Vampires: Monsters or Lovers?
Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s article, “Why Vampires Never Die” argues that vampires are being turned into these loveable undead beings instead of how they were originally seen as evil creatures of the night (Toro and Hogan 361). Vampire in the dictionary is defined as “a reanimated corpse held to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people” (Soukhanov). Obviously the vampires today have strayed quite far from that definition. Vampires have turned from hideous monsters into an undead romantic partner (Toro and Hogan 361). I agree with the statement Toro and Hogan are making, in this day and age vampires are being humanized and treated more like sex symbols than what they were previously
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In order for Stoker to scare his audience, he has his vampire wearing a black collared cape, two long pointy fangs, and “eyes [that] blazed with a sort of demoniac fury” (Stoker, Dracula). Which for a while is how all vampires were viewed; not misunderstood beings that are insanely attractive but monsters that wanted to kill humans. Twilight took the original appearance of vampires and twisted it in every way possible. Meyer describes the Cullen family as “devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful” and “[their faces] painted by an old master as faces of angels” (Meyer, Twilight). In almost every chapter in Meyer’s book she constantly reminds her audience of how perfect and insanely attractive her vampires are, “porcelain skin”, “godlike”, “beautiful”, and “captivating” are some of the reoccurring words Meyer used to describe the vampires (Meyer, Twilight). The Cullen family is extremely well groomed and incredibly fit along with wearing the latest fashion trends. All of the male vampires are perfectly sculpted and instead of the teenage girls at school running away from them in fear, the girls look towards the male vampires with attraction
J. Gordon Melton, in the excerpt “Sexuality and the Vampire” published in his The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead (1998), explains that vampires have a sexual appearance that started from their origin in Dracula. Melton supports his statement by analyzing the monsters' transition to sexual beings through the stories of Dracula’s desires, multiple countries’ erotic tales revolving around vampire-like beings, the manifestation of sensual themes in literary, stage, and screen works, and their current evolution of the once terrified immortals to loved heroes. The purpose of this essay was to outline the seductiveness of the written immortal creatures in order to explain the fanged-mammals’ appeal beyond their terrifying monster abilities.
In a world with ghosts, monsters, demons, and ghouls, there is one being that resonates in everyone’s mind. The idea of these creatures can be found in almost every culture on the planet in one form or another. They prey on the weak and they feast on the blood of their victims. They are compared to a fox for being quick and cunning, but also rather seductive in their nature. With their unholy existence one can only describe them as almost demonic. So what is this horrid creature? Well it is none other than the vampire, a creature as old as time itself. Throughout history there have been many different variations of the vampire, each with their own unique abilities. But one cannot help but mention
Carmilla is an example of a woman who loves her food far too much. Carmilla is consumed entirely by her food, even sleeping in a coffin of blood: “The limbs were perfectly flexible, the flesh elastic; and the leaden coffin floated with blood, in which to a depth of seven inches, the body lay immersed” (Le Fanu 102). There exists a unique relationship between the vampire and their victims. Food becomes defined in terms of victimhood, distinctly separated from humanity’s general consumption of meat. The need for human victims makes hunting synonymous with courtship, as intense emotional connections are established between the vampiress and her food. As seen in the intense relationship developed between Laura and Carmilla, the vampire is “prone to be fascinated with an engrossing vehemence, resembling the passion of love, by particular persons” (105). For Carmilla, cruelty and love are inseparable (33). The taking of the victims’ blood for sustenance is a highly sexualized exchange of fluids from one body to another. The act of consumption is transformed into an illicit carnal exchange between the hunter and the hunted.
Vampires have been viewed with fear and fascination for centuries. Of all the vampires in literature, Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula is probably the most prominent vampire. Recently, there has been an upsurge of public interest in socially acceptable vampires, like the Cullens in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. This essay will contrast Stoker’s Dracula with Carlisle Cullen, one of the newer vampires from the Twilight series. They will be examined in terms of their origins and how they dealt with immortality.
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the most blatant and powerful symbol is blood. He takes the blood that means so much to the believers of this legend and has it represent more than even they could imagine. Blood is the main object associated with vampires and vampirism. From a mythical standpoint, it is the basis of life for the vampires as they feed off of the blood of young, vibrant souls. From a more scientific standpoint blood is what would drip out of the corpse's mouth when family members would dig up their dead kin to check for the dreaded disease. Stoker takes the significance of this symbol and puts his own unique twist to the meaning of blood. He combines the traditional folklore of vampirism and the immense sexual undertones of the Victorian era to create a simply horrific tale which completely confuses the emotions of his readers. Stoker knew bloods importance in vampire history and used the overwhelming symbolism to convey his own personal lust and sexual obsessions. The scenes where Lucy is receiving transfusions; first from Holmwood, then from Seward, and the unforgettable vampire baptism between Dracula and Mina all have these very erotic, sexual feelings associated with them. What makes these so powerful is the combination of violence and sex. As a reader, you know that what Dracula is doing are horrific and wrong, but because they are so sexually described and associated you think you should enjoy them, but you can't. This is the confusion which stoker implements into his readers minds, especially ones of the Victorian era. This is why stoker used blood as the most important symbol in the novel; to create an intense horror that was not just in the words of the book, but in the minds of the reader.
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Things do not change, we change.” This is a reasonable explanation for the change of vampires today. Readers now want a new kind of vampire; the ruthless bloodsucker Stoker created is no longer the main interest in the new world of vampires. This new generation of vampire novels are keeping people interested, just as Dracula did. Even though they have different qualities; they all have a little piece of Dracula to start with.
