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sailorsappho 's review for:
Carmilla
by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I loved this book a lot since I feel while it is a book that is supposed to be a cautionary tale about lesbianism, it's still ironically very tempting and captivating in its prose. The men are set up in ways that are not typical of the 19th century - they do not protect the women but are rather unhelpful and hardly present until later. Even the "hero" at the end who kills Carmilla only shows up at the end, the men never connect the dots until the very end. I found that refreshing compared to a lot of books where I have to wince and wade through the obvious misogyny, it's something you won't find in novels of the time. I of course wanted it to be longer, but I feel with it being so short it gave readers a taste of what could have been. So glad this is in the public domain so it can be explored further in other contexts! Truly a classic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia
Moderate: Death
This is a book from the late 1800s where lesbianism was seem as nothing more than temptation. Carmilla herself is an allegory for lesbianism. Since this is about a vampire there are descriptions of illness and death as it is the driving force and main plot of the book.