Abundance and Other Stories, and an ecocritical study of landscapes and monstrosity as expressions of Anthropocenic anxiety in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft

Abstract

This thesis is composed of two interrelated components: a creative portfolio and a critical analysis, both of which engage with the Anthropocene and humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world. A bridging statement which reflects on the creative process and the relationship between each component is also included.

Creative component: Abundance and Other Stories is a collection of nine short stories linked by the idea of ‘life in the Anthropocene.’ The Anthropocene is understood as a multivalent event which disturbs the normative relationship between humans and nature. Through the mode of weird fiction, each story examines psychological and emotional responses to environmental degradation, depicting characters who sense the changing world and attempt to either rebuild their connections to it or flee from it, usually in dysfunctional ways which attempt to reaffirm narratives of human dominance. Nature resists these attempts and establishes its own sense of agency, often resulting in transformation or destruction for the humans.

Critical component: ‘An Ecocritical Reading of Landscapes and Monstrosity as Expressions of Anthropocenic Anxiety in the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft’ studies a selection of stories from various points in Lovecraft’s career in relation to familiar themes of the Anthropocene. Chapter One outlines the environmental and cultural context in which Lovecraft wrote his stories. Chapter Two studies the fictional landscapes he created and suggests that they reflect a profound anxiety about the relationship between humans and nature. Chapter Three studies monsters and monstrosity, suggesting that while Lovecraft’s monsters offer conceptual lenses for the Anthropocene, they also reflect fundamentally anthropocentric concerns about the role of human beings within nature.

Thesis is embargoed until 31st December 2029. Please note that the creative component 'Abundance and Other Stories' (pp. 3-186) is redacted from view for 15 years and is subject to a future review decision in December 2039.

Date of Award	Dec 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Northern Ireland Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Garrett Carr (Supervisor) & John Barry (Supervisor)