Interview with the Vampire: Part 1, Pages 71-158 Summary & Analysis

In New Orleans, Lestat kills a man to secure a hotel suite. Lestat urges Louis to feed, but Louis searches for rats instead of humans, as he still does not want to kill people. In the present, Louis explains that he initially fed only on animals because he struggled with the morals of feeding on a human being. The boy listens intently, struggling to understand. Louis also asks the boy if these stories are what he was hoping to hear. The boy nods vigorously and encourages Louis to continue.

Louis describes his agitation and overwhelming despair the night he arrived in New Orleans. After his most recent encounter with. Babette, he wonders whether he is eternally damned. While out hunting for something to eat, he comes across a little girl crying beside her dead mother in an empty room. Louis feels a burning desire to drink the child’s blood. However, he also feels sympathy for the child and wonders how this could be the case if he was truly damned. Eventually, Louis gives in to his vampiric nature and feeds on the child. It is a euphoric and intoxicating experience.

However, before Louis can finish with the child, he hears laughter from a nearby windowsill. There, he sees Lestat, who is thrilled that Louis has finally fed on another human. Lestat jumps into the room and, in a macabre display, begins dancing with the corpse of the child’s dead mother. Ashamed and furious with Lestat, Louis flees back to the hotel. Lestat follows him back, laughing and mocking him all the way. Lestat gleefully tells Louis that the little girl is still alive and says they should turn her into a vampire. It is unclear whether he is serious. After a brief argument at the hotel, Lestat, surprisingly calm, tells Louis they will talk the next night. Lestat’s tone surprises Louis, as Lestat has never spoke to him that way before.

The next evening, Louis wakes up and finds that Lestat has brought two women—both sex workers—to their hotel room. Lestat pretends to dine with the women, who do not notice that he is not actually eating anything. After, the three of them sit on a couch together and Lestat feeds from one of them without the other noticing. After he has drained the first woman, he resumes flirting with the other. Then, choosing his moment carefully, Lestat deliberately exposes the first woman’s wound so that her friend can see that she is dead. Lestat takes great delight in frightening the woman, letting her know that she is going to die. Finally, he feeds on her, though he does not kill her. The entire display sickens Louis, who does not understand why Lestat feels the need to torture people before devouring them.

Angrily, Louis tells Lestat that he plans to leave him and search for other vampires. He thinks Lestat is a terrible mentor and wants someone who can help him to better understand his nature. Lestat responds calmly, reminding Louis that the nature of a vampire is to live on other people’s deaths. Lestat criticizes Louis for clinging to his mortal sensibilities and longing for human connection. Louis protests, assuring Lestat that he does appreciate his life as a vampire. However, he still admits that he wants to continue feeding on animals rather than humans.

Lestat argues that true satisfaction for a vampire comes from killing humans and warns Louis about the dangers of seeking other vampires. He claims that other vampires are every bit as bloodthirsty as he is. He also says that vampires are not social creatures by nature. If they are traveling in groups, it is because one of them is the master while the others are enslaved. Reflecting on his life since meeting Lestat, Louis realizes that this might be true. He feels he has been Lestat’s slave ever since them met.

Then, in a chilling display, Lestat places the woman who is still alive in his coffin. The woman, semi-conscious and afraid, asks him what is going on. Lestat lies to the woman and tells her she is dead. He claims that she is currently at her funeral, which is why she is lying in a coffin. When the woman grows frightened, Lestat tells her that she should be grateful, as most people do not know what death feels like.

Lestat turns back to Louis and asks Louis if he would like to make the woman a vampire, so they have someone else to keep them company. Louis immediately refuses and tells Lestat to put the woman out of her misery. Instead, Lestat toys with her, pretending he’s a priest and urging her to confess her sins. Louis, unable to watch her suffer any longer, bends down and tells her to just tell God she’s sorry. He then bites her wrist and drains her blood. As she dies, Louis feels conflicted, while Lestat insists that killing is the only way to find peace.

Then, Lestat asks Louis to come into the city with him. Louis obeys, but he is in agony, as he realizes that Lestat’s words about finding peace through killing are true. As they walk, Louis contemplates his existence and the unbearable truth that killing humans brings him satisfaction. They eventually reach a quiet area where a boarding house sits. There, Lestat shows Louis the little girl Louis had fed on earlier. Lestat takes the girl, wraps her in a blanket, and brings her back to their hotel.

