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Part 1, Pages 71-158
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Interview with the Vampire, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Evil
Violence, Desire, and Eroticism
Loneliness vs. Companionship
Reinventing the Vampire
Summary
Analysis
Louis waits on the deck of the ship that will take him to Europe. As he waits, he looks around New Orleans, unsure of when he will see it again. Around town, he sees lavish parties going on. As dawn approaches, the parties end, and carriages leave the riverfront streets. A few late passengers come aboard the ship, but Lestat and the musician do not appear. While Louis waits on deck, Claudia stays locked in their room, watching through the porthole.
Louis’s departure from New Orleans marks a significant turning point in his journey. The juxtaposition of his solemn farewell with the lavish parties emphasizes his isolation and detachment from human society. Now, he is alone with Claudia, who acts with extreme caution, suggesting that she is not sure whether Lestat still lives.
Themes
Before daylight, the ship departs. The lights of New Orleans grow dim as they sail away, and Louis stays on deck as long as he can see them, knowing he might never return. While sailing to Europe, Louis feels as though he is moving toward an important secret. When he arrives, he suspects he will find other vampires, who will finally be able to answer his questions about vampirism and provide companionship. Although Louis is excited, he also spends much of his time brooding. He has become obsessed with the idea that he is eternally damned, which terrifies him.
The dimming lights of New Orleans symbolize the end of a chapter in Louis’s life and the uncertainty of his future. His anticipation of finding other vampires reflects his deep-seated need for understanding and belonging. Although Louis is glad to have Claudia, he is a lonely figure, who has lived a great deal of his vampiric life speaking with only two others. He longs for a community, though as Lestat previously suggested, this might be a human desire that he will never be able to fulfill.
Themes
Meanwhile, Claudia spends her time reading and playing solitaire. In particular, Claudia reads as much as she can about vampires in Eastern Europe. Eastern Europeans have by far the most extensive mythology and folklore related to vampires, which makes Louis and Claudia think they will be able to find vampires there. One day, Claudia and Louis discuss what happened to Lestat after they threw him in the swamp. They marvel at how tightly Lestat clung to life, managing to survive in even the direst of circumstances. Lestat’s ability to survive makes Louis think that he—and all vampires—might be truly immortal.
Claudia’s intellectual pursuits emphasize her analytical nature, as she thirsts for knowledge, hoping to eventually find answers to everything Lestat left unexplained. Lestat’s apparent resurrection leaves them with as many questions as it provides answers because they do not know the exact circumstances of his survival. Notably, what neither Claudia nor Louis consider is the possibility that no one can give them the answers they are looking for.
Themes
As the journey continues, the sea brings Louis bad dreams. These dreams lead Louis to recall a winter night in New Orleans when he saw his sister, old and hunched over, carrying white roses to the grave marked with his name. He wishes he could have comforted her, but instead he left her to her grief. Although the sea journey is rough on Louis’s psyche, eventually he and Claudia reach Eastern Europe.
The sea journey acts as a catalyst for Louis’s introspection and memories of his past life. His dreams and recollections of his sister represent the lasting impact of his human relationships. The rough sea voyage mirrors Louis’s tumultuous inner state, though his arrival in Eastern Europe signifies a glimmer of hope for the future.
Themes
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Together, Louis and Claudia travel along the Carpathian Mountains, searching high and low for signs of other vampires. They travel alone in a luxurious black carriage that Claudia purchases. The carriage reminds Louis that Claudia is Lestat’s daughter as much as she is his own. The journey through the strange, dark countryside fills Louis with an anxiety he never experienced in New Orleans. Along the way, he and Claudia feed on humans but they always disguise their kills to look like something other than a vampire killed them. They do so because they know the locals believe in vampires, and they do not want to attract any attention to themselves.
The Carpathian Mountains are a mountain range that spans Central and Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is important in the history of the vampire novel because Transylvania—a region in central Romania—is famously the home of Dracula. Here, Interview with the Vampire begins to read like a gothic novel from that European tradition, as Louis and Claudia leave the crowded New Orleans streets behind in favor of the European countryside. Louis’s unease, however, suggests that this return to an older tradition isn’t going to give him the answers he seeks.
