In chapter four, Laura found it strange that Carmilla became upset with the singing of Christian hymns and had never been seen praying. Finally we come to the most prevalent characteristic Carmilla exhibits throughout the story desire for Laura. For example, Carmilla is described throughout the work as abnormally captivating… “like the ardor of a lover … it was hateful and yet over-powering (264).Ĭarmilla is a sexually powerful women, repulsed by Christian hymns, and has sudden bouts of anger characteristics not consistent with traditional gender roles (266-7). It is important to note that while narrated by a female character, the story was written by a man of the 19th century who was subject to beliefs system of the period. Carmilla is the perceived deviant or problem in the novella. It is interesting that Laura’s father’s solution to his daughter’s loneliness is to pair his adult daughter with a female friend as opposed to allowing courtship (at time as solely between male and female). This can be supposed to be the result of a male dominated society in which decisions of any importance were solely those of the head male of the structure. It may seem strange to a contemporary audience that a mature woman would need her father to schedule a play date.

The intentions of this meeting are in hopes of a friendship between Laura and Bertha.

For instance, Laura and her father are anticipating the arrival of General Spielsdorf and his niece Bertha (249). Laura reveals that she was 19 years old when she began her involvement with Carmilla.Įven though Laura’s age is known from early on in the story, it proved difficult to imagine her as an adult. The result of this analysis is to provide an understanding of how a story as provocative as Carmilla still adheres to the societal moral codes for women of the time. In this response to the first nine chapters of Carmilla, I am going to address the characteristics Laura and Carmilla that develop perceptions of their moral and socially regulated conduct. Tensions raise though the scenes as we begin to consider Carmella’s involvement in Laura’s illness.

Carmilla by joseph sheridan le fanu