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For what could be the meaning of the queer clay bas-relief and the disjointed jottings, ramblings, and cuttings which I found? Had my uncle, in his latter years, become credulous of the most superficial impostures? I resolved to search out the eccentric sculptor responsible for this apparent disturbance of an old man’s peace of mind.
As Thurston introduces his grand-uncle, Professor Angell, in Section I, he offers these questions about the strange items that he finds among his research after his death. The unidentifiable bas-relief and the jumbled papers found with it offer an early image of Professor Angell as a kind of mad scientist, obsessed with uncovering the truth about a very specific topic of interest. Of course, this characterization only reflects the man he became after meeting “the eccentric sculptor” and hints that something traumatic may have happened to him.
Once before, it appears, Professor Angell had seen the hellish outlines of the nameless monstrosity, puzzled over the unknown hieroglyphics, and heard the ominous syllables which can be rendered only as “Cthulhu”; and all this in so stirring and horrible a connexion that it is small wonder he pursued young Wilcox with queries and demands for data.
This quotation comes from the first paragraph of Section II as Thurston discovers that his grand-uncle had heard of Cthulhu once prior to his encounter with Wilcox. Including this additional detail works to further develop Professor Angell’s character, painting him as someone who is naturally curious and eager to learn more about the mysteries that confront him. As the reader will come to discover throughout the story, Thurston takes after Professor Angell in this respect. Both men cannot help but try to rationalize the evidence that they collect about Cthulhu and its cult.
