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NARCOTIC GAZE: OCULAR IMAGERY AND THE VAMPIRE MOTIF IN "CHRISTABEL,""CARMILLA," AND "DRACULA" (SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, BRAM STOKER, JOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU, IRELAND)

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Date Issued:
1982
Summary:
Superstitions of ocular power are timeless; tales of the evil eye and the vampire's locking gaze have permeated nearly every known civilization. For centuries the "oupire" has loomed ominously as one manifestation of darkness in the conflict of good and evil, and from the fertile soil of the legend, the literary vampire was spawned. In "Christabel," "Carmilla," and Dracula the eyes of the characters are used to manifest this "good versus evil" theme by aligning them with images of innocence or iniquity. Most characters are delineated through ocular impressions, and the unnatural brightness, dark heat, or seething scarlet of the vampire is set in contrast to the purity, ingenuousness, or steadfastness of the mortals. Sexual innuendo is also expressed through the eyes, tears are used to metaphorically cloud the vision, and open eyes become symbolic for receptiveness. The symbolic eyes of "Christabel," "Carmilla," and Dracula metaphorically illuminate this universal theme.
Title: THE NARCOTIC GAZE: OCULAR IMAGERY AND THE VAMPIRE MOTIF IN "CHRISTABEL,""CARMILLA," AND "DRACULA" (SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, BRAM STOKER, JOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU, IRELAND).
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Name(s): PARKER, BERLINDA ZELLNER.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Coyle, William, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1982
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 77 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Superstitions of ocular power are timeless; tales of the evil eye and the vampire's locking gaze have permeated nearly every known civilization. For centuries the "oupire" has loomed ominously as one manifestation of darkness in the conflict of good and evil, and from the fertile soil of the legend, the literary vampire was spawned. In "Christabel," "Carmilla," and Dracula the eyes of the characters are used to manifest this "good versus evil" theme by aligning them with images of innocence or iniquity. Most characters are delineated through ocular impressions, and the unnatural brightness, dark heat, or seething scarlet of the vampire is set in contrast to the purity, ingenuousness, or steadfastness of the mortals. Sexual innuendo is also expressed through the eyes, tears are used to metaphorically cloud the vision, and open eyes become symbolic for receptiveness. The symbolic eyes of "Christabel," "Carmilla," and Dracula metaphorically illuminate this universal theme.
Identifier: 14121 (digitool), FADT14121 (IID), fau:10935 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1982.
Subject(s): Vampires in literature
Evil eye
Eye in literature
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14121
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.