#soniagreene

It was believed by many in past years that Lovecraft's literary hero, Edgar Allan Poe had been addicted to alcohol, absinthe particularly. Until relatively recently this powerful licorice flavored spirit was illegal in many countries. Absinthe, also called 'The Green Fairy' was supposed to have had hallucinogenic properties when used to excess. The drink was often symbolized as a beautiful but dangerous woman who lured men to their ruin. Currently the Poe/ absinthe addiction theory has fallen out of favor, but Lovecraft himself might well have been familiar with it. We know that H.P. Lovecraft claimed that his lips had never touched alcohol of any kind. Still, he no doubt must have felt the most extreme shame knowing his marriage had failed. From almost all quarters the general attitude is that Sonia Haft Green Lovecraft had been the one pursuing the relationship from the start. Lovecraft, who was utterly inexperienced when it came to any seriously relationship with a woman was a 'sitting duck' for a person of Sonia's experience and aggressive nature. After luring him into a marriage Sonia Greene was the one who demanded a divorce - and it didn't take long in coming. Lovecraft might have felt that like his hero Poe, he had likewise fallen victim to a 'Green Fairy' and her name was Sonia Greene! (Exhibit 204)

Why did Lovecraft believe that his marriage to Sonia Greene might have had a chance to succeed? Greene was in fairly good shape financially when the pair took their vows. The marriage occurred in the 1920s several years before the great crash. The Lovecrafts moved to NYC, which even then was one of the most important financial centers of the world. HPL had received a commission from famed escape artist and illusionist, Harry Houdini around the time of his marriage. The commission was for a ghost-written story by Houdini. More such work was expected, but Houdini died not long afterward. Howard and Sonia may have believed that the world would soon realize the genius and power of Lovecraft's writing. Surely he would not have to lower himself to 'Hackwriting' to make a living? Well, it was not to be. Despite the praise of his beloved mother, his numerous friends and correspondents, and his admiring circle of fellow writers, including his new wife, the world at large was never ready for Lovecraft in his own time. H. P. Lovecraft remained a virtual unknown among the great writers living at his own era. Doyle, Blackwood, Chambers, Kipling, Machen, Dunsany, were unaware or unmoved by his fiction. Only today is Lovecraft generally recognized as the greatest horror writer since Poe. (Exhibit 187)

Lovecraft's Transgender Tale: THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP, was written by Lovecraft in August 1933. He would have been just 43 at the time. The tale is extremely unusual for a Lovecraft story because of its subject matter: A young man's tragic marriage, it's style: which was somewhat redundant in its background, and in the fact that a beautiful woman figures prominently. One of the only other origional Lovecraft stories in which a female figures prominently is in THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE (Keziah Mason). As the tale unfolds we find that the weak willed husband is slowly exchanging bodies with his wife - against his will! The wife has herself been essentially possessed by the mind and 'spirit' of her late father! The father is - or was - a notorious wizard. In the end the wife/witch/ wizard/ is murdered. The hapless husband, however, finds his 'soul' ( if we can use that term here? ) transported into the rotting corpse of his murdered wife/father-in-law! Yeah, it's a complicated mess! Perhaps because we tend to think of Sonia Haft, Greene, Lovecraft as the ultimate victim in Lovecraft's brief marriage there is a tendency to overlook the possibility that she was the ultimate model for Asenath Waite Derby. We might believe that Lovecraft would have had no right to secretly hate or even dislike such a remarkable woman? If THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP was a veiled expression of the horrors Lovecraft faced during his one and only experience as a married man, well, that really was tragic. Pictured below are Aleister Crowley (who lovecraft and Sonia Greene never met despite rumors) and Theda Bara (her name was an anagram for Arab Death). Bara, who in reality was Jewish - so was Sonia Greene - was considered the very definition of the term, VAMP. In many ways Bara resembled Lovecraft's ex-wife. Sonia Greene had also been referred to as a 'Vamp' by several of Lovecraft's friends! To the right below are photos of Lovecraft as a child with his beloved mother. Appently she refused to cut his hair until he was 6! Also to the right are Lovecraft and his wife. Other than in the exaggerated eye makup and lipstick the resemblance to Theda Bara was remarkable in many existing photos. (Exhibit 191)

Sonia Greene Lovecraft was called 'Junoesque' by at least 2 of his personal friends who'd seen her in person. She was called "Our local Vamp" by another. According to her immigration papers the was 5'7 and weighed 175 lbs. That's a whole lot of woman! Photos show that Sonia Greene Lovecraft was also extremely 'Rubenesque' so that 175 lbs was well distributed! She has also been listed as 5'8" elsewhere. H. P. Lovecraft was 7 years her junior, and a virgin by his own admission when they were married. Despite that Lovecraft had considered himself an old man since he was a virtual teenager! In his mind he may have considered himself older despite the chronological reality, but he was soon to find himself in the role of a virtual child as the partnership developed. Unfortunately the marriage turned out to be a complete disaster, and it didn't take long to turn bad! Sonia Greene Lovecraft soon proved to be the master in the relationship. She brought home the money, she instigated all physical relations, she was the one to insist on a divorce. Despite the fact that the marriage existed in one of the biggest economic boom-times in America (the Great Depression was still years off) the pair soon found themselves in financial difficulties. Greene left a high paying job In NYC and started her own ladies hat-selling shop. The business failed in only a few months. She had a breakdown of some sort afterwards and checked herself into a rest home. When she returned to work it was as a traveling agent based In Ohio. Lovecraft stayed In NYC while she worked out of Cincinnati - an odd arrangement for newlyweds! For the rest of their marriage the pair did not cohabitate on a regular basis. Lovecraft never managed to find regular work and brought in very little income from his writing. In nearly every way there was a role reversal between the couple. Though I have received serious push-back for the idea, I think that Lovecraft's story, THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP is a thinly veiled commentary by Lovecraft on the horrors he felt during his one and only experience as a married man. In that tale a childish male marries a younger woman of dark hair and eyes whom he discovers is a sorceress. Even more horrifying is the fact that this woman's body has been possessed by the mind and essence of her own father. He has been making love to a man! (Exhibit 183)