Vampires, Humanity, & Homoeroticism

There were two themes of note in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire; it's questions about morality as an immortal being, and the intense homoeroticism throughout. Louis' frustration with his existence as a vampire is palpable, almost like Frankenstein's monster but replace the rage with melancholy. Louis feels the deepest sadness and confusion when trying to explain his existence. And it is just that, he bothers Lestat in an attempt to justify his existence. He later learns that maybe his confusion was misdirected because Lestat, too, knew nothing of being a vampire. The most fascinating thing about Louis' exploration with Claudia is that he's so passive. It's as though he's being pulled along by a string. He desires answers, but he doesn't really want to actively get them. It's less of a heroic exploration; to find other vampires, and more of an "escort mission" by Claudia. Remember, Claudia is in the form of a 5 year-old. She's put up with Louis lamenting about humanity for 70 years.

Louis wanted to leave Lestat but couldn't, he was the reason Claudia was turned into a vampire and why Lestat was "killed" by Claudia. Again, Louis has proved to be extremely passive. Claudia was forced into this miserable existence under such odd circumstances it almost plays as satire. Now, Claudia's morality is also in question. We know that Louis cannot let go of his humanity: he feels for humans and chooses to feed off of animals and wants to know what to do now that he's a vampire. (Looking back, this is certainly an odd answer to search for. What can you possibly do once you've been turned into a vampire? What answers are there really?) Claudia seems to come to a conclusion about her being sooner than Louis. She tells Louis, "Let the flesh instruct the mind," when talking about finding their vampire brethren and encouraging him to lean into his vampiric ways.

It is subtle, but I believe Claudia grew to loathe Louis. But she relied on him because she was trapped in this helpless body. Still, even 70 years after Louis has been turned, he gets in an argument with Santiago about being a vampire. Louis is disappointed. The group of vampires in France have not given him the answers he seeks, there is no closure. I think when he meets these vampires, he finally realizes that life will continue to go on as usual, and this is not sufficient. Santiago is irritated that Louis is even asking these questions, such as if vampires are children of God or the Devil. At the core, Louis yearns to know if he is evil or not, he is drowning in guilt. He feels guilty for how he treated his brother, he feels guilty for feeding on humans, he feels guilty for making Claudia the way she is. Louis just wants someone to tell him that all is good and he has a purpose. (Armand may be that person for him, and that's why it was so easy for Armand to manipulate Louis.)

However, Louis is instead leaving with more questions and recognizes why Lestat knew nothing. Louis says, "There was nothing to know." And again, we see a theme of the very concept of existing being confusing for all beings. We seek out justifications for it, but there are none. A little nihilistic, sure. In the foreground of this beautiful backdrop of discussions about humanity and morality, lies the intense sexuality of the vampire. And I believe the eroticism in Interview with the Vampire is detailed because of the longing emotions that are produced from all of the misery of being an immortal beast. In modern media, it's assumed that anything to do with vampires will have some innate sexuality to it. But looking into Rice's writing, I feel it goes beyond "let's make vampires sexy, just because." Believe it or not, Louis is lonely. He initially feels intensely for Lestat. Their physical relationship, although brief, is intimately described when Lestat sucks Louis dry on the steps of the plantation. Louis describes Lestat in a loving way, and Alors, the boy interviewing Louis, acknowledges this.

Later, Louis shares similar but more intense feelings of Armand. He gazes upon Armand with such appreciation that there is no doubt Louis is in love with Armand. Their discussion on the tower is an example of this. Even after Armand admits to "glamouring" (thanks, True Blood) Louis into turning Madeleine into a vampire, Louis forgives him. They even believe each other to be "kindred" spirits (read as: lovers), and they agree to run away so that they can grow together. I believe this is because Louis is so forlorn and the very nature of being a vampire requires that one be open to relationships, because guess what? It gets lonely being immortal. Is this not the most homoerotic thing you've ever heard? Rice excellently skates the line when describing their love, however.

