Suicide, depression and mental disorder in vampire fiction: when the world starts crumbling

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the representations of mental and mood disorders, self-harming and suicide in the twenty-first-century vampire narratives, with a primary focus on Vampire Academy and Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. Through the fantastic world of vampires, dhampirs and other supernatural creatures, these internationally acclaimed literary series deliver a powerful account of young people struggling with mental challenges and explore a wide spectrum of mental and mood disorders typically veiled as magical conditions. Focusing on the experiences of both those afflicted and their loved ones, this essay looks into the ways in which the vampire tale speaks to the notion of ‘madness’, negotiating, reflecting and/or resisting its Romantic(ized) connections to the concepts of love, artistic creativity, gender and vampirism. Themes of mental illness, altered mental states and suicide continue to hold a fascination for the vampire genre today, bearing testimony to its Romantic origins. This article traces their presence in Mead’s series, exploring the ways in which the trope of ‘madness’ has been revamped and adapted to the needs of contemporary reader.