Vampires – Do we really see them as monsters?
Vampires always fascinated us, it is an undeniable fact. And after the frenzy that the Twilight Saga has created, do you still wonder why? It’s not so hard to guess.
Are Vampires Monsters?
First of all, vampires are the only pretty monsters, don’t we all agree. It’s kind of hard to find an interest in fur-covered or rotten or simply rotten creatures (although werewolves have stepped up a notch lately and I am a big wolf fan myself). Myths, stories and legends, quileute or not, that talk about the world’s most beautiful and attractive predators are something thousands of tribes and nations all around the world lave in common.
Also, the idea of a life so different from ours is something that always intrigued us. It’s to want to get away from our own predictable lives and the possibility of such an existence offers as exactly what we seek; the possibility of the impossible. It’s the idea of immortality, the infinite powers, the absolute and everlasting superiority, and the mystery that surrounds them that makes people so interested in this evil, yet controversial kind.
It is controversial because although we are familiar with their blood-lusting devilish nature that is their biggest trait, the stories that follow them are – were and will be – always combined with the idea of, not only eternal life, nut also eternal love.
That is one of the main reasons why people still have a soft spot for the immortals. The idea of a monster, soulless by all meanings, which is able to fall in love makes them so appealing to us. When a vampire falls in love, there is no way back; he loves forever. Is there anything more romantic than that? This is why nobody finds it weird or shocking to see in a story the girl and the creepy vampire ending up together. The love that comes to give an end to his eternal suffering, that everlasting love, seems so right that we even find ourselves satisfied by the outcome.
Sympathy is also a key factor in answering the question why people like vampires. Many would wonder: How can a walking corpse, a creature that has risen from the grave provoke such an irresistible urge of sympathy. But the real question is this: How can NOT feel bad for someone whose life was taken away from him, who has been condemned in an endless and soulless future, tortured by a longing for a real life among the living, spending eternity searching for the real meaning of “existence”?
Personally I had never thought of such things until I read Twilight but since those lovely monsters entered my life I haven’t found a way to take them out. Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer have delved into this kind of questionings in their novel and the brought a new, more modern, more approachable face to their vampires.
Carlisle Cullen and his adopted son Edward are two those tortured vampires. I always sympathised Edward for all he is been through, for the way his life changed so much, so rapidly. But in this case as well he found love, happiness and more importantly he found a reason to live, he found the meaning of his existence in Bella’s face.
The kindness, their peaceful life style, their tortured souls and the way they see the world is what made the Cullens some of the most memorable characters in world wide literature.
Vampires are officially here and they are not going to leave. Suck it up vamp-haters!