Themes
One evening, Louis and Claudia arrive in a desolate-looking village. At first, they suspect it might be abandoned. However, when they knock on the door of an inn, a woman reluctantly lets them inside. The woman warns Louis that he should not be traveling at night, especially with a child. As Louis and Claudia enter, they notice a crucifix and a garlic wreath above the door. Inside, Louis meets a distraught and drunken Englishman, Morgan, who is excited to learn that Louis speaks English. Louis asks the man what has made him so upset.
The presence of crucifixes and garlic wreaths reflect the pervasive fear of vampires among the villagers. However, earlier in the novel, Louis dismissed the notion that these items are harmful to vampires. Indeed, they do not stop him nor Claudia from entering the inn. This suggests that the villagers’ superstitions are either outdated or that the Eastern European vampires differ from Louis.
Themes
Morgan leads Louis to a small parlor where the body of a young woman, Emily, lies on a table. On Emily’s neck, Louis sees the unmistakable puncture wounds of a vampire. Morgan, devastated, blames himself for her death. Louis, sensing the Englishman’s desperation, offers to help him but first wants to know what happened.
Although Louis partially wants to aid Morgan because he feels bad for the Englishman, he also knows that Morgan’s information could lead him straight to the vampires he has been seeking.
Themes
Morgan tells Louis that he and Emily came to the country on their honeymoon, hoping to travel around to the ancient monasteries in the area. However, Morgan and Emily witnessed a disturbing event upon arriving in a village. He describes the villagers performing a bizarre ritual involving a wild horse running around a graveyard. When the horse stopped at a particular grave, the villagers dug it up, revealing a body that appeared freshly dead. They then decapitated the corpse with a shovel. After witnessing the strange ceremony, Morgan wanted to leave the village. He offered money to the villagers for transportation, but they refused, claiming that they were afraid of vampires. Not long after, Emily went missing in the night and was found dead the following day.
For Morgan, the experience of entering the village is like stepping into the past. He comes from a modernized country and suddenly he is thrust into a culture that is driven by superstition. To him, their behavior appears primitive and ineffective. However, Emily’s death and the puncture wounds on her neck suggest that—even if their methods might be fruitless—the villagers are not merely paranoid. It seems that Louis has finally found the vampires he has been looking for, though notably it is human suffering that alerts him to their presence.
Themes
Because a vampire killed Emily, the villagers want to decapitate her as well. Morgan does not want this to happen and begs Louis for help. While Louis is not sure that he can protect Emily from the villagers, he promises Morgan that he will seek out of the vampire who is responsible. Then, Louis asks the innkeeper where he should go to find the vampire. The innkeeper warns him to stay away from the vampire at all costs. However, Louis insists that she give him directions. Eventually, the innkeeper does as he asks. Now with a destination in mind, Louis and Claudia set off to find a European vampire.
Again, although Louis’s human side wants to help Morgan, it is his own curiosity that primarily propels him forward. The innkeeper—not realizing Louis is a vampire himself—thinks he is mad for leaving the inn. However, Louis has not come this far to let her concerns stop him. He knows he is walking into danger, but it is worth it to him if he can finally get some answers.
Themes
As Louis and Claudia near their destination, Claudia spots the tower where the vampire is said to live, and Louis halts the carriage. Louis fears what he might find, though Claudia is quite excited. Despite his fear, Louis follows Claudia as she leaps from the carriage and beckons him to join her on the road. They move through the dark forest, guided by the lantern’s light, the ruins of the monastery looming ahead. Louis feels the oppressive stillness of the night, noting the absence of any living creatures. The scent of blood fills the air as they approach the monastery, and Louis feels an ominous presence.
Again, the novel’s language is steeped in gothic imagery that reads like an 18th or 19th century novel. The dark forest, the ruined monastery, and the carriage would all be at home in a book like Dracula, though they stand out here because of how they contrast with the setting of New Orleans from Part I. Everything in this scene implies that Louis and Claudia have found what they are looking for, though it remains unclear whether that is a good thing.
