Vampirism in 17th and 18th Century in French Literature - Book Report/Review Example

s s Vampirism in 17th and 18th Century French Literature The concept of vampirism has become extremely synonymous with the people as it continues to infuse the popular culture. Folkloric and mythological records described vampiric entities as bestial creatures, whose subsistence largely depended upon sucking the life force (blood) out of living beings. Despite the details provided by folkloric evidences, classic and modern literatures have played a great role in giving these creatures of darkness a different persona. Vampirism has now been given a new dimension as the idea has been transcended in to a metaphor; widely used in renaissance literature to associate with and depict various facets of society. Unlike the folkloric representation, the term vampire holds a more metaphorical meaning than a literal blood-sucking monster instead they are depicted as individuals who prey on people’s emotion by creating an illusion of cordiality (Bernstein, 2002). Metaphorical vampirism was first based upon Lord Byron but close inspection reveals that similar traits were attached to various characters in 17th and 18th century Classical French literature. The incorporation of this notion will be analyzed in the light of two highly celebrated literatures that are “Tartuffe” and “Les Dangerous Liaisons”. French literature at that time was largely produced by the educated class; people belonging to the upper class thus, their stories were set against the backdrop of French court and largely focused on the nobility and their exploits. It is a known fact that Pre-Revolutionary France was inhabited by corrupt aristocrats and promiscuity was a prime characteristic of the then-society, therefore, such facets were used by authors and playwrights to construct the basic themes of their literature (Crawford, 2010). Similarly, Tartuffe and Dangerous Liaisons entail the same thematic pattern whereas, Vampirism is a latent allegorical reference depicted through the antagonists; Tartuffe, Vicomte de Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil. The main victims are usually upright people with high moral and religious. In dangerous Liaisons the victims are young and have little worldly experience that makes them more vulnerable to the machinations of Valmont and Merteuil. For example Madame de Tourvel is a God-fearing woman whereas; Cecile has had convent education and had spent early years of her life in there, yet both of them were successfully seduced by the Vicomte. There had several occasions where both of them had been warned of them; although, Merteuil’s depravity had been unknown but Valmont was a notorious character and had been labeled as being “dangerous and violent’ by Madame de Volanges in her letters to Madame de Tourvel. “…Indeed any frankness from Valmont must be very unusual. He’s even more dangerous and deceitful than he is pleasant and attractive…” (De Laclos, 1999, p. 23) On the other hand, Orgon and his mother Madame Pernelle are very religious and the main reason why Tartuffe won their favor was for his religious fervor. Unlike, Tourvel and Cecile they have ample amount of societal experience but they are depicted as respected figures in society and are deeply religious. They have a close social group where such cases of intrigue are unknown; moreover Orgon trusts his mother’s judgment, who had fervently expressed her approval of Tartuffe that was the reason Orgon blindly believed his lies. “He used to come into church each day and humbly kneel nearby, and start to pray. He’s draw the eyes of everybody there. By the deep fervor of his heartfelt prayer; he’s sigh and weep and sometimes with a sound of rapture he would bend and kiss the ground - Orgon” (Moliere,1.5.6) Tartuffe puts on a religious and saintly front that deludes both Orgon and his mother, as they continue to sing Tartuffe’s praises. Orgon’s disregard of all his family members and his obvious favor of Tartuffe earns the ire of everyone involved, but Orgon fails to see any of his flaws; as if he is entranced by him. Orgon only realizes his blunder when Tartuffe shows his true colors after he declares his plans of evicting Orgon’s entire family from the house, as he states, “It’s you, not I, who has to leave”. With a stroke of luck Orgon and his family are able to avoid eviction and the story ends on a happy note but there are some very grave aspects of Tartuffe’s personality that are revealed upon serious evaluation of the story. For instance, Tartuffe is depicted as a parasite, he stays in Orgon’s house and does nothing but create trouble for him. Tartuffe dons a mask of congeniality and piety that dupes Orgon and Madame Pernelle. The latter at one point even calls Tartuffe her family’s spiritual savior but while he intrigues against them behind his back and tries to seduce Orgon’s wife. (Steiner, 2008) Tartuffe’s uses his unequivocal authority over religious scriptures to manipulate people around and create an illusion but in the end he uses sly tactics and even drains Orgon’s wealth. Moliere’s use of Wealth in this context can be perceived as a metaphor for ‘sucking out the life force’ as Orgon is left bereft of everything even denounces his family and loses his ability to see reason as he is enslaved by Tartuffe’s charm and fails to see the breadth of his depravity. On the other hand, Vicomte de Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil are sexually ravenous individuals, who have had plenty of lovers but are aiming to corrupt two pious young women for personal satisfaction and revenge, respectively. All three antagonists victimized the most impressionable characters and led them deeper in to their illusion in order to establish complete control over them. Both Valmont and Merteuil are hyper-sexualized and possess the same sexual and seductive prowess that had been an important trait in vampires (Young, 1964). As Vampires feast upon the blood of their victims, Valmont and Merteuil consumed the chastity and modesty of their victims for vile reasons. There is high correspondence between Valmont and Merteuil, and Vampires. They live by animalistic instincts as Vampire strove for subsistence while Valmont and Merteuil aimed for sexual gratification only without feeling an ounce of remorse for their cruelty. They possessed great insight into the minds of personalities of their victims and knew exactly how they could manipulate them that made them all the more dangerous. “Young Danceny is wet behind the ears; as a lover he is a dead loss, he’ll never see anything through to the end - Merteuil” (Laclos, 1999, 17-18) The focus on their sexuality can be taken as a metaphor for the activities of vampires after nightfall. They are royal and aristocratic in their behavior that demonstrates that they hold great respect in the society and are seen as eminent figures yet they are such human beings who relentlessly plot and intrigue against each other. Cecile’s and Madame de Tourvel’s submission to Valmont and the fact that Merteuil had courted countless lovers is a clear example of how easily they manipulate others around each other. Valmont’s death is soon followed Madame de Tourvel’s and Cecile’s return to the nunnery that is a literal and figurative end to their lives. Charles de Laclos and Moliere had initially developed the plot to shed light on the practices followed in the elite society that is their hypocrisy and deceitfulness (Finch, 2010). De Laclos even got his book banned for some time, as some of the elements in the story had been very realistic and were even believed to have been based on some of the existing members of society. Even Moliere’s depiction in Tartuffe is no stranger to controversy as it garnered negative criticism from the religious faction that the play satirized immensely. Therefore, the prime motive of authors was to reenact real life events and the nature of aristocrats at that time; even though, tying vampires in its characterization was not deliberate but one cannot help but notice the stark similarities in their personas and the vulnerability of their victims. Works Cited Bernstein, Albert J. “Emotional Vampires: dealing with people who drain you dry”. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2002 Crawford, Katherine. “The Sexual Culture of the French Renaissance”. Cambridge University Press, 2010 Finch, Alison. “French Literature: A cultural history”. Polity, 2010 Molière, trans. Sorrel, Martin. Tartuffe. Nick Hern Books, 2002: (1.2.6) De Laclos, Choderlos. “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”. Oxford University Press, 1999: P.p 17-18, 23 Steiner, Prudence L. “Moliere’s Tartuffe”. Hackett Publishing, 2008. Young, Wayland. Eros Denied: Sex in Western Society. Grove, 1964 Read More