本文旨在探究洛夫卡夫特的短篇故事中之恐怖與未知這兩元素如何在驅使主角踏上前途乖舛的旅程的同時，否定了旅程本身所能允諾的滿足與成長。論述的內容與順序將依據旅程的結構劃分為三個部份:起始、過程與結尾，每一個部份將由單一章節各別闡述。第一章討論洛夫卡夫特具代表性的短篇故事The Call of Cthulhu中怪物的形象如何在多次地複製與重建的過程中產生了既恐怖又吸引人的特質，並藉由拉崗「凝視」的理論來解析故事中的主角在觀察與被觀察者的主客體關係錯置中迷失了自我，進而從事一場註定失敗的追尋。第二章首先檢視多部短篇故事中主角在追求真相的過程中刻板的成長/墮落以及故事結構的重複與循環，接著試圖推斷公式化的角色描述與相仿的敘事結構並非創作風格的缺陷，而是彰顯作者所關切的主題之手法。第三章利用拉崗「真實」的理論來分析洛夫卡夫特自創神話中的外星神祇如何在被創造、顯現與其對主角的影響中賦予整篇故事截然不同的意義，洛夫卡夫特的短篇作品在此詮釋下也將從科幻恐怖故事轉變成個體對內在精神的探索。

My thesis aims at exploring how the unknown and the horrible—the two underlying elements of H. P. Lovecraft’s fiction—work together in an enigmatic way that lures the hero into action and at the same time promises no gratification in the end. The discussion is based on the structure of a quest-journey that Lovecraft’s hero is bound to undertake, and divided into three parts in accordance with each chapter: the beginning, the middle, and the end. The discussion of each chapter is to be related to a more specific topic pertinent to the overarching argument in general. The first chapter deals with how Lovecraft’s monstrous beings can be horrifying and attractive at the same time, pushing the protagonist to make the first move. This topic is discussed with reference to the concept of the gaze in Jacques Lacan’s The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psycho-Analysis. The following chapter deals with the quest-journey as a whole, covering the development of the hero in his quest and the motif of cycle influential to plot arrangement. I argue that the formulaic characterization and structural repetition common in Lovecraft’s fiction are less a stylistic defect than an intended way to demonstrate author’s genuine interest in the fantastic phenomena of transgression. The last chapter focuses entirely on Lovecraft’s unknown entities with which characters confront at the end of their quest. I study their nature in light of how they are conceived, approached, and interpreted with regard to the concept of the real, and in the process propose an interpretation that Lovecraft’s story is actually a story about human psyche.

Table of Contents
Introduction …………………………………………………………………...1
Chapter One: The Image of the Monstrous ………………………………...7
  Anamorphosis of the Feared Object ………………………………………...9
The Horror that Gazes back ………………………………………………..19
Chapter Two: Formulaic Characterization and Structural Repetition ….28
Heroes Doomed to go down ……………………………………………….30
The Past that Refuses to Die ……………………………………………….40
Chapter Three: The Origin of Horror ……………………………………..48
Dreams of Wonder and Horror …………………………………………….49
Approach to the Unknown …………………………………………………56
Horror of the Real ………………………………………………………….63
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………...75
Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………80

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