I was recently informed by "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" that vampires are everywhere.
Perhaps they're in your house and hiding in your closet but they are definitely in the books on your bookshelf.
I don't just mean in your Twilight book. (Let's be honest, we all own it)
This is because vampires in books don't have to be actual vampires. Vampire-like characters should have vampire like qualities such as sucking the life and beauty out of others, theoretically, yet still retaining an odd sort of appeal. In most cases these literary vampires never touch human blood and they still have a heartbeat. For example, the author Thomas Foster considers Winterbourne in "Daisy Miller" a vampire because he conforms to societal standards that are sucking the life out of young Daisy. Since many literary vampires aren't munching on humans everyday they can be very hard to label and determine. Having read "Daisy Miller" I had never thought of Winterbourne as a vampire until Foster pointed it out to me.
This led me to the question: Who is the vampire in the Great Lenore?
One's immediate thought goes to Chas. I mean, he's horrible right? He cheats on his wife, he has no manners and he's as stupid as a pig. Actually I take that back. pigs are actually reasonably smart. Chas is more like a goldfish.
Yet Chas is entirely unappealing. Plus he is much too dumb to be evil. When I think of a really well-written vampire character such as Julian Pinchbeck in "Gentleman and Players" or the father in "Freaky Green Eyes" they always appeal to the readers, not only in looks but also in personality. They're intelligent and funny and it's only until after they've killed someone that you come the realization that they we're capable of biting at all. They surprise you. That's when I realized.
The vampire in "The Great Lenore"? It's Lenore.
She's beautiful. She's perfect. She's kind and loving and makes everyone feel special inside when she talks to them. Yet without their knowledge, she is killing them. She enchants Maxwell but then marries his brother, leaving Maxwell smoking pot is lovelorn misery and self-blame for years upon end. She enchants Rich so that she can hide out in his house while everyone thinks she's dead. This entangles him in a whole myriad of drama and problems in which he honestly should have no business. His thoughts are so wrapped up in her that he also can't pursue a healthy relationship with Cecelia, who I must say is much more stable than Lenore. Believe it or not, she also hurts Chas. Her staged death muddles his poor senseless brain with new emotions such as guilt and shame and depression. Goldfishes are not meant to feel at such a depth.
And don't get me started on Jez.
If one needed any more information to prove that she is a life-sucking, soul-twisting vampire it is Jez. Jez is literally killed as a consequence of her actions. He is hit by a car as he leaves her pretend-funeral so that he may meet his pretend-love and whirl her off into a beautiful future that suits her tastes. This is bad enough. What's worse is that had he not been hit by a car she would not have met him anyways. Why? Because she's in a vampire. And she soul-sucks. She stomped over a now-dead man who had actually loved her to run off with her goldfish husband.
This is a rant.
I understand that.
But I hope you get my drift...
Lenore SUCKS.
because she is a vampire.
and vampires suck.
I also read The Great Lenore and did not like Lenore's character at all. In my eyes, she was quite the goldfish herself, choosing Chas over Jez at the end of the novel. I also believe she is quite selfish and insensitive to not tell her own husband and family of her death, all because she wants to see how they will react. Seriously, who does that. I like your comparison of Lenore to a vampire. She flirts and charms all of these men, making them practically obsessed with her, and then goes off and chooses Chas, the one whose unfaithfulness made her want to create a false death in the first place. The only difference I see between herself and a vampire is that a vampire actually intends to inflict harm on another person. I do not think Lenore is always completely aware of how her decisions will effect others because she is too self absorbed.
ReplyDeleteI have not read this book, so I don't have complete background to be able to post the most reliable feedback... but I would have to disagree with Christine's comment that a vampire intends to inflict harm on another person. I think that a vampire-like figure is simply self-absorbed, and thus always chooses what is best for them, or what they want most, over what is best for other people. This only becomes an important distinction when you talk about a character like Lenore. To me, it sounds like Lenore is finicky and quite changeable, which makes it easy for her to unintentionally damage those around her. Once again, I didn't read it, so I don't really know.
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