O HORROR CÓSMICO DE LOVECRAFT E O EFEITO NO LEITOR

Abstract

This work has the goal to analyze three literary works by the American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft, starting from the effect of the cosmic horror on the reader. The narratives have been chosen based on the level of influence they have upon the readers and on the form of the perception of the cosmic element on their plots. Therefore, “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926), as well as “At the Mountains of Madness” (1931) and “The Shadow Out of Time” (1935) present characteristics that portray the cosmic horror on many scales of perception, beginning from the supposition of the cosmic effect by the narrators until reach the physical and intellectual contact between the narrators and the fantastic beings. Regarding the analysis, we used the theories about the fantastic narrative and its relationship with the reader’s reality. David Roas (2014), with his book “A ameaça do fantástico”, built most of the theoretical framework, specifically his thesis about the destabilization of the reality caused by the fantastic work. On the other hand, Sunand Tryambak Joshi (1990; 2001; 2010) presents a critical fortune about Lovecraft and his work tha not only allows a deep immerdion on the writer’s aesthetics, but also helps to build the theoretical paths chosen to this dissertation. Finally, the work discusses the cosmic horror on the dialogue with the reader, analyzing how the cosmic effect is received, in addition to list the elements of each narrative that lead us to believe that the cosmic fear, largely used on Lovecraft’s narratives, is one of the most prodigious inheritances of his speeches to the fantastic narratives.