Narratives in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake

Monsters, sex, and (dis)ease: Exploring HIV/AIDS-‘positive’ narratives in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. Dissertation Proposal submitted by Jennifer Dumoulin Ph.D. Candidate Department of Communication Supervised by Professor Florian Grandena University of Ottawa January 2019 Abstract In the world of Anita Blake, vampires, werewolves, and zombies don’t just hide in their coffins. Among other things, they go to school, have steady jobs, run successful businesses, give witness testimony, and have romantic relationships. And yet, preternatural characters are treated differently from – and by – the human characters in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. They’re often feared and treated as dangerous, viewed as a disease and as contaminated, and seen as something to be controlled or exterminated. The treatment of preternatural characters in the Anita Blake series seems, on the surface, to parallel the treatment of people living with disability, disease, and illness in the real-world, and in particular, people living with HIV/AIDS. This similarity is, in and of itself, not surprising – many scholars have called attention to similarities between HIV/AIDS and vampires, werewolves, and zombies in the context of disease transmission, bodily transformation, and identity metamorphosis. Despite this differential, discriminatory, and stigmatizing treatment, many preternatural characters in the world of Anita Blake do not merely survive, they thrive. Using the Anita Blake series as its lens, this study examines how the series contributes to the HIV/AIDS narrative and, ultimately, what we can learn from it in the context of changing perceptions around how we as a society and as individuals treat people living with disability, disease and illness. Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Identity, Monsters, Anita Blake, Social Constructionism, Qualitative Research 1 Overview First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge that I recognize that I still have a lot of work – and a lot of reading! – to do on various topics that have emerged in the course of preparing this research proposal.1 The preparation of my proposal has helped to focus my thinking on my doctoral research project and has influenced how my topic will be approached. I originally conceptualized the project as focusing on the monster-as-metaphor, however, further research and reflection has led to a reframing of the project that emphasizes the discourse surrounding HIV/AIDS, which culminates in the analysis of monster-as-metaphor-based disease and illness narratives. With that said, this proposal begins by providing a brief overview of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, which serves both as the inspiration for and case study of my doctoral research project. Then, a review of the scholarly literature on the representation of disease, illness and disability in the media is undertaken, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS, that examines the connection between representation and lived experience, the tendency to victim blame and behaviour shame, the phenomena of othering, and the connection between otherness and stigmatization, discrimination, and the demonization of disease. Following this, we shift our attention to the literature on monster metaphors, which considers why we use monster metaphors, how monsters metaphors have been interpreted, and, finally, the impact of monster metaphors on the formation of group and individual identities. The third section of the literature review looks at the connection between monster metaphors and the identity and lived experience of people living with disease, disability and illness, and in particular those living with HIV/AIDs. 1 For example, my understanding of the concept of social constructivism and the field of disability studies will be greatly expanded upon during the course of preparing my dissertation. As presented in my Research Plan, the development of this theoretical foundation will inform the first and second chapters of my research project. 2 Following the review of literature, the four research questions that will guide the case study on the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series are laid out and a preliminary methodology is established. The methodology, like the review of literature will be more fully developed during the drafting of the methodology chapter of my dissertation. The code book, in particular, will only be developed following an extensive and systematic review of the literature on HIV/AIDS and monster metaphors. The research design section concludes with predicted limitations and delimitations, while also proposing an additional – creative writing – project. The conclusion section of this proposal explains why the Anita Blake series merits study from an HIV/AIDS perspective, and is followed by the required Research Plan and Timelines sections, an Annex with a list of the novels, novellas, and graphic novels that will be examined, and, finally, an Annex with a tool that will be used to stay motivated and on-track during the dissertation research and drafting process. 