The grotesque representation of Kleinian heroines Thusnelda and Penthesilea

This article aims to compare the Victor Hugo’s presentation, in his preface to Cromwell, on the grotesque element with Heinrich von Kleist’s ideas developed in Über das Marionettentheater (1810), emphasizing evidence of a transgression concerning the classical view of art, mainly highlighting Friedrich Schiller’s aesthetic theories. In addition, we propose a brief analysis of Kleist’s pieces Penthesilea and Die Hermannsschlacht, published in 1801, based on this dissolution of the classical ideal and the establishment of intertextuality among with the proposals of the Über das Marionettentheater.