The Lilith in Dracula, Carmilla, Christabel, Geraldine and The Hunger

1430 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The evolution lilith

The Lilith in Dracula, Carmilla, Christabel, Geraldine and The Hunger

For centuries Lilith, the Queen of the Night, has been blamed when a child or man dies without certain cause or when a woman refuses to be submissive to her husband. While the Legend of Lilith is not widely known today, it is not difficult to find information about the demoness. However, there are slight variations found from story to story. Here we will focus on the myth as found in Hebrew mythology, and we will particularly emphasize the similarities seen between Lilith and various vampires seen in literature today.

The Hebrew figure of Lilith was actually borrowed from Babylonian and Syrian myths. Lilitu was a Babylonian demon and a spirit of the night and of storms. Lamassu was a Sumerian goddess and the daughter of Anu, the god of Heaven. It is believed that Lilith is a combination of these two demons from earlier legends. However, for the purpose of our study, we will focus on the legend of Lilith found in Hebrew scriptures.

According to Hebrew scriptures, Lilith was Eve’s predecessor and therefore, the first wife of Adam. However, there are two variations on the Hebrew creation myth. The first states that God made man and woman out of the same material (earth or clay), at the same time, thus the two beings were equals in every way. The alternative version of this myth states that Adam was made of clay while Lilith was made of dirt and filth. However, regardless of her origin, the remainder of the myth proceeds much the same way.

Legends states when it was time for the two to have sexual intercourse, Adam insisted that Lilith take the more submissive position. This angered her and in ...

... middle of paper ...

...le from the Garden of Eden, she was doomed to forever prey on newborn children and suck the blood and life fluids from men. For this reason, she is the earliest known force of evil, thus making her the perfect image of the mother of all vampires.

Works Cited

Begg, Ean. The Cult of the Black Virgin. Arkana: Penguin Books, 1996

pp.34-40.

Bunson, Matthew. The Vampire Encyclopedia. New York: Crown Trade

Paperbacks, 1993.

Coulter, Charles Russell, and Patricia Turner. The Encyclopedia of Ancient

Deities. London: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2000, pp. 285-86.

Masters, Anthony. The Natural History of the Vampire. London: Rupert

Hart-Davis, 1972, pp. 170-71.

THE GNOSIS ARCHIVE: Gnostic Studies on the Web. Accessed on May 1,

2003. http://www.webcom.com/~gnosis/lilith.html

Show More
Related

  • Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles and Darker Face of the Earth, by Rita Dove

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lindemans, Micha F. "Diana." Encyclopedia Mythica: Mythology, Folklore, and Religion. 3 Mar. 1997. Web. 8 Oct. 2011. .

    Read More

  • Describing Biblical Parallels In Hawthornes "rappaccinis Daughter"

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    story. The account of Adam and Eve in Genesis 1-3 is extremely similar to the

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The very creation of women was set as a punishment to man because Prometheus, son of Iapetos, tried to trick Zeus into eating bones and then, with the tube of a fennel, steals fire to give to mankind. Zeus then proclaimed, "To set against the fire I shall give them an affliction in which they will all delight as they embrace their own misfortune." Out of Zeus' anger came Pandora, the first woman. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mold women from the earth and water, Athene to dress and adorn her, Temptation to give her necklaces of gold, and Hermes to implant a bitch's mind and a thief's temper. Hesiod describes women as a "precipitous trap, more than mankind can manage." Hesiod states, "even so as a bane for mortal men has high-thundering Zeus created women, conspirators in causing difficulty." And thus the first woman was named Pandora, Allgift,-"a calamity for men who live by bread." And so Pandora and all the evils of the world, except Hope, were released into the world by a punishing Zeus. Hesiod explains how formerly the tribes of men lived "remote from ills, without harsh toil and the grievous sickness that are deadly to men." From Pandora descended the female sex, "a great affliction to mortals as they dwell with their husbands- no fit partners for accursed Poverty, but only for Plenty." An analogy is then used to compare women to drones who, according to Hesiod, feed off hard-working bees all day. Hesiod immed...

