Carmilla is the concluding story of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s horror story collection In a Glass Darkly which was published in 1872. Carmilla does not simply complete this collection but raises the topic of lesbianism and thus conveys the most provocative idea of all preceding texts. Considering the extreme prudery prevailing during the Victorian age, the publication of Carmilla represented a real scandal ignoring the severe, moral restrictions of that time. Women were not understood as sexual beings and moreover, homosexuality was a term people were absolutely ignorant of. An erotic relationship with a partner of the same sex was a thing people could not think or dared not to think of. Among others McCormack states, “We begin with a pious clergyman and end with lesbianism, the offence Queen Victoria found unbelievable.” (McCormack 154). Nevertheless or even because of this, Carmilla is Le Fanu’s best remembered work and considered one of the most influential texts of English vampire literature. It is not without reason that Carmilla served Bram Stoker as an inspiration for his novel Dracula which has been the most popular piece of vampire literature until today. Carmilla is set in Styria with no apparent hint when it takes place. The two protagonists Laura and Carmilla are both young girls whose relationship becomes more and more erotic as the story proceeds. Together with her father and a few servants, Laura lives very isolated in the family’s castle with no surroundings but forest for miles. She is more than happy to have finally found a companion in the beautiful Carmilla. Carmilla who turns out to be a vampire seduces Laura and loftily confesses her love to Laura more than once. While the reader is aware of Carmilla’s nature quite early, Laura ignores the obvious until the very end. Laura has ambiguous feelings for her female lover. On the one hand she feels drawn towards her; on the other hand she has a revulsion against Carmilla’s strange behaviour. During the process of Laura being vampirized, she becomes weaker every day and more and more similar to Carmilla. Laura’s father watches this proceeding sorrowfully without being able to help it.
In the following, I will show that Laura’s devotion to Carmilla exercised through the vampiric act can be read as a female escape from patriarchal chains. The male characters that all play minor roles lose control of the events and are powerless against the unknown enchantment Carmilla radiates.
Table of Contents
1 Vampirism as a an Expression of Lesbian Sexuality
2 Women’s Sexual Liberation from Victorian Patriarchy
2.1 Men’s Loss of Control
2.2 Carmilla's Take-over
2.3 Carmilla's Roles
3 Finally Free or Imprisoned Again?
4 References
Objectives and Topics
This paper explores the role of vampirism in Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella Carmilla as a subversive tool for female empowerment and sexual liberation within the restrictive framework of the Victorian era. The research investigates how the titular character challenges patriarchal authority, redefines traditional gender roles, and offers a path for the protagonist, Laura, to escape male-imposed constraints through an expression of lesbian desire.
- The subversion of Victorian patriarchal structures through lesbian desire.
- The transition of female characters from objects of male control to autonomous subjects.
- The symbolic function of vampirism as an alternative concept of female identity.
- The interplay between the "new woman," gender roles, and gothic literature.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Men’s Loss of Control
Rightly at the moment when Carmilla arrives at the castle, Laura’s father intuitively feels that something bad is going to happen: “But I feel as if some great misfortune were hanging over us” (Le Fanu 79). This presentiment turns out to be justified. While her stay at the castle Carmilla is more and more able to take Laura away from paternal control. Carmilla embodies a friend Laura long time yearned for and she even becomes her lover. Carmilla is Laura’s new person to turn to and thus, the father becomes superfluous. Carmilla is even able to replace men in general as Colleen Damman observes: “Since they have each other, they do not need men to fulfil any of their needs, both emotional and sexual” (Damman). It is characteristic of the father’s unimportantness that he stays nameless throughout the story. Being always referred to as “Laura’s father” he is defined by his role rather than by his individual self. The father tries to interfere the girls’ “male-excluding intimacy” (McCormack 148) by ascribing Laura’s change to an illness. He insists on a doctor being sent for although Laura herself does not believe that she is sick: “I would not admit that I was ill, I would not consent to tell my papa, or to have the doctor sent for” (Le Fanu 105). Like Laura’s father the doctor is very worried and upset by the girl’s condition. The men use medical terminology to keep control of the situation. They cannot stand to have the traditional gender roles be reversed by two young girls who are rebelling against the conventions. Byks notices that the men stigmatise the girls’ lesbian activities as an illness which has to be cured.
Summary of Chapters
1 Vampirism as a an Expression of Lesbian Sexuality: This chapter introduces the novella as a provocative exploration of lesbianism that challenges Victorian prudery and influences subsequent vampire literature.
2 Women’s Sexual Liberation from Victorian Patriarchy: This section analyzes how the female vampire functions as a symbol for the "new woman" seeking autonomy and sexual freedom against rigid patriarchal norms.
2.1 Men’s Loss of Control: This part details how the male characters in the story lose their traditional authority and fail to categorize the girls' homoerotic bond through medical or patriarchal labels.
2.2 Carmilla's Take-over: This chapter examines how Carmilla cleverly manipulates male systems of power and initiates Laura into a forbidden intimacy.
2.3 Carmilla's Roles: This section explores the multifaceted identity of Carmilla as an ancestor, a surrogate mother, and a lover who facilitates Laura's transition toward self-identification.
3 Finally Free or Imprisoned Again?: This concluding chapter assesses whether the liberation of the female protagonists is successful or merely deferred by their eventual defeat within a patriarchal narrative.
4 References: This section provides a list of primary and secondary sources used in the academic analysis.
Keywords
Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu, Victorian Era, Patriarchy, Lesbian Sexuality, Vampirism, Female Liberation, Gender Roles, Homoeroticism, Gothic Literature, The New Woman, Male Control, Subversion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla as a narrative of female sexual liberation, specifically focusing on how the protagonist utilizes a homoerotic relationship with a vampire to escape the constraints of Victorian patriarchy.
What are the core themes addressed in this work?
Key themes include the subversion of traditional gender roles, the representation of lesbian desire in 19th-century literature, the failure of patriarchal authority figures, and the symbolic nature of vampirism.
What is the central research question?
The research asks how the vampiric act serves as a catalyst for female escape from the domestic and societal chains imposed upon women during the Victorian era.
Which scientific methodology is applied here?
The author employs a literary and gender-studies approach, utilizing secondary critical literature to interpret the text's characters and symbols through a lens of societal and patriarchal critique.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body investigates the erosion of male control, the specific roles Carmilla assumes (lover, mother, ancestor), and how these factors contribute to Laura’s evolving awareness and identity.
How would you summarize the work in a few keywords?
The primary keywords are Carmilla, Victorian Patriarchy, Lesbian Sexuality, Female Liberation, and Gender Roles.
Why are the male characters in the story portrayed as unsuccessful?
The men in the story fail because they rely on outdated medical and military authorities to suppress forces—such as female desire—that are fundamentally beyond their understanding and control.
Does the author conclude that the liberation is permanent?
The author suggests that while the male characters physically destroy the vampire and attempt to restore order, the liberation of the protagonist’s soul and consciousness remains an irreversible, internal transformation.
What significance does the "tapestry" episode hold?
The tapestry is interpreted as a symbolic site where the identities of Laura and Carmilla merge, signaling a definitive connection and identification between the two women that defies separation.
- Quote paper
- Ilona Gaul (Author), 2004, Women's sexual liberation from victorian patriarchy in Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/79669
