Carmilla Essay Questions

What parallels exist between Carmilla and Dracula?

While Carmilla is a short story, there exist various parallels between it and the novel that appeared 23 years later. For example, both start with the description of vampires told by vampire experts. In Dracula for example, we have the Doctor Van Helsing while in Carmilla the expert is a man named Vordenburg. Both Dracula and Carmilla are aristocratic figures who have great wealth and influence. Also, the female vampire in Carmilla is similar with the female vampire Lucy in Dracula in the sense that they are both extremely sensual and possess an unearthly beauty.

What are some of the historical figures that inspired Carmilla?

Just as in Dracula’s case, Carmilla may have been inspired by a real historical figure, a woman named Elizabeth Báthory. Elizabeth was a noblewoman born in Hungary who had ties with both the Hungarian nobility and the Transylvanian one. Elizabeth was married when she turned 15 and then moved to her husband’s castle. For most of her marriage, she was alone as her husband was often away fighting against the Ottomans or away on different trips. Elizabeth soon became known for her intelligence and for her strategic genius, and was respected by the people at her court. In 1604, Elizabeth became a widow and soon after rumors surrounding her actions began emerging. Six years later, Elizabeth was convicted of murdering and torturing countless servant girls. During the trial, it was revealed that Elizabeth began by killing her young servants, all female, and then went as far as ordering other girls to be brought from different villages. It is also suspected that she engaged in cannibalism and though never confirmed, the various stories inspired writers to come up with forms of torture. Years after her death, rumors regarding her motives for killing the young girls emerged. It is suspected that Elizabeth took the blood of her young victims and bathed in it to gain beauty.

What genre does Carmilla fall into?

Carmilla is generally considered a Gothic novella and it has every characteristic of the genre. The most important element in a Gothic novella is the setting. Carmilla is set in a castle in the woods where the protagonist lives with her father. Their lives are interrupted when Carmilla arrives, a mysterious girl who sleeps during the day and walks in the castle during the night. The nighttime actions are also another characteristic of the Gothic novella. Madness is yet another characteristic and the author lets it be understood that the character Carmilla has some psychological problems despite her "mother" trying to convince Laura and her father otherwise. Also, supernatural elements are commonly found in the Gothic novel and in Carmilla, the supernatural elements are represented by the vampire and her capabilities of passing through walls and not needing to eat.

Who is the woman in black in the carriage?

Laura and her father do not see this woman but the governesses do, and describe her thusly: "a hideous black woman, with a sort of turban on her head... nodding and grinning derisively toward the ladies, with gleaming eyes and larger white eyeballs, and her teeth set as if in fury" (10). This is an obviously racist caricature, but Le Fanu does not intend that to be the end-all of this character. There is the allusion to a demon, yes, but Carmilla seems to be referring to her when she asks where "Matska" is. Critic Roger Dobson explains that Le Fanu had used this character before, as a strange woman who kissed a child who was then never seen again. Dobson wonders, "Is Le Fanu suggesting that she is a demonic familiar that can move easily between the worlds of faery and the undead?" We don't know, of course, but her presence in the carriage adds another uncanny, uncomfortable element of the supernatural to the tale.

How does Carmilla perceive her victims—as prey, or as lovers?

On the one hand, Carmilla certainly does prey on her victims. She needs their blood to survive and it seems that she has a consistent line-up of young women that meet her needs in all capacities. On the other hand, there is something about her treatment of some of them—Laura, for example—that suggests Carmilla has other intentions than merely procuring sustenance. She takes her time with Laura and seems to like being with her. She, as critic Sezer Sabriye writes, " truly enjoys having someone to admire her and have a sisterly bond with." Yet, Sabriye reminds us, "the darkness that has a hold on Carmilla's deceased soul has twisted her into something deprived of the humanity she so desperate seeks. As the saying states, she is forced to destroy the things she loves the most."