Carmilla Character Analysis

The source material used for “never quite sane in the night.” was the 1872 gothic novella “Carmilla”, a first person narrative from the perspective of Laura, the target and victim of a vampire. Taking inspiration from the semi-monologue style in which it was written, I created an episodic account of specific significant and reflective moments from throughout the lifetime of Carmilla, the novella’s love interest and antagonist.
The time setting used to make the accounts accurate to the canonical timeframe allowed me to use much more complex vocabulary than a more modern piece would grant, and also to show the development of said language across the centuries (to a certain degree), demonstrating how the complexity changes as the years increase. I also used this development to, in a way, parallel Carmilla’s character development, with both the language she uses changing to fit her circumstances, for instance; using violent imagery such as “blistering hunger rip[ping] down [her] gullet” in the aftermath of her violent murder and vampiric transformation, and her newfound bloodlust being accompanied by scents “pulsing” around her. I did this to cause the reader to feel a sort of

Indeed, both Laura’s father and General Speilsdorf seem incapable of refusing the desires of their daughter or niece, and the request to house the injured Carmilla. I continued on this theme in a somewhat less significant way, what with the necessity of “Mama” being in control of Carmilla, however, the presence of Carmilla’s love, with her “dogged determination” and how she “fought… [for] the justice she knew [the previous countless victims] deserved”, despite later being stopped by “Mama”, she is implied to have made a distinct impact on Mama’s operations if it was significant enough for Carmilla to be banished as a