A Human — That Sounds… Wretched: The Pessimistic Anthropology of Weird Fiction

Abstract

The article is focused on discussing the anthropological dimension of weird fiction. This type of literature presents the characteristic picture of a man which the author defines as homo victus. The pessimism and the vanity of existence are typical elements of weird fiction poetics. The authors often structure their writing in such a way so that the characters, when confronted with the uncanny nature of the world, can understand their insignificance and fragility. With the aim of advocating this thesis, stories of three remarkable authors who wrote in this convention will be discussed: Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Stefan Grabiński, and Thomas Ligotti.