Laura In Carmilla

In the novel Carmilla, Laura becomes associated with this character Carmilla. Laura has these tender feelings towards Carmilla, which is thought of as friendly at first but later causes a sort of homosexual panic. The antagonist, Laura, is most often connected with Carmilla, who is a guest staying at Laura’s house. Both already have established a strong connection with each other when they first meet with each other: “She caressed me with her hands, and lay down beside me on the bed, and drew towards her, smiling; I felt immediately delightfully soothed, and fell asleep again. I was wakened by a sensation as if two needles ran into my breast very deep at the same moment” (Le Fanu 9). To “caress” is to touch or stroke gently or lovingly. This

The concept of homosexuality is often portrayed as this unnatural subconscious desire that might take a hold of Laura. Whenever Carmilla seems to visit Laura at night, Laura feels ill the next morning: “I felt a stinging pain as if two large needles darted, an inch or two apart, deep into my breast. I waked with a scream. The room was lighted by the candle that burnt there all through the night, and I saw a female figure” (Le Fanu 49). To “sting” is to wound or feel a sharp pain and to “scream” is to express a loud, piercing cry. To express pain in such a way shows how Laura seems to be haunted by this strange “female figure” that mysteriously appears along with this excruciating pain. Le Fanu shows homosexuality through vampirism by having this idea of horror. As Carmilla visits Laura and consumes her blood, homosexuality is looked up with disgust and terror. Along with how the vampire events of their blood consumption happens in the dark night, homosexuality is never really talked much about in the Victorian Gothic era. Both vampirism and homosexuality are secretive and sometimes explained as an illness: “I would not admit that I was ill, I would not consent to tell my papa, or to have the doctor sent for” (Le Fanu 53). Laura does not want to admit that she is “ill” which means sick from Carmilla’s visit last night. She also wishes not to “consent to tell” her father which reveals that Laura may be ashamed of what has happened. Carmilla is presented as an unfavorable person of society as she is a vampire compared to the ordinary humans around her. Carmilla is shown as the unfamiliar, grotesque being which exhibits this homoerotic