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* NoNameGiven: Two out of three of the strangers are not named, while the third is named Harmon. The bearded one states that the other one never had any name and wanted one, but the bearded one refused to give him one, saying that some things are best left unnamed, while he himself declines to give Culla his own name.
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* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: Rinthy's fate is unknown after she lays down at the site of her baby and the tinker's corpses and goes to sleep. While Culla gets an epilogue scene presumably set years later, she doesn't. Does Rinthy suffer DeathByDespair and die with the others, or does she eventually move on? It's up to interpretation.]]
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* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:The strangers murder Rinthy's baby and get away with it.]]
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* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:Rinthy and Culla's child is murdered, while both of them live to the end of the book.]]
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* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:The focus just sort of shifts away from Culla at the end to show the blind man's journey into the swamp.]]
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* SwampsAreEvil: The way the swamp the blind man wanders into at the end is described gives this impression. It sounds more like something out of Hell than it does a swamp.
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* FauxAffablyEvil: Whenever they meet Culla, the strangers are welcoming to him, letting him sit down with them at the fire.
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* FauxAffablyEvil: Whenever they meet Culla, the strangers are welcoming to him, letting him sit down with them at the fire.fire... while they eat human flesh in front of him.
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-->His assassin smiled upon him with bright teeth, the faces of the other two peering from either shoulder in consubstantial monstrosity, a grim triune that watched wordless, affable. He looked down at the man's fist cupped against his stomach. The fist rose in an eruption of severed viscera until the blade seized in the junction of his breastbone and he stood disemboweled.
-->His assassin smiled upon him with bright teeth, the faces of the other two peering from either shoulder in consubstantial monstrosity, a grim triune that watched wordless, affable. He looked down at the man's fist cupped against his stomach. The fist rose in an eruption of severed viscera until the blade seized in the junction of his breastbone and he stood disemboweled.
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* DownerEnding: [[CrapsackWorld Would you expect any less]]? [[spoiler:Culla makes a last-minute attempt to save his and Rinthy's baby, but the strangers kill it first, rendering Rinthy's year-long journey to find it completely pointless, and it's strongly implied that the rest of Culla's days will be a total living hell.]]
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[[quoteright:323:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51ghw4oaql_9.jpg]]
''Outer Dark'' is the second novel by famed author Creator/CormacMcCarthy.
A SouthernGothic tale set around the turn of the 19th century, the story follows siblings Rinthy and Culla Holme. Rinthy has just given birth to Culla's child, only for Culla to lie to her about the newborn's fate. When Rinthy finds out the truth, she goes on a search for her child, while Culla follows her, all while trailed by a band of sinister, murderous strangers.
----
!!Tropes in this work include:
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:At the end, the tinker is revealed to have been murdered, and Rinthy's baby eaten by the strangers, making her journey pointless.]]
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The strangers are given certain supernatural attributes such as always knowing where Culla is and showing a distinct awareness about his incestuous relationship with Rinthy, are comparable to the three fates in Myth/ClassicalMythology and referred to as "revenants", but it's left vague if they're just evil humans or they're [[HumanoidAbomination something else entirely]]. Even Culla is uncertain whether they're actually human or not.
* TheAtoner: Rinthy seeks an atonement for letting Culla take her baby and leaving it to die, going on a journey for it.
* BeardOfEvil: One of the strangers is denoted by his beard.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: On one hand, there's Culla, who's not exactly a shining example of human goodness, and then there's the strangers, who are a malevolent band of spree/serial killers leaving death in their wake.
* BrotherSisterIncest: A major part that drives the plot is Culla leaving Rinthy's baby to die, presumably because it's the fruit of their incestuous union.
* ButtMonkey: Culla has quite a slew of bad luck. Nearly everyone he meets ends up hating him for one reason or another, he's framed by the strangers for theft and murder, arrested for breaking into a house he didn't realize was inhabited, is nearly hanged, and the ferry he takes to cross the river is destroyed, leaving him to get across himself.
