Let's Read: Carmilla [Chapter 4, Pt. 2]

[guardians_song]

We resume our tale with Laura explaining why Carmilla cannot be a man and, therefore, why this is not a romance. Keep telling yourself that, Laura dear.

I could boast of no little attentions such as masculine gallantry delights to offer. Between these passionate moments there were long intervals of common-place, of gaiety, of brooding melancholy, during which, except that I detected her eyes so full of melancholy fire, following me, at times I might have been as nothing to her. Except in these brief periods of mysterious excitement her ways were girlish; and there was always a languor about her, quite incompatible with a masculine system in a state of health.

May I add that Carmilla does brooding much better than Edward? Edward whines. Carmilla acts "melancholy". And, for all that it's a symptom of her vampiric weakness, let us remember that melancholy is often, in this era of writing, a symptom of love. The unrequited or forbidden kind, specifically.
(Also, note that we are blessedly avoiding most uke/seme dynamics, despite Carmilla's obvious Domineering Seme antics with planning to drag Laura off whether she likes it or not, and Laura's obvious Tsundere/Oblivious Uke behavior where she has gone well beyond 'B-but boys and boys/girls and girls can't do that!' and into 'What's 'I love you and want to be with you forever' mean? :D?' Carmilla's taller, yesh, but she's not a raging manly whatnot. (Not that I mind that, but I'm making observations, since this is a much more conservative time. This would seem to go against the strict gender roles -> seme/uke caricatures in slash theory.) Indeed, Laura is much more active and energetic than the waifish Carmilla at this point, whereas seme/uke stereotypes would dictate that Carmilla be the rough tomboy to Laura's innocent maiden.)

Again, please get used to "languor"/"languid". It's one of Carmilla's primary descriptors, along with "melancholy" and "passionate".

In some respects her habits were odd. Perhaps not so singular in the opinion of a town lady like you, as they appeared to us rustic people. She used to come down very late, generally not till one o’clock, she would then take a cup of chocolate, but eat nothing; we then went out for a walk, which was a mere saunter, and she seemed, almost immediately, exhausted, and either returned to the schloss or sat on one of the benches that were placed, here and there, among the trees. This was a bodily languor in which her mind did not sympathise. She was always an animated talker, and very intelligent.

Locks herself in her room all night? Doesn't get up until late? Exhausted by even the slightest physical activity? Very talkative and animated once you get her going?

Why, Carmilla's not a vampire. She's just an internet addict.

*cough* Um, anyway. This is all hinting vampire, vampire, vampire. But it takes an interesting form, in that Carmilla doesn't seem harmed by the sun's rays so much as suffering from severe daytime fatigue. And it seems that undeath hasn't completely robbed Carmilla of a fondness for sweets. Furthermore, Carmilla's brain still works - it's just her body that refuses to do much.

After a bit of the-past-is-another-country double entendre, a funeral comes passing by. You see, it seems that local girls have been coming down with a severe case of Dead. I'll just come right out and note that usually Carmillaverse vampires take out the victim in a single night, and that the more protracted process only occurs with the ones they seem to like. Have to wonder, from a magical-theory standpoint - are those the ones they're considering turning? 

At any rate, Carmilla is severely allergic to hymns, and complains that the funeral hymn sounds hideously discordant to her ears. This is an interesting variant on vampires-repelled-by-holy-objects - repulsion as sensory difficulty, rather than physical force. I expect that would be at once technically easier to resist and psychologically harder to endure. Less 'It burns! It BURNS!' and more 'What the fuck it fuck it fuck it FUCKfuckfuckfuckfuck ERROR REBOOT'...

The girls have all reported a single attack of "strangulation", followed by unconsciousness and death within three days. Laura expresses her sympathies and fears of plague, whereas Carmilla goes 'Bah! Peasants' and is actively annoyed at being expected to take interest. Part of this is just a revelation that Carmilla has a nastier side... but it's actually foreshadowing in retrospect, since she's the one killing them and is disgruntled about Laura pointing it out.

“Besides, how can you tell that your religion and mine are the same; your forms wound me, and I hate funerals. What a fuss! Why you must die— everyone must die; and all are happier when they do. Come home.”

