In the book Interview with the Vampire, the section that troubled me the most was when Louis visited the church. He seemed to be forced unconsciously into the cathedral, which is compared to a nightmare of searching ruthlessly for Claudia’s lost doll that will never be found. Once Louis is inside, he seats his troubled self in one of the wooden pews and instantly senses all the aspects of the church, such as the smell, sound, feel, etc. While seated at the pew, Louis then has a very disturbing vision of himself ascending the alter, throwing and stepping on the sacred Eucharist that represented the Body of Christ. He than states that, “I knew full well the meaning of it. God did not live n this church…I was the supernatural in this cathedral.” (pg 144). The vision then progressed to show the church falling to ruins, Lestat in a coffin proceeding down the isle, Claudia announcing that Louis’s soul is damned, and finally Louis’s immaculate brother laying the coffin in Lestat’s place.
It seems to me that this vision represents a very interesting point in Louis’s thinking about his nature. He finally acknowledges that he is truly a supernatural being because he is not harmed by the crumbling church, but at the same time, he still cannot break away from his mortal side that was connected with his perfect brother. Then Claudia states, “And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength”(pg. 145). It seems as though Louis damns himself for “killing” his brother as well as Lestat, which seems to imply the reason that grotesque Lestat is replaced by his angelic brother in the coffin. I think the whole vision is meant to convey a sense of confusion in Louis about his place on earth, and how is past will affect the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment