Mr. D.
Chymist
Ligotti's stories, though all very different in subject and style, have several unifying themes. He principal concerns - obsessions - center around these core philosophical ideas. In a sense he has a private mythology.
I plan to explore on of these recurring ideas by taking stories from different parts of his career and look for the way he returns to this one idea and try to guess what it means to him. This is not his only concern but it's important to him, and, if it's important to him then maybe we should try to understand the reasons for that importance. I will not try to link this theme to any personal events in Mr. Ligotti's life, but I will try to understand its workings in his body of work.
In the end mythology resists analysis, but I am sure that I can at least take a couple of steps towards understanding the meaning behind the stories. Mr. Ligotti's vision of a bleak, doom laden salvation is important to us all. His stories generally start with a situation that confirms our worst fears and then go downhill from there. I think that we enjoy reading him because he gives us a look into what we all fear may be true, but hope is false. He believes it.
Any comments or ideas would be appreciated. I plan to look at four or five stories in depth and may will probably make mention of several more. I look forward to your comments.
Mr. D.
I plan to explore on of these recurring ideas by taking stories from different parts of his career and look for the way he returns to this one idea and try to guess what it means to him. This is not his only concern but it's important to him, and, if it's important to him then maybe we should try to understand the reasons for that importance. I will not try to link this theme to any personal events in Mr. Ligotti's life, but I will try to understand its workings in his body of work.
In the end mythology resists analysis, but I am sure that I can at least take a couple of steps towards understanding the meaning behind the stories. Mr. Ligotti's vision of a bleak, doom laden salvation is important to us all. His stories generally start with a situation that confirms our worst fears and then go downhill from there. I think that we enjoy reading him because he gives us a look into what we all fear may be true, but hope is false. He believes it.
Any comments or ideas would be appreciated. I plan to look at four or five stories in depth and may will probably make mention of several more. I look forward to your comments.
Mr. D.
