Reading modern-day Vampire

Amalshan Gunerathne

The subject of vampirism is by no means a new phenomenon to the world of literature and cinema.

For centuries, fiction based on these shadowy, gothic soul-sucking fiends have fascinated millions of readers and movie lovers across the world and it is fair to assume that the popularity or the demand towards the gothic fiction which revolves around vampires has reached its peak with the growing popularity of Twilight franchise and few other hit television series such as Vampire Diaries and True Blood.

Though vampirism has always been a very popular theme in the world of fiction, literary critiques tend to condemn the novels based on vampirism as mere fantasy fiction where the author tries to draw the reader towards his or her novel through creating cheap gothic and grotesque atmosphere rather than trying to draw the reader towards the novel by employing intense dramatic elements.

Despite its fantasy elements, if we make a closer analysis in to books which were based on the theme, it is evident that most writers have tried put certain amount of realism in to their novels by discussing social issues of its own day including growth of imperialism, the rise of science and the advancement of feminism.

Even if we take Bram Stoker’s book ‘Dracula’ for instance, it is obvious that the book is not merely a fantasy fiction but rather the writer has used the term vampire as a social metaphor to convey and symbolize the forces that were a genuine threat to England at the turn of the twentieth century.

He portrays Dracula as an outsider and a foreigner, a being that came to England from a primitive country, thus turning him in to force of anachronism.

The vampire of English romantic novel was used more as a symbol or a metaphor rather than as an actual character who feeds on human blood. The vampire in twentieth century is often rebellious and violent in nature against a system or the society that seems to condemn and reject his or her existence. For instance Charlotte Bronte in her popular novel Jane Eyre figuratively presents Bertha Mason, violently insane first wife of the male protagonist Edward Rochester as a blood thirsty animal who is incarcerated in a gloomy chamber by the male patriarchy which dominated the Victorian Society.

Yet in modern times, the vampire is more a figure of pop culture and is considered to be more of a fantasy figure rather than an icon associated with realistic literature.

With regard to this theory, it is fascinating as to analyze the Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling teen, romance series Twilight which took the genre of vampire fiction in to another dimension, the vampire or the protagonist Edward Cullen is no longer the blood thirsty; violent figure that appeared in 19th and 20th century fiction. Instead he is presented more as a humane figure and more interestingly as a vegetarian version of the blood-sucking vampires who feed on animal blood rather than on humans.

The storyline does a great job at keeping the reader glued to the book with many twists and turns along the way. Many classic movie fans for instance tend to draw away from the book by condemning and demeaning it as cheap fantasy fiction which doesn’t have the capacity to satisfy their artistic sense. Therefore a question has to be asked as to whether it is a mere fantasy fiction with a good storyline or does it have more literary value to it than meets the eye?

When interpreting the novel, many fail to capture the finer essence of the novel and tend to follow only what is there on the surface.

A deeper analysis on the vampires presented in the novel would suggest that it is not merely a work of fantasy but rather it takes the reader on a surreal voyage and that it also does touch delicate themes which may have a contemporary relevance. The Times newspaper for instance applauded the novel for “perfectly capturing the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation”

Besides the vampires in Twilight series tend to show more credible and believable humane character traits, thus giving it a very realistic sense. A realistic and a very psychological reading on the Twilight series is possible if you give a metaphoric value to the character traits demonstrated by Edward Cullen.

For instance the violent or the animal side of him could be metaphoric of any normal human being who suffers from the similar sort of aggressive feelings such as burning anger, hatred or rage that fumes within him.

Or else he can be considered as a person who has a dual personality.

He can be considered as a person who suffers because of the very beastly nature of his hidden personality which yearns and strives to come to surface at any moment.

Still, what makes him a very credible and realistic movie protagonist is the way in which he fights those violent instincts and tries to overpower them with the humane qualities that exist within him to become a very inspiring fictional protagonist.

The contrasts and disparities are obvious between the vampire fictions now and back then in late 19th century.

Though the vampire fiction has continued to evolve since then, the popularity towards vampire fiction has by no means died away and it is pretty certain that the genre will continue to entertain millions of fans even in years to come.

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