University of Pardubice Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Fear in the Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe and

74 Pages·2013·1.02 MB·English

University of Pardubice
Faculty of Arts and Philosophy

Fear in the Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe and Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Bc. Šárka Svitáková

Masterʼs Thesis
2013

Prohlašuji:

Tuto práci jsem vypracovala samostatně. Veškeré literární prameny a informace, které
jsem v práci využila, jsou uvedeny v seznamu použité literatury.
Byla jsem seznámena s tím, že se na moji práci vztahují práva a povinnosti vyplývající
ze zákona č. 121/2000 Sb., autorský zákon, zejména se skutečností, že Univerzita
Pardubice má právo na uzavření licenční smlouvy o užití této práce jako školního díla
podle § 60 odst. 1 autorského zákona, a s tím, že pokud dojde k užití této práce mnou
nebo bude poskytnuta licence o užití jinému subjektu, je Univerzita Pardubice
oprávněna ode mne požadovat přiměřený příspěvek na úhradu nákladů, které na
vytvoření díla vynaložila, a to podle okolností až do jejich skutečné výše.

Souhlasím s prezenčním zpřístupněním své práce v Univerzitní knihovně.

V Pardubicích dne 25. 3. 2013

Šárka Svitáková
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my supervisor, Mgr. Šárka Bubíková, Ph.D., for her professional
approach as well as for the time spent during the consultations of my work. Without her
help, this Masterʼs thesis would not exist.
Annotation

This work focuses on the analysis of the conception of fear in the works of Edgar Allan
Poe and Howard Phillips Lovecraft. The main part of the text deals with the issues that
can be considered crucial when speaking about fear depicted in Poeʼs and Lovecraftʼs
work. The issues are mutually interrelated and they are interconnected with the
depiction of fear. Together, they show the similarities and differences between Poeʼs
and Lovecraftʼs conception of fear. This thesis engages only in the horror stories written
by Poe and Lovecraft, which means that the analysis of their short stories belonging to
other genres (satire, fantasy, etc.) is not provided.

Key Words

Poe, Lovecraft, horror, sci-fi, gothic, fear, lunacy, setting, integration, fragmentation

Souhrn

Tato práce se zabývá analýzou pojetí strachu v pracích Edgara Allan Poea a Howarda
Phillipse Lovecrafta. Hlavní část textu zkoumá témata, která mohou být v případě pojetí
strachu zobrazovaném v Poeově a Lovecraftově práci považována za podstatná.
Všechna tato témata spolu navzájem souvisejí a jsou propojena právě s vyobrazením
strachu. Tato práce studuje pouze hororové příběhy napsané Poem a Lovecraftem, což
znamená, že jejich povídky patřící do jiných žánrů (satira, fantasy atd.) zde analyzovány
nejsou.

Klíčová slova

Poe, Lovecraft, horor, sci-fi, gotický, šílenství, prostředí, ucelenost, různorodost
Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8
1. Gothic and Sci-fi Horror ............................................................................................. 11
2. Sources of Fear ............................................................................................................ 17
3. Lunacy ......................................................................................................................... 28
4. Role of Gothic and Sci-fi Setting ................................................................................ 54
5. Integrity and Fragmentation ........................................................................................ 60
6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 61
Resumé ............................................................................................................................ 66
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 70
Introduction

