#color symbolism in HPL's stories

[hplovecraftmuseum]

Various values of color, or "COLOUR" as Lovecraft would spell the word (HPL generally used British spelling for English words) were used by Lovecraft to express certain ideas in his fictional works. In most instances his use of color symbolism followed long standing traditions in art, poetry, and Western cultural usage. BLACK was naturally the 'value' he mentioned most often. Black, and its obvious relation to night and darkness appears in many of his tales. Generally it connotes the mysterious dark forces of the universe. The realm of Azathoth is black, Nyarlathotep is associated with blackness. Two of his 'avatars', first the HAUNTER OF THE DARK creature and 2nd, The Black Man, used by HPL in THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE, were characters adapted by Lovecraft from traditional occult lore. After black, white is probably the most commonly mentioned 'color' in Lovecraft's tales. Some might assume the 'black/white' usage to be born out of some racist symbolism, but white things in Lovecraft's fiction are often as associated with death, skulls, corpses, and unsavory creatures as blackness. The Roman/ British entity Nodens is refered to as "hoary", meaning white with age, and DAGON when 1st seen in the short story bearing his name is also discribed as a"whitish"creature. Green was commonly used by Lovecraft mostly in its negative associations. Cthulhu is green, his tomb city of R'leyh in slimy and green. The Fungi From Yuggoth creatures featured in THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS are pink, but their blood is green. In Lovecraft's fictional world green connotes verdigris, slime, mold, and decay, not lush and healthy forests or gardens. Yellow is commonly associated with the otherworldly too. The priest of Leng who wears a vail to hide his face in THE DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH is robed in yellow. The star-heads featured in AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS have 5 pointed heads of yellow. The cone-bodied 'great race' entities of THE SHADOW OUT OF TIME, likewise have yellow heads. RED is occasionally sited in Lovecraft's tales. The abominable jewel from THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK is black with red striations. Nyarlathotep is meantioned occasionally as wearing scarlet robes. Blood, at least red in its human coloration, is occasionally meantioned by Lovecraft, but it is often described as brownish as in an old stained residue. Purple makes a few significant appearances. Purple is one of the more rare pigments in nature. Significantly perhaps it is frequently seen in clouds as the last hue of sunsets before the onset of darkness. As a variety of purple HPL writes in THE DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH: "Out of the void S'ngac the violet gas had pointed the way" (in this case to to Randolph Carter as he escapes the clutches of Nyarlathotep). In a letter to CAS Lovecraft mentions " the prismatic forests of Yog-Sothoth", and elsewhere suggests that in a solid state "he" appeared" as a group of opalescent globes. The silica erupting from the heads of the 'star-heads' of Antarctica are also prisimatic. Grey as a color makes occasional appearance. The bodies of the star-heads are grey, their wings are somewhat a lighter value of grey too. Grey of course tradionally represents neutrality, a compromise between the extremes of black and white. Curiously silver, blue and orange, are rarely featured in Lovecraft's fiction, there is THE SILVER KEY, however. One last color that that deserves mention is gold. Gold is hoarded by many of the disreputable characters in Lovecrafts tales. The Deep Ones and their agents in Innsmouth seem to have unlimited quantities of gold. The degenerate humanoid citizens living beneath the surface of the earth in THE MOUND also use gold in abundance. For Lovecraft, who was very dismissive of commercialism, gold may have symbolized the root of all evil. (Exhibit 406)

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Lovecraft related 'fun.'

1. England, the inspiration?!!

2. Collection of Howard's letters.

Nowadays, HPL's mail actually takes up several thick tomes.

3. Never happened!!

Both men lived in different times.

But, it's fun to imagine a Battle Royale between the 2 masters of morbid fiction.

Something along the lines of Vincent Price's & Boris Karloff's "The Raven."

4 & 5. Hey, Mister Lovecraft - why so serious?

1915: Output - Part 2.

Title: "Unda, Bride of the Sea."

Text:

All the wide world have I searched for my darling, Scoured the far deserts & sailed (the far) seas.

Once on the wave while (a) tempest was snarling,¹ Flashed a fair face that brought quiet & ease.²

Eve(n) in restlessness (it's) onward I stumble, Seeking & pining, scarce(ly) heeding my way.

Now have I strayed where the wide waters rumble, Back to the scene of the lost yesterday.

Lo!

The red moon from the ocean's low hazes, Rises an ominous grandeur (in)to view.