In their room, Lestat lays the girl on a pillow and convinces Louis to feed on her. Louis struggles with to reconcile his desire to feed on the girl with his feelings of sympathy for her. However, eventually, Lestat’s persuasion works, and Louis gives in to his hunger, biting into the girl’s throat. Louis feeds on the girl with an overwhelming intensity, but Lestat wrenches him away before she dies. Stunned and weak, Louis watches as Lestat cuts his wrist and lets the girl, who he calls Claudia, drink his blood. Louis realizes that Lestat means to turn Claudia into a vampire. Louis tries to protest, but it is no use. Claudia continues to drink until Lestat forces her to stop.

Claudia, now revived, looks at Lestat with innocent astonishment. Lestat instructs her to drink from an enslaved boy he lures into the room, teaching her the ways of a vampire. Claudia asks for her mother, displaying a clear, sensual voice that shocks Louis. Lestat declares that she is now their daughter and will live with them. Louis, still in shock, holds Claudia and feels her vampiric skin. Touching Claudia makes Louis realize the gravity of what Lestat has done.

Lestat combs Claudia’s hair and assures her that her mother left her with them to make her happy. Claudia expresses a desire for more blood, but Lestat tells her she must wait until the next night. He then arranges the corpses of the women and the enslaved boy in the bed, explaining to Claudia that people die when vampires drink from them. Lestat also tells Claudia that Louis is planning to stay and help take care of her. Louis realizes that turning Claudia into a vampire is Lestat’s manipulative way to get Louis to stay. Lestat knows that Louis will not abandon a young girl who Louis is partially responsible for turning into a vampire. As this is sinking in, Lestat takes his leave, telling Claudia she should sleep with Louis because Lestat grows unkind when he is tired.

In the present, the boy—who is still grappling with the idea of a child vampire—asks if Lestat is dead. Louis replies that he doesn’t know but thinks that he might be. He promises to answer the question more fully later in his story. Then, the conversation shifts back to the past. Louis explains how life changed with Claudia. He felt a strong desire to protect her from Lestat and grew very attached to her. Lestat used Claudia to manipulate Louis, threatening her well-being to keep Louis close. Claudia quickly adapted to her new life, becoming a fierce and ruthless killer, but she also retained a childlike wonder and beauty.

Lestat shows Claudia the realities of death, taking her to cemeteries filled with plague victims. He teaches her that vampires must kill to preserve their immortality. Claudia learns to kill efficiently, her childlike appearance making her a deceptive predator. Meanwhile, Louis begins killing more frequently. Unlike Lestat, who likes to get close to his victims, Louis always feeds on strangers to help detach himself emotionally from what he is doing. Claudia, having learned from Lestat, enjoys playing with her victims before feeding on them.

The vampires move to a luxurious townhouse in Rue Royale, which is filled with the latest art and decor. Lestat ensures that Claudia is always dressed in the finest clothes. Even Louis finds the decadence enchanting. However, more than anything else, it is Claudia who enchants Louis. Claudia becomes both Louis’s companion and pupil. She spends long hours with him, learning and growing. Louis describes himself as both Claudia’s father and her romantic partner. Meanwhile, Lestat allows their relationship to flourish, only inserting himself when the time comes to teach Claudia to hunt for prey.

Years pass, and Louis finally realizes an obvious fact about Claudia: her body will never grow up. She will remain a child forever, even as her mind matures into that of a vampire. As time goes on, Claudia’s doll-like face comes to possess adult eyes, and she loses her innocence. She becomes a seductive and unpredictable presence, shocking Louis with her maturity and demands. She desires books and knowledge, showing a keen intellect and an eerie maturity. Although he is unfit to teach her vampires’ ways, Louis is eager to encourage her artistic education. Claudia enjoys learning about art, but she tells Louis that art will always be secondary to killing.

Claudia eventually wants her own coffin, which deeply wounds Louis, though he tries not to show it. She insists on having it, despite knowing it hurts him, and he reluctantly takes her to the coffin maker. There, Louis and Claudia pretend to be father and daughter. They pretend that Claudia is dying and needs a child-size coffin. After the coffin is made, Lestat and Claudia retrieve it and then kill the coffin maker.

More time passes and Claudia’s behavior continues to evolve. She becomes fascinated by poverty, particularly poor women and children, and seeks out victims in impoverished areas, much to Lestat’s amusement. She even explores cemeteries in search of desperate men to prey upon. Lestat jokingly calls calling Claudia “infant death,” contrasting it with the mocking nickname he gives Louis: “Merciful Death.”

Over time, Claudia’s behavior becomes increasingly cold towards Lestat, who she is angry with because he never answers her most pressing questions about being a vampire. One night, two of their best servants disappear, leading Louis to discover their corpses hidden in an unused kitchen. It is clear that Claudia has killed them. Lestat is furious, but Louis urges him to be calm when Claudia returns. When Claudia comes home, she confronts Lestat, demanding to know who made her a vampire and how it was done. Lestat claims that he was the one who turned her into a vampire, but he also implies that Louis had something to do with it. However, he will not tell her how it was done.

