Comments

[ctweety]

This article is interesting I think, but there are certain conclusions that I don't think fits for Henry from Blood Ties... the author writes that 'obviously, the recent transformation of the vampire in pop art is all about denial. Each of these types is only good because they struggle to suppress or sublimate the very qualities that make tem into vampires-their bloodlust, their immortality, their prowess as lovers and as hunters.' Henry though, does not try to deny himself. He goes out and drinks from the humans regularly, granted he doesn't kill them, but that may be more out of practicality than anything else. Leaving dead bodies all over the place would be kinda conspicuous... He flaunts his sexuality and his prowess as a lover, feeding for him is intimitely tied to sex. As for him joining a PI, Vicki Nelson, to solve supernatural crimes, Henry does it cuz it amuses him and it allows him to spend time with Vicki, it's not out of a need by him to atone for any sins in his past (his regular job is a graphic novel artist...). He asked to be turned into a vampire and he doesn't regret overly that he is one. That he has killed, he admits to it but he doesn't see it as a sin to atone for because it's his nature. The way he sees it, he has to kill/drink blood to live as we eat to live. It's who he is so why should he apologize? To him being a vamp is not so much a curse as it is his choice to see the world through the ages.

I think it's inevitable that vampires would change through the ages. For a modern vamp to be running around killing someone everynight for a meal probably wouldn't lead to a very long lived vampire. And most of these vamps cited in the article are a few centuries old. They've learned how to survive, and I would hazard a guess that leaving a trail of bloodless corpses in their wake would not be very conducive to a long life.