Her name was Carmilla : A queer theoretical analysis of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s short novel Carmilla

This dissertation is a text analysis of the short novel Carmilla (1872) by the Irish ghost story-author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is a close reading analysis where I apply a queer theoretical perspective using Mia Franck’s model to analyze different silence practices in Carmilla. I focus on the female vampire Carmilla and her companion Laura and how they are portrayed in this short novel. I will ask the questions: do the characters Carmilla and Laura show a non-heterosexual relationship, passion and desire? How do they depart from the gender norm and can they be seen as characters who deviate from what society considers ‘normal’ behaviour? And can Carmilla and Laura’s relationship be seen as an example of silenced homosexuality and in what way is it expressed? Carmilla and Laura’s behaviour can certainly be described as queer and it is effective to examine the novella using silence practices through a queer perspective. Many of the practices are written silences. Mostly, its things that the reader realizes before the storyteller Laura does herself. They reveal numerous oddities in the story, taking the form of narrative, camouflaged, performative, ritualized and existential silences. Prominent examples are the way Carmilla hides both her vampiric and lesbian sides which Laura is repelled at in addition to her own lustful and passionate emotions. As a future teacher, one of my most important jobs will be to educate my pupils about democratic values and that all kinds of discrimination should be discouraged. An essay of this sort is one way to educate them in how gender and sexuality can be seen from historical, political and cultural perspectives