Sunday, April 22, 2012

Similarities Between Them All

Carmilla, a novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, is one of the few early classic vampire novels of its time. Published in 1872, it even preceded Stoker's Dracula by over two decades. However, despite the years between the two novels, many believe that Carmilla was, in part, the inspiration for Dracula.

  • Both novels involve main characters with a love interest. Laura for Carmilla and Mina for Count Dracula, though both are seemingly improper. Mina is already engaged and Laura and Carmilla's relationship is heavy with lesbian overtones.
Though Carmilla is clearly a vampire novel, it is the first novel of it's kind to explore, specifically, the sexual advances between two women that occur throughout the novel on more than one occasion. Though books involving relationships between women are no longer taboo, the novel effectively brings up what would have been seen as "shockingly perverse" in the era the novel was published.  Female sexuality was essentially feared in this time period. How funny. Anyways...
  • Both families involved in the stories come from nobility or upper-class families, with distinguished ancestral history. However, most novels published in this time period, mentioned at least one noble character or often a main character was of nobility, so this seems a little like grasping for straws to me.
  • Both novels have similar heroes.  It can be argued that Stoker's Van Helsing is a direct correlation to Le Fanu's Baron Vordenburg, though I won't say why and ruin it for the class. Some argue that Laura is a hero, but I have a difficult time with that notion, much like I do with Bella in Twilight. However, that's another blog post.

Apparently, Stoker took a lot of inspiration from a lot of sources.  First, Vlad the Impaler, Elizabeth Bathory (according to our symposium presentation, A Once Bloody Hell, at least), and now Carmilla. Though both novels are similar in a few ways, the plots lines and situations behind them are still largely different. Different enough to enjoy without it ever being noticed.

Source:  http://www.michaelclutton.com/vampires/Early_Vampire_Literature_Formed_Vampires.html

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