Interview with a Vampire

In the novel Interview with a Vampire, Anne Rice creates two unusually conflicted characters within the archetype of a vampire. While previously thought to be depraved, bloodthirsty monsters, in her novel, Rice offers a more humanistic approach, portraying her vampires as heartless yet vehement and pensive. Louis, a vampire turned by one named Lestat, narrates the majority of the novel, relaying his life story to a young interviewer. As the boy interviews Louis, he, much like the reader, is shocked to learn of the nuances of his story - his feelings. For however degraded his morals may have become, he had not yet lost all of his humanity.

Throughout the novel, Louis faces countless problems with Lestat stemming from the differences in the two characters. Louis, despite being a much younger vampire who was turned by Lestat, is considerably more sensual than him. As such, the act of killing and drinking one’s blood is almost sacred, while to Lestat, it’s merely fun and games. But it is not merely in the act of killing that the two differ; rather, it is in the hunt and the manipulation of his prey prior to the kill that Lestat most enjoys, whereas Louis is appalled by this and feels guilty for it. After his initial kill, Louis staves off killing humans, and instead turns towards animals. On one hand, this could be a result of Louis wanting to fully appreciate and understand the joys that come this gruesome act, and therefore chooses to start with more simply being before working his way up. However, on the other hand, Louis constantly describes, at least at the beginning of the novel, how he still cares for some humans and, in many ways, seems to refuse the idea that he is, in fact, a vampire. So, in turn, his drinking of animals could be a reflection of the humanity Louis still clings to, the morals he once abided by as a mortal. Nonetheless, as the book continues and Louis leaves behind is old human attachments, so too does his morals recede.

I ask then, is this decline in his morals indicative of his decline as a vampire? To be a vampire means to kill. Therefore, as Louis loses the people he once knew and the virtuosity he once had, he in turn gains and can fully appreciate the feelings of euphoria and eventually the community that comes with being a vampire. This change in Louis’ character takes time however, and is predominantly caused by Lestat, one who constantly calls Louis a coward for not embracing their true nature. Their entire relationship is built around the power the Lestat holds over Louis. Pretending he knows more than he does and acting as though Louis would be lost without him, Lestat keeps Louis in his grasp, eventually going so far as to turn a five-year-old girl named Claudia in order to prevent him from leaving. It is in this manipulative relationship then, the value of conversation emerges, as Louis continually tries to better his relationship with Lestat. Unfortunately, his is a failed endeavor ending in violence and defeat, yet the focus Rice puts on conversation over all else - gender, religion, race, sexual orientation- is a nice refresher to the social climate we are used to. It is almost as though Rice is saying these superficial matters are unimportant and it instead matters how we interact with ourselves and others. This is reflected in Louis’ internal conflict, the loneliness all vampires feel, and the turbulent relationships between the characters, for even Lestat, who pretends to care little for Louis, experiences his own troubles. It is evident he is projecting some of his past troubles onto Louis, as he was once in a similar situation with the vampire who turned him. Further, it would seem that Lestat keeps information from Louis both to keep him by his side, for loneliness is something they all face, but also to prevent a repeat of Lestat’s past when he killed his “master.” In this sense, the novel becomes more a discussion of how we deal with our problems and overall dissatisfaction.

The five-year-old girl turned vampire is perhaps the most poignant symbol of one’s dissatisfaction and grief, as despite her mental aging and vast experience, Claudia remains trapped in a tiny body. She is thus both physically, for she is not strong enough, and mentally, due to her loneliness, dependent on Louis and Lestat. Her relationships with them are that of fiery extremes, at one moment affectionate and drawn to them and the next in a fit of rage. She resents Louis for killing her and Lestat even more for turning her, all the while being troubled with herself as she is subjected to remain a child for eternity. In one way, her position could be interpreted as a symbol for the position of feminism at the time. In this context, women were effectively forced to remain a child due to their education opportunities, and as a result, were treated like such by men. This thereby completely disregards their potential, just as Claudia’s potential was snuffed out by having been turned at such a young age.

Nevertheless, these complex themes are lost upon the interviewer, who ultimately seeks to be changed into a vampire himself. It would seem that to him, as with much of our society, eternal damnation must be something he must experience firsthand before truly understanding. As for me, I interpret this ending to be an analogy for society, for no matter how much the oppressed may speak of their oppression, those who have not experienced it may never understand. But regardless of what I think, it is in these vampire’s strife that the mythology of the vampire was transformed, the future of their genre seemingly built on the edifice of Anne Rice.