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The Uncanny, Abjection, and Human Monster in Carmilla and Lestat

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The Uncanny, Abjection, and Human Monster in Carmilla and Lestat Universidad Austral de Chile Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades Escuela de Pedagogía en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa Ambiguity, Rejection, and Engulfment: The Uncanny, Abjection, and Human Monster in Carmilla and Lestat. Profesor Patrocinante: Dra. Amalia Ortiz de Zárate F. Instituto de Lingüística y Literatura MACARENA SOLEDAD RIVAS VICENCIO 2011 "There's no reality except the one contained within us. That's why so many people live an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within them to assert itself." Hermann Hesse Acknowledgements This work is especially dedicated to my parents, whose unconditional love and support have helped me achieve the end of my educational process at University. Their words of wisdom have always enheartened me so as to continue and do my best. I want to thank my lead advisor, Dra. Amalia Ortiz de Zárate, for guiding me in this project, as well as encouraging me to write about the things I like. And last but not least, I also want to thank my aunts, uncles, and cousins for their lovely words and support. i Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ i Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1: The Method to Compare ..................................................................... 5 1.1. Semiotics ............................................................................................ 5 1.1.1. The Concept .............................................................................. 5 1.1.2. The Origin ................................................................................. 6 1.1.3. The Text ................................................................................. 8 1.1.4. The Novel ................................................................................. 8 1.1.5. The Character .................................................................... 11 1.1.6. Semiotics and the Narrative ............................................. 14 1.2. Intertextuality ................................................................................ 19 1.3. Hypertextuality ................................................................................ 21 1.3.1. Hypertext ................................................................................ 23 Chapter 2: The Context to Compare .................................................................... 23 2.1. The Gothic or Horror Novel ........................................................ 23 2.2. The Vampire ............................................................................... 27 2.2.1. Mythology – Origin ........................................................ 27 2.2.2. Vlad Tepes .................................................................... 29 2.2.3. The Vampire in Literature ............................................ 32 2.3. Abnormality ............................................................................... 37 2.3.1. The Uncanny ................................................................... 37 2.3.2. The Abjection ................................................................... 39 2.3.3. The Human Monster ....................................................... 39 2.4. Carmilla and Lestat ................................................................... 42 2.4.1. Sheridan Le Fanu ....................................................... 42 2.4.1.1. Carmilla ....................................................... 42 2.4.2. Anne Rice ................................................................... 43 2.4.2.1. The Vampire Lestat ........................................... 44 2.4.2.2. The Tale of the Body Thief ............................... 45 2.5. The Female Vampire vs The Male Vampire ............................... 46 Chapter 3: The Analysis .............................................................................. 50 3.1. A General Comparison Between: Le Fanu’s Carmilla, Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat, and The Tale of the Body Thief ................... 50 3.2. An Intertextual and Hypertextual Analysis on the Features of Carmilla and Lestat .............................................................................. 52 3.2.1. The Abjection .................................................................. 52 3.2.2. The Uncanny .................................................................. 57 3.2.3. The Human Monster ...................................................... 61 3.3. A Semiotic Analysis on Le Fanu’s Carmilla, Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat, and The Tale of the Body Thief ........................................... 64 3.3.1. Carmilla .............................................................................. 64 3.3.1.1. The Abjection ....................................................... 65 3.3.1.2. The Uncanny ....................................................... 66 3.3.1.3. The Human Monster ........................................... 68 3.3.2. Lestat .............................................................................. 70 3.3.2.1. The Abjection ...................................................... 70 3.3.2.2. The Uncanny ...................................................... 71 3.3.2.3. The Human Monster .......................................... 73 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 76 References ................................................................................................................. 79 Introduction The mythological figure of the vampire is older than the Gothic stories from the end of the eighteenth century. Its origin comes from remote lands, such as Babylon and some African tribes which beliefs made its rise possible. Centuries later, the spread of strange illnesses, which developed peculiar symptoms in the victims, caused people from different countries in Europe to believe that such diseases were originated by vampires. Consequently, the most popular belief about the origin of vampires is related to the fact that they were mortals who were infected by those who died because of some of the illnesses. Those infected people in turn died too, and then, they were reborn as vampires; therefore, they got up from their graves in order to drink the blood from mortals so as to survive. Then, these mortals had the possibility of the rebirth as vampires or die due to their lack of blood. Several tales about experiences, which had as the main protagonist the vampire, were studied by scholars who wanted to find a logical answer to these stories. One of the most important writers about vampires and other supernatural creatures was the French abbot Dom Augustin Calmet, whose book The Phantom World (1751) was a sort of guide for understanding the supernatural. The importance of this book is that it was a source of inspiration for some of the most important Gothic writers from the end of eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century as well, giving origin to the popular vampire character in literature, such as Carmilla, Geraldine, and the Count Dracula, among others. Then, the vampire of literature has evolved in accordance to the different social changes of each period. In this sense, the vampires of the contemporary novelist, Anne Rice, develop other characteristics, such as moral sense. These stories are narrated by the vampire characters, who express their thoughts about their 2 condition, instead of the victim’s point of view about the dreadful events. Such is the case of Lestat, who is one of the most powerful and thoughtful vampires from The Vampire Chronicles. Although, the literary vampire has evolved, some particular features are shared by many characters, besides the typical vampiric demeanors. Such is the case of Carmilla and Lestat, which origins are separated by a century. These vampire characters, from Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872) and Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat (1985) and The Tale of the Body Thief (1995), have peculiar characteristics which are not shared by other vampire characters. Therefore, in order to clarify this comparison, they can be analyzed through: the uncanny, by Sigmund Freud, the abjection, by Julia Kristeva, as well as Foucault’s Human Monster. Consequently, it can be claimed that Carmilla and Lestat represent the abject, the uncanny, and the abnormality through their behaviors. Although, these approaches are supposed to be used to analyze human beings, Carmilla and Lestat still develop some human features. The uncanny, abjection, and human monster characteristics present in Carmilla and Lestat demonstrate that there is another aspect in common, and this is related to the reading process. The fact that Lestat shares these similarities with Carmilla causes the reader to see the reflection of Carmilla in Lestat himself. Therefore, in order to explain this connection, an intertextual and semiotic analysis are needed. Intertextuality is used to demonstrate that the actions performed by Lestat evoke the reader to think of a resemblance between he and Carmilla’s actions. Moreover, Semiotics is used, as well, to illustrate the main forces present in Carmilla and Lestat throughout the novels, so as to clarify their connection. Regarding the novels in which these vampire characters appear, they were written in different periods of time and the authors come from different
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