The Vampyre
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| Author | John William Polidori |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publisher | New Monthly magazine and universal register; London: H. Colburn, 1814-1820. Vol. 1, No. 63. |
| Media Type | Print (Periodical & Paperback) |
| Released | 1 April 1819 |
The Vampyre is a short story written by John William Polidori and is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction.
The Vampyre was first published on April 1, 1819, by Colburn in the New Monthly Magazine with the false attribution "A Tale by Lord Byron." The name of the work's protagonist, "Lord Ruthven", added to this assumption, for that name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven. Despite repeated denials by Byron and Polidori, the authorship often went unclarified.
The story was an immediate popular success, partly because of the Byron attribution and partly because it exploited the gothic horror predilections of the public. Polidori transformed the vampire from a character in folklore into the form we recognize today - an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
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[edit] Plot introduction
The story has its genesis in the summer of 1816, the Year Without a Summer, when Europe and parts of North America suffered under a severe climate abnormality. Lord Byron and his young physician John Polidori were staying at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva and were visited by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and Claire Clairmont. Kept indoors by the "incessant rain" of that "wet, ungenial summer," over three days in June the five turned to telling fantastical stories, and then writing their own. Fueled by ghost stories such as the Fantasmagoriana, William Beckford's Vathek and quantities of laudanum, Mary Shelley produced what would become Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. Polidori was inspired by a fragmentary story of Byron's and in "two or three idle mornings" produced The Vampyre.
Polidori's work had an immense impact on contemporary sensibilities and ran through numerous editions and translations. An adaptation appeared in 1820 with Cyprien Bérard’s novel, Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires, falsely attributed to Charles Nodier, who himself then wrote his own version, Le Vampire, a play which had enormous success and sparked a "vampire craze" across Europe. Edgar Allan Poe, Gogol, Alexandre Dumas, père and Tolstoy all produced vampire tales, and themes in Polidori's tale would continue to influence Bram Stoker's Dracula and eventually the whole vampire genre.
[edit] Plot summary
In the early 1800s, a strange nobleman appears in the London high society, named Lord Ruthven (pronounced “Riven” with a short ‘i’). He is very introverted, which, of course, causes everyone to notice him. He is noted by all for his cool demeanor, his cool grey eyes, and his pale face. Several women make passes at him but to no avail. He has the reputation, however of being intelligent, and his apparent lack of vice make him accepted by the virtuous women of society.
About the same time, a young gentleman named Aubrey enters London high society. He was an orphan since childhood, and was raised, with his younger sister, by guardians. Highly romantic, he is somewhat disappointed by London high life until he meets Lord Ruthven. He becomes interested in Lord Ruthven’s mannerism, and wishes to learn more about him. Upon learning that Lord Ruthven is soon to travel, Aubrey requests his guardians to take his “tour”, the customary trip of young aristocratic males after leaving the university. His guardians agree. Aubrey then mentions his intention to travel to Lord Ruthven who, to Aubrey’s surprise, allows him to join his lordship in his travels.
Upon leaving Europe, Aubrey discovers that Lord Ruthven is very different in private than he seems in public. He gave money generously to beggars, but not to the virtuous down on their luck. However Aubrey notices that those who were recipients of the lordship's generosity often sunk even deeper into depravity, sometimes death.
Eventually the companions reach Rome, where they split up. Lord Ruthven is often seen in the company of an Italian Countess, while Aubrey visits ancient ruins in the proximity of Rome. Aubrey soon receives a letter from his guardians who voice concern at his companion, since the virtuous ladies with whom he had once socialized had now become seekers of vice in his absence.
Aubrey then tries to invent a reason to leave the lord, and upon discovering that the lord is having an affair with the young Italian countess, he writes a letter declining to accompany the lord on the rest of the tour, and then reports the lord’s intentions to the countess' parents. The next day, Aubrey receives a note from his lordship, agreeing on their separation.
Aubrey travels on alone to Greece, ending up in the city of Athens. There he begins to study archeology, as he did in Rome, but is often distracted by Ianthe, a beautiful women who is the daughter of Aubrey's innkeeper. She warns Aubrey vehemently about vampyres, whom she claims sucks the blood of the living to attain longer life. Aubrey is skeptical, but when she begins to describe the vampyres, she paints a perfect description of Lord Ruthven, and Aubrey is shaken. However, he refuses to believe in such things and tries to convince Ianthe otherwise.
One night, when returning after sunset from one of his excursions, Aubrey is caught in a thunderstorm and is driven to take shelter in a dark forest. While in the forest he stumbles upon a hut, and thinking to ask for directions to town, or maybe shelter. However he hears the scream of a woman emanate from inside followed by a mocking laugh. He rushes inside and is attacked by someone with superhuman strength, who throws him to the ground and grabs his throat. However the approach of someone else scares the beast off. When these new arrivals enter the hut, their torches illuminate the pale corpse of Ianthe lying next to Aubrey, her throat bearing the mark of teeth, and covered in blood. As the rescuers remove the stunned Aubrey, he takes a dagger from the floor of the hut.