It's evident that Carmilla is "wounded" by the hymn, as we'll now show.

“Well, her funeral is over, I hope, and her hymn sung; and our ears shan’t be tortured with that discord and jargon. It has made me nervous. Sit down here, beside me; sit close; hold my hand; press it hard-hard-harder.”

We had moved a little back, and had come to another seat.

She sat down. Her face underwent a change that alarmed and even terrified me for a moment. It darkened, and became horribly livid; her teeth and hands were clenched, and she frowned and compressed her lips, while she stared down upon the ground at her feet, and trembled all over with a continued shudder as irrepressible as ague. All her energies seemed strained to suppress a fit, with which she was then breathlessly tugging; and at length a low convulsive cry of suffering broke from her, and gradually the hysteria subsided. “There! That comes of strangling people with hymns!” she said at last. “Hold me, hold me still. It is passing away.”

It's interesting that she describes it as "strangulation", given that it's how the attack of the vampire is described. Is religion the equivalent of vampirism to vampires? One wonders if it would work that way for all religious chants, or just Christian ones, or just the chants of this denomination...

The analogue to sensory overload is interesting, since Carmilla is apparently struggling to hold back a literal nervous breakdown at the sound. This is another point of sympathy with Carmilla - vampirism may confer advantages in the nighttime, and possibly skill in acting, but it is a *bleep* to deal with by the light of day.

Incidentally, has anyone ever analyzed the treatment of vampirism as metaphor for disability (mental and/or physical) in Carmilla? Yes, I know that the lesbianism has been discussed endlessly, but it may also be important that Carmilla is physically disabled and mentally unusual. Is she then a metaphor for insanity and disabling illness, in that she comes on suddenly, wraps her victim in her embrace, and then slowly drags her down? In addition, she would seem to synchronize with the Victorian understanding of the mad - often fascinating, occasionally deeply disturbing, exquisitely pitiable, and extremely dangerous behind closed doors.

That aside, this is a major difference between Twilight and Carmilla. Carmilla seems mentally unrestrained but physically incapable, desperately wanting to be with Laura despite knowing it dooms her to an eternity of vampirism. Edward is physically powerful but mentally impotent, being able to do whatever he pleases, but never having the spine to give a true ultimatum. ('No vampirism until marriage' doesn't count. Marriage isn't going to save Bella's soul, dimwit.) Carmilla's mental peculiarities are also likened to madness she is helpless to restrain, whereas Edward... yeah. Whether or not vampirism automatically makes you a psychopath, that psychopathy takes over his entire personality, so he's a complete asshole whether or not he can help it. Carmilla is sincerely loving but can't help the particularly predatory form it takes.

It's also interesting to note that her brief spurt of nasty behavior is directly brought on by severe pain, with which most anyone can sympathize. I've certainly seen ruder behavior from people who are suffering from auditory overload, and none of them were provoked to the point of nearly suffering a seizure. If Edward's rotten behavior was emphasized as resulting from nearly mind-breaking overload from smelling Bella, no matter how good a face he normally put on it, he would be a much, much, much more sympathetic character. (If a stupid one for deliberately exposing himself to that, but we'll let that pass.)

I also have a weakness for characters who go through a great deal of suffering that they can't help and struggle through it as best they can, so I'll admit this gives me a great deal of sympathy for Carmilla and a good deal of interest in the Carmillaverse vampires. Just a personal preference.

And so gradually it did; and perhaps to dissipate the sombre impression which the spectacle had left upon me, she became unusually animated and chatty; and so we got home.

This was the first time I had seen her exhibit any definable symptoms of that delicacy of health which her mother had spoken of. It was the first time, also, I had seen her exhibit anything like temper.

Considering what a dense tsundere you are, Laura, this is a tribute to Carmilla's patience.

Another point for Carmilla - she seems selflessly loving, aside from the sadomasochistic rhetoric and intent to turn Laura into her involuntary companion. She may not Want Her Beloved To Be Happy, but she's at least forthright and apologetic about it. Edward is supposed to be selflessly loving, but he's a great aggressive bully about it.

 

I now have to go off, so I'll stop here for now (though I probably should say more). Sorry that this is in so many parts, but this is a very interesting chapter. :D;;