Character Profile
This document will discuss the character profile of Carmilla in the book Carmilla. The features that can be identified from the character are love, independence and aggressive. The first feature is love. Camilla expressed love to the young girls he seduced. She wanted to be in a relationship with them then later kill them. Carmilla’s love feature was evident when she made it clear to Laura that she loved her. “‘ I have been in love with no one, and never shall,’ she whispered, ‘unless it should be with you. … I live in you, and you would die for me, I love you so” (Le Fanu, 2013). Carmilla tells Laura that she never loved anyone as much as she loved her and that her feelings for Laura are strong. She keeps telling him that she lives in her and that Laura is for her, and she would die, he too would die for her. Laura tells Carmilla that she must be mistaken for someone else.
The other trait that was presented by Carmila was that she was secretive. Carmilla kept her homosexuality a secret but was open to Laura. This made Laura to always feel low since she knew that relationship with a person of the same gender was a sin. Laura had been brought up in a Christian family. ” I felt rather unaccountably towards the beautiful stranger… She interested in and won me; she was so beautiful and so indescribably engaging.” (Le Fanu, 2013). This explains how Laura felt it was love at first sight when she saw Carmilla. He was also ashamed to be attracted to her because it was a pity to be. She also said she was speechless when he saw Carmilla.
She also displayed aggressiveness through her masculine traits. Carmilla’s male traits were shown, but there were also some female traits. Her aggressiveness and strength. Her relationship with Laura was a passive-aggressive relationship, which was also strongly expressed. Carmilla’s lesbian relationship challenges traditional family relationships, in which men regulate women’s exchanges to promote male loyalty. This means that Carmilla’s lesbian relationship highlights her masculine side. It is also said to be a “traditional kinship structure” used by men. Carmilla demonstrates masculine traits for being independent and attractive to women and their aggressiveness (Le Fanu, 2013). She worked alone in her process of seducing women. She worked very well on her own and, of course, managed to seduce all the women she killed. “Gender theory also ties into by her out of her proper Victorian woman niche and her traditionally masculine qualities, and most importantly, seduction.”( Le Fanu, 2013). Carmilla is independent because she works alone to kill women.
The other feature was she was brutal. After she had seduced the girls, she killed them. This shows how brutal she was. She never had a kind heart to value humanity. She was only after her own self-satisfaction.
Modern Comparison
Carmilla can be compared with the modern character Hormone Monstress. Their character features are nearly the same. First, they are both seductive. They do not wait to be approached by someone. The other character that is portrayed by both is that they are independent and do not need any help. Lastly is that they are both loving. They express romance in the entire story. The best song for these characters is a love song. And that song is Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Beyonce
References
Le Fanu, J. S. (2013). Carmilla: A critical edition. Syracuse University Press.