Week 2: Vampires - Love and Pain
The contemporary vampire tale has become a means of exploring a relationship with a complex and contradictory character, revitalizing the plot of forbidden love. In your reading for the week what pairs of ideas or representations does the author place in opposition to one another? Does the author seem to privilege one set of ideas or values over the other? What set of values does the vampire represent? Are those the dominant or privileged ideas advanced in the work? How does the story you read embody larger arguments about values in human society? Does the work seem to express a simple morality on the surface, but a more complex moral environment once one considers the issues at more depth? What values does the work really seem to portray?
While reading Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice, a couple of main opposing ideas stuck out to me: the fear of death VS curse of immortality, human nature VS vampire nature and companionship VS true love. With the fear of death VS curse of immortality, we see mainly Louis and Claudia, hating the vampire nature of immortality. Louis believes his immortality as a curse especially in his beginnings of being a vampire as he questioned his existence, "...it completely overwhelmed me, and in that state I had no desire to live...Am I damned? Am I from the devil? Is my very nature that of a devil? I was asking myself over and over. And if it is, why then do I revolt against it...What have I become in becoming a vampire? Where I am I to go? And all the while, as the death wish caused me to neglect my thirst, my thirst grew hotter..." Until Claudia, we see Lestat lives without meaning. Claudia on the other hand, also is frustrated with the curse of her immortality as she remains in the body of a five year old child. Even though her mind and intelligence grows to become that of a woman, she is trapped in a child's body. With human nature VS vampire nature, we see that Louis has his own set of human values, he does not wish to harm humans intentionally and seeks to feed from mostly animals. Lestat on the other hand, particularly enjoys wining and dining his prey, gaining their trust and seducing them before he kills, showcasing his vampire nature compared to Louis' hesitant one. Although Louis abandons his human nature and kills humans without thought after Claudia's death, we see his progression from his guilty human nature into his abandonment of it. In part four, Louis tells the interviewer, "I sought for nothing in the once great source of change which is humanity. And even in my love and absorption with the beauty of the world, I sought to learn nothing could be given back to humanity." In the final opposing set of ideas, companionship VS true love, I believe that Lestat craved companionship with Louis, going as far as to want him back even though Louis has tried to murder him numerous times. I also believe Armand only craved companionship with Louis as well, as he leaves Louis after seeing that Louis had also abandoned his human nature and turned into an emotionless killing vampire after the traumatic incident of Claudia's death. Claudia also sought companionship with Madeleine, knowing that Louis would replace her with Armand. However, I believe the love between Claudia and Louis was real. Although it is a complicated relationship that teeters between love between a father and his "daughter" or a romantic love, we see that the two compliment each other as companions and that Louis can't bear to live after Claudia dies. He loses passion, love and happiness and he becomes cold and distant even when he continues his life with Armand.
I believe that Rice privileges human nature/morality much more than some of the other themes in her novel. We are given glimpses into Louis' inner thoughts in parts of the novel as he usually is reprimanding the vampire nature of killing humans or as he disapproves of Lestat's cruel murderous ways. In part one of the novel, as Lestat invites prostitutes/courtesans over to his and Louis' place, he kills one of the women quickly, draining her of blood, while the other doesn't die immediately. Instead of killing her off quickly, he drains her slowly, keeping a conversation with Louis while making gashes on her wrist to release blood into his glass while she is mildly conscious and terrified. We see Louis being disgusted with his behavior and begging him to leave her alone and telling him to stop teasing her when Lestat comments that Louis is a priest and she must confess her sins. We see Louis' human nature and compassion when he takes her hand and comforts her while telling her, "Tell God only that you are sorry, and then you'll die and it will be over," before draining her blood and putting an end to her suffering.
I believe the vampire represents the values of enjoying limited time, having compassion and love as well as seeking happiness in the ordinary. I believe the vampire represents the horrors of immortality as they're forced to watch those they love, die. Another curse of being immortal is simply being bored of people, fellow vampires and the world in general, having lived through so many years of the same repetitive events. This showcases the blessing we have of having limited time to live, as we will be able to treasure those around us and our experiences much more than if we were made to be immortal. The values of compassion and love are also showcases one of the main reasons Louis is able to maintain his human nature for so long and are one of the main joys of his life with Claudia as he cares for humans (most of the time) and for her. Finally, with the theme and value of seeking happiness in the ordinary day to day things is also depicted when Lestat, Louis and Claudia enjoy their first handful of years together. Louis describes it as "...laughing, we reeled about the room as if to the wildest waltz...You can imagine how well it was Lestat did not envy us this, but only smiled on it from afar, waiting until she came to him...Years passed in this way. Years and years and years." It shows how the happiest moments do not have to be large events, and showcases the value of ordinary day to day life spent with loved ones. I believe these values are dominant in the novel, and they progress as the compassion and love we see mostly in Louis disappears after he loses Claudia and the happiness in the ordinary also disappears from him when he deals with his loss.
I believe Interview with the Vampire argues and comments mostly on the value of life in human society. It mainly focuses on Louis' struggles as an immortal vampire, seeing the world around him age, the people he cares about die and the world around him change, but he loses passion for life and a will to live later on in the novel. The novel also comments on valuing the people around us, and keeping those who provide us with love and support around us. Although for some twisted reasons, both Lestat and Armand wanted a companion in Louis because he was one of the only reasons for them to find a will to live, because he still had humanity within him which made him much more passionate and able to feel emotions much more than they did. I believe the novel displays morality throughout the novel, not necessarily simple or complex moral values, but it further explains the concept and explores both sides of having or lacking moral values. This is shown most apparent through Lestat and Louis which showcases the two sides of the spectrum. Lestat, an old vampire who has grown cold and cruel to humans and the world around him and lacks compassion and empathy, most of the time torturing his prey before killing them. And then we have Louis who, for most of the book, maintains his own moral values, having sympathy for his victims and refusing to kill for fun unlike Lestat.