Strange from the moon to the shore where I'm sighing, Grows a bright bridge, made of wavelets & beams.³

Frail may it be, yet how simple the trying; Wandering from Earth to the orb of sweet dreams.⁴

What is (that) face in the moonlight appearing;⁵ Have I at last found the maiden that fled?⁶

Out on the beam bridge my footsteps are nearing, Her whose sweet beckon- ing⁷ hastens my tread.

Currents surround me & drowsily swaying, Far on the moon path I seek (her) sweet face.

Eagerly hasting, half panting, half praying, Forward I reach for the vision of grace.⁸

Murmuring waters about me are closing, Soft the sweet vision advances to me:⁹

Done are my trials;¹⁰ my heart is reposing, Safe with my Unda, the Bride of the Sea.

Epilogue:

As the rash fool, ...prey (to) Unda's art, Drowned thru the passion of his fevered heart,¹¹

So are our youth, inflamed by tempters fair, Bereft of reason & (a) manly air.¹²

How sad the sight of Stephon's¹³ virile grace, Turned to confusion at his Chloe's¹³ face,

And ever Pelides,¹⁴ dear to Grecian eyes, Sulking for loss of his thrice cherished prize.¹⁵

Brothers, attend!

If cares too sharply vex, Gain rest by shunning the destructive sex!¹⁶

Footnotes:

1. A storm 'aggressively growling' with bared windy 'teeth'?

But, a snarl can also be "a tangle, jam" or "knot."

2. After all this time, the narrator can only find peace in his memory of Unda.

Or, is it something else?

Knowning Howard, he'll pull the rug right out from under our senses...

3. So, a mix of salt water & moonlight?

4. Strangely enough, research shows that we have more bizarre dreams du- ring a full moon.

Spiritually, the moon is a feminine symbol of life cycles & also the dark side of Nature itself...

Emotionally, seeing the moon in a dream symbolizes some hidden or mysterious aspect of yourself.

A red moon reflects the color of the blood that animates human life on Earth.

In alchemy, this sanguine sight is re- lated to one's passionate feelings & instincts.

And, this feeling can be overwhelming or subtle, sweet & lonely...

5. Again, the narrator sees that it's Unda's face which is leading him on- wards.

6. In the narrator's POV, Unda didn't just disappear - she abandoned him!

7. Again, Unda beckons him to join her - suggesting that there's safety in this magical 'place'...

8. Emboldened, the narrator accepts that it truly is her & that she still pines for him...

9. Unda steps forward to welcome the narrator - showing that she can come & go, freely, from wherever she now lives...

10. The narrator's long journey is finally over.

But, what was actually going on in his mind?

Why didn't he go with Unda when she 1st beckoned for him?

Was it that he was in shock, when she 1st disappeared?

Or, couldn't he accept the proof that Unda was more powerful than he?

11. Suddenly, HPL starts humming the Twilight Zone theme...

Lovecraft has pulled off his 1st truly successful story twist!

The narrator was just a victim - of his own fevered feelings - to 'someone' or 'something' who's actually a predator!!

12. Then, double twist!

Howard was actually exercising his sexism all this time!!

Since HPL was still a virgin, at this time, women were still a total mystery to him.

And, his biggest fear - of course - was that of unknown people who he could not easily fathom.

13. "Stephon & Chloe" by Jonathan Swift is a comedic poem of a near goddess & a mere man finding out that they also share in some rather nasty, human 'needs.'

Like how Chloe's graceful face can be- come distorted when she's on the chamberpot!

And, of Stephon's fear of approaching their wedding bed!!

All due to his hairy body!

But, all is forgotten when he discovers that she's just as 'mortal' & stinky as he...

Stephon is Greek for "crown, garland" & "honor."

Chloe is Greek for "young, blooming" & "fertile."

14. Pelides ("of Peleus") is the nick- name of the ancient Greek warrior Achilles.

Even though Achilles surpassed his father's fame, he was still only a son of Peleus ("clay"), the original King of the Myrmidons ("ant-like soldiers").

15. In the Trojan War, both Achilles & Agamemnon took 2 women captive.

But, Apollo ("destroyer? assembler? speaker?") spread a plague upon the Greeks.

To appease the god, Agamemnon ("unbowed, steadfast") gives his war 'prize' back to her father.

But, stupidly, takes Achilles' war prize for his own!

In protest, Achilles ("he whom nations grief for") refuses to fight for the Greeks anymore.

But, this only leads to the death of Patroclus ("glory of his father"), who was Achilles' best friend...

Agamemnon later returns Briseis ("daughter of Briseus"), the war prize, to Achilles.

