Personal Connections and Denying Pleasure: Examining Abstinence and Family in Vampire Fiction

Throughout history, writers and storytellers have been inspired by myths and legends in their writing. These myths and legends are then used to discuss an important theme of the age, which changes with time. Since the nineteenth century, vampire stories have been popular, beginning with Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) and to the present day. Vampire stories have evolved and change with the culture of the last two hundred years and have moved from themes of illness, the industrial revolution and sexual depravity to the more individual and the individual’s place in society. This change has led to the vampire becoming the main character in their stories and the examination of eternal life. Questions of family, abstinence and the question of a soul have led to tales that deal with vampires on the basis of morality, often ambiguous morality. This essay will deal with the themes of abstinence and family and how those themes intersect. This will be achieved through three works: Matt Haig’s standalone novel The Radleys (2010), the first novel of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles series, Interview with the Vampire (1976), and Stephenie Meyers Twilight Saga (2005-2008). These three works all deal with the themes of abstinence and family in different ways. Twilight has a supportive family that goes through abstinence together, supporting each other through the challenges that abstinence brings. The Radleys has a family full of secrets, and as they deal with and face their secrets, they come together and decide that moderation is best. And Interview with the Vampire deals with a family that argues about what they are and make fun of the idea of abstinence. Together, these three works show three different types of vampire families and demonstrate that they are both similar and different in many ways, just like regular human families