Carmilla: a Review of the Classic Vampire Novella
Book cover image from Project Gutenberg
As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, I crave fantasy and foggy weather, so when I stumbled upon Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, I got exactly what I wanted: vampires and gloom.
A Gothic Tale
Laura is a young woman living in a castle in Styria (a modern day state in Austria) with her father. After witnessing a carriage crash, Laura and her father host one of the travelers, a beautiful woman named Carmilla, the story’s titular vampire.
Desperate for companionship in the lonely castle, Laura immediately bonds with Carmilla as a mysterious illness spreads through the area.
Filled with gothic imagery, Carmilla makes for a dark and spooky reading experience. I was immediately enamored with the setting, from the vast castle to the village ruins. I easily became absorbed in the story, and the tense atmosphere from the start pulled me right through to the end.
Female Empowerment in Carmilla
Predating Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years, Carmilla is not just one of the earlier literary vampires, but she is also the first sapphic vampire. Her attraction towards Laura is not disguised, which I did not expect as a modern reader. I was intrigued by this portrayal of a traditional “monster” and saw it as a rejection of Victorian gender roles.
Filled with compassion — and a bit of attraction to the magnetic Carmilla — Laura demonstrates her humanity through the complexity of fear mingled in with rich, tangible allurement. .
I also loved the depiction of loneliness and need for companionship that echoes throughout, which reminded me of the manifold desires of the monster in Frankenstein, one of my favorite novels.
If you love Dracula and any of its adaptations (the newest Nosferatu, anyone?) or a good spooky tale, Carmilla is the perfect, eerie read. It runs about 100 pages and is available for free through the public domain, so you’re only a few clicks away from the ideal gothic experience.
Need some more great reads this fall? Check these out!
- Hell Town: The Untold Story Of A Serial Killer On Cape Cod – A Book Review
- The Gold Persimmon – A Book Review
- The Other Emma – A Book Review
- Death Dance – A Poem
Zina Mona
Zina Mona is a writer and student from Texas. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in the Trinity Review and 34 Orchard. She studies literature and economics, but in her free time, she loves watching Audrey Hepburn movies.
Visit her website to read more!