* CrapsackWorld: As to be expected, given its author. The tinker makes this explicitly clear. However, it's a downplayed example compared to [=McCarthy's=] later works, as Rinthy is (for the most part, anyway) treated with hospitality throughout her journey.
* DarkIsEvil: It's in the title! Plus the strangers are clad in dark clothing, further adding to their malevolence.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Strongly implied Rinthy has a final breakdown when she discovers the death of her child.]]
* DomesticAbuser: Rinthy meets a woman and her husband, and the husband certainly appears to be this, given his temper. She's forced to flee shortly after.
* EatsBabies: [[spoiler:Rinthy's baby is murdered and eaten by the strangers.]]
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:By the time Culla finds the baby, the strangers have gouged out one of its eyes.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: Whenever they meet Culla, the strangers are welcoming to him, letting him sit down with them at the fire.
* ForTheEvulz: The strangers wander around, murdering those they encounter, seemingly for their own amusement.
* FrameUp: The strangers kill anyone that Culla runs across, leaving the impression that he's responsible for their murders.
* {{Gorn}}: Not much, compared to, say, ''Literature/BloodMeridian'', but it is certainly gory in parts.
* GuttedLikeAFish: [[spoiler:The farmer that Culla met earlier is stabbed and gutted alive by the bearded stranger.]]
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: At the end, after being an unrepentant jackass throughout the entire novel, [[spoiler:Culla tries to convince the strangers to give Rinthy her baby back. It doesn't work, and the baby is killed and presumably eaten.]]
* HopeSpot:
** Rinthy gets one in the form of a doctor visit. The doctor tells her that since she's still lactating, her baby is still alive. [[spoiler:By the time she finds the baby, it's dead and cannibalized by the strangers.]]
** It almost seems like the strangers are willing to return the baby to Rinthy, [[spoiler:but then one of them slashes its throat.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: Entirely up for debate, but the strangers might be this. At times, they come off as almost entirely inhuman, and it almost seems like they exist solely to punish Culla for giving away his and Rinthy's baby.
* ImAHumanitarian: It's all but stated that the strangers are cannibals, when one of them offers a piece of bloody meat to Culla.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Culla goes through hell, with everyone he meets abusing him and treating him like shit as some sort of karmic retribution for his actions. [[spoiler:The ending implies that the rest of his days will probably be thoroughly miserable.]]
* MindScrew: The entire book is, in true [=McCarthyan=] fashion, bizarre and trippy.
* MistakenForMurderer: Culla is accused of murdering Vernon. He nearly gets lynched for it.
* ShoutOut:
** The title of the book comes from Literature/TheBible, specifically Matthew 22:13:
--> Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
** There's also references to Myth/ClassicalMythology, such as the strangers, who are — as mentioned above — thought to be expies of the three fates, and Culla crossing the river at night is a direct reference to the crossing of the River Styx.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While looking for a place to work and to stay, Rinthy comes across a woman, who goes inside and never comes out.
* WouldHitAGirl: The tinker slaps Rinthy for trying to tell him that the baby is hers and Culla's.
''Outer Dark'' is the second novel by famed author Creator/CormacMcCarthy.
A SouthernGothic tale set around the turn of the 19th century, the story follows siblings Rinthy and Culla Holme. Rinthy has just given birth to Culla's child, only for Culla to lie to her about the newborn's fate. When Rinthy finds out the truth, she goes on a search for her child, while Culla follows her, all while trailed by a band of sinister, murderous strangers.
----
!!Tropes in this work include:
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:At the end, the tinker is revealed to have been murdered, and Rinthy's baby eaten by the strangers, making her journey pointless.]]
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The strangers are given certain supernatural attributes such as always knowing where Culla is and showing a distinct awareness about his incestuous relationship with Rinthy, are comparable to the three fates in Myth/ClassicalMythology and referred to as "revenants", but it's left vague if they're just evil humans or they're [[HumanoidAbomination something else entirely]]. Even Culla is uncertain whether they're actually human or not.