Briseis isn't freed when Achilles is fin- ally slain...

16. And, back to the sexism...

Notes:

1. < Sara Kincaid of writervsworld.com

Unda shares a love, with the narrator, that is like a child's - pure, innocent & complete.

This love doesn't care about society's rules, their own pasts nor their 'true' stations in life.

Love is enough...

Until, it isn't!

Because it's supposed to be a melan- cholic Gothic tale - the beautiful woman must 'die.'

Idyllic love is too perfect to last!!

Unda seemingly commits 'suicide' - by walking into the sea...

Though the narrator suggests that she was lured to her 'death.'

This by a 'trance' induced by the mix of the winds & the waves.

2. But, soon we find out that it's a monstrous plot to seduce & then drown stupid young men!

It seems, at 1st, that the creature might be a mermaid.

But, there's the subtle touch of the Sirens in his yearning need to find her - even though he thinks she's dead.

So, what's he looking for?

Her spirit?

A body to bury & get closure from?

Once he's known her, he must be re- united with her - in life or in death.

So, all of his wanderings were actually not to find Unda.

He knew full well where she died.

No, it was the narrator trying to fight off his need to commit suicide!!

This is why he kept imagining her face, beckoning him on to death...

It was the only way that he could finally be by her side.

Of course, all the sexist bits actually ruin a great Gothic story!

End.

[hplovecraftmuseum]

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS was written by H.P. Lovecraft in 1931. Though the long tale would not see publication until years later it was probably his finest achievement as a fiction writer. I have mentioned in previous posts why I believe AtMoM was a sort of homage to Algernon Blackwood's tale, THE WILLOWS. Lovecraft considered the Englishman's masterful telling of two explorers traveling by canoe through a vast, windy, and deserted region of the Danube, to be the epitome of haunting atmosphere and the greatest supernatural story ever written. Getting back to Lovecraft's story: a pair of scientists exploring a previously uncharted region of Antarctica come upon the titanic ruins of a prehistoric and prehuman city. Though wishing to disregard the fact at first the explorers conclude that the megalithic ruins were the creation of a race of plant-like creatures of extraordinary sophistication. These highly intelligent creatures leave a history of their exsistence in intricately fashioned bas- relief carvings set in various structures. As to the appearance of these entities, they have bodies resembling barrels. At either end of the central trunks are structures resembling 5 pointed stars. The somewhat triangular protrusions of each upper star ends with an eyeball. At the inner delta of each of the topmost stars is a stock ending bulb containing sharp teeth. These star-headed arrangements thus form a 360 degree brain case and a toothy array of 5 mouths and eyeballs. At the bottom of their bodies the stars form 5 wriggling 'legs' ending with 5 triangular 'feet'. Folded in stave- like ridges that run vertically are 5 fanshaped wings. In color - or 'colour' as Lovecraft always spelled the word, they are various shades of grey with their upper starfish heads coloured yellow. It has been generally accepted that AtMoM was meant by Lovecraft to be a reflection of Lovecraft's view of humankind's own inevitable cultural decline and eventual extinction. To Lovecraft humanity was in a state of decline since the fall of ancient Rome. The Georgian era of England and it's colonial holdings in America was a brief resurrection of Classical sensitivity and Architecture. Lovecraft felt a great connection to both Rome and Georgian England. Now I will admit it's a stretch, but what might we make of the structure of the star-headed creatures of his story? Well, AtMoM was written during Prohibition. HPL was a lifelong teetotaller and bragged that his lips had never touched alcohol. Might the barrel shaped bodies of our nameless Antarctic creatures symbolize whiskey barrels? At each end the barrel is sealed with a star-a yellow star at the top end. Star-shaped badges often five pointed- were pinned to the breasts of policemen and other authorities tasked with enforcing prohibition. Often these badges were gold (yellow) in color. As to the wings of the creatures, they folded in the manner of fans. Fans were a common fashion accessory carried by the Flapper-type females of the predepression years to cool themselves after a wild session of animated dancing. Below I include some possible photographic examples of the individual symbolic elements of Lovecraft's greatest work of fiction. A stretch? Absolutely, but far more wild assertions have been made by others over the years since Lovecraft's death! By the way, the pyramid topped by an 'all-seeing eye' that is featured on every dollar bill in th U. S. A. is a symbol with Free Mason origins. The symbol is also called: THE EYE OF PROVIDENCE. Providence, RI of course was Lovecraft's beloved home town and his proclamation, "I am Providence." Is now a rather famous quote. (Exhibit 466)