Greetings Everyone!
I hope all of you will pick up a copy of my recent
book, Horror as Racism in H. P.
Lovecraft: White Fragility in the Weird Tales!
In my last posting, I talked about Lovecraft’s racist,
polygenetic theory of evolution. Lovecraft argues that Anglo-Saxons and the other white races, who
are genuine human beings, are descended from advanced types of apes. In contrast,
blacks and the lesser races are descended from lower, less evolved apes.
Therefore, blacks and whites are separate
species and blacks should not be considered as human beings.
In his fictional works, especially in the early
works—the tales that I refer to as the hybrid, degenerative monster
tales—Lovecraft carries this argument even further.
He suggests that when it comes to separate, but
similar species such as blacks and whites, there is a built-in genetic barrier
that excludes members of the “lower” species from becoming members of the
“higher” species. However, the reverse
is not true— members of the higher species can move between the barriers and de-evolve if they so desire, but this
will force them to leave their “humanity” behind.
You can read all about Lovecraft’s theory of
de-evolution and how he uses it to justify his xenophobic political beliefs in Horror
as Racism in H. P. Lovecraft!
In my next posting, I will examine one of Lovecraft’s
main sources for his views about de-evolution—Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous
novel: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/horror-as-racism-in-h-p-lovecraft-9798765107690/
JLS
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