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A review by elxa
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
5.0
A gothic novella about sapphic vampires?? What’s not to like?
Carmilla is a beautiful stranger who arrives at the castle of the protagonist Laura, a 19yo who lives with her father. Upon her arrival, strange and deadly events start to befall the town of Styria. Laura is torn between her undeniable feelings of attraction for Carmilla and her disgust and confusion towards her own emotions and Carmilla’s fast changing episodes of rage and ravishment.
"Carmilla" offers an exploration of female sexuality at it's core. It’s also inherently homoerotic, seductive and much more empowering than its successor “Dracula” which was inspired by this book. This empowerment the novella offered was in sharp contrast to the Victorian stereotypes of women that existed during the time period which portrayed them as helpless creatures running to men at the slightest inconvenience. This might be one of the reasons it never gained the popularity of Dracula.
An easy 5 star read to wrap up the year.
Carmilla is a beautiful stranger who arrives at the castle of the protagonist Laura, a 19yo who lives with her father. Upon her arrival, strange and deadly events start to befall the town of Styria. Laura is torn between her undeniable feelings of attraction for Carmilla and her disgust and confusion towards her own emotions and Carmilla’s fast changing episodes of rage and ravishment.
"Carmilla" offers an exploration of female sexuality at it's core. It’s also inherently homoerotic, seductive and much more empowering than its successor “Dracula” which was inspired by this book. This empowerment the novella offered was in sharp contrast to the Victorian stereotypes of women that existed during the time period which portrayed them as helpless creatures running to men at the slightest inconvenience. This might be one of the reasons it never gained the popularity of Dracula.
An easy 5 star read to wrap up the year.