In Anne Rice's novel, Interview With The Vampire, there are many complicated and different types of relationships throughout the book. I think the main relationship we dwell on throughout the course of the book is Louis's back and forth connection within himself. Starting from the beginning of the story, as the Vampire tells the situation of him and his brother (before he became a Vampire of course). Louis is entrapped with horrible guilt and depression after the death of his brother, which he blames himself for the tragic death. He wishes himself to be dead, drowning in alcohol night after night. This goes on until Lestat chooses him, and embeds the Vampire into Louis, which then ignites a whole new sense of a complicated relationship between the two night walkers.
Louis was enchanted by Lestat upon first and second eyeing, due to his Vampire charm and beauty. However, once Louis becomes the vampire, he sees Lestat in a whole new light. The magic of deception is gone and he sees him for who he truly is, a blood lusting, heartless, monster. It hurts Louis to see the relationship Lestat has with his father, and the way Lestat holds no dearness to the taking of a human life. Louis grows to hate him, while hating himself on the inside as well, refusing to fully live the ways of a vampire.
There is a certain denial within Louis, to what he is in reality, until his crossing with Babette. Whom he admired so greatly, a kind of love, called him a creature of the damned which sent Louis spiraling down in an even more hateful relationship with himself.
Throughout the novel Louis continues to hate Lestat more and more, especially when Claudia is brought into the dysfunctional family as a vampire by Lestat. Claudia poses a great complicated relationship, not only with herself but the world she lives and relates to. As a 6 year old stuck in an endless world where her body will never change or grow, but her mind will mature with the years. She struggles with this matter internally until she releases externally her resentment for her two vampire fathers, especially Lestat who she hates entirely.
Every character we meet in this journey holds a convoluted and troublesome outlook on either themselves or the world they are living in. Again, this can be best exemplified by Louis, our story teller, in which he dives deep into the difficulties he's had within himself and those who he has been surrounded by till the end. Highlighting on the dynamic between him and Lestat who he has hated but loves still to the end.

Comments

  1. I think that you do a great job discussing the emotional relationships these characters have within themselves and the internal struggles they face and what those are. I love that you touch on how absolutely emo and depressing Louis is at the beginning of the novel and then he is awakened and "enchanted", as you put it, by Lestat when he turns him into a vampire, only for him to revert back into being super emo.

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