I distinctly remember
watching Interview with a Vampire when
I was younger, a lot. My mother really liked that movie; so naturally, I also
came to like it. Although, when I was younger I was completely oblivious to the
symbolism behind characters and their actions.. Now that I’m older, I see the
many faults that Lestat truly had and how unforgivable some of his actions must
have been. I think the best example of Lestat’s vampirism both physically and emotionally
– lie with Claudia. To begin, Louis (selfishly) turns Claudia (a child) into a
vampire after witnessing Louis’s compassion towards her. Earlier, Louis had
found Claudia dying next to her already dead mother (there had been an outbreak
of plague in their village). He begins to feed on her, but can’t bring himself
to finish the job. Lestat finds Claudia and brings her back to their home, as a
present for Louis. (Side note: Lestat feels Louis’s drifting sentiments towards
him and feels that Claudia will convince Louis to stay, mostly out of guilt)
So, eventually, Lestat turns her into a vampire. From the beginning, Claudia
has a stronger affinity for Louis because he’s not as conniving as Lestat and
genuinely cares for her. As time goes on, they become a sort of unnatural
family. Lestat buys Claudia a doll every year on the anniversary of her
turning. Claudia, unknowingly questions Lestat about that, but Lestat doesn’t give
her a straight answer. As time goes on, Claudia ages into a woman, but only mentally.
She is confused as to why she doesn’t grow. On one particular night, she sees a
woman bathing and is captivated by her. She questions both Louis & Lestat
about her lack of growth and Lestat (bluntly) tells her that she will never be
a woman. This sends Claudia into a fit of anger. Lestat comes to comfort her
and they begin to argue. During the argument, Claudia throws the dolls that are
on her bed at Lestat, unveiling the dead body of the woman she’d been
captivated by hidden under her dolls. Lestat is furious with her and yells that
she get rid of it immediately. Claudia is filled with hate for Lestat and this
is her only way of showing it. She hates how her dresses her up, just like the
dolls he buys her. She hates that he’s done this to her, this unspeakable act
of preventing her from growth. Really, she is just an object to Lestat. Her
true purpose was to keep Louis from leaving, nothing more. Lestat never took
into consideration that she would evolve mentally and question her lack of
physical growth. He dresses her as a
doll, because dolls are perfect, they don’t move, don’t think for themselves
and don’t question the actions of others. He has wronged Claudia in the worst
way. She could’ve died that night, very long ago as she was meant to but Lestat
used her as a pawn to keep Louis with him always. He stripped her of her
innocence and turned her into an angry monster. He never believed her capable
of anything beyond the age at which she was turned. She ends up killing him, in
the worst way and he never saw it coming. She has become just as conniving as
he was. In a lot of ways, she is a leftover shell of what she once was, demurred
and wicked.
http://www.shmoop.com/interview-with-the-vampire/dolls-symbol.html
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