two words that should be used with great caution.

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