Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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The Outsider (1921) is one of the most famous short stories by Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

A scant ten pages. Few disheartening words, born of the author's formidable talent, capable of shaping a world where the horrific and the deformed merge into a singular profound meaning. The story is very well-liked by readers and was also well-received at the time of its first publication, unlike other works by Lovecraft, where the writer had to contend with public dissent. With The Outsider however, the exact opposite happened. This is evidenced by a letter from the writer to J. Vernom Shea, dated June nineteenth, 1931, in which the author discredits his own work, expressing his repudiation for the tragicomic nature of the language (too pompous, according to him). Such a declaration is the extraordinary proof of the unconsciousstroke of genius that struck the writer at the time of writing the text!(Let's see why).

The story features a mysterious individual with blurred memories, who claims to have grown up in an ancient castle. The dark character seems never to have had contact with other people and lives surrounded by the darkness of his decrepit, stony dwelling, harboring a growing, exhausting obsession: to see the daylight, at least once in a lifetime. In the castle, there is an old library, so the protagonistlearns from books the behaviors and human language, plus the rest of everything the written art could teach him. This is whythe ungraceful and poetic language of this story is more than ever appropriate. This is why such text elaboration makes the narrative even more engaging and poetic, regardless of the ruthless judgment that the author reserved for it. It could be that Lovecraft hated The Outsider to such an extent because it hides something autobiographical, relating to the protagonist of the story. The writer, in fact, had a traumatic childhood, during which he had to endure several nervous breakdowns due to his mother's overly morbid behavior, who suffered from hysteria and depression. Lovecraft thus spent much of his childhood at home reading and studying. Alone and imprisoned within four walls, just like the dark character found in these pages.

It's easy to say that in the end, the protagonist will attempt to escape from the castle, thus fulfilling a small dream: to admire the moon for the first time in his life. The character will then find himself wandering in the night until he spots the walls of a renowned mansion, where a reception is taking place. He will then decide to sneak in, attempting his first contact with the civilized world. The project will fail shortly after his entry into the hall, due to the appearance of a dark being that will frighten the attendees, causing them to flee.

A castle, a party, a monster. These elements closely recallThe Masque of the Red Deathby Edgar Allan Poe. Lovecraft declared, in fact, that to concoct the gothic setting of his story, it was fundamental for him to be inspired by the paper testament given to him by the late colleague of the pen. However, the respective works preserve a different moral: “The Masque” is a fanciful parable about fate and human impotence in the face of its sinister plots; The Outsider instead denotes man's repudiation towards everything that is unpleasantly different, simultaneously manifesting an innate pessimism towards the attempt at existential improvement, thus seeing in it a horrifying epilogue.

The aforementioned “denial of success” naturally concerns the protagonist of the story, who believes that the freedom gained after the escape from the castle could lead him to a better condition of life. But when he finally has the chance to socialize with other people, fate will hold the most horrifying revelation for him: he will remain only with the monster that appeared in the hall, he will have the courage to approach and extend his fingers towards the repugnant figure. Only then will he realize he has touched a mirror.

In this passage, it is really important to savor the rain of ominous sensations that Lovecraft manages to convey to the reader, revealing the protagonist's true nature, which is not exactly a human being, but a disgusting humanoid with benign intentions, rejected by people because of his repugnant appearance. The author manages, therefore, to ally the reader “on the monster’s side,” manages to sadden him, to move him, to convince him that an attempt at redemption can end in the worst of ways.

WithThe Outsider Lovecraft thus confirms his deep and unconditional love for the figure of the anti-hero, that is, the individual defeated by society and by himself. The story thus presents a disappointed protagonist who weakly animates a story smeared by the darkest pessimism. However, the moral is decidedly sincere: who among us would not feel repulsion or terror in front of a monster? Who among us would not flee in dismay before such a manifestation, cutting off in advance the hypothetical good intentions of this strange creature? This proves that humankind is weak in front of the deformed, does not understand it, cannot accept it; for this reason, it chooses denial, the repudiation that will remove it from a frightening or embarrassing situation.

This review has shamelessly revealed the plot ofThe Outsider. A risky choice that will rob the taste of the final twist from those who have not yet read the story. However, it is not the discovery, but the reflection that newcomers must set as their goal. A careful analysis of the depth and poetics of the text, in order to share/discredit what is written above, in the hope that Lovecraft’s words may also stain your hearts black.

Federico "Dragonstar" Passarella.