This Gothic novella tells the story of a young woman’s susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla. Carmilla predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years, and has been adapted many times for cinema. Although Carmilla is a lesser known and far shorter Gothic vampire story than the generally-considered master work of that genre, Dracula, the latter is heavily influenced by Le … Le Fanu’s short story.
more
I’m a big fan of horror in general, and when it comes to supernatural I gravitate towards vampires as my favourite theme, so this one has been on my to-read list for quite some time.
(The fact that it’s a gothic novel was also a contributing factor towards wanting to read it as I’m a big fan of works from that era.)
“But to die as lovers may – to die together, so that they may live together.”
Carmilla was written in 1872, twenty six years before the most popular vampire novel of all time. It has all the trappings of a classic gothic story, such as a mysterious atmosphere, being set mainly at an old castle, and a general ominous and superstitious aura.
The way Carmilla is different from its most familiar counterpart is that it portrays women in a different light. There’s an inherent strength to them, a feeling of equality between some of the female characters and the male ones, and in some ways they are more capable than the men. Also, all these points are somehow more driven by making the main antagonist a female.
There’s a duality in the characters too, mainly in the case of Laura, the narrator of the story. She feels somewhat lost in her relation with Carmilla, who professes her love for her almost every other page, while she feels both attraction and repulsion for the vampire.
That duality might have been the way the author found to reflect the Victorian idea of what’s proper against that which is desired.
“It was long before the terror of recent events subsided; and to this hour the image of Carmilla returns to memory with ambiguous alternations—sometimes the playful, languid, beautiful girl; sometimes the writhing fiend I saw in the ruined church; and often from a reverie I have started, fancying I heard the light step of Carmilla at the drawing room door.”
In all honesty I have to say that I like Carmilla as a character. She’s the antagonist, the villain of the story, but I can still feel some of the humanity in her. She kills, yes. But if she doesn’t she won’t survive. So in a way she is just reverting to her basic animal instincts as a way to stay alive. And her objective, at least as I see it, is to find companionship, which is what she finds in Laura and why she courts her.
“But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths.”
When I started reading the book, like two or three pages in, I thought I would have some trouble reading it because a 150-year-old book usually presents some difficulties even if just on account of the era in which it was written.
To my surprise it turned out that the only thing I needed was finding the cadence of the text, and by the end of the first chapter I had it.
And from there it was a smooth ride that just stopped when I got to the last word of the book.
After reading this book, I am left frustrated and oddly underwhelmed, and yet there is an undeniable power to this story which is a mystery to me.
The smartest character in the story is the antagonist (who is not that smart), who proceeds to charm and bamboozle an array of protagonists who are all very nice, and not the least given to suspicion of others.
There are multiple events where the fact that Carmilla is a vampire is hinted at with growing strength, upto and including the discovery of a perfect portrait painted in the dim past. Le Fanu doesn’t quite get to the point of hanging a sign, written in fresh blood around Carmilla’s neck proclaiming, “I am a vampire, and I am here to kill you.” But he gets close.
With the characters stumbling about in their ignorance as the Vampire runs rings around them – I was left imagining shooting fish in a barrel. I found myself thinking what if a terrible blizzard arrived that shut up the Schloss for 3 days (and especially 3 nights). Leaving Carmilla alone with only the hero, Laura (our narrator), her father, the governess, and the other staff without any hope of escape. As the death toll mounted, the presence of a vampire would quickly become obvious. Laura would then be confronted with a need to make a decision of consequence and take irrevocable action. Something she really doesn’t get much of a chance to do.
Passive characters, especially if the narrator are frustrating.
On the plus side, the author has made an excellent stab at establishing the vampire genre. He has also provided a clever subplot of lesbian love. Neither would have been easy to do in his day and age.
Also the description of the actual vampire attacks is genuinely spooky and admirable writing.
While this book failed to excite me with it’s general lack of pace and suspense, I’m sure that it has qualites that many would appreciate. Especially those with a taste for “Creeping Horror.”
On a weird personal note. I had a dream while reading this novel where I was visited by a dark haired female vampire and I willing offered my arm to her. Something that I have never done before in a dream. What was also noteworthy was the experience of personal intimacy that accompanied the act of freely giving blood to sustain another.
As per…
The sultry summer evening had barely given way to the night. I had left the bedroom doors open to the balcony to allow a light breeze to circulate. I lay back on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The house belonged to me, I was its sole occupant, but the loneliness of this house weighed heavily – it was not a home.
Moonlight cut through the room, then it vanished for an instant. A momentary shadow flitting through the doorway, entering my bedroom and filling it with a pervasive sense of possession – the room was no longer mine.
My heart thudded in my chest. I suddenly sat up, pressing backward against the headboard. There was someone in the room, the feeling of her presence was overwhelming, but I couldn’t see anyone – there was no one there.
The shadows thickened at the end of my bed. I stared, frozen where I sat, as the shadows coalesced into the ethereal shape of a young woman. She wore a light diaphanous gown. Her hair was lustrous black, her skin pale like marble, her eyes were large and dark, her lips red, full and slightly curved in a coy smile.
Her form solidified. A faint perfume filled the air. She seemed deeply familiar, and yet, I had never seen her before – at least I had no memory of ever meeting her and I’m sure I would not have forgotten.
She moved to her right, floating, lithe, serene. She was majestic and mesmerizing – power beyond words was bound up in her gaze. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her even if I tried.
She sat down beside me, gently picking up my left arm with her cool hands. She turned it over, palm up. I didn’t resist – I didn’t want to. I lifted my arm up and she lent forward.
A bell rang in the distance, a muffled warning – ignored and discarded in the face of her needs. Needs I was a willing servant to.
Moonlight gleamed on her ivory fangs. She leaned further in, first kissing, then licking – finally biting. A single drop of blood fell off my wrist, dark against the white bed sheet. She murmured in delight, my heart beat hard in my chest, but I stayed still – unwilling to disturb her feast.
Everything was for her…
(inspired by my dream while reading this book…)
I am left wondering just how deep this story can creep into you when you read it?
A fun story for Halloween
Audible Review:
Overall 3 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars
Entertaining Production.
I have to remind myself this isn’t a contemporary vampire story, it actually precedes Dracula. It’s pretty simplistic and I’m not sure how you wouldn’t know what the “twist” was from the very beginning. It was enjoyable overall, thanks to the entertaining production.
A wonderful and highly readable Victorian-era vampire tale. I’ve read or listened to this story countless times and it still packs a punch. The last line is amazing and haunting. Perfect read for the Halloween season. And, word to the wise, be wary of uninvited guests.
Delicate and haunting, it is clear where Bram Stoker might have derived his inspiration from Carmilla. A wonderful quick read into the very earliest stories of vampires.
Le Fanu delivered a wonderful surprise with an atmospheric vampire tale.
Darkly erotic and engaging. I almost felt sorry for Carmilla at times. This was one of the few times I didn’t mind there not being a dramatic ending, although there is appropriate closure.
Interesting to see an early version of Van Helsing (by another name). A classic read.