Abstract
Although the figure of the vampire in Western culture has undergone significant alterations from the nineteenth century to the modern day in terms of presentation, there has always existed a strain of latent sexual concern in their depictions. In earlier works, this sexuality was couched in a negative light, often incorporating themes of sexual assault, the violation of private spaces and dangerous, ‘tempting’ aspects of sexuality. This article will argue that, although there is continuity between early Gothic vampire fiction and modern vampiric paranormal romance in terms of their connection to sexuality, there has nevertheless been significant evolution in the manner in which that sexuality is approached, as it transforms from sexualised assault to a dangerous romance.
Highlights
Even in the present day, when relatively few people believe in these creatures as literal monsters, vampires find a place in popular culture – but this place is significantly divorced from their original narrative role
In modern Western media, the vampire seems to have found a more constant home in the genre of romance fiction[1] than in horror. This difference has often been commented upon in other works, this article tracks the transition from the monsters of Gothic horror towards the vampires of the modern day, using comparative analysis of different texts to trace the development of vampiric traits through this process
The development of the vampire into a romantic context can be seen as a reflection of the growing acceptance of sexuality in our modern society, taking these blood-sucking monsters from unhallowed chapels to standing them before the altar. Before this evolution can be followed, we must first reach the roots of the family tree of undeath in Western popular culture
Summary
This same alignment can be seen in Lord Ruthven’s desire for marriage to Aubrey’s sister and, later, in the Count Dracula’s sexually charged attacks on Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker. The association of the vampire in the Gothic horror novel with mingled sexuality and violence is not unique to female vampires, and is often paired with the intrusion of an ‘other’ into Christian, upper-class life.
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