Let us go back in time to the year
1819. This was when John Polidori created The Vampyre,
a twist on the modern bloodsucker. Among one of the first vampire
novels, it certainly isn't the work of a classical literature piece.
Polidori's vampire takes the form of Lord Ruthven, an anti-social
fellow.
Not much is really
known about this Vampire figure since Polidori doesn't fleshes out
his characters. However, the 'vampyre' still has superhuman strength
and the ability to call on the elements. Despite Lord Ruthven rather
fearful demeanor, he is still quite popular with everyone, the ladies
especially. Women flock to him like a moth to a flame, regardless of
social class. His power of seduction and his 'winning tongue' are a
lethal combination. For some reason, I'm picturing this image for
Ruthven:
Photo Credit: David R
According to this
story, the vampyre is known to have nightly orgies and release his
wrath on anyone who dares cross his path. Talk about creepy. One
notable difference is that there is no real detail on 'The Brides'.
The only mention of a bride is the main character's sister, at the
end, when the novella finishes on a chilling note. Spoiler Alert: She
gets changed into a Vampyre.
Sadly,
Ruthven's victims die quite the brutal death. “Upon
her neck and breast was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of
teeth having opened the vein”. For those times, if that doesn't say
'yuk', I don't know what does.
Give
this novella a read and share with me your thoughts. See you next
week!
Interesting! Based on the information you provided for the character Ruthven, I found the same picture in my mind as the one you provided. Certainly a chilling tale, but very informative post.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed the post, Jess. Although, Polidori's novella wasn't the best piece of literature I have read, Ruthven proved to be quite the interesting character to analyze.
DeleteI completely agree with you, this vampier Ruthven sounds creepy and gives me the chills! Now that I think about it, many vampier novels have a male vampier who attracts and seduces women similar to how you described Ruthven's character. A very interesting post Angela and this definitely expanded my knowledge on vampire literature.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found the post interesting. Although the male Vampire is predominate in novels, it's always a treat to see how each author depicts their own version. I would, however, like to see more female vampires.
DeleteYour Vampyros Obsessio posts open my new world in this mysterious and magic Vampire's shadows. This post is indeed very interesting and informative, I am thinking to read this book beginning my new journey here. Great work Angela.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting short story to read, but not my personal favourite since none of the characters are really fleshed out and they died off much too quickly. But I'm glad to know you found the post informative.
DeleteI can definitely see why he didn't struggle with the ladies. Let's face it, if it's anything like that picture than no wonder he was a popular man. It's nice to see throughout your posts how different each interpretation of vampires, it's something that I've would never known of, so thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteI always find analysis these tales to be a thing to look forward to, but it's the female vampires that really get my fingers itching to type. There's just so few mention of The Vampiress compared to their more influential male counterparts
DeleteYour blog is very interesting! I never really looked into this topic, but from reading your posts I definitely see how it can be interesting. It is so cool thinking that The Vampyre is one of the first vampire novels, and how Ruthven compares to the modern vampires in novels we have now. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kendra, I have always found the topic of Vampires fascinating, ever since I read Bram Stoker's Dracula. To see how each author draws upon others to make their own Dracula is really a treat to see because you never know what you are going to get. Glad you enjoy reading!
DeleteThe mere thought of a Vampire sinking his teeth into someone's neck vein makes me light-headed. This book looks interesting, though. Debauchery, violence and superhuman strength always make for a good read. However, I think I'll stick to the cheesy Twilight saga and Blue Bloods series so I won't have nightmares.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Heather. The Twilight vampire is certainly a lot tamer than the Vampires of the older ages. However, there are movies where the scene fads away even before you see the Vampire taking its victim, Dracula (1931) is an example. I'd definitely recommend taking a look at some of the old black and white vampire flicks where everything is merely assumed rather than shown.
DeleteI think this post is really interesting Angela. I haven't read The Vampyre, but I came across the title when learning about Lord Byron in one of my university English classes. I remember learning that he was involved in vampire literature too, and overall, I think that it's a really intriguing subject to write and read about.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Sara. Lord Byron was actually the 'inspiration' for Polidori when it came to writing The Vampyre. The character Ruthven is actually based off Lord Byron himself.
DeleteThanks for sharing! That photo looks a lot like Hugh Jackman to me. I do like horror movies and vampires are most intriguing. I can see why their popularity has been around for so long.
ReplyDelete