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Dawn By Octavia Butler

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel Lilith struggles with the idea that her children, and all future human children will no longer be completely biologically

    Read More

  • The Power Of Hester Prynne In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a female protagonist named Hester Prynne is subjected to public humiliation and alienation from the Puritan society because she committed adultery. This “sinful” act is further enhanced when her husband, Roger Chillingworth, comes to Boston, and Hester is forced to keep the secret identities of her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, and her husband concealed from the community. Over the course of her seven-year journey, she becomes more independent, more free, and a model of feministic power to the Freudian society that had once marked her bosom with the letter “A” to shame her. Hawthorne depicts the contrasting views of the patriarchal Puritan society, which is characterized by the town and Dimmesdale against

    Read More

  • Gothic Tropes In Dracula And Carmilla

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu’s texts, Dracula (1898) and “Carmilla” (1872), use gothic tropes in similar ways to captivate readers with horror and terror. This essay will illustrate how, in comparison, both texts include gothic tropes: the New Woman, sexuality and setting, in order to provoke emotions and reactions from the readers. To achieve this, this essay will focus on the women that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and deconstruct each text in regards to the very strong undertones of homosexuality; specifically between Carmilla and Laura, and Dracula and Harker. By discussing the harshness and darkness of the environments described, including ruined castles and isolated landscapes; this essay will also explore the

    Read More

  • The Characterization Of Hester Prynne By D. H. Lawrence

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    The characterization of Hester Prynne demonstrates a contrast to pure society, as writer and critic D.H. Lawrence suggests in his article, “On the Scarlet Letter.” There is a genuine disparity in the methods Lawrence uses to portray Prynne, and the methods used by The Scarlet Letter’s author, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Because of his utilization of impactful syntax, religious allusion, and critical tone, D.H. Lawrence’s claim that Hester Prynne is a contradictory character to pure society is effectively justified when compared to the misleading seductive elements of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing.

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Transformation

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 17th century, Puritans believed scripture dictated every aspect of their lives. It appeared evident in the Puritan faith that their defiant actions and inner thoughts were to remain repressed. Puritans felt the urge to resist their impulses because by law, each desire they had, exemplified a tug from the devil. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathanial Hawthorne takes his character, Hester Prynne, who commits acts of infidelity, and turns her against the Puritan community. Although the scarlet “A” objectifies Hester’s humanity and exposes strict Puritan society, it also liberates her as a result of her ultimate transformation.

    Read More

  • Carmilla and Dracula

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    Klüsener, Bea. "Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla and Bram Stoker’s vampire ladies as representations of Cesare Lombroso’s donna delinquente? ." Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.Germany (2010): Pg 1-12. Print.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Greek Mythology

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mortal females cause struggles among men and are portrayed as wicked in Greek Mythology. In the story of How the World and Mankind Were Created, the Father of Men and of the Gods, Zeus, swears to get revenge upon mankind because of the poor sacrifices made to the altars. Therefore, he “[makes] a great evil for men, a sweet and lovely thing to look upon… they [call] her Pandora… the first woman… who are an evil to men, with a nature to do evil… is the source of all misfortu...

    Read More

  • Gender Deviation In Bram Stoker's Dracula

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Victorian era women were expected to be either a mother and a wife, or a pure, innocent girl. Any other deviation from the set path resulted in punishment, both physically and socially. Deviation can vary as women being over sexual to resembling men in their actions. Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, is no exception in its representation of Victorian ideals. For his purposes, Stoker uses symbolism, tone, and diction throughout to convey the standard Victorian British perception of themselves. Through this conveyed standard to express his belief that gender roles are essential and relevant to Victorian society and that there are consequences if strayed from.

    Read More

  • Vampire Lore In Dracula

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    Count Dracula has been the frontrunner for the modern day vampire lore and legends since being printed back in 1897, pop culture took the vampire traits from Bram Stoker’s Dracula and twisted them. In modern portrayals of vampire lore, each author chooses an original aspect from Stoker but then creates a little bit of their own lore in the process. Count Dracula appears to be a walking corpse from the pale and gaunt visual aesthetics to the coolness of his undead skin (Stoker). In some cultures, the vampire is able to transform from the body of a human being to that of a fellow creature of the night, a bat. In the novel Dracula more than one town was easily visualized through the detailed descriptions throughout the novel, thus

    Read More

  • How far can you be a Feminist Biblical Scholar and Remain a Faithful Christian?

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    Scholz, S. (2014). Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament: Introduction. Available: http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0020.xml. Last accessed 19th March 2014.

    Read More

  • How Does Hester Prynne Change In The Scarlet Letter

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author of The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, expressed ideas of love, passion, shame, and punishment throughout his 1800s based novel. Due to the fact that this novel was based in a Puritan time period, it brought many mental and sometimes physical difficulties for the main character, Hester Prynne. The Puritans solely believed in God and all of his rules. With that said, the author decided to illustrate the drama of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s adultery in order to describe the change in Hester’s attitude. Because of the many events, adversities and struggles, Hester had a complete change in attitude from shame and embarrassment to love, proudness and satisfaction.

    Read More

  • Animal Research A Necessary Evil Or Just Evil?

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hajar, Rachel. " Animal Testing and Medicine." Heart Views 12.1 (2011) : 42. NCBI. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

More about The Lilith in Dracula, Carmilla, Christabel, Geraldine and The Hunger

Open Document