WEEK 2 - Vampires: What Constitutes a Vampire? (Interview with the Vampire)

Normally when we hear the word  vampire, the first image that usually comes to mind is a malevolent, blood-thirsty creature looking for its next meal (Edward Cullen, anyone?) However, in Anne Rice's novel "Interview with The Vampire," there seems to be so much more than a simple hemophile thirsting for blood. Through protagonists such as Louis, Lestat, and Claudia, Rice reveals that there is more to these 'fearsome' characters than meets the eye. They are not vicious vampires, but vampires with compassion and desire to do normal, average… well, human things. For example, when Louis faces a personal crisis, he makes his way to an art museum to contemplate several paintings. Even the crude Lestat tends to spend spare time at the opera house, or attending productions of Shakespeare.

Looking at the overall plot and motivations of the characters, the reader can’t help but feel some sort of empathy for all the vampires involved. Sure, they kill innocent people just to drink their blood as if it were a Summer slurpee. So what? All Claudia and Louis want to do is discover their roots; where they came from. Don’t we all, to some extent, want that kind of self-discovery? To know who we are, as individuals?

While the rapid-fire plot is unconventional and distinctive with its many plot holes, Rice never gets too caught up in the gory aspects of vampire lore (much to my surprise when reading this for the first time). Her vampires are observant participants, rather than simply heedless killers—an interesting combination that gives the novel a delicate balance of blood lust and rich insight. But again, the fact still remains that there are many, many plot holes remaining. For example, how can a vampire kill and drain the blood of a victim every single day, over the course of centuries, without the police catching wind? How can vampires settle in luxury hotels and never have a maid or servant notice the coffins? It may be true that fantasy is built on the willing suspension of disbelief, but sometimes it seems too much to ask of the reader—even for a novel about vampires.