Claudia and Lestat do not speak for some time after this conversation. Lestat spends his time out of the house, killing, while Claudia begins reading about the occult. One evening, Claudia approaches Louis, desperate for answers about her transformation. She insists on knowing how and why it happened, suspecting a deeper truth hidden from her. Louis finally confesses that he fed on her when she was a dying child. However, he insists that it was Lestat who completed her transformation into a vampire, a process Louis himself does not understand. Claudia, feeling betrayed, declares her hatred for both Louis and Lestat.

Eventually, Claudia calms down and returns to Louis, asking for a fuller account of what happened. Louis tells her the truth as he remembers it, which seems to satisfy her. However, she is still furious with Lestat and wants to abandon him. She asks Louis to come with her to Europe, which Louis agrees to do. Over the coming weeks, they arrange to leave for Europe, with Louis ensuring Lestat is left with sufficient funds. During this time, Claudia questions Lestat about who turned him into a vampire. However, as usual, Lestat does not answer her questions.

One night, when they are alone, Claudia tells Louis that she plans to kill Lestat. Louis is horrified and tries to dissuade her, but Claudia insists. She believes that by killing Lestat, she might gain his power. Around the same time, Lestat befriends a mortal musician. Typically, Lestat kills the mortals he befriends after a short while. However, Louis notes that Lestat has kept this particular relationship for a long time.

One night, Claudia presents Lestat with two sleeping orphan boys, who she says are drunk on wine. Ecstatic, Lestat begins feeding on one of the boys. Claudia, meanwhile, undoes the shirt of the other boy, acting as though she is going to feed on him. However, she never actually sinks her teeth into him. Lestat suddenly starts gasping. He realizes that Claudia has poisoned the boys, and the poison quickly paralyzes him. He pleads to Louis for help, but before Louis can do anything, Claudia slashes Lestat’s throat with a knife. Lestat’s body rapidly deteriorates, shriveling up until he is nothing more than a skeleton wrapped in clothes.

For a long time, Claudia stands over Lestat’s body, blood-soaked and distraught. She wipes at the stains on her dress and shoes, then tells Louis they must dispose of the corpse. Louis, who is shocked, initially refuses. However, quickly, he comes around and decides to help Claudia, who is too small to dispose of the corpse herself. Together, they drive out of the city towards the swamp and dump Lestat’s corpse in the murky water. For a moment, Louis wonders whether he belongs in the depths of the swamp with Lestat.

That night, Louis roams the streets, reflecting on the nature of death and immorality. Eventually, he finds himself at a cathedral, where memories of his brother’s funeral surface. In the quiet, sacred space, Louis experiences a profound sense of loneliness. There, a priest approaches Louis, offering to hear his confession. Louis, desperately wanting to feel understood, confesses his vampiric nature and the countless murders he has committed. The priest thinks Louis is playing a practical joke on him, so he tells him to go away. Realizing the priest cannot help him, Louis attacks the man and feeds on him.

The following morning, Claudia rifles through Lestat’s belongings, hoping to find something that will help explain Lestat’s origins. However, she does not find anything of note. Louis, still upset, tells Claudia to stay away from him. However, after Claudia apologizes to Louis and insists that she loves him, Louis forgives her. Together, they continue planning their trip to Europe, hoping that they will be able to find other vampires there. Although Louis is looking forward to seeing Europe, he worries about his relationship with Claudia, whose nature is far more vicious than his own.

In the days leading up to Louis and Claudia’s departure, Lestat’s musician friend confronts them. The musician, who appears thin and pale, asks them what has happened to Lestat. Louis lies and says Lestat had to abruptly leave for Europe. As the musician leaves, Louis notices that he has marks on his neck. Louis and Claudia suspects that the musician was willingly allowing Lestat to feed on him. Louis wonders if Lestat was planning to turn the musician into a vampire.

The night Louis and Claudia plan to leave for Europe, Claudia returns home, terrified. She says the musician followed her home and claims that he is now a vampire. Indeed, when Louis looks outside, he sees the musician standing in the shadows, looking distinctly vampiric. Then, Louis hears the familiar sound of Lestat’s gait approaching the home. Moments later, Lestat bursts into the room. He is scarred and grotesque, but somehow alive. Claudia and Louis fight Lestat desperately. The musician also joins the fray, eager to help Lestat. Eventually, Louis and Claudia overpower the fledging vampire and Lestat. Before leaving, they set the house on fire with the other two vampires still inside. Then, they flee into the New Orleans streets.