Themes
Inside the monastery, Louis and Claudia hear footsteps approaching them. Their lantern reveals a figure carrying a body, which Louis moves toward instinctively, knowing it to be a vampire. The vampire, grotesque and decayed, lunges at Louis, and a struggle ensues. Quickly, Louis realizes he is fighting a mindless, animated corpse, not an intelligent being. With Claudia’s help, he defeats the creature, its body collapsing in a heap. Louis, exhausted, realizes that they have destroyed an ancient European vampire, a creature of the Old World.
Here, Rice is explicitly commenting on the state of the vampire novel. The ancient European vampire she depicts here is nothing like Dracula, but Rice is suggesting that it represents the state of the vampire novel prior to the publication of Interview. Because too many writers have utilized the tropes found in Dracula, they have drained the tradition that novel started of its vitality. Rice has her main characters triumph over this withered husk, suggesting that they are its modernized replacement.
Themes
Claudia stands at the Old World vampire’s feet. She begins to rock slowly, as if in a trance. Louis calls to her, which snaps her out of it, though she still looks dazed. Once she has regained her senses, Claudia points at the body the vampire was carrying. Louis approaches the body and sees that it is Morgan. Claudia, who has not eaten for some time, feeds on Morgan. She encourages Louis to do the same, but he refuses. Once Claudia is done, she and Louis return to the village and inform the other villagers that the Old World vampire is dead.
Part of what differentiates Rice’s vampires—particularly Louis—from the vampires of old is their connection to their humanity. Louis, who feels compassion for Morgan, refuses to feed from him. Louis’s decision reflects a layer of psychological complexity that characters like Dracula never had, demonstrating the primary difference between Rice’s novel and the vampire novels of the past.
Themes
The following day, Louis and Claudia leave the small village and go looking elsewhere for vampires. Louis describes their journey through Transylvania, Hungary, and Bulgaria, where peasants speak often of vampires. In every village where Louis and Claudia actually encounter vampires, the creatures are always mindless corpses. Louis remembers only a handful of these encounters, which were largely unmemorable because the result was always the same.
Although Part II is largely Rice’s way to critique the tradition of the European vampire novel, it is also an important part of Louis and Claudia’s existential journey. Both characters began this trip feeling like there must be answers for them somewhere in the world. However, all this trip has done is prove that they may be alone and unable to answer their questions after all.
Themes
The boy asks why these creatures are so different from Louis and Claudia. Louis says he does not know. However, at the time, he feared that he and Claudia had killed the only other vampire like them. Although Louis had his issues with Lestat, he misses him, and the fear of eternal loneliness plagues him. For Claudia, loneliness is not the issue. Instead, she cares about getting her practical questions answered.
Although Louis and Claudia have different motivations that drive them, they both share a feeling of dissatisfaction. Even though Louis always despised Lestat, he is coming to realize that despicable company is better than no company at all.
Themes
Claudia asks Louis why he can’t make another vampire like Lestat did. The idea horrifies Louis, who despises his own existence, and he does not want to make someone else endure it. He has considered it before but always rejected the notion, fearing the creation of more monsters. Claudia asks if Louis is sure he has never inadvertently created another vampire. Louis insists that Lestat’s method of draining and then giving back blood is necessary to create a vampire, and it’s something he has never done.
Here, Louis introduces a new problem that compounds his existential dread. At the moment, the only way for him to grow his community—which is something he longs for—is to condemn others to his fate, something he does not want to do. Again, this is an example of how Louis differs from Lestat, who puts little thought into the consequences others might face as the result of his actions.
Themes
Claudia acknowledges that she may have made a mistake by ridding them of Lestat, despite her hatred for him. Although there was a time when she thought Louis would be the only companion she ever needed, now she feels that they were more complete with Lestat. Claudia suggests that they stop looking for vampires in Eastern Europe and instead go to Paris. She believes they need to be among their own people, speaking their language, to find a new path forward. Louis agrees, feeling that they need a fresh start.
Once again, Claudia and Louis agree to a fresh start, realizing that Eastern Europe cannot give them what they are looking for. Claudia does not know that they will find vampires in Paris, but she at least wants to be among other French people like herself and Louis. Although cultural identity means little to Claudia, it is evidently better than nothing.
Themes