While reading Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice, a couple of main opposing ideas stuck out to me: the fear of death VS curse of immortality, human nature VS vampire nature and companionship VS true love. With the fear of death VS curse of immortality, we see mainly Louis and Claudia, hating the vampire nature of immortality. Louis believes his immortality as a curse especially in his beginnings of being a vampire as he questioned his existence, "...it completely overwhelmed me, and in that state I had no desire to live...Am I damned? Am I from the devil? Is my very nature that of a devil? I was asking myself over and over. And if it is, why then do I revolt against it...What have I become in becoming a vampire? Where I am I to go? And all the while, as the death wish caused me to neglect my thirst, my thirst grew hotter..." Until Claudia, we see Lestat lives without meaning. Claudia on the other hand, also is frustrated with the curse of her immortality as she remains in the body of a five year old child. Even though her mind and intelligence grows to become that of a woman, she is trapped in a child's body. With human nature VS vampire nature, we see that Louis has his own set of human values, he does not wish to harm humans intentionally and seeks to feed from mostly animals. Lestat on the other hand, particularly enjoys wining and dining his prey, gaining their trust and seducing them before he kills, showcasing his vampire nature compared to Louis' hesitant one. Although Louis abandons his human nature and kills humans without thought after Claudia's death, we see his progression from his guilty human nature into his abandonment of it. In part four, Louis tells the interviewer, "I sought for nothing in the once great source of change which is humanity. And even in my love and absorption with the beauty of the world, I sought to learn nothing could be given back to humanity." In the final opposing set of ideas, companionship VS true love, I believe that Lestat craved companionship with Louis, going as far as to want him back even though Louis has tried to murder him numerous times. I also believe Armand only craved companionship with Louis as well, as he leaves Louis after seeing that Louis had also abandoned his human nature and turned into an emotionless killing vampire after the traumatic incident of Claudia's death. Claudia also sought companionship with Madeleine, knowing that Louis would replace her with Armand. However, I believe the love between Claudia and Louis was real. Although it is a complicated relationship that teeters between love between a father and his "daughter" or a romantic love, we see that the two compliment each other as companions and that Louis can't bear to live after Claudia dies. He loses passion, love and happiness and he becomes cold and distant even when he continues his life with Armand.
I believe that Rice privileges human nature/morality much more than some of the other themes in her novel. We are given glimpses into Louis' inner thoughts in parts of the novel as he usually is reprimanding the vampire nature of killing humans or as he disapproves of Lestat's cruel murderous ways. In part one of the novel, as Lestat invites prostitutes/courtesans over to his and Louis' place, he kills one of the women quickly, draining her of blood, while the other doesn't die immediately. Instead of killing her off quickly, he drains her slowly, keeping a conversation with Louis while making gashes on her wrist to release blood into his glass while she is mildly conscious and terrified. We see Louis being disgusted with his behavior and begging him to leave her alone and telling him to stop teasing her when Lestat comments that Louis is a priest and she must confess her sins. We see Louis' human nature and compassion when he takes her hand and comforts her while telling her, "Tell God only that you are sorry, and then you'll die and it will be over," before draining her blood and putting an end to her suffering.
I believe the vampire represents the values of enjoying limited time, having compassion and love as well as seeking happiness in the ordinary. I believe the vampire represents the horrors of immortality as they're forced to watch those they love, die. Another curse of being immortal is simply being bored of people, fellow vampires and the world in general, having lived through so many years of the same repetitive events. This showcases the blessing we have of having limited time to live, as we will be able to treasure those around us and our experiences much more than if we were made to be immortal. The values of compassion and love are also showcases one of the main reasons Louis is able to maintain his human nature for so long and are one of the main joys of his life with Claudia as he cares for humans (most of the time) and for her. Finally, with the theme and value of seeking happiness in the ordinary day to day things is also depicted when Lestat, Louis and Claudia enjoy their first handful of years together. Louis describes it as "...laughing, we reeled about the room as if to the wildest waltz...You can imagine how well it was Lestat did not envy us this, but only smiled on it from afar, waiting until she came to him...Years passed in this way. Years and years and years." It shows how the happiest moments do not have to be large events, and showcases the value of ordinary day to day life spent with loved ones. I believe these values are dominant in the novel, and they progress as the compassion and love we see mostly in Louis disappears after he loses Claudia and the happiness in the ordinary also disappears from him when he deals with his loss.
I believe Interview with the Vampire argues and comments mostly on the value of life in human society. It mainly focuses on Louis' struggles as an immortal vampire, seeing the world around him age, the people he cares about die and the world around him change, but he loses passion for life and a will to live later on in the novel. The novel also comments on valuing the people around us, and keeping those who provide us with love and support around us. Although for some twisted reasons, both Lestat and Armand wanted a companion in Louis because he was one of the only reasons for them to find a will to live, because he still had humanity within him which made him much more passionate and able to feel emotions much more than they did. I believe the novel displays morality throughout the novel, not necessarily simple or complex moral values, but it further explains the concept and explores both sides of having or lacking moral values. This is shown most apparent through Lestat and Louis which showcases the two sides of the spectrum. Lestat, an old vampire who has grown cold and cruel to humans and the world around him and lacks compassion and empathy, most of the time torturing his prey before killing them. And then we have Louis who, for most of the book, maintains his own moral values, having sympathy for his victims and refusing to kill for fun unlike Lestat.
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