* TheAtoner: Rinthy seeks an atonement for letting Culla take her baby and leaving it to die, going on a journey for it.
* BeardOfEvil: One of the strangers is denoted by his beard.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: On one hand, there's Culla, who's not exactly a shining example of human goodness, and then there's the strangers, who are a malevolent band of spree/serial killers leaving death in their wake.
* BrotherSisterIncest: A major part that drives the plot is Culla leaving Rinthy's baby to die, presumably because it's the fruit of their incestuous union.
* ButtMonkey: Culla has quite a slew of bad luck. Nearly everyone he meets ends up hating him for one reason or another, he's framed by the strangers for theft and murder, arrested for breaking into a house he didn't realize was inhabited, is nearly hanged, and the ferry he takes to cross the river is destroyed, leaving him to get across himself.
* CrapsackWorld: As to be expected, given its author. The tinker makes this explicitly clear. However, it's a downplayed example compared to [=McCarthy's=] later works, as Rinthy is (for the most part, anyway) treated with hospitality throughout her journey.
* DarkIsEvil: It's in the title! Plus the strangers are clad in dark clothing, further adding to their malevolence.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Strongly implied Rinthy has a final breakdown when she discovers the death of her child.]]
* DomesticAbuser: Rinthy meets a woman and her husband, and the husband certainly appears to be this, given his temper. She's forced to flee shortly after.
* EatsBabies: [[spoiler:Rinthy's baby is murdered and eaten by the strangers.]]
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:By the time Culla finds the baby, the strangers have gouged out one of its eyes.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: Whenever they meet Culla, the strangers are welcoming to him, letting him sit down with them at the fire.
* ForTheEvulz: The strangers wander around, murdering those they encounter, seemingly for their own amusement.
* FrameUp: The strangers kill anyone that Culla runs across, leaving the impression that he's responsible for their murders.
* {{Gorn}}: Not much, compared to, say, ''Literature/BloodMeridian'', but it is certainly gory in parts.
* GuttedLikeAFish: [[spoiler:The farmer that Culla met earlier is stabbed and gutted alive by the bearded stranger.]]
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: At the end, after being an unrepentant jackass throughout the entire novel, [[spoiler:Culla tries to convince the strangers to give Rinthy her baby back. It doesn't work, and the baby is killed and presumably eaten.]]
* HopeSpot:
** Rinthy gets one in the form of a doctor visit. The doctor tells her that since she's still lactating, her baby is still alive. [[spoiler:By the time she finds the baby, it's dead and cannibalized by the strangers.]]
** It almost seems like the strangers are willing to return the baby to Rinthy, [[spoiler:but then one of them slashes its throat.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: Entirely up for debate, but the strangers might be this. At times, they come off as almost entirely inhuman, and it almost seems like they exist solely to punish Culla for giving away his and Rinthy's baby.
* ImAHumanitarian: It's all but stated that the strangers are cannibals, when one of them offers a piece of bloody meat to Culla.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Culla goes through hell, with everyone he meets abusing him and treating him like shit as some sort of karmic retribution for his actions. [[spoiler:The ending implies that the rest of his days will probably be thoroughly miserable.]]
* MindScrew: The entire book is, in true [=McCarthyan=] fashion, bizarre and trippy.
* MistakenForMurderer: Culla is accused of murdering Vernon. He nearly gets lynched for it.
* ShoutOut:
** The title of the book comes from Literature/TheBible, specifically Matthew 22:13:
--> Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
** There's also references to Myth/ClassicalMythology, such as the strangers, who are — as mentioned above — thought to be expies of the three fates, and Culla crossing the river at night is a direct reference to the crossing of the River Styx.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While looking for a place to work and to stay, Rinthy comes across a woman, who goes inside and never comes out.
* WouldHitAGirl: The tinker slaps Rinthy for trying to tell him that the baby is hers and Culla's.
