The Similarities Between Vampires Diverge
Vampires mirror the image of normal human beings, besides their unnatural abilities they choose to love or not to love, to hate or not to hate, and at last they choose who they wish to focus their energy on. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire Carmilla shows likeness too Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s vampire Geraldine at the same time having different personal motives of their own. Carmilla with all her likenesses to Geraldine shows more empathy to Laura than Geraldine does for Christabel.
With a better understanding of Carmilla and Geraldine similarities the differences between the two illuminate. With what seems like an identical story about a female vampire and her prey, the choice of Sheridan Le Fanu to give Carmilla compassion is what makes the stories completely different. From the beginning of the stories, Carmilla and Geraldine play the innocent damsel in distress and set themselves up to cross paths with their prey. As both vampires work their way into the homes of widowed fathers and motherless daughters they memorize their victims with their beauty, lovely eyes, …show more content…
Arthur Nethercot states “Over and over there are hints that they are not fully responsible for their behavior, and an element of pity and understanding thus enters into the reader’s attempt at judgement.” This pity for Geraldine and her unloving nature for her victims is what separates her from Carmilla. As Carmilla is destroyed in the end because she let love blind her from the fate that she has carefully avoided through her life. Geraldine sacrifices love for Christabel and in the end never meets a fate like Carmilla, by sticking to her nature Geraldine leaves Coleridge unable to finish because her lust for pleasure will live
Vampires mirror the image of normal human beings, besides their unnatural abilities they choose to love or not to love, to hate or not to hate, and at last they choose who they wish to focus their energy on. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire Carmilla shows likeness too Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s vampire Geraldine at the same time having different personal motives of their own. Carmilla with all her likenesses to Geraldine shows more empathy to Laura than Geraldine does for Christabel.
With a better understanding of Carmilla and Geraldine similarities the differences between the two illuminate. With what seems like an identical story about a female vampire and her prey, the choice of Sheridan Le Fanu to give Carmilla compassion is what makes the stories completely different. From the beginning of the stories, Carmilla and Geraldine play the innocent damsel in distress and set themselves up to cross paths with their prey. As both vampires work their way into the homes of widowed fathers and motherless daughters they memorize their victims with their beauty, lovely eyes, …show more content…
Arthur Nethercot states “Over and over there are hints that they are not fully responsible for their behavior, and an element of pity and understanding thus enters into the reader’s attempt at judgement.” This pity for Geraldine and her unloving nature for her victims is what separates her from Carmilla. As Carmilla is destroyed in the end because she let love blind her from the fate that she has carefully avoided through her life. Geraldine sacrifices love for Christabel and in the end never meets a fate like Carmilla, by sticking to her nature Geraldine leaves Coleridge unable to finish because her lust for pleasure will live