Immortality In Dracula

Humanity has coveted and worshipped immortality for centuries. Living forever has fascinated and horrified many, especially authors, for just as long. Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is the classic representation of immortality. The horror novel depicts the curse immortality was feared to be, showing vampires as an object to be feared and loathed. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab is a more recent representation. Addie is forgotten instead of being feared, illustrating immortality as a bittersweet gift that frequently feels like a curse because of its consequences. Despite the similarities of immortality in both texts, the novels portray differing views on the price of eternal life and the consequences of immortality.

The classic

The fear of something different, of monsters in the night that feast on human life. The price of immortality was to suck the blood from the living and become a hated being. Even Lucy was condemned the second it was made clear she was no longer human, “the whole carnal and unspiritual appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy’s sweet purity.”(Stoker 292), believing her overtaken by a demon they promptly sought to eradicate it. All human characters see Dracula's immortality as unclean; nobody wishes for it. Instead, they scorn it as they do everything that deviates from their religious views. Addie LaRue depicts immortality as a bittersweet gift, yet once obtained, the consequences leave her just as desperate as before. Addies immortality leaves her alone to watch as the world changes and moves forward without her. Everything she has ever cherished is eventually destroyed, “What is the point in planting seeds?... Everything crumbles in the end. Everything dies.” (Schwab 364). Thus, losing everything she cares about becomes just as much a consequence of her immortality as being forgotten by everyone is. Immortality in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is miraculous, at least from Henry’s point of view. Her immortality is not something to fear; instead, it is so fascinating that he implores her to tell him every moment of her three hundred years alive. So they believe that immortality is not evil, just