Social Symbolism In Polidori's Vampire: Lord Ruthven

Polidori’s vampire “Lord Ruthven”

One of the most recognizable nineteenth century literary vampires is John William Polidori‘s vampire. Lord Ruthven– the man of mysterious past and one of the most charismatic and interesting nineteenth century vampires- is a Gothic villain that has been used by his creator (Polidori) as a social metaphor. How is that?

It is worthy of note, as Christopher Frayling asserts, that John William Polidori was the foremost nineteenth century authors whose penchant to blend together components of vampirism into a coherent literary genre was an immediate success in his ever prominent story The Vampyre (“The Vampyre”).

Here are some testimonial lines taken from Christopher Frayling’s book Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula. In this book, Frayling writes:” Polidori transformed the vampire from a character in folklore into the form that is recognized today- an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society” (Frayling )

In this respect, Senf also writes:”Polidori’s work anticipates some of the ways that other writers will use the vampire as a social metaphor in realistic fiction” (Senf: 39).

Based on the previous findings, it seems fair to suggest that Polidori’ s The Vampyre is not just a story of a monstrous figure of the vampire from folklore tradition waiting to be destroyed by a wooden stake through the heart, it is rather that kind of nineteenth century vampire whose literary presence is highly loaded with metaphorical connotations. For instance, Lord Ruthven’s presence in the story is but an attempt made by Polidori to tackle issues related to moral standards like vice and virtue.

For a deeper understanding, we will rely on Jeremy L. Keffer’s research conducted to explore the ways in which thos...

... middle of paper ...

... victim. However, Le Fanu connects this biological parasition and the economic dependence that was virtually mandated for women during most of Le Fanu’s lifetime by having Carmilla both a vampire and the ideal guest of her victims’ families. (This relationship will be used extensively as a metaphor of economic parasitism in Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Middlemarch and to a lesser extent in Dracula.) (Senf: 54).

CHAPTER TWO - THE GOTHIC AND THE INTEREST THE BRONTES HAD IN THE

GOTHIC

The Gothic tradition in literature

After researching the figure of the vampire in nineteenth century English literature, let us now explore in this section the Gothic and the interest the Brontes had in the Gothic.

I offer by way of introduction to the Gothic literary world an extract taken from Ann. B Tracy’s book The Gothic Novel 1790-1830: Plot Summaries and Index Motifs: