Функции инфернальных персонажей в рассказе Г. Ф. Лавкрафта «Сны в ведьмином доме»

Abstract

The study aims to determine infernal characters’ functions in H. P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Dreams in the Witch House”. The research is novel in that the matters of artistic merit of the writer’s flash fiction still remain understudied. The attained results have revealed that the core of the short story’s character system comprises a protagonist - the student Walter Gilman, who took up his residence in the “ill-regarded house” and confronted the evil forces represented by its sinister owner, and secondary infernal characters: the old witch Keziah Mason, whose sphere of activities includes functions of prying, engaging in shenanigans and sabotage, the witch’s henchman - the rat-like beast Brown Jenkin, as well as the demonic Black Man.