Lovecraft's setting in "The Picture in the House"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Lovecraft's short story "The Picture in the House," and the way in which Lovecraft creates the twilight zone background and the subtle atmosphere of fear that dominate the work. The writer describes the dreary environment both inside and outside the house and how Lovecraft uses symbology that is meant to give us an overwhelming feeling of dread and discomfort as opposed to the shock-style fear that is present in the writings of other authors. The paper concludes that it is the setting that takes on and maintains the mantle of fear in this story.

From the Paper:

"In first discussing the physical surroundings, we have lots of material to sort through regarding our narrator's location. Lovecraft first sets out to describe the general character of the houses that he is encountering. In so doing, he describes houses which suffer more from the neglect of a strange people than houses which are overtly evil or demonic looking. This is not territory dominated by high, sprawling castles with grotesque outcroppings of fashioned stone. Instead, these are simple houses which have fallen victim to the elements themselves, notably because of a fascination on the part of the inhabitants which diverts their attention elsewhere. Lovecraft uses the concept of rundown houses to first introduce the concept of "otherness", that feeling where anyone who subscribes to natural and normal thought is thrust into a world where that is no longer commonplace."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Connors, Scott. "Lovecraft's THE BIG PICTURE IN THE HOUSE." Explicator 59.3 (Spring2001 2001): 140-1.
• Lovecraft, H. P. "The Picture in the House." The Dunwich Horror and Others. By H. P. Lovecraft and Robert Bloch. Ed. S. T. Joshi. New York: Arkham House, 1985.
• Outsiders and Aliens: The Uses of Isolation in Lovecraft's Fiction. Stefan Dziemianowicz. An Epicure in the Terrible: A Centennial Anthology of Essays in Honor of H. P. Lovecraft. Ed. David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 52. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p159.

More papers on Lovecraft's setting in "The Picture in the House":

• Analytical Essay # 35193 : "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
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• Analytical Essay # 16654 : "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

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