Honors Theses

Lovecraft and the Uncanny: A Psychoanalytic Critique of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider

Advisor

Andrew Slade, Ph.D.

Department

Philosophy

Publication Date

4-1-2024

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

Scholarship on H.P. Lovecraft’s literature often will erroneously label his work as simply grotesque or weird. In this paper, I will use a psychoanalytical lens to critically examine Lovecraftian literature and argue that his fiction is not merely grotesque, but instead that his work displays elements of the uncanny that are ciphered in with more intentionally weird parts of his narrative. The first objective of this project is to define the uncanny as it is understood by Sigmund Freud: a feeling that occurs when something that is meant to be hidden is revealed. Having established Freud’s psychoanalytical framework of the uncanny, I will then apply it to H.P. Lovecraft's short story The Outsider.

Permission Statement

This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes.

Keywords

Undergraduate research

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