Use either Le Fanu's Carmilla or Polidori's The Vampyre, and respond to one of the following questions: (1) why do characters trust or fall for the vampire? what does this response say about the human characters? (2) each of these stories is gendered in a surprising way, at least in relation to the Dracula pattern (man bites girl). How does the gendering of the story affect its meaning?
Carmilla
ReplyDeleteThe characters in Carmilla were able to trust Carmilla because of her beauty. Laura often times talks about how she would find herself in a trance because of Carmilla's powers. Beauty was Carmilla's main power over the people of the house. This points out the innocence and naivety of the human characters. Even when the carriage accident happened, Laura and her father found the older woman's behavior strange. Although this was pointed out, neither of them did anything about it. They accepted a stranger into their lives. This also shows what was valued at the time of the book. The gendering of this story proposes that women are incredibly seductive, whereas the idea of Dracula is that the man is in power completely. This book questions the absolute power of man by putting a woman in power.
Interesting contrast between Carmilla and Dracula -- it definitely changes the gender dynamics. Why do you think a female character such as the narrator would be so susceptible?
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