The Supernatural in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider Essay -- Lovecraft

The Supernatural in H.P. Lovecrafts The Outsider One of H.P. Lovecrafts many short stories, The Outsider has been praised since its publication as his most profound and meaningful. This twaddle has been interpreted many unlike ways, varying from an autobiography of Lovecraft himself to several different philosophical analyses. One such interpretation, by Dirk Mosig compares the plot and settings of The Outsider to Lovecrafts own doubtful views of religion and an afterlife. Mosig supports his interpretation with many facts from the story, I believe he pinpoints one very possible meaning of the story. His argument successfully uses the plot and details to convince the reader that his hypothesis is correct. In order to understand Mosigs interpretation, one must first understand The Outsider and its general themes, from an unbiased viewpoint. The story begins with the narrator explaining his origins. He, a nameless creature, tells of his environment a dark, decay ing castle amid an everlasting forest of high, lightless trees. (Lovecraft) He has never seen light, nor a single living human being. He lives among crypts lined with decomposing bones and rats. He never mentions eating, but lives alone, with hardly the thousands of books that the castle holds as a mental way to escape from the boredom of his prison-like home. Everything he know has come from his reading of the antique books that line the walls of his castle. (Lovecraft) There is no escape from his world save one tall tower which seems to reach above the soaring treetops. He explains that he had once tried to escape with the forest, but became scared in the endless woods and returned before he became lost. He has... ... It seems strange that H.P. Lovecraft, who made his fortune from stories about the supernatural, would be seen as not believing in the subject which made him famous. This may subtract from Mosigs arguments. Also, other sources suggest th at this should be read as a horror story not just for the people who saw the outsider, but also for himself, when he realized his own fate and past. Dirk Mosigs arguments are convincing however, and his interpretation makes unattackable sense with the complex story that is The Outsider. Works CitedLovecraft, Howard Phillips. The Outsider. H.P. Lovecraft Library. 1921. 6 Nov. 2002 .Mosig, Dirk W. The Four Faces of The Outsider. Discovering H.P. Lovecraft. Ed. Darrell Schweitzer. Mercer Island, Washington Starmont House, 1987.6754