Carmilla

Carmilla, by Sheridan LeFanu, was a very enjoyable novella for me, as I must admit; I’ve found myself caught up in the surge of fanatical worship of all things vampire related these days. I’ve read quite a few books on the subject in the past year or two, but I think I really enjoyed Carmilla because it brought it back to the roots of the lore. The novella to me seemed to be more authentic and archetypal than any of the stories I’ve enjoyed recently.
The story made me interested in finding out just how vampire folklore fits into Irish Literature. I was curious as to whether or not the subject was common for the country, as I couldn’t think of any other obvious examples. I was surprised to learn that Bram Stoker, who most famously created the tale of Dracula, was actually Irish as well. I realized that I had never given thought to what Bram Stoker’s ethnicity was, but I would not have pegged him as Irish, though I have no explanations why.
Through my explorations into the subject, I see that vampires really were not very prevalent in Irish literature, although there are a few tales to be found, as well as a notable use of vampire imagery in James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Focusing on the Carmilla work, there are many parts of the story that intrigued me. Although it was written almost a century and a half ago, I found it very easy to follow. In my experience, many stories dating back to the later nineteenth century can be hard to relate to or read without having to stop and check vocabulary or wording. This was not the case for me this time. I was able to breeze right through the story- finishing it in one sitting (although it is not too difficult of a feat, considering the length of it). I found myself being able to see the story though Laura’s eyes. When many of the young women of the area were succumbing to this mysterious illness and Laura worried that perhaps a plague was upon them, it made me really imagine being alive in those times, when plagues were not just something we read about in history lessons, but a harsh reality.
One thing the story leaves me wanting of an explanation was- who were the accomplices who set up the situations where Carmilla (or Millarca) was left with the unsuspecting families? Who was the woman who pretended to be her mother, or the elderly black woman in the carriage after it was righted? Maybe these relations were explained, but if they were, I must have missed it. At first, I imagined that they were also vampires, and they all worked together, but according to the story, upon the desecration of Mircalla Karnstein’s body, the region was relieved of the mysterious attacks that were ultimately explained by the vampire activity.
Overall, I was genuinely entertained with the story of Carmilla and wish there was more to it! It kept me on my toes and my emotions heightened throughout its entirety. Not only was I rooting for Laura to figure out the cause of her ailments and to overcome the threat, but I also in ways found myself liking Carmilla and hoping she would somehow change her vampiric ways! (if that’s possible!) In truth, I held a very American attitude I suppose, hoping that she could be “rehabilitated” and reintroduced to society as a non-threat, ha ha. In the end though, I understood that she had to be destroyed and peace restored to the region, but I was left feeling that the story left a door open to further exploits if the author had so chosen to explore.