The Eternal Allure of Immortality

106 Pages·2016·1.02 MB·English

TRAVAIL DE CANDIDATURE

The Eternal Allure of Immortality
From Dracula to Edward: The Evolution of
the Vampire Figure and its Undying
Appeal to the Modern-Day Reader

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Declaration of Honour

I hereby confirm on my honour that I personally prepared the present academic work
and carried out myself the activities directly involved in it. I also confirm that I have
used no resources other than those declared. All formulations and concepts adopted
literally or in their essential content from printed, unprinted or Internet sources have
been cited according to the rules for academic work and identified by means of
footnotes or other precise indications of source.

Jennifer Simon
_________________________

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Jennifer Simon
Professeur candidate en anglais

The Eternal Allure of Immortality
From Dracula to Edward: The Evolution of
the Vampire Figure and its Undying
Appeal to the Modern-Day Reader

Schengen-Lyzeum Perl, 2016

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Summary

The Vampire: a dangerous predator yet so alluring and seducing. Over the last few
decades, the fascination for the ancient myth of the vampire has increased significantly.
Highly adaptable to the needs of any society, the original image of the mythological vampire
has undergone several changes to adjust to the demands of modern-day society. The
vampire’s adaptability to contemporary society also makes vampire fiction suitable for the
teaching of English as a second language, more so in relation with topics such as Aspects of
Society or the Media, which are a part of the curriculum. Moreover, in the age of multimedia,
it is essential to include a vast range of media into our teaching. As the collection of
adaptations of the vampire myth includes numerous books, book series, TV shows, films and
even musicals, it provides the perfect ground for in-class implementation as well as a new,
modern literary perspective away from the traditional Canon of literary works.
As the list of book series and films featuring vampires has become seemingly endless
and, still, their success does not seem to see the slightest decrease, the question remains why
the vampire represents such an ample inspiration for the modern-day writer and exerts such
an indescribable attraction on the modern reader and what might be the cause of its undying
popularity.
In the first chapter of this thesis, I will analyse the development of the Vampire from
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which can be seen as a milestone in the evolution of the vampire
figure as we know it today, to its more recent adaptations, such as Anne Rice’s Vampire
Chronicles or Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.
The second chapter of this thesis will investigate the various reasons for the
incredible fascination the vampire figure inspires in the reader, especially in the modern-day
reader. The question that I seek to answer is why the vampire has seen its revival at the turn
of the century and remains immortal through the ever growing demands of the modern-day
reader. Different explanations for this allure, such as the vampire’s high adaptability, the
fascination for and the power of blood, escapism as well as the everlasting human struggle
for immortality and eternal youth and beauty, will be taken into account.
All in all, I will establish that these various factors have contributed to the vampire’s
survival into the twenty-first century as well as succeeded in making the vampire immortal
through his success with the modern-day reader and audience.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 7

CHAPTER I
From Dracula to Edward: The Birth of the Modern-Day Vampire 13
I.1. Physical Appearance 13
I.2. From Demons to Heroes 19
I.2.1. Shift in Perspective 19
I.2.2. The Defanged Vampire 23
I.2.3. A Modern Version of Prince Charming 29

CHAPTER II
The Vampire’s Undying Popularity 33
II.1. At Home in Every Society: the Vampire’s High Adaptability 33
II.1.1. Of Religion, Souls, and What It Means to Be A Vampire 34
II.1.2. The Vampire’s Integration and Adaptation to Contemporary Society 52
II.1.3. From Horror to Romance 56
II.2. Beauty, Youth and Immortality 65
II.2.1.Immortality 65
II.2.2. Eternally Young and Beautiful 72
II.3. The Power of Blood 77
II.4. Our Escape to a Different World 85

Conclusion 89
Bibliography 95
Appendices 105

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Introduction
“I’m the world’s best predator, aren’t I? Everything about me invites you in —
my voice, my face, even my smell.”1
The Vampire: a dangerous predator yet so alluring and seducing. Perpetually
present all throughout history and literature, the vampire figure has been the
inspiration for numerous myths and legends, a stimulus for several authors and TV
producers; a mysterious creature, a predator always lurking in the shadow, waiting
for its next victims: the audience.
Indeed, over the last few decades, the fascination for the ancient myth of the
vampire – a creature that is supposed to rise from the dead and to need blood for its
own survival – has increased significantly. Numerous television shows and book series
mesmerise the modern-day spectator and reader by depicting the vampire as an
intriguing and irresistible character eternally struggling with the conflicting sides of its
nature: human and animal.
However, this is a highly perverted image of the original vampire, as
encountered in myths and legends. The myth of the vampire has been around all
throughout history from Ancient Greece, through the Middle Ages, the Victorian era,
up to the modern times, its representation an ever changing one, always adapting to
the needs of the current society.
The definition of the vampire offered by several dictionaries and
encyclopaedias vary from ‘an evil spirit that is believed to suck people’s blood by
biting their necks’2 to ‘a bloodsucking creature, supposedly the restless soul of a
heretic, criminal, or suicide, that leaves its burial place at night, often in the form of a

