H. P. Lovecraft's The Temple

H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Temple” tells the story of how a German crew on a badly damaged ship during World War One slowly descends into madness. A combination of odd sightings, fear, illness, and eventually violence and suicide leave the protagonist, Karl Heinrich, all by himself on a doomed ocean voyage. Ultimately, he leaves his ship and dies while exploring what he believes to be Atlantis. An episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled “Bliss” also deals with the theme of a descent into madness. This science fiction 1990’s television show features the starship Voyager’s journey back to Earth, after being flung 70,000 light years across the galaxy. Along the way, the crew faces many obstacles, such as in the episode “Bliss,” where they encounter a

By analyzing the evolution of their fear in their respective stories it becomes easier to comprehend how fear disrupted the rationality and the decisions of the captains. Captain Janeway of Voyager finds a wormhole, and is initially cautious: “Go to yellow alert. Prepare a class five probe. Let's see what's really out there.” Then, throughout the episode, she begins to care less and less about the risks of entering the wormhole, because her fear of being stuck in space forever overcomes her rational thought. Seven observes this when she states: “When I presented the Captain with evidence that the wormhole may not be what it appears to be, she seemed unconcerned.” Janeway’s initial skepticism of the wormhole fades as her fears escalate. Her fear, arisen from her innate desire to be in familiar surroundings, clouds her rationality. Similarly, in “The Temple,” Captain Heinrich’s fears stem from the same innate desire to return home. However, in Heinrich’s case, fear does not evolve within himself, but rather from events outside of his control. For example, Heinrich had no control over his ship succumbing to random malfunctions: “The explosion in the engine room at 2 P.M. was wholly a surprise. No defect in the machinery or carelessness in the men had been noticed, yet without warning the ship was racked from end to end

The oceans of Earth and the outer space of the “Delta Quadrant” each signify similar things. In 1917, when “The Temple” takes place, the deep oceans represent the same level of mystery as does the “Delta Quadrant” in the 24th century, when Star Trek: Voyager takes place. Each signifies the fear of abandonment, the fear of the unknown, and the fear of death. Each of these fears arise as the result of disastrous situations, and innate human desires such as to be in familiar surroundings, with loved ones. In Star Trek, each species of alien signifies a different aspect of human personalities. For example, Tuvok is a Vulcan, a species that represent the logical side, logos, of human beings. B’Elanna Torres is a Klingon, a species that represent the fierier side of human passions, pathos. In “Bliss,” each of the characters succumb to the fear of being trapped in space, and have their rationality severely impacted. This goes to show that fear impacts every side of human personality. Fear is powerful enough to defeat a wide range of other emotions, lifestyles, and cultures. The addition of pride in one’s culture creates an easier pathway for fear to