I rarely feel that H.P. Lovecraft inserts himself into his
stories, but in this work, I think there is a very reasonable argument to be
made. The first thing that gave me this notion was in the very nature of the argument
occurring in the story. Our protagonist attempting to explain to a friend the “unnamable”
forces and events that occur in our world. You can see this explored in almost
every piece of Lovecraft’s work, unexplained events, and things, cosmic in
nature. I truly could see the entire beginning of this work actually happening
to Lovecraft in his life, and when he suggested our protagonist was an author
in what seemed to be “pulp magazines”, I was convinced. Sometimes Lovecraft
gets very specific in complaints or opinions that it’s hard to feel that there isn’t
a small bit of commentary not happening, but this conversation is very unique.
Instead of Lovecraft complaining about the aesthetic of a house in Providence,
Rhode Island (like he did in Call of Cthulhu) he gives a very deep and nuanced
in stating his position on this specific topic. The idea of the unknown and its
power in intergyral to understanding Lovecraft’s work, usually manifesting into
some gelatinase monster as it does in this story.
Hey Brady - I totally agree. Your knowledge of Lovecraft is obvious in your writing, as you relate this story to his other works, which brings an interesting perspective to your views.
ReplyDeleteI feel like his writing is a collection of paranoid grievances with what Lovecraft himself was unfamiliar with, science and race in particular. From people of different races and interracial mixing, airconditioning, the electromagnetic spectrum, and all the way to the terrors of the deep sea. This is because his life was pretty rough, and he just feared anything that wasn't his homeschool environment of Providence Rhodes Island where he received an incomplete education in science.
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