Bloodlust drives vampiric literature
Sarah Zeeck
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: The Edge
It is nearly Valentine's Day, and everyone wants to do one thing and one thing only: indulge in an addiction. For some people, that's chocolate, for others, it's shiny things, and for some, it is downright physical. My addiction, however, is of blood. I just can't wait to sink my teeth into an awesome work of vampire fiction, especially around the day of love.
This bloodlust could be for many reasons- the carnal nature of vampire lit, the gothic feel, or the imminent thrill accompanying the danger in the novel; however, I feel the major drive behind vampire literature lies within the actual night denizens themselves.
When reading vampire literature, we want to physically be the vampires. I actually find myself seeking for some pale, gangly person to suck my blood.
Even though we're fairly certain (and ONLY fairly certain) vampires don't in fact exist, we're still drawn to the mystery they create.
Two best-selling works of vampire lit come to mind when discussing this topic: Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" series and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series.
The main vampires for each series, Louis and Edward (respectively), are portrayed in two very different ways. The unique depiction of each begs the question of who is more authentic in his vampirism, Louis or Edward? In "Interview With a Vampire," Louis is a very classic example of a vampire, and in "Twilight", Edward serves to be a more contemporary take on vampirism.
Which one is truly the most believable vampire, though? Which one will we expect to jump out of the darkness, to corner us, bare their fangs and plant a life-altering bite on our necks?
Complexion:
Edward: He "sparkles" when he's exposed to sunlight, as if billions of glitter bits were embedded just beneath the surface of his skin. . . and that is the reason he can't go into sunlight. . . um . . . okay.
Louis: He's actually weakened under the influence of sunlight. Not fully disarmed, but definitely weaker. The sun doesn't actually kill him like truly old school, Dracula-esque vampires
This bloodlust could be for many reasons- the carnal nature of vampire lit, the gothic feel, or the imminent thrill accompanying the danger in the novel; however, I feel the major drive behind vampire literature lies within the actual night denizens themselves.
When reading vampire literature, we want to physically be the vampires. I actually find myself seeking for some pale, gangly person to suck my blood.
Even though we're fairly certain (and ONLY fairly certain) vampires don't in fact exist, we're still drawn to the mystery they create.
Two best-selling works of vampire lit come to mind when discussing this topic: Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" series and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series.
The main vampires for each series, Louis and Edward (respectively), are portrayed in two very different ways. The unique depiction of each begs the question of who is more authentic in his vampirism, Louis or Edward? In "Interview With a Vampire," Louis is a very classic example of a vampire, and in "Twilight", Edward serves to be a more contemporary take on vampirism.
Which one is truly the most believable vampire, though? Which one will we expect to jump out of the darkness, to corner us, bare their fangs and plant a life-altering bite on our necks?
Complexion:
Edward: He "sparkles" when he's exposed to sunlight, as if billions of glitter bits were embedded just beneath the surface of his skin. . . and that is the reason he can't go into sunlight. . . um . . . okay.
Louis: He's actually weakened under the influence of sunlight. Not fully disarmed, but definitely weaker. The sun doesn't actually kill him like truly old school, Dracula-esque vampires
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
lena
posted 2/11/09 @ 10:10 AM CST
I just lovve twilight I do some times whant to be a vampire but as they say there not relly but what if they where what would we do i would join them in there quet to be exseptid in life an to be with the ones u love i love this book and think it is absolutly wonderful
dhodge
posted 2/11/09 @ 12:23 PM CST
ms. zeeck,
Louis is the main vampire in the first book, "Interview with the Vampire," Lestat is the main character throughout the rest of the series. (Continued…)
anon
posted 2/11/09 @ 12:48 PM CST
this article looks exactly like something that ran in Entertainment Weekly before Twilight came out that compaired the differences between all the vampires in movies, including Interview. (Continued…)
Yilla
posted 2/15/09 @ 10:11 PM CST
haha... Cute, but wrong...
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