Lovecraft quickly undermines the conventional role of nature
But Lovecraft quickly undermines the conventional role of nature seen in works like Frankenstein and The Mysteries of Udolpho. According to the author, only when the scenery is in "a state of ignorance" can the subject be honoured (Ralickas, 2007, p. 375). As a result, according to Lovecraft, the emotion derived from taking in nature cannot be sustained for very long. This is emphasised in the title of the book by referring to the mountains as "madness," which stands in for their loss of faith in logic. However, the novel undergoes a significant turning point that foreshadows the emergence of cosmic horror:
Due to the significance of that four and a half-hour flight in my life, I can still clearly recall every detail of it. It symbolised my loss of the tranquilly and equilibrium that the average mind holds due to its ingrained conception of the outside world and its laws at the age of 54. The ten of us were then forced to deal with a hideously amplified world of lurking horrors that nothing can ever completely remove from our emotions and that, if we could, we would prefer not to share with mankind. The student Danforth and I, however, were forced to deal with this world more than anyone else. (1985, Lovecraft, p. 28).
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