MINERVA'S MONKEY: November 2013

The Gender Role Behind Bites and When Turning Be-comes Incest. On page 277, the line features Elizabeth’s voluntary decision to Turn while 278 shows that it is Darcy who would turn Liz. This discussion touches on the philosophizing of reproduction. All vampires are balanced precisely between genders, functioning as both takers and givers of life… It is this paradox which enables a particular aura of romance and glamour to vampire stories in general [Sherman: 1989]

By the second function, regardless if the vampire is male or female, the Bite is the act of giving birth without sex [Lott: 1993 cited in Sherman: 1989]. It is through the bite that there is the replaced form of reproduction, giving a posthumous artificial birth [Berka 1995: 379]. It is suitable to consider this as vagina dentata. The vampire can be father and mother, man and woman at once [Berka 1995: 376].

To take this idea further, let’s assume that the turning did take place. If the process follows the 1897 tradition (in emulation of Count Dracula having Mina drink blood at his breast [Stoker 298]), it underscores the femininity of the vampire; Phallic penetration is not limited to the emission of semen, but takes in the discharge of the woman’s body: the flow of blood that is at once menstrual or initiatory and maternal, tapped from the nursing breast [Berka 1995: 375-376].

If Darcy would turn Elizabeth himself, it would bring a rebirth with Liz as the child and Darcy as both father and mother.

To be turned by the vampire whom one has a love/sexual relationship with would make the relationship incestuous. This is the overlooked aspect of the bite, constantly present in vampire lore which is set in a context that is predominantly romantic.

The Attempted Rape of Elizabeth Darcy. In the scene where Elizabeth was riding the carriage bound for the pier, tension mounts as readers find that Elizabeth’s ride stops in the middle of the road in a pass densely covered with ferns. To add to the menacing atmosphere was the detail that the sky had changed a few hues darker as it was evening.

In front of the carriage was the mysterious observer from Chapter 09 [Grange: 2009: 174, 178], seen clad in the same signature attire. To quote from the scene, in verbatim: She stared at him with awe-filled dread. He was terrible in his beauty, his face shining with a dreadful radiance. His features were as smooth as if they had been carved from marble, rigid and full of cold perfection [Grange 2009: 235].

It is here that the identity of this character is revealed. The mysterious man is simultaneously seductive and horrifying beyond all reason. His dress identifies him as a cultured and arrogant aristocrat with exceptional masculine aural musk; and this is the enduring image of the traditional vampire. As to why Grange did not give him a proper name is a puzzle for the readers. Perhaps it was intended by Grange to bring forth a plethora of theories. The man introduced himself as ‘Vampyre’. Based on the information he had provided, it is deducible that he is the first vampire. It has to be debated up-on if he is Vlad II or someone else. But sticking with the original anthropological linguistic premise advanced earlier, the mysterious observer is of the same vampire ethnicity as Darcy.

For Winnubst [2003], the trope of the vampire is used to unravel how whiteness, maleness, and heterosexuality feed on the same set of disavowals --- of the body, of the Other, of fluidity, dependency. To continue, it is a collective nightmare which performs some of our worst cultural anxieties --- about desire, fear, and aggression; about gender, sexuality, and race; about history, bodies, and violence [ibid]. Chapter 13 plays on the concepts of the cultural anxiety based on the last five. These concepts are represented in the character of the mysterious man whom on certain occasions we shall refer to as Unnamed.

The Unnamed is controlling and overly masculine to the point of inclining towards a preference for masochism, delighting in the idea of Elizabeth’s resistance.

The conversation between Darcy and the Unnamed [Grange 2009: 237] is noticeably linguistically based on concepts which is ethnically exclusive. Elizabeth at this time is not completely briefed on the complications and realities of her Otherization, and as far as she’s concerned, she sees Them as the Others; and she is not entirely sure of her understanding of the content of the discussion. The usage of the terms ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ and ‘not yours’ in accordance to Darcy’s vampire ethnicity does not signal ownership but its usage along this context has more to do with a sense of affiliation and security. This is compared to the Western standard which has predominantly negative overtones because of these words being automatically attributed to objects(-related disputes).

In their vampire culture, one who marries a female outside the race has to follow a set of rules. It is not entirely clear however if this would apply to females who have been turned or remained unturned. The continuation of the conversation on page 239 states the terms that every vampire bride must first present herself to the Unnamed, as she must be his before she can feel her husband’s touch. This detail is also raised by Lady Catherine later in page 274.
The word ‘touch’ is approachable as idiomatic, and perhaps this is with reference to sexual congress. Given this, it can be debated that the act of Turning does not automatically signify the loss of virginity.

But going back to the terms prescribed by the Un-named, it is to a degree reminiscent of the practice of some cultures which require the bride to enter first into sexual con-gress with the head of that certain group of people before she may sleep with her husband. Though this is part of an old vampire culture, for Elizabeth, that would constitute as rape because she is examining the scenario with Western eyes and attitude. Cultural relativism could not be invoked here, and Darcy could not agree more with Liz’s silent protestation.

Had Darcy not come to her rescue, Elizabeth would have found herself in a bloody situation. For the Unnamed to ‘taste’ her (through the bite), considering his nature, has an effect on the constitution of her purity.

In the Garden of Good and Evil. The fight scene be-tween Darcy and the Unnamed took place in the same pass where Liz had almost been claimed. It’s not an impressive sequence, but we would proceed with discussing it in terms of its hermeneutic value. What it presents to vampire literature is an intra-racial battle featuring two classic personalities: good and evil; as well as past and present.

What are the standards for a vampire to be considered as evil? What can be required of to qualify them as good? To be Foucauldian, begin with what is not --- Christianity does not really require them to be agents of Satan or monstrous adver-saries of God [Hallab 2009: 107]. This is another deviation from the 1897 tradition, but one of a welcome sort. It can also be a timely shift considering not only the recognition of the existence of the good, but also of mentioning a new sub-classification under the good. In the time of vampire refor-mations beginning from year 2008 to present, there are mod-ern vampires who no longer stand for a vast comic evil. In the process of becoming more humanized and nicer, they have given up the “absolute timeless condition of Dracula” in order to move “into time and history” [Zanger 1997 cited by Hallab 2009: 38]. This is of course a matter of interpretation.

The concept of good and evil is a positional one that coincides with the categories of Otherness. The essential point to be made here is not so much that the vampire is feared because he is evil; rather he is evil because he is Oth-er, alien, different, unclean, and unfamiliar [Hollinger 1989: 148]. But by definition, all vampires whether they are good or evil, step out of the timeless world of Death into the time of Life [Hallab 2009: 39].

Side-Comments
But still, I share with others the critique of the lack of sufficient and exciting details in certain segments of the story, as well as holding the common lament concerning its poor ending which is to a degree anchored to a combination of In-diana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The redeeming quality that it does have, however, has to do with the structure of the dialogue and most especially the skillful intertwine of the original Pride & Prejudice through the lifting of certain lines in the canon spoken by the characters, and delivered in the story through a reminiscent style.

It defines romance because of the implied sentimentalness, and defies the traditional form vampire romance in terms of its delivery.

MINERVA'S MONKEY

Monday, November 4, 2013

SINKING MY TEETH INTO MR. DARCY An Anthropological Reading of Amanda Grange’s Mr. Darcy, Vampyre [Part IV: References]

SINKING MY TEETH INTO MR. DARCY An Anthropological Reading of Amanda Grange’s Mr. Darcy, Vampyre [Part III]