>>8466394Lovecraft WAS influenced by the culture and ideas of his time though. The pervading theme of his work is "fear of the unknown," which is a pretty clear reflection of his violent xenophobia and racism. You're taking this too literally--when I say it's a reflection of the times, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a 1:1 representation, or that people cannot create very original themes, ideas, or aesthetics within that work. Social commentary is rarely as ham-fisted as "hey x is happening in our time so let's put x in my story," it's often cloaked in metaphor or extrapolated out to grander scale.
