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Vampires have evoked a sense of curiosity throughout the centuries, mainly because they are one of the few mythical creatures that closely resemble humans. The nineteenth century saw a rise in vampire literature, from Coleridge’s Christabel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with each author helping to solidify the vampire model (Whitehead 243). The female vampire remains an intriguing character, as she was perceived to be the “metaphor of female liberation” in a period of complete patriarchy (Gladwell 14). Her sexuality and cunning nature were seen as the antithesis of Victorian women; thus, her behavior caused a sense of fear in men due to the power she exuded. This female could seduce men and women alike, making her a formidable foe in every way possible. The male vampire is a frightening figure to men since he can show women their own masculinity, including their innate sexuality as a member of the human species (Gladwell 9). The female vampire, on the other hand, is already aware of this sexuality, and she is capable of destroying and emasculating the male character. This masculinity of the female goes against the framework of Victorian standards; as such, she cannot be allowed to remain in the society and must, herself, be destroyed before she destroys her victim, man or woman.
The story of vampires began in Eastern Europe, where tales of the bloodthirsty Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula, were told in the fifteenth century. Most of the people residing in Romania and Hungary were of the Eastern Orthodox faith, and the Church believed that “the body of anyone bound by a curse will not be received by the earth – will not decay” (McNally 144). These bodies walked among the earth like their living counterparts, feasting on the blood of their victims: the ultimate source of renewal and vitality. While Dracula was the first “vampire” to surface in Eastern Europe, another character arose in the sixteenth century. Deemed as the first “living vampiress” (McNally 156), Elizabeth Bathory became a legend in Hungary. She tortured and killed hundreds of girls in order to bathe in their blood, believing it to be the source of eternal youth. Centuries later, Marie Antoinette would be depicted as “the blood sucker of France” (Craciun 78), calling into light a history of these female vampires, living and literary. Both Elizabeth Bathory and Marie Antoinette were women of authority, playing masculine roles in a patriarchal society; therefore, they posed a considerable threat, and both were condemned to death.
Moving forward to the nineteenth century, remnants of Bathory’s legend can be found in Victorian literature. Letitia Landon wrote a verse drama in 1829, entitled The Ancestress, a work in which the woman desires eternal beauty and youth, and she commits evil deeds in order to achieve them (Craciun 284). Even male authors, such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Sheridan Le Fanu, wrote about female vampires luring their female victims in a seductive manner to use their energy and vitality. Bram Stoker chose to use male victims in his Dracula, where the brides of Dracula seduced the main male character. Why did these male authors choose to write about powerful women, especially if writing about the female vampire is thought to drain the strength and sanity of the author (Gladwell 9)? James B. Twitchell argues, in his The Living Dead: A Study of the Vampire in Romantic Literature, “the femme fatale is wonderfully attractive…but she is too powerful, too threatening to the male ego. Hence, she can only be an ‘object’ of male fantasy, not reality” (66). Twitchell goes on to argue that Victorian men would fantasize about these powerful women, hoping to suppress their sexuality as the male’s patriarchal duty; however, they would never think about bringing one of these women home since chastity was an integral part of the society.
Jane Eyre takes on the subjects of patriarchy and sexuality with the use of vampires, as well as other fantastical creatures. Charlotte Brontë’s famous novel was published fifty years before Bram Stoker introduced his Dracula, but her predecessors helped to shape the vampire model in a way that she could integrate them into her stories. Bertha Rochester was the first female vampire to be written about by a female author (Gladwell 15), and Brontë used the traditions of Coleridge and Le Fanu to further shape her own female character. Bertha is a caged animal, a blood lusting creature, who longs to escape the world in which her patriarchs, her brother and husband, have created for her in Thornfield. She remains locked away for her madness, whether self-induced or environmentally forced, only escaping when another female, Grace Poole, succumbs to her own vice called alcohol. Bertha crawls out at night and attacks those who keep her at bay, those who long to forget her existence. She had once seduced her husband with her charms (Brontë 301; ch. 27) long ago in Spanish Town, using her sexuality to lure her prey. After her imprisonment, Bertha had to turn to strength and brute force in order to win the battle against her male suppressors. When Jane came into the house, a power struggle came to pass between the old wife and the new lover; thus, an obstacle was created for both women in this patriarchal house.
As a whole, however, Charlotte Brontë used the character of Bertha Rochester in a less sexual context, instead making her into more of an obstacle to her “heroine,” Jane Eyre. Although Bertha is referred to as “unchaste” (Brontë 302; ch. 27), this characteristic does not take precedence. Brontë, instead, uses Bertha as an antagonist to Jane, while showing the two have common characteristics. Although Bertha is seen as the true vampire in the novel, being called a “foul German spectre – the Vampire” (Brontë 281; ch. 25), Jane is not far from being a vampire as well. Their stubborn natures, their bestial anger, and their suppressed sexuality are just a few common factors these women share. Bertha and Jane are very different from the ideal Victorian woman, but which one is furthest from that concept? Mr. Rochester locks the once beautiful Bertha away for her vices and her power, while Aunt Reed sends the plain Jane away for being too stubborn and forthright. Bertha has been deemed “clinically insane” because of her behaviors, yet Jane could easily end up in the same situation, for Victorian society claimed that the body and minds of women are susceptible to hysteria and unchaste activities (Gladwell 14). In the end, Bertha is destroyed to allow Jane’s happiness, but whether this is because Jane is more human and less vampiric needs to be determined.
Works Cited
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1996.
Craciun, Adriana. Fatal Women of Romanticism. New York: Cambridge UP, 2003.
Gladwell, Adèle Olivia, and James Havoc. “The Erogenous Disease.” Blood and Roses: The Vampire In 19th Century Literature. Ed. Adèle Olivia Gladwell. New York: Creation Books, 1992. 5-26.
McNally, Raymond T. In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires. Boston: Houghton, 1964.
Twitchell, James B. The Living Dead: A Study of the Vampire in Romantic Literature. Durham: Duke UP, 1981.
Whitehead, Gwendolyn. “The Vampire in Nineteenth-Century Literature.” The University of Mississippi Studies in English 8 (1990): 243-48
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