The Temple (short story)
Encyclopedia
"The Temple" is a short story
written by H. P. Lovecraft
in 1920
, and first published in the pulp magazine
Weird Tales
in February 1925
. It was the first story Lovecraft published in Weird Tales, and indeed was his first publication in any professional outlet.
von Altberg-Ehrenstein, a Lieutenant Commander
in the Imperial German Navy during the days of World War I
. It documents his untimely end at the bottom of the ocean.
Altberg begins by declaring that he has decided to document the events leading up to his final hour in order to "set certain facts" before the public, aware that he will not survive to do so himself.
The manuscript states events beginning in August 1916 somewhere in the North Atlantic, after sinking H.M.S. Victory, a British
freighter
, and thereafter sinking its surviving crew's lifeboats, the cruel and arrogant Altberg commands his U-29 U-boat
to submerge, surfacing later to find the dead body of a crew member of the sunken ship, who died clinging to the exterior railing of the sub. A search of the body reveals a strange piece of carved ivory
. Because of its apparent great age and value, one of Altberg's officers keeps the object, and shortly thereafter, strange phenomena begin to occur.
An uncharted oceanic current pulls the sub southward, and several members of the crew suffer the sudden onset of severe fatigue and disturbing nightmares. One even claims to have seen the corpses of the dead seamen from the British freighter staring at him through the U-boat's porthole
s. Altberg has him brutally whipped
, rejecting the pleas from some of his men to discard the ivory charm. He eventually resorts to executing a couple of them when it is clear that they have gone insane from fright, ostensibly to maintain discipline.
Next, a mysterious explosion irreparably damages the U-boat's engines, leaving them without the ability to navigate, only the ability to surface and dive. They soon encounter a United States
warship, and several of the terrified crew plead with Altberg to surrender
, but instead, Altberg has these "traitors" killed. Later, the sub faces ominous ocean waves
from a violent storm and Altberg orders the U-boat to submerge, which afterward is unable to surface when it's ballast tanks fail to repressurize, leaving the sub being pulled southward without resistance while slowly sinking deeper into the ocean, they never see the light of day again.
With the U-boat's batteries running low, and their chance of rescue non-existent, the six remaining, delirious crewmen attempt a mutiny
, successfully disabling the U-boat by destroying several key instruments and gauges, even as they rave on about the curse of the ivory talisman, but all are murdered by the venomous Altberg. His lone companion, Lieutenant
Klenze, grows increasingly unstable and paranoid. Certain of their fate
, the two pass the time in their drifting vessel by sweeping the sub's powerful searchlight
through the dark abyss, noting that dolphins follow them at depths and for lengths previously unheard-of.
Soon after, Klenze goes completely mad, claiming that "He is calling! He is calling!" Unable to soothe his insane companion, and unwilling to join him in suicide, Altberg agrees to operate the airlock
, grateful to send Klenze to an assured death in the airless, crushing pressure of the deep. Altberg, alone at last, drifts for a couple more days before his U-boat finally lands on the ocean floor, where he is amazed to see the sunken remains of an ancient and elaborate city, deciding that it is the ruins of Atlantis
.
Overcome with excitement, Altberg dons a deep-sea diving suit
, exploring the breathtaking, indescribable beauty of the ruined city, discovering a mysterious rock-hewn temple, amazed to find the image of the ivory carving within. He spends the next couple days in darkness as the sub's last reserves of battery power and air are expended. In the end, he acknowledges that even with his mighty "German will", he is no longer able to resist the powerful visions and auditory hallucinations, nor his madness-inspired impulse to depart his U-boat and enter the temple, now impossibly illuminated by what seems to be a flickering altar
flame. Slipping on his diving suit, he releases his sealed manuscript in a bottle (which is later found on the coast of Yucatan
), and goes willingly to his death.
, The Temple is a nautical story with a World War I background.
The theme of submerged cities with non-human worshipers recurs in Lovecraft's later works, most notably The Call of Cthulhu
.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
in 1920
1920 in literature
The year 1920 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Agatha Christie publishes her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing the long-running character detective, Hercule Poirot....
, and first published in the pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
in February 1925
1925 in literature
The year 1925 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* April: F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway meet in the Dingo Bar on rue Delambre, in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France shortly after the publication of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and shortly before...
. It was the first story Lovecraft published in Weird Tales, and indeed was his first publication in any professional outlet.
