Lovecraft and the Question of an Uninhabitable Universe

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This thesis critically analyzes the work of H.P. Lovecraft, long immured in the obscurity of pulp magazines. Posthumously recognized as the doyen of cosmic horror, Lovecraft occupied a unique and lingering slice of horror literature, rich with philosophical content. This thesis answers the question of why one, as both a scholar and a reader, should concern oneself with the unrelentingly bleak literature Lovecraft produced. I argue that his work can be understood as a continual attempt to convince its reader that the universe is uninhabitable. My case rests on a belief that Lovecraft's arguments for this provocative claim could not be made through philosophy alone -- the structure of his thought closely resembles that of a theologian. I locate in his work a rich, albeit unwitting, correspondence with philosophers and theologians of history such as Giambattista Vico, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Karl Löwith. Ultimately, this theological and philosophical interrogation of Lovecraft's work allows us to properly understand those literary tropes forever associated with the word "Lovecraftian," and lays a foundation for future scholarship and recognition of Lovecraft's body of work. Winner of the DLCL Award for Outstanding Thesis (2020).

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 15, 2020

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/wp125yz1646

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Undergraduate Theses, Comparative Literature Department, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Stanford University.

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