Colonialism and the Vampire Essay

Examples From "The Mysterious Stranger"

Colonialism: This particular critical methodology focuses on the ways in which one culture will forcibly move in on anothers turf, and take it over, overriding it with their own culture, morals, economics, and often, religion. When discussing the vampire story though this particular method, this can play out in interesting ways, but the focus is almost invariably upon what is lost in the culture that lost the turf war. There is almost never a cost/benefit analysis or discussion of what could have been gained. For instance, this being my site and all, I am free to mention the very feminist idea that the war in Iraq has provided some benefits to the females in that particular culture. What is being lost is the (from an American perspective) idea that females are ownable by the males in their lives. This is a direct affront to their existing religious taboos. Okay.

Open up the Summary of "The Mysterious Stranger" in a new window, and we will take a look at places in it that are particularly ripe for the colonialist approach to vampires.

• From the outset, the first paragraph of the story, we are introduced to the idea that a property can be handed to absentee outsider landlords: “This was the Knight of Fahnenberg, in Austria. He had inherited from a childless brother a considerable property, situated in the Carpathian Mountains; and he had set out to take possession of it.” This sets the tone for the piece.

1. The protagonist is clearly an outsider, who owns / takes property outside his own normal sphere.

2. This outsider is from Austria, a bastion of civilization.
3. The action will occur in Carpathia, where we all know vampires dwell.

• The outsiders never fully understand the new country’s idiosyncrasies: "Those who have never personally felt the Boreas storming over the country between Sessano and Triest, can have no conception of the reality," This juxtaposes the newcomers from the original settlers, as well as placing the tone and setting in a remote, inaccessible, and unfriendly local.

• The outsiders obviously have little knowledge of local local: In this story the party has been attacked by “reed wolves” and herded into the vicinity of a ruined castle. The knight suggests taking refuge within it: ”"That would be all very well, if I had not thought of a better plan," replied the knight. "Here is the ruined castle; we can surely reach that, and then, blocking up the gates, we must just await the morning."

  "Here? In the ruins of Klatka? — Not for all the wolves in the world!" cried the old man. "Even by daylight no one likes to approach the place, and, now, by night!” The local tells the Knight that the castle “has a bad name;" and the Knight ignores his warning.

• The outsiders have no knowledge of local legends, and the warnings that often the local legends impart. This lack of knowledge is demonstrated by the calm acceptance of the Strange Azzo who has scared the wolves away, and who the locals all recognize as having more than a bit vampiric about him.

  It is the lack of understanding that such things a vampires exist that allows Azzo access to his young female victim Franziska; the Austrian’s have simply no clue that this is what he is – lack of a local frame of reference.

• The invader often finds the new location very different, and attempts to impose their own “norms” on the new place. The knight and Franz found such constant employment in looking over all the particulars of the large estate, and endeavoring to introduce various German improvements.”

  It is a mark of Franziska’s lack of acculturation and character that she finds the Carpathian location more to her liking than her original home.

As you can see, this POV can slant either direction. You could write from the viewpoint of the invaders or from the invadees. You could talk about the economics of the invasion, the Germans are infusing money into the local economy – a good thing, but at the same time, they are altering the economy for those occupants who previously lived in the place. (Thus creating a blend of Marxist theory and Colonialist.)