Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla was interesting to me as it seems a little different from other vampire novels I’ve read. This isn’t the first time I’ve read a vampire story with a female vampire. It isn’t nearly as common of course, but it has the same tone and feeling to it as a male vampire story. On that subject, I would look to look at question number three. The relationship between the narrator and Carmilla seems to be deeper and more intimate than just simple friendship.
“I took her hand as I spoke. I was a little shy, as lonely people are, but the situation made me eloquent and even bold. She pressed my hand, she laid hers upon it, and her eyes glowed as, looking hastily into mine, she smiled again and blushed.” (p.259)
“She held me close in her pretty arms for a moment and whispered in my ear, ‘Good night, darling, it is very hard to part with you, but good-night; to-morrow, but not too early, I shall see you again.” (p.261)
In the flow of the story, a relationship between two females (or two males as we may see hints of in other vampire stories such as Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles) is perfectly acceptable. Is this unnatural? Not at all. Within these stories, it is impossible to resist the beauty of the vampiric character. A character may be drawn to their perfect features or charming nature and become completely infatuated with them. Carmilla is described several times within the first part of the story are being beautiful, the narrator can hardly be blamed for liking Carmilla.
“She was so beautiful and so indescribably engaging.” (p. 261)
“Her looks lost nothing in daylight—she was certainly the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.” (p.261)
“She was slender and wonderfully graceful. Except that her movements were languid—very languid—indeed, there was nothing in her appearance to indicate an invalid. Her complexion was rich and brilliant; her features were small and beautifully formed; her eyes large, dark, and lustrous; her hair was quite wonderful I never saw hair so magnificently thick and long when it was down her shoulders.” (p.262)
As the story progresses, so does their relationship.
“I am sure, Carmilla, you have been in love; that there is at this moment, an affair of the heart going on.’
‘I have been in love with no one, and never shall,’ she whispered, ‘unless it should be with you.’ (p.273)
It’s very sweet, yet when I think of when the novel was written (1872) I can’t imagine sexual relationships like this were well accepted, vampire or not. Does vampire literature like this bring controversy? In fact, proper Christian values are mentioned several times. It's interesting to think about the taboo nature of the possible love between the two characters.
It is also interesting to see, as the story continues, Carmilla’s character unfold. She is the mysterious, dark figure in the story and yet she acts very human-like and childish in parts. She is easily angered, she is upset when the narrator sings for the passing funeral and she acts afraid and lonely. She seems enigmatic and charming in parts, but in other parts she seems quite normal. She is certainly different from Lord Ruthven.
You make a lot of good points! As I was reading I too was wondering about the time period the this was written in and the love that the two characters seem to share. It seems that people of that time would be offended by such things as two girls falling in love. I wonder if this affected the books popularity when it was first written and published? It would be interesting to find out if the book was shunned or something because of this.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Carmilla really loves the narrator though. You think of vampires as manipulative creatures, most often, and the fact that (as your post said) "She seems enigmatic and charming in parts, but in other parts she seems quite normal." Do you think she is being charming to manipulate the people around her? That she knows how her beauty affects people and uses it to her advantage?
Just a thought.
I'm struggling to find contemporary reviews, but as far as I know, no one spoke out against the "strange love" between Laura and Carmilla. This actually tells us a great deal about how "fluid" the relationships between women were in the nineteenth century. Bear in mind that the term "lesbian" didn't enter into everyday lexicon until very late in the nineteenth century and that it is we contemporary readers who place that label on these sorts of actions. I would assume that contemporary readers might be ill at ease at some of the more "erotic" moments, but I think because Carmilla is labeled a "monster," it gets a pass. In that sense, we might want to consider how the vampire allows readers to safely explore a type of sexuality that might otherwise be "forbidden."
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the label of "lesbian" and its origins, I found this excerpt from a wiki article. Thought you might find this interesting:
The development of medical knowledge was a significant factor in further connotations of the term. In the middle of the 19th century, medical writers attempted to establish ways to identify male homosexuality, which was considered a significant social problem in most Western societies. In categorizing behavior that indicated what was referred to as "inversion" by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, researchers determined what was normal sexual behavior for men and women, and therefore to what extent men and women varied from the "perfect male sexual type" and the "perfect female sexual type".[5] Far less literature focused on female homosexual behavior than on male homosexuality, as medical professionals did not consider it a significant problem. In some cases it was not acknowledged to exist. However, sexologists Richard von Krafft-Ebbing from Germany, and Britain's Havelock Ellis wrote some of the earliest and more enduring categorizations of female same sex attraction, approaching it as a form of insanity.[6]
(you can find the full text here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian)
I find it interesting at the end that many of these "sexologists" saw lesbianism as a form of insanity. We might consider how Laura's "illness" could be a metaphor or a "code" for her new-found sexuality.
I really liked your blog, you made a lot of good points. I also wondered how well received the realtionship between the two characters would've been. In the first passage you quoted they sound like nervous, lovesick teenagers nervous about flirting. It seems odd to me that in the same book where they reference christian values that they would have lesbian vampires, but perhaps it wasn't read into at the time as much as we do now.
ReplyDeleteAs to Lindsay's comment, I don't think it really affected the popularity, it was still an influential novel at the time. It influenced many writer's of the time including Bram Stoker. Also, it was part of a book of short stories, and it was at the end, so it may have been forgiven. Also, your question about Carmilla's beauty reminded me of something. I'm not sure if it pertains to Vampires, but I know in some folklore creatures have the ability to glamour people, which is basically like hypnotizing them. I think I remember reading about this in reference to vampires glamouring people in order to feed on them, but I can't rightly remember. Does that sound familiar?
"In the flow of the story, a relationship between two females (or two males as we may see hints of in other vampire stories such as Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles) is perfectly acceptable. Is this unnatural? Not at all. Within these stories, it is impossible to resist the beauty of the vampiric character. A character may be drawn to their perfect features or charming nature and become completely infatuated with them. Carmilla is described several times within the first part of the story are being beautiful, the narrator can hardly be blamed for liking Carmilla". I really enjoyed this part of your post in particular. I enjoyed it because it brought my mind on the topic of lust, vampire lust. Are these women vampires acting out of lust or actual love?
ReplyDelete