October 19, 2010,
I’ve reached a point in Bram Stoker’s Dracula that’s proved to be rather intriguing, involving a scene which is reminiscent of a typical teenage male fantasy soon turned into a horrific dreamscape nightmare. To briefly give to some back story, Jonathan Harker, a solicitor has been living in the castle estate of Count Dracula, located in the mountains of Transylvania and has been living as a prisoner. He begins to notice strange behavior displayed by the Count at night such as climbing around the castle’s exterior “just as a lizard moves along a wall.”
This inspires Jonathan to take walks around the castle at night with escape on his mind which is where said scene picks up. One night while searching for a way out of the castle, he happens upon a room occupied by three beautiful women, two described as being dark and with “high aquiline noses, like the Count” as well as sharing his “great dark, piercing eyes” and one as “fair, as fair as can be, with great wavy masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires.” Jonathan also describes them as being ladies from the way they dress. However, despite their beautiful and elegant appearances, he feels unease as well as arousal by their suggestively sexual behavior. “Thrilling and repulsive” is an interesting description he offers. Just as he begins to give in to the “temptation” the Count intervenes, furious at the ladies for this but promises “when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will.” Jonathan blacks out at this point.
Wow. This scene has a lot of impact on the reader as it’s rife with primal elements of the human nature - sexuality being the most obvious. Interestingly, sexuality has often been associated with vampires. Of course, the most well known example today would be Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga and its film adaptations (although most vampire enthusiasts would argue that this is hardly a legitimate vampire fiction) with its heart-throbbing cast of gorgeous high-school hotties. However there are many more examples that could be considered much more true to traditional views of vampires involving sexuality and romance such as Ann Rice’s Interview with a Vampire series, Charlaine Harris’s True Blood series and The Underworld films staring a whole cast of “beautiful people” such as the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale as a werewolf destroying vampire assassin who falls for an eventual vampire werewolf hybrid played by Scott Speedman. Even in vampire fiction that doesn’t involve a lot of heavy (if any) romance or sexuality, there is still often a vibe that vampires are very good-looking creatures such as the Blade series (the only overall unattractive vampires that appear are infected with a disease that renders them as sickly, vein covered, pale creatures with mandibles). And then there is of course the scene I just described involving three beautiful, probably sexually repressed females (who I believe are likely vampires) almost unleashing their primal urges on Jonathan Harker. Why is it that vampires are so often associated with sexual instincts, romance and lust?
There are many explanations for this. There is, of course, the vampire’s immortality which would add as a powerful element to the sexual urges. Immortality has often been associated with isolation in time and of course, isolation can often lead to great sexual repression as well as an attractive, possibly deep, personality.
Then there is the idea that a vampire’s attractiveness may also owe some of its power to the fact that they can be pretty impressive when compared to humans. Among humans, vampires have no real bounds other than sunlight, religious items and garlic (depending on the source of the lore). They live by their own rules and they’re beautiful while they do so. They are the majestic, solitary alpha males and the elegant, brooding swans that often pose such sexual power and status in nature. They’re cool, good looking and in some ways free. And even better, some of them have extraordinary powers involving strength, speed or control over animals to name a few. The perfect image.
And then there is the possibility that a vampire’s beautiful appearance may just be a trap to use when they hunt. Like a carnivorous plant, attracting unwary prey into its grasp or like a leopard, using its beauty to hide itself until the right second, the vampire can unleash the personality that keeps it alive on the prey.
All these and more could be the reasons that sexuality is so important to vampiric lore. One thing is for sure: vampires aren’t going away anytime soon (have they ever really) and neither is the sexual element of the stories they star in.
Luke Dickey
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