After returning to Athens, Aubrey comes down with a violent fever and is bedridden. Around the same time, Lord Ruthven arrives in Athens and upon hearing about his former companion’s state of health, takes up room in the same inn as Aubrey, and becomes his constant attendant. He apologizes to Aubrey for their previous separation, and through his caring for the ill Aubrey, they reconciled.
After recovering from his illness, Aubrey becomes as introverted as Ruthven, and leaves Athens with Ruthven, as to rid himself of memories of his former love. While traveling to their next destination, they are attacked by robbers, and Lord Ruthven is shot in the shoulder. With a health bribe, Aubrey is able to ensure their safety. However, Lord Ruthven’s wound becomes infected, and he begins to die. On Ruthven’s last throws of life, he makes Aubrey swear that he will tell no one of his death for a year and a day. Aubrey swears to tell no one. Ruthven dies with a smile on his face. The body is not buried, as it disappears before Aubrey could do such. However, Aubrey believes that the robbers stole the clothes and hid the body, and thinks nothing of it.
Aubrey leaves Greece, and while waiting in Turkey for a ship to take him to England, Aubrey discovers in Ruthven’s effects the sheath to the dagger from the hut where Ianthe was killed. Later, in Rome, he discovers that the family of the countess that Ruthven had associated with had fallen into ruin, and the countess herself had disappeared after the Lord’s departure. Aubrey believes it was the same thing that has killed Ianthe. He continues home on a favorable tail wind, and finally returns to his home, where he is rejoined with his sister; a vibrant youth of eighteen years. She is planning to be introduced into society, but was awaiting her brother’s return.
During his sister’s début, Aubrey is standing in a crowd when someone grabs him by his arm and a familiar voice whispers in his ear, “Remember your oath.” Moments later, Aubrey spies, not far from him Lord Ruthven. Aubrey, fearful, leaves early with a friend and returns to his home. Once at home, he calms himself, and convinced it was just his imagination, returns to society. A few nights later, however, Aubrey runs into Ruthven again, this time conversing with his sister. He grabs his sister and tries pulls her out of the building. He gets held up at the door by some servants and hears once again the whisper in his ear: “Remember your oath!”
Aubrey’s mental health quickly declined, and after spending a few nights sleeping in gutters around London, his guardians made him remain in the home under the watchful eyes of physicians. Slowly, he becomes more and more withdrawn, however, as a year begins to pass, he becomes better and better. One day, on the last day of the year since Aubrey had sworn his oath, one of his guardians visits him in his room. The guardian mentions Aubrey’s sister is to be married, and Aubrey is curious as to whom. They tell him she is to be married to the Earl of Marsden. This makes Aubrey quite happy, and he requests to his guardian that he be present at the wedding, and also that he may have an audience with his sister. His sister comes, and is overjoyed to see her brother in such good spirits. However, Aubrey soon discovers, to his horror, that the Earl of Marsden was none other than Lord Ruthven. He begs his sister not to marry him, for reasons he couldn’t explain. His physicians say his mania has returned and remove his sister from the room.
It had so happened that Lord Ruthven, upon finding Aubrey considered insane and knowing he was the cause of it, began to visit Aubrey’s home, and, as such, captured the fancy of his sister. Ruthven soon after gained his title, and as such, asked that the marriage be immediate, even though Ruthven was leaving on a trip the day after.
The day of the wedding, Aubrey escapes his bed chamber and runs into the room where the wedding was about to be held. Ruthven is the first to notice him and drags him from the room, reminding Aubrey not only of his oath, but of the fact that if Ruthven walked away from the marriage, Aubrey’s sister would be dishonored. Aubrey is then taken away by his attendants. Aubrey is filled with rage at the monster, but unable to find a vent, bursts a blood vessel. The marriage goes on as planned, and afterward, the married couple leaves London.
The burst of Aubrey’s blood vessel is quickly killing him, and he requests the audience of his guardians. Then, at the stroke of midnight, he tells his guardians the tale of Ruthven’s rebirth abroad, and dies soon after. His guardians rush to protect his sister, but they find her too late, sucked dry by Lord Ruthven, the vampyre.
[edit] Characters in "The Vampyre"
- Lord Ruthven – a suave British nobleman, the vampyre
- Aubrey – a young gentleman, an orphan
- Ianthe – a beautiful woman Aubrey meets on his journeys with Ruthven.
- Aubrey's sister – who becomes engaged to the Earl of Marsden
- Earl of Marsden – who is also Lord Ruthven
[edit] Trivia
- The character of Lambach Rutven in Vampire: The Masquerade was named in honour of Polidori.
[edit] See also
- medieval revenant for the medieval origins of vampire-like stories.
[edit] Further reading
- Christopher Frayling; Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula 1992. ISBN 0-571-16792-6