1 MEYER, Stephenie, Twilight, p.231
2 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

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bat, to drink the blood of humans.’3 These definitions are certainly more accurate in
describing the ancient vampire figure rather than the modern-day vampire who is
introduced to us through the different media.
The vampire’s origins cannot clearly be traced back, as indeed, all over the world,
numerous different terms are used to describe what we today call the vampire, each
term carrying its own connotations shaped by its origins in different countries and
regions. Indeed, the vampire figure has been around far longer than most modern
readers would expect. As Beresford says:
There are clear foundations for the vampire in the ancient world, and it is
impossible to prove when the myth first arose. There are suggestions that the
vampire was born out of sorcery in ancient Egypt, a demon summoned into this
world from some other.4
Gelder also affirms that the origins of the vampire cannot be traced back to one
single source:
‘most histories of the vampire […] gesture towards a multiplicity of origins,
whereby the vampire’s identity is thoroughly dispersed across history and across
place.’5
Although closer to fiction than reality, legends of ‘real’ vampires such as Vlad Tepes
(1431-1471) or the Blood Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1640) have certainly
helped to shape the continuously changing image of the vampire.6
In literature, various works have formed and transformed the vampire figure
throughout the ages. Establishing a new Gothic subgenre, one of the first vampire

3 Britannica Online Encyclopaedia
4 Beresford
5 Gelder, p.24
6 Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad Dracula (translated: son of the dragon) became known as a blood-
drinking sadist by defending the Romanian Empire against the ottoman Turks and is said to have them
killed and put their heads on a stake in order to scare his enemies away.
Elizabeth Bathory is said to have tortured and killed over six hundred people, according to later
legends presumably virgins, in order to bathe in their blood to retain eternal youth and beauty.

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tales in English literature was Polidori’s The Vampyre, conceived during the epic
gathering of John William Polidori, Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley
and Mary Shelley near Lake Geneva in 1816. Having given the vampire a face,
Polidori’s short story was followed by several other literary works such as Sheridan
LeFanu’s Carmilla or Lord Byron’s The Giaour, depicting the vampire figure and
inspiring fascination and horror in the reader.
Even if various vampire figures have surfaced in literature before, especially
during the Romantic movement, the nineteenth century represents the peak of the
vampire in literature. Few other Gothic novels have seen a success similar to Bram
Stoker’s Dracula. The novel has continuously captured readers and spawned
numerous adaptations as well as critical analyses since it was first published in 1897.
Dracula also represents a milestone in the creation of the vampire figure as
we know it today. Indeed, with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the image of the vampire
began to diverge from the evil demon, the soulless revenant coming back from the
grave to feed on human blood.
Highly adaptable to the needs of any society, the original image of the
mythological vampire has undergone several changes over the last two hundred years
in order to adjust to the demands of modern-day society. The vampire as we know it
today does no longer inspire fear but rather fascination and admiration. Authors like
Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Stephenie Meyers (Twilight), and L. J. Smith (The
Vampire Diaries) mostly attract a younger audience by depicting the vampire in a
teenage setting where the main characters face the typical problems of growing up
and finding acceptance. Countless teenager girls are infatuated with the main male
characters of these novels and dream about finding their ‘Edward’, a brooding,
mysterious, yet attentive and caring vampire who will promise to love them forever;
forever in this case really meaning forever, as they would be immortal.

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However, the vampire hype has not taken hold of a merely teenage audience.
In fact, book series like The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Charlaine Harris), The
Midnight Breed Series (Lara Adrian) and The Anna Strong Chronicles (Jeanne C. Stein)
aim to attract an adult reader by portraying more or less ordinary human characters
whose everyday lives are turned upside down due to the encounter with one or more
vampires.
The list of book series and films featuring vampires has become seemingly
endless and, still, their success does not seem to see the slightest decrease. Hence,
the question remains why the vampire represents such an ample inspiration for the
modern-day writer and exerts such an indescribable attraction on the modern reader
and what might be the cause of his undying popularity.
In this thesis, I will analyse the development of the vampire figure from Bram
Stoker’s Dracula, which can be seen as the first step towards the birth of the modern-
day vampire, to its more recent adaptations, such as Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles,
Charlaine Harris’s The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga,
and TV Shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, analysing the evolution from the
demonic, cruel and heartless monster into the strikingly beautiful, and brooding
teenage hero torn between his desires and his conscience.
Furthermore, this thesis will investigate the various reasons for the incredible
fascination the vampire figure inspires in the reader, especially in the modern-day
reader. Indeed, although the vampire’s representation has undergone several
noticeable changes throughout the last century, his popularity has not ceased to
increase. The question that I seek to answer in this thesis is why the vampire has seen
his revival, especially among a teenage audience, at the turn of the century and
remains immortal through the ever growing demands of the modern-day reader.
Indeed, as Jennifer McMahon says:

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