Interview With The Vampire

Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire is a personal favorite of mine when it comes to the Vampire genre. The way Rice represents her vampiric characters is unique in that she brings together a new view on the race of blood suckers. These beings aren’t just the typical violent vamps that stalk down humans for their blood and disappear into the night. Instead they’re shown as emotionally turmoiled creatures that deal with very human emotions and thoughts while still maintaining their animalistic tendencies. They’re also shown as being creatures of great beauty and strength (something that Twilight horribly corrupted unfortunately).

            In the Interview With The Vampire we follow the story of the aging vampire Louis who recounts his centuries old tale to an inquisitive interviewer. Throughout the story we learn about how Louis deals with his vampirism and his struggle with his dwindling humanity. I found his character interesting in this aspect as a just turned human always make for a good vampire story. There’s also the infamous vampire Lestat, who in the beginning of the story turns Louis whom he finds will suit him as a good companion. The dynamic of the relationship between Louis and Lestat, I find, is the highlight of this story. As Louis deals with his new immortal life as a vampire, Lestat guides him along as his mentor while also trying to keep him as his comrade. One can’t help but feel bad for the vamp who must’ve been way too lonely for too long since he has to go out of his way to vampify a human to finally ease his loneliness. When Louis plans on leaving Lestat due to his treatment of his human victims Lestat turns a young child into a vampire in order to keep Louis from leaving. It works and we’re then introduced to little Claudia, whom I find to be one of the most intriguing vampire characters ever written. What makes her so intriguing is the fact that she never ages due to her immortality and so she’s stuck looking like a child for the rest of her life. Because she was turned at such a young age Claudia is formidable as a vampire as she hasn’t lived long enough as a human. If she wasn’t killed by the group of vampires who swore revenge for Lestat’s death, which she and Louis had gone through with, I feel she would’ve become a very prominent figure in the Vampire Chronicles. Shame really.

            What I really love about Rice’s vampire novel is the somewhat realistic way in which she shows how her vampires deal with being immortal. Immortality is seen as something great and so many people yearn to gain it, but would it be really worth it to live forever? With Louis we see how over time he loses bits and pieces of his humanity and he becomes something else. Immortality for him was more like a curse as he ended up losing Claudia and anyone else he came to care for. He eventually ends up a lone with no one and stuck with an increasingly long and cursed life. With Lestat immortality seems to have brought him nothing but loneliness. He’s lived for so long, and until he finds Louis he hasn’t had much of a friend or companion to be with. Would immortality really be worth it if you have to live a large portion of your life alone while everyone else around you eventually dies? When it comes to dealing with immortality though, no one has it as worse as Claudia. When she’s turned by Lestat she’s nothing but a small child and has barely experienced the world. She’s cursed to remain in a body that will never mature as her mind becomes that of a woman. There are quite a few moments where Claudia is frustrated by this very fact and eventually begins to detest Lestat for pulling her into such a horrible existence. Being an incredibly old and immortal vampire stuck in the body of a five year old really doesn’t sound too fun now does it?

            

              The overall beauty of Rice’s vampires is not only their physical appearances, but their character and feelings. Despite being vampires, they still feel emotions we humans have as well. The love Louis and Lestat have for Claudia is a prime example. After she’s turned both men take it upon themselves to raise her as their daughter and help her deal with her vampirism. There are moments in the novel where this relationship between the three of them can be incredibly human and I feel that makes them all the more endearing. These aren’t just blood sucking monsters anymore.