Synopsis
The story is narrated as a "found manuscript" penned by Karl Heinrich, GrafGraf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
von Altberg-Ehrenstein, a Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in the Imperial German Navy during the days of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It documents his untimely end at the bottom of the ocean.
Altberg begins by declaring that he has decided to document the events leading up to his final hour in order to "set certain facts" before the public, aware that he will not survive to do so himself.
The manuscript states events beginning in August 1916 somewhere in the North Atlantic, after sinking H.M.S. Victory, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
, and thereafter sinking its surviving crew's lifeboats, the cruel and arrogant Altberg commands his U-29 U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
to submerge, surfacing later to find the dead body of a crew member of the sunken ship, who died clinging to the exterior railing of the sub. A search of the body reveals a strange piece of carved ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
. Because of its apparent great age and value, one of Altberg's officers keeps the object, and shortly thereafter, strange phenomena begin to occur.
An uncharted oceanic current pulls the sub southward, and several members of the crew suffer the sudden onset of severe fatigue and disturbing nightmares. One even claims to have seen the corpses of the dead seamen from the British freighter staring at him through the U-boat's porthole
Porthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
s. Altberg has him brutally whipped
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
, rejecting the pleas from some of his men to discard the ivory charm. He eventually resorts to executing a couple of them when it is clear that they have gone insane from fright, ostensibly to maintain discipline.
Next, a mysterious explosion irreparably damages the U-boat's engines, leaving them without the ability to navigate, only the ability to surface and dive. They soon encounter a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
warship, and several of the terrified crew plead with Altberg to surrender
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
, but instead, Altberg has these "traitors" killed. Later, the sub faces ominous ocean waves
Ocean Waves
Ocean Waves, also known as , is a TV anime movie made by Studio Ghibli. It was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki and was based on the novel of the same title by Saeko Himuro.The story is set in the city of Kōchi, on the Japanese island of Shikoku...
from a violent storm and Altberg orders the U-boat to submerge, which afterward is unable to surface when it's ballast tanks fail to repressurize, leaving the sub being pulled southward without resistance while slowly sinking deeper into the ocean, they never see the light of day again.
With the U-boat's batteries running low, and their chance of rescue non-existent, the six remaining, delirious crewmen attempt a mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
, successfully disabling the U-boat by destroying several key instruments and gauges, even as they rave on about the curse of the ivory talisman, but all are murdered by the venomous Altberg. His lone companion, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Klenze, grows increasingly unstable and paranoid. Certain of their fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
, the two pass the time in their drifting vessel by sweeping the sub's powerful searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
through the dark abyss, noting that dolphins follow them at depths and for lengths previously unheard-of.
Soon after, Klenze goes completely mad, claiming that "He is calling! He is calling!" Unable to soothe his insane companion, and unwilling to join him in suicide, Altberg agrees to operate the airlock
Airlock
An airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
, grateful to send Klenze to an assured death in the airless, crushing pressure of the deep. Altberg, alone at last, drifts for a couple more days before his U-boat finally lands on the ocean floor, where he is amazed to see the sunken remains of an ancient and elaborate city, deciding that it is the ruins of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
.
Overcome with excitement, Altberg dons a deep-sea diving suit
Diving suit
A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit typically also incorporates an air-supply .-History:...
, exploring the breathtaking, indescribable beauty of the ruined city, discovering a mysterious rock-hewn temple, amazed to find the image of the ivory carving within. He spends the next couple days in darkness as the sub's last reserves of battery power and air are expended. In the end, he acknowledges that even with his mighty "German will", he is no longer able to resist the powerful visions and auditory hallucinations, nor his madness-inspired impulse to depart his U-boat and enter the temple, now impossibly illuminated by what seems to be a flickering altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
flame. Slipping on his diving suit, he releases his sealed manuscript in a bottle (which is later found on the coast of Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
), and goes willingly to his death.
Connections
Like DagonDagon (short story)
"Dagon" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, written in July 1917, one of the first stories he wrote as an adult. It was first published in the November 1919 edition of The Vagrant .-Inspiration:...
, The Temple is a nautical story with a World War I background.
The theme of submerged cities with non-human worshipers recurs in Lovecraft's later works, most notably The Call of Cthulhu
The Call of Cthulhu
The Call of Cthulhu is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, in February 1928.-Inspiration:...
.