Characterization of Relationships in "Interview With A Vampire"
One of the most fascinating aspects of Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice is it's cast of characters and their interactions. Vibrant contrast is offered between the three main characters, and between the vampires and the world around them. Interestingly enough, the vampires of both this world and in the film Only Lovers Left Alive consider themselves superior to humans in every apparent way. Even Louis grew tired of the ways of man more quickly than he'd like himself to believe. However, this relationship differs between the two works as the vampires in Only Lovers Left Alive tended to see themselves as higher, more spiritually aware, almost celestial beings, while in Interview they tend to see themselves as hunters with humans as prey. Both works gravitated to a culture of a small group of vampires rather than large communities.
The small group in Interview functioned not unlike a family, despite the idea of a family with two fathers being typically viewed as unacceptable by many at the time. Their relationship began with Louis and Lestat, whose commitment to each other was unstable and unhealthy to begin with, and mirrored a real life abusive relationship. Their introduction to each other was through Lestat, who took advantage of a grieving Louis straight from the start. Lestat and Louis became united after Lestat turned him into a vampire; draining him of his blood and allowing him to drink from him in exchange. Considering how intimate, arousing, and sensual the experience of drinking blood is to vampires, it is reasonable to assume that this intimate exchange of bodily fluids is meant to reflect sex at the start of a relationship.
Using Louis's emotional vulnerability to exploit him, Lestat placed Louis in a position where he was dependent on Lestat for his very survival, convincing him that without Lestat's guidance, he would die. All this was done in exchange for material possession: Louis's plantation. Lestat enjoys having this power over others and maintains this throughout the majority of the book, such as taking pleasure in teasing and tricking his food before he eats them, and savoring the power deciding someone else's fate grants him. This is evident as he taunts Louis throughout the book, such as whether or not he had killed his musician friend that night. Lestat is characterized as a power-hungry, merciless, egotistical predator looking to exploit others for his own gain without consideration for their boundaries or moral compass.
Louis, by contrast, is far more submissive and sensitive. Louis remarks on multiple occasions that Lestat was angelic to him, a savior in his dark times, and that he was enchanted by him when they first got together. However, even as this enchantment fades, Louis remains with Lestat despite Lestat's constant criticism of him for his claim of weakness for choosing to eat animals rather than humans, mocking his very nature. Louis also never pushes Lestat to answer his questions and is content with remaining to help Lestat despite knowing that Lestat had nothing left to offer him. This all shows the codependent nature of Louis and Lestat's relationship. It isnt until the introduction of Claudia that Louis is able to break this spell.
Claudia began as another way for Lestat to keep Louis from leaving him, but developed into her own character very quickly. A child forever, her youth leads the audience into a false sense of innocence that contrasts astoundingly with her propensity to kill. Much of her description is convoluted or vague, furthering her bizarre supernatural nature. Claudia, raised by both Lestat and Louis, contains qualities of both. While she, like Louis, strives for intellect over physical prowess, she also adopts Lestat's tendency to dominate. As her mind matured, Claudia and Lestat began to go toe to toe in a fight for control over the other. Claudia becomes unafraid to press Lestat for information and scorns him when he cannot provide it. She eats alone, and ventures out to make reckless decisions despite him. Claudia also, like Lestat, at times can pressure Louis to accept "his nature" that they seemed to have decided for him. All of these relationships are well constructed, with layers of familial or sexual undertones that make it entirely possible for Anne Rice to have been writing from experience.
The small group in Interview functioned not unlike a family, despite the idea of a family with two fathers being typically viewed as unacceptable by many at the time. Their relationship began with Louis and Lestat, whose commitment to each other was unstable and unhealthy to begin with, and mirrored a real life abusive relationship. Their introduction to each other was through Lestat, who took advantage of a grieving Louis straight from the start. Lestat and Louis became united after Lestat turned him into a vampire; draining him of his blood and allowing him to drink from him in exchange. Considering how intimate, arousing, and sensual the experience of drinking blood is to vampires, it is reasonable to assume that this intimate exchange of bodily fluids is meant to reflect sex at the start of a relationship.
Using Louis's emotional vulnerability to exploit him, Lestat placed Louis in a position where he was dependent on Lestat for his very survival, convincing him that without Lestat's guidance, he would die. All this was done in exchange for material possession: Louis's plantation. Lestat enjoys having this power over others and maintains this throughout the majority of the book, such as taking pleasure in teasing and tricking his food before he eats them, and savoring the power deciding someone else's fate grants him. This is evident as he taunts Louis throughout the book, such as whether or not he had killed his musician friend that night. Lestat is characterized as a power-hungry, merciless, egotistical predator looking to exploit others for his own gain without consideration for their boundaries or moral compass.
Louis, by contrast, is far more submissive and sensitive. Louis remarks on multiple occasions that Lestat was angelic to him, a savior in his dark times, and that he was enchanted by him when they first got together. However, even as this enchantment fades, Louis remains with Lestat despite Lestat's constant criticism of him for his claim of weakness for choosing to eat animals rather than humans, mocking his very nature. Louis also never pushes Lestat to answer his questions and is content with remaining to help Lestat despite knowing that Lestat had nothing left to offer him. This all shows the codependent nature of Louis and Lestat's relationship. It isnt until the introduction of Claudia that Louis is able to break this spell.
Claudia began as another way for Lestat to keep Louis from leaving him, but developed into her own character very quickly. A child forever, her youth leads the audience into a false sense of innocence that contrasts astoundingly with her propensity to kill. Much of her description is convoluted or vague, furthering her bizarre supernatural nature. Claudia, raised by both Lestat and Louis, contains qualities of both. While she, like Louis, strives for intellect over physical prowess, she also adopts Lestat's tendency to dominate. As her mind matured, Claudia and Lestat began to go toe to toe in a fight for control over the other. Claudia becomes unafraid to press Lestat for information and scorns him when he cannot provide it. She eats alone, and ventures out to make reckless decisions despite him. Claudia also, like Lestat, at times can pressure Louis to accept "his nature" that they seemed to have decided for him. All of these relationships are well constructed, with layers of familial or sexual undertones that make it entirely possible for Anne Rice to have been writing from experience.
I like how you delved into the relationships between the characters in the story. I agree with you that once Claudia matured, she began to rise to a similar level as Lestat and how it shown a few times through her interactions with Louis. Your description of how the vampires in Only Lovers Left Alive and Interview is accurate, that these vampires see themselves as higher beings than humans, since they've lived longer.
ReplyDelete