3 Introduction “Honestly, when people began to tell me how important the books and characters were to their everyday lives, I was amazed and a little overwhelmed. I wrote stories about vampires, zombies, and ghouls, oh my! I really didn’t think about cultural relevance, or that my fiction could have such an impact on the real world.” - Laurell K. Hamilton 6 June 2014, SuperSpeak First published in 1993, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series now contains 26 novels, six novellas, and nine graphic novels.2 In spite of its longevity, or perhaps because of it, the Anita Blake series is extremely polarizing (Allen, 2013). This is likely because the series tests the confines of several literary genres – romance, fantasy, horror, crime, and erotica – and challenges societal norms, both inside and outside the series, by playing with the boundaries of ‘traditional’ intimate relationships. Told from the perspective of its protagonist, the Anita Blake series begins in present-day St. Louis, two years after vampires are granted legal citizenship status in the United States. In the first novel, Guilty Pleasures, we follow Anita as she becomes immersed in the preternatural community when she is recruited by Nikolaos, the Master (Vampire) of the City, to solve the murder of several powerful members of her flock (vampire group). A preternatural being of sorts herself, Anita is an animator – zombie raiser – by trade and a necromancer – a person with an innate ability to control the (un)dead – by birth. This rare skill set combined with formal post- secondary education in preternatural biology allows Anita to consult with the Regional Preternatural Investigation Taskforce (RPIT) – a division of the St. Louis Police Department specializing in supernatural crimes.3 2 A detailed list of the novels, novellas, and graphic novels has been included as Annex 1 to this research proposal. 3 For the purpose of this research proposal, the terms ‘preternatural’ and ‘supernatural’ have the same meaning and will be used interchangeably. 4 This is only the beginning for Anita, whose work leads her to integrate further and further into the preternatural community. She becomes the human servant of Jean-Claude, the new Master of the City, at the end of the first novel (Guilty Pleasures); she dates Richard Zeeman, the future Ulfric – king – of the St. Louis werewolf pack in the third (Circus of the Damned); in the sixth (The Killing Dance), she ties herself metaphysically to both Richard and Jean-Claude to save their lives and form the first triumvirate of power of the series. With this metaphysical binding, Anita, Richard and Jean-Claude begin to share each other’s abilities. Over time, Anita creates a second triumvirate of power with Nathaniel Graison, a wereleopard, and Damian, a vampire rescued from Ireland (Incubus Dreams). She becomes Nimir-Ra – queen – of the local wereleopard pack after she kills their leader (Burnt Offerings) and takes a wereleopard – Micah Callahan – as her partner, lover, and Nimir-Raj (Narcissus in Chains). She also survives several shapeshifter attacks and comes to carry multiple strains of lycanthrope as a result (Narcissus in Chains). Anita’s evolution and immersion into the preternatural community creates tensions as she struggles to maintain her ties to the ‘human world’. We learn early on that animators have been ex-communicated by the Catholic Church (Guilty Pleasures). In the ninth novel (Obsidian Butterfly), when consulting on a series of murders in New Mexico, Anita repeatedly clashes with local law enforcement who accuse her of being a witch and performing black ‘death’ magic. This treatment continues even after Anita is grandfathered in as a federal marshal. In the eleventh book, Cerulean Sins, her relationship with the head of the RPIT breaks down when his personal opinion about her romantic life is made public. In a heated discussion with Anita, Sergeant Rudolph “Dolph” Storr says: “You’re either one of us, or you’re one of them, Anita.” “One of what?” I asked. I was pretty sure of the answer, but I needed him to say it out loud. “Monster,” he said, and it was almost a whisper. 5 “Are you calling me a monster?” I wasn’t whispering, but my voice was low and careful. “I’m saying you’re going to have to choose whether you’re one of them, or one of us.” He pointed to Jason [a publicly ‘out’ werewolf] when he said them. “You join Humans against Vampires, or some other right wing group, Dolph?” “No, but I’m beginning to agree with them.” “The only good vampire is a dead vampire, is that it?” “They are dead, Anita.” He took that step closer, that Zerbrowski’s movement had given him. “They are fucking corpses that don’t have enough sense to stay in their godforsaken graves.” “According to the law, they’re living beings with rights and protection under the law.” “Maybe the law was wrong on this one.” - Cerulean Sins, p.263 In addition to Anita, several other characters face discrimination and dehumanizing treatment because they’re viewed as something other – something less – than human.

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