When the vampire came about the thought of the monsters themselves were terrifying, and to view one they were ghostly pale with dark sunken eyes, large nose similar to that of the stereotypical witch, pointed ears like an elf and dark hair usually dark brown if not black. The original folklore on vampires showed a terrifying creature that you would know if you would see it out and about during the night. Today’s films and novels want to present you with an attractive vampire, like dying and becoming an immortal being is something a human would want to do because they would become more attractive. But also in today’s depiction of the vampire they have no obvious tells that a person is a vampire until they get angry and the fangs elongate. The idea of the vampire has shifted so drastically over the course of time, from fear to an admiration of a creature that could kill you in seconds. In the popular culture of today, the vampire is something attractive that girls pine after and want to be since there are a multitude of romance novels printed today with the male leads being portrayed as a
Over the years, people have given new outlooks on the original vampire, Dracula. He was a tall, non-attractive looking man who would never come out during the day. Hollywood, however, has made new vampire stories such as Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries/The Originals that have new ideas of a vampire. These novels/books all have differences, but some still have key characteristics of the original vampire. Similar to Dracula, Twilight’s vampires have many of the same characteristics.
Firstly I will look at sexuality and sexual deviancy in vampire literature; vampires are often representative of the manifestation of ‘evil’ in society, they are ‘the other’ and are used to portray undesirable moral characteristics. It is not a surprise, then, that vampires are often written as being sexually deviant- especially female vampires. Women living in Britain in the Victorian era were forced to comply with the ideals of society at the time for their gender, they were supposed to be submissive to their husbands, meek and domesticated, this was known as ‘the angel in the house’, a popular term coined to describe the ‘ideal’ Victorian woman. In gothic literature, women are usually portrayed in one of two ways, as ‘the angel in the house’ or a ‘femme fatale’. Female sexuality was seen as being very deviant and scandalous at the time, women were supposed to be virtuous and virginal, it is obvious, then, that female vampires should be sexual. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) was written at a very important time, both in the midst of the Victorian era and also at a time of an emergence of a new role for women, the ‘new woman’. The ‘new woman’ was educated, more openly sexual, and sought autonomy from her male counterparts
The biggest difference is the fact that unlike in the earlier vampire tales, modern vampires are perceived as inhumanly attractive. Afterall, Dracula is described as a “tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white mustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of color about him anywhere.” (Dracula, 42). Whereas in Twilight, “Everyone of them was chalky pale… They all had very dark eyes despite the range in their hair...were all, devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.” (Twilight, 18-19). Another dissimilarity is that Dracula does not have a reflection. While Jonathan Harker may be unable to see the Count in his mirror, in Twilight, Edward shows up in pictures and has a reflection. Lastly, another major difference between the two kinds of vampires lies in their sleeping habits. Twilight vampires do not sleep in coffins, in fact, they do not sleep at all. But in Dracula, Jonathan discovers the count sleeping in a
The “Otherness” Dracula possesses reinforces our own norms and beliefs through his transgression that separates him from society and the polarity to Western norms and ideals makes him an effective device for extorting revulsion and horror. Stoker’s novel employs Gothic tradition, providing “the principle embodiments and evocations of cultural anxieties” from which the very Gothic mood and horror is produced, establishing the baseline used to distinguish the modern vampires, as part of vampire mythology within the Gothic (Botting Aftergothic 280). Differences Between Dracula and Twilight The similarities between the two novels are namely Gothic imagery and theme, but the Gothic mood predominates in Dracula over Twilight and it is this difference that makes Twilight not belong in the vampire canon. Horror is the element that Dracula possesses that Edward does not, and it is crucial in the interplay between transgression and limit.
Over the years people have given new out looks on the original vampire, Dracula. He was a tall non-attractive looking man who would never come out during the day. Hollywood however has made new vampire stories such as Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries/The Originals that have new ideas of a vampire. These novels/books all have differences, but some still have key characteristics of the original vampire.
Humanity has always been fascinated with the allure of immortality and although in the beginning vampires were not a symbol of this, as time passed and society changed so did the ideas and perceptions surrounding them. The most important thing to ask yourself at this point is 'What is immortality?' Unfortunately this isn't as easily answered as asked. The Merriam Webster Dictionary says immortality is 'the quality or state of being immortal; esp : unending existence' while The World Book Encyclopedia states it as 'the continued and eternal life of a human being after the death of the body.' A more humorous definition can be found in The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce:
When the word “vampire” comes to mind, people think of the traditional pale-faced, malicious bloodsuckers, sporting a cape and killing people when they’re sleeping. Wrong! Nowadays, the image of a vampire is a handsome, polite, and loving person who protects humans. The new cultural phenomenon Twilight is building a new degrading image for vampires that slaps the face of all previous authors, directors, writers, etc. who contributed to giving the monster its unique image in the past.
The author’s op-ed piece was published in 2009, the very peak of the vampire contagion, where one could find these creatures wherever they looked. This pandemonium that arose from vampires is what drove del Toro and Hogan to pen “Why Vampires Never Die.” Furthermore, the purpose behind this essay is to give an abridged description of the past of vampires for the people who had become fanatics of the creatures. Also, this essay showed how vampires have persisted in pop culture. They suggest that vampires have been remade by diverse cultures at different times, and this change echoes that society's angst and concerns. The novelist’s imply that Stroker’s Dracula may mirror an exaggerated human on a prim...