Edgar Allan Poe and Howard Phillips Lovecraft are two well-known figures of
American literature. The scope of their works is quite diverse (see below); their mutual
main contribution probably lies especially in the genre of supernatural horror fiction.
(Schweitzer 2001, 1)
Despite the fact that they both lived in New England, they never met in person.
Poe was born in 1809 in Boston and died in 1849 in Baltimore. (Poe and Thompson, xiii
and xix) Lovecraft was born more than forty years after Poeʼs death, in 1890 in
Providence, and died in 1937 (also in Providence). (Lovecraft and Derleth, ix and xii)
Nevertheless, their literary carriers encountered because as a young writer,
Lovecraft was enchanted by Poeʼs style which he used in his own stories. (Steiner, 60)
Lovecraft was influenced by Poe very much; his discovery of Poeʼs stories was a
significant event in his development as a writer and he would consider Poe the greatest
master of the horror story and admired him forever. (Tyson, 23) In Lovecraftʼs own
words, “to him we owe the modern horror-story in its final and perfected state.”
(Lovecraft in Tyson, 23)
Like Poe, Lovecraft wrote the tales of the macabre as well as science fiction, detective
fiction or pure fantasy. (Bilstad, 19) Some of the topics they engaged in are similar due
to the fact that they were both interested in psychological turmoil, the life and death,
rational and irrational, fantastic and weird (Poe and Thompson, xv and Bilstad, 19) and
these areas of their interest are reflected in their works.
They both lived at tumultuous times – and their literary universe is sometimes
equally disturbed. During Poeʼs life, several revolts emerged, such as Nat Turnerʼs
Rebellion in Virginia (Poe and Thopmson, xxiv) At the end of his life, the issues of the
extention of slavery westward were getting quite serious (Poe and Thompson, xxxvii)
and the years 1848 and 1849 brought conflicts between liberals and conservatives
concerning womenʼs rights and the rights of slaves versus freemen in the western
territories. (Poe and Thompson, xlii)
Lovecraft could not and did not ignore the Great War – he could not himself
serve in it, so he, at least, followed the course of the conflict, commenting on it in some
of his poems. (Joshi 2001, 110) And he had to deal with its consequences, particularly
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with the wave of immigration, (Joshi 2001, 111) which even strengthened his already
deeply ingrained racism. (Tyson, 6)
Regarding their success, Poe reached his fame, being talked about not only for
his stories and poems, but also for his critical works. (Hayes, 36) His legacy influenced
many famous authors, including Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul
Valéry. (Poe and Thompson, xiii)
Lovecraft, on the other hand, was quite ignored by the literary mainstream
during his lifetime; he achieved certain popularity mainly in amateur journalism and
pulp fiction. Nowadays, however, his work is celebrated. (Joshi 1997, 1) In fact, “he has
been the subject of more scholarly study than any other writer of horror fiction except
(and perhaps even including) his great mentor Edgar Allan Poe.” (Joshi 1997, 1)
It is not easy to decide which one of them achieved more significant literary
importance; neither is this the theme of this thesis. The most common verdict probably
is that Howard Phillips Lovecraft is the most important writer of horror fiction since
Edgar Allan Poe. (Schweitzer 2001, 1)
This Masterʼs thesis can be divided into two parts: theoretical and analytical.
The theoretical part is represented by the first chapter (“Gothic and Sci-fi Horror”) and
its aim is to make the reader familiar with the genres discussed in this thesis. The crucial
terms (fiction, gothic literature, horror fiction, sci-fi literature, sci-fi horror and gothic
horror) are presented; also, their origin and the history of their development are briefly
outlined.
The following chapters belong to the analytical part. They engage in the
depiction of fear in Poeʼs and Lovecraftʼs fiction. Some significant features of their
concept of fear are analyzed, such as what sources they used to raise fear in their
characters or how they used lunacy of their characters together with the setting to create
the atmosphere of horror. The issues are dealt with in terms of the similar and (or)
different aspects of the nature of fear in the works written by Poe and Lovecraft (this
means that the works of both authors will be analyzed with regard to the question how
Poe and Lovecraft approached the nature of and what are the main differences and
similarities in their conception of fear). The question of fragmentation and integrity of
Poeʼs and Lovecraftʼs horror stories and if or how the fragmentation and integrity
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influence the readersʼ perception of the mysterious atmosphere of the tales is also
discussed.
Finally, the answer to the question whether or how much certain parts of
Lovecraftʼs work were influenced by Poe in terms of themes (not stylistics) is
adumbrated, particularly Poeʼs influence on Lovecraftʼs Cthulhu Mythos.

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