Lastly, these feelings are emphasized right before Louis leaves Armand. He sees Lestat and Lestat happily greets him. We get the sense of familiarity bridging relationships no matter what has happened in the past, due to these extenuating circumstances. It is because of the nature of being a vampire, kind of like in Frankenstein. There is a longing, out of necessity, an eternal melancholy accompanied with being a beast. Out of this loneliness, I believe we get the sexualization of vampires and the like.

Frankenstein & Horror Tropes

For someone who has never read it before; Frankenstein is a deceptively emotional story. Everyone spends their time whining about their feelings through slightly incestual letters to their families while describing other people's stories within stories, etcetera. It's kind of funny, actually. Purely because it's unexpected from what I believed a gothic novel to be. As soon as I divorced myself from the feelings of what a gothic novel "should be", I kind of enjoyed Frankenstein and the unexpected nature of it. As mentioned, it's rather emotional. We are introduced to the story through Robert, who is writing to his sister in a loving fashion, while also explaining to her how much he needs a friend. Robert's love for his sister, Margaret, is slightly uncomfortable (hilariously so) and runs very deep,  but is only overshadowed by his intense, somber longings for a male companion that understands him. His begging throughout the letters genuinely made me question whether or not this was meant to be a homosexual character, which I found fascinating for the time period in which this was written. I now recognize this excess of emotion is extremely gothic in nature. However, these letters between Robert and Margaret are most definitely important in establishing the incestual undertones of a gothic novel (especially in Shelley's work as read in the beginning notes) and how human relationships are valued in relaying a gothic story.

Robert's initial deep emotional reaction, to Victor's arrival on his vessel, drive the essence of the story. Robert asks Victor to tell him his past and thus we learn about the creation of Frankenstein's monster (The Demon). Again, through letters, Victor writes to his family while in Inglostadt. They miss him a lot, particularly his "cousin-sister" Elizabeth who is not actually related to him in any way. But it's the incestual implications that count, right? Victor begins to investigate creating man, he starves himself, becomes a shell of a man, and due to his curiosity; eventually creates a demon of human form that tortures him for the rest of his life. The monster flees, Victor freaks out for a long period of time. This is then followed by Victor's young brother, William, being murdered. It's revealed later, as the monster chronicles his adventures upon leaving Victor's laboratory, that it was him that did it! Ah!

Frankenstein's monster's great story of how he learned of humanity and his miserable existence, was pretty excessive and emotional. If you're still following these layers, here's how it goes: Robert>Victor>The Demon>Some foreign family's hardships being exiled from their home country>Then that family's relationship with an Arabian woman and her family's hardships. Through the observation of this family, The Demon tells of his acquisition of language and understanding of humanity.

Observation is a common theme used in Gothic and Horror genres. The Demon follows Victor around, killing the people he loves. This causes a great paranoia to build within Victor. Victor not only feels guilty of his creation of this beast and is serving as his own torturer, but now he must deal with the responsibility of potentially releasing another Demon into the world, just to please Mr. Demon. This part of the story discusses heavy-handed topics of humanity and internal motivation, I liked it. It ends with Victor deciding to destroy Ms. Demon, enraging Mr. Demon further.

And towards the end of this all, around Clerval's expected murder, I wondered if Frankenstein's monster could have kept up this chase forever. Or at least the expectation of a chase. He could have made Victor believe that he was going mad, as he was, in an effort to punish him. Maybe that was the point all along. In the end, Victor's dedication and loneliness killed him anyway; as he spends most of the story in a fugue-like state. This led to the Demon swearing to kill himself, as he too felt he no longer needed to exist.

The Demon once said as he recalled the story of the family from his hovel, "Increase of knowledge only discovered to me more clearly what a wretched outcast I was," and this describes one of the struggles of humanity, I believe. The more we know of the world and our existence, the more we know that we cannot change much about it all, and this makes us feel regret or helplessness. I feel that this is what The Demon was to personify: humanity's struggle with the knowledge of our reality and why we are created. The Demon lashes out because he is disgusting and horrifying and is extremely unsure of what to do about it. Therefore he asks his creator, of whom he has tortured, to help him. This appears to make no sense, unless The Demon's motivation; his internal struggles, is understood. William criticizes him of this, "You throw a torch into a pile of buildings; and when they are consumed you sit among the ruins and lament the fall," Is this not what humanity does?