The Humanity within the Undead

In the novel by Ann Rice, Interview with a Vampire She manages to introduce the modern vampire that the world knows today. She gives the reader an opportunity inside the head of the great monsters of the past and present, Vampires. In the old times Vampires were creatures of the night, undead monsters that would prey on innocent women and consume their blood until they were dead. These things, that couldn’t understand human nature and their emotional turmoil.  Ann Rice introduced humanity to the vampire.

            All vampires have three important things in common. The need for blood, the gift of eternal life, and a creature of the night. How each vampire handles these are different. The author shows us how vampires are just like humans in terms of how different they are from one another. The main characters in the book are all vampires, but they are all extremely different from each other.

            Louis, a twenty-five year old man who was questioning his purpose in life until one fateful night, when he was forcefully transformed into a Vampire. Life as a vampire didn’t help with his purpose; they made him question it even more. Louis now questions his morality at every corner. He doesn’t want to kill to eat, but he must. He doesn’t want to live forever, but he can’t. Out of the three Louis has the most humanity, the one the readers can relate to the most even though he is undead.  The struggles of finding yourself and finding happiness, is something all young adults can relate too. Even vampires trapped in a five year olds body.

            Claudia was a very complex character since she was turned into one of the undead. Forever trapped in a young girls body. While her mind grow old. Her relationship with her “fathers” is also complicated to say the least. Louis in a low time in his life attacked her for food and left her for dead. Lestat needing Louis to stay, so he turned her into a vampire. Her conception was manipulation. As a character that is what she is was known for. She is consistently manipulating both of her father’s for her own benefit. Especially Louis.  She even gets him to help her kill Lestat three times.  For Lestat is the reason she can never grow up. Forever trapped, forever treated as a child.

            Lestat the reason the reader’s even get to be inside a vampire’s head.  He is the evil antagonist of the book, the cruelest of the three. This character doesn’t know what remorse is, turning people into the undead to live an eternal life of suffering. His reasons? He gets lonely. Though he appears cold and ruthless, he is just as needy. He can’t live a life by himself, even keeping people alive that he hates.  Ann Rice shows us the truth behind vampires, real vampires. Not the soulless monster we knew them to be. They are much more complicated then that. They feel. They suffer. They question as we do. They just do it for

eternity.