With This Ring, You’ll Be Dead: Violence Against Female Protagonists in Romantic Vampire Fiction: Part 1: Stalking

A Discovery of Witches, Season 1

Editor’s Note: content warning for violence, abuse, and potentially triggering subject matter.

I’ve consumed a lot of vampire fiction in the past thirty-five years. In fact, I often think of my consumption of vampire fiction — novels, short stories, comics, movies, TV shows, etc. — as vampiric in and of itself. To say that I am obsessed would be an understatement, but I haven’t just randomly consumed these narratives, leaving a trail of paperbacks in my wake like so many bloodless corpses. I’ve done close readings, dissected them, absorbed them, and autopsied some of their basic elements to see how vampire narratives have evolved over time. In my examinations, I started making comparisons between how vampires are depicted in these stories, particularly in romantic vampire fiction and how female protagonists are treated, and it became clear to me that violence is an acceptable and expected aspect of romantic relationships with vampires.

The more I read, the clearer this becomes. Let’s not kid ourselves. Vampires are highly sexualized monsters that we fantasize about without apology. They are dangerous and skilled lovers that occupy some of our darkest thoughts about sex and death. They are depicted in fiction as being handsome, charismatic, strong, wealthy, powerful, and because they are undead monsters, they appeal to our shadow selves that relish in taboo desires. What’s more attractive than a lover who embodies the qualities of all things forbidden and allows us to walk a tightrope between safe sexual relationships and abusive ones?

Twilight

Last weekend, I binged both seasons of Netflix’s Mindhunter. While watching, I couldn’t help drawing parallels between vampires and serial killers (this isn’t a new realization for me, but it was reinforced while watching this amazing show). While Special Agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench try to figure out what drives the killers they’re interviewing to commit such unspeakable acts, and they begin to build a sketch of the psychological markers that determine whether or not someone will become a serial killer, in most cases each of their subjects simply stated that they enjoyed killing. That often isn’t enough of an explanation for the people who have been victimized by serial killers, nor is it enough of an explanation for their friends and families. However, most people accept the fact that vampires are driven by their need for blood. Is that enough of an explanation for why they kill their victims?

Mindhunter, Season 1

In contemporary romantic vampire fiction, such as Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy, and Julie Plec’s adaptation of L. J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries series for TV, vampires have become the romantic male leads and in almost every case, their violence and unquenchable thirst for blood is often overlooked as a personality flaw like alcoholism, gambling addiction, or snoring, by their female partners.

Like many serial killers, vampires begin their courtship innocently enough, by stalking their victims/objects of desire. The legal definition of stalking, according to Merriam-Webster, is “the act or crime of willfully and repeatedly following or harassing another person in circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to fear injury or death especially because of express or implied threats.” As violent crimes go, stalking appears to be one of the least harmful. However, stalking often leads to more violent behavior and if your stalker is a serial killer or vampire, I would say that the threat of future bodily harm is guaranteed.

A Discovery of Witches, Season 1

Here are some questions I’d like you to think about as you continue reading and while you’re reading your next vampire narrative:

• Have you ever been stalked?
• Did you know your stalker, or were you stalked by a stranger?
• Were you aware that you were being stalked at the time? Did you have other interactions with this person who concealed the act of stalking you?
• Did you think your stalker was attractive, charming, interesting, misunderstood, etc.?
• Aside from stalking were there any other red-flag behaviors you noticed once you became acquainted with your stalker?
• Did you find your stalker’s attention flattering?
• Did you end up dating or marrying your stalker?
• Did your stalker’s behavior become more violent or controlling after you became romantically involved?

These questions are in no way meant to be a judgement of anyone’s behavior, especially if you answered yes to any of the above questions. I am simply establishing a pattern of behavior that typically goes along with romantic relationships in which one of the parties is a predator.

Now, not all stalkers are vampires or serial killers, but most vampires and serial killers are stalkers. They choose their victims (love interests) very carefully. And often spend time gathering information about them before making their first move — whether that’s a charming introduction, or a violent attack that leads to a second location.

Mindhunter, Seasons 1 and 2. Serial killers depicted: Dennis Rader (BTK Strangler), Charles Manson, David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), and Edmund Kemper (The CoEd Killer).

As fascinating as Edmund Kemper and Ted Bundy are, the idea of being alone in a room with either of them makes my flesh crawl. However, an invitation to dinner from Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries) or Matthew Clairmont (All Souls Trilogy) would be exceptionally tantalizing with the knowledge that they are vampires. Will you be dinner? One can only hope. I am certain I’m not the only one who has fantasized about being devoured by a gorgeous monster.

When was the last time you read a vampire romance novel? Newsflash: They’re hot. Not only are the vampires experts at seduction, but they actually fall in love with their prey. And don’t even get me started about the sex — it’s passionate, risky, kinky, experimental, and intensely intimate. And often comes after an extended period of withholding or delaying sexual intimacy due to societal taboos, distrust of partners from past failed relationships, or basically fear of dying at the hands of your lover, and I would argue in some instances, the vampire delays sexual gratification as a means of controlling their love interest. This practice is a textbook form of manipulation in sexual relationships with narcissists.

Twilight

For example, despite Bella Swan’s repeated attempts at seducing Edward Cullen, he rejects her sexual advances and only agrees to engage in a sexual relationship once they are married. While he explains his concerns for her safety (his powerful vampire body could cause damage to her delicate human body) and his belief in old-fashioned courtship as the reasons for not having sex with Bella, by delaying or withholding sex from her, he increases her interest in him and makes their eventual sexual relationship a focal point of her obsession with him.

Matthew Clairmont engages in a similar pattern of behavior with Diana Bishop and sets limits on what they can and cannot do sexually, reserving intercourse for a time not only after they have become married under the basic rules of vampire courtship, but also when he determines it appropriate without any indication as to when and if that might be.

Both vampires stalk their intended prey/partners prior to and in the initial phases of their relationships. Edward Cullen and Matthew Clairmont climb through windows to watch women sleep and in each case, we are led to believe that this behavior is romantic rather than predatory. Each of these romantic leads are also exceedingly jealous and territorial and make a point of setting limits as far as who can and cannot have access to them, using fear and the excuse of keeping them safe to dictate access to their bodies and minds.

A Discovery of Witches, Season 1

As I mentioned, stalking eventually can lead to more violent activities and gives the stalker access to ways in which he/she is able to control the person they are stalking. In the case or romantic vampire fiction, stalking is practically a form of foreplay and stands in for a sign that the vampire is interested in forming a romantic attachment. But make no mistake, stalking is a form of hunting and when you are a vampire or serial killer, regardless of your emotional state, sexual attraction, or perceived intentions, eventually the hunted will end up injured if not dead.

So, is stalking harmless? Should we view it as a stage of courtship in vampire romance? Or should we treat it as the crime it really is, which is harassing and threatening another person who may not enjoy our attention. Does it make a difference if the stalker is a wealthy handsome man like Matthew Clairmont or Edward Cullen? Is it safe to marry your stalker? I’m not sure I have the definitive answer to any of these questions, but I do think they’re worth considering if you happen to be attracted to gorgeous monsters.

Featured image from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1