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Remembering The Vampire 12/13/2008 5:01:49 PM
A reflection on "Interview with the Vampire" novel and movie.
(Written March 18, 1995) I recently completed reading the novel "Interview With A Vampire -- Part of the Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice. I was mostly impressed by the fact that this work sort of demystified the world of vampires. The vampires in Rice's work have problems very similar to those of every day human beings although those problems tend to be magnified by the urgency of the vampire world. For instance, Claudia, the child star of the book, is plagued by the fact that she was made a vampire while she was yet a child and therefore she will never have the body of a woman or know what it is like to be one. She is also angry at the fact that she was made a vampire before she ever had the opportunity to experience love. No doubt she is continuing the lament of Jepthardt's daughter. I wonder whether a baby who dies will be a baby for all eternity?
And then there is the constant confrontation and comparison between Lestat and the vampire Louis, the other two main characters of the novel and movie. Louis is full of grace and humanitarian concerns, whereas Lestat is more of a buffoon. Lestat is not just a party animal, he is an animal who parties. The striking difference between Louis and Lestat is vividly portrayed in the scenes where Louis feasts on mice and other animals whereas Lestat sucks the blood of the aristocracy. In an ironic twist at the end of the novel, Louis now dines on humans and Lestat must scrounge around for animals.
I am also impressed by the language of this most fascinating novel. It is elegant prose, quite literary but still readable and understandable by those without a liberal arts education. The agony of the vampires is revealed and this tugs at our sympathetic hearts but then there is countervailing evil by the vampires that keep us from falling in love with them and giving them carte blanche to feast upon our lives. There are also mindless and comic vampires who comport more with traditional notions of vampires. I found it interesting that in vampire land, there is a hierarchy and even class struggles as with the mortals.
Of course, my biggest frustration after reading the novel is that Anne Rice never answers the question of who made the vampires. Perhaps this question is answered later in the chronicles. Initially, this question consumes Louis. There are discussions as to whether God or the devil made vampires. However, this question remains undecided. It may be that Rice wants each reader to come to his/her own answer as to the origin of vampires. If so, more discussion and insight would be helpful.
Louis also seeks to learn whether vampires are evil, good, or something in between or neither. Unfortunately, this quest also goes unfulfilled. Somehow, all of this uncertainty and unresolved matters seem contrived to lead readers to keep reading the chronicles -- a clever marketing strategy. Nevertheless, "Interview With A Vampire" is well worth reading and I suspect so are the other works in the series.
As for the film, a faithful rendition of the novel, I was shocked at the end when the journalist decides to become a vampire after listening to Louis' sad tale of woe. Perhaps in a culture of constant revelations of great men and women who have self destructed, the journalist is symptomatic of those who knowing the road ahead leads to destruction, eagerly travel it for the few bumps of power and wealth along the way.
