The Existence Of Others And The Freedom Of Self

Vampires are one of the most enduring and popular images in the western culture and literature, especially in the Gothic fictions. So far, they have gone through a transformation process from the terrible and coldblooded monsters to a group of sympathetic and humanized creatures. During such a process, Anne Rice, a bestselling author of the Gothic books in America today, plays an important role. As the vampires are regarded as a metaphor of human beings nowadays, this thesis intends to make an analysis on Interview with the Vampire, the masterpiece and first vampire novel of Anne Rice's, from the perspective of Sartre's existentialism, so that we can probe into the meaning and the way of human existence in the modern society.This thesis consists of three chapters besides the introduction and the conclusion.In the introduction, this thesis mainly presents the life story of Anne Rice, the content of Interview with the Vampire, the researches and studies at home and abroad on Anne Rice and Interview with the Vampire, the main points of Sartre's existentialism, and the significance to analyze Interview with the Vampire from the perspective of Sartre's existentialism.Chapter One aims to analyze the relations between Louis and other characters in the novel. Based on the concrete relations with Others proposed by Sartre, this chapter concludes that the relation between Lestat and Louis is desire and sadism, the relation between Claudia, Armand, and Louis is love and masochism, and the relation between the vampires, human beings, and Louis is us-object and meantime we-subject. More importantly, this chapter emphasizes that Louis'position in these relations is passive rather than active.Chapter Two makes an attempt to prove that the reason for Louis'passivity in the relations with other characters is bad faith. According to Sartre's theory of bad faith and by figuring out the truths Louis hides from himself and his being accordingly, this chapter draws a conclusion that for one thing, Louis makes himself exist as being-in-itself, as he suffers from Lestat and connives at Claudia, and for the other thing, Louis makes himself exist as being-for-others, as he complies with Armand and gives up hope in the search for his own nature. Furthermore, this chapter criticizes that bad faith can never guide Louis to his authentic being, for he actually changes himself into a mere object in the world and thus seems to have no need to take responsibility for everything he does.Chapter Three argues for the necessity for Louis to make choices, take action, and shoulder his responsibility. Beginning with Sartre's theory of the absolute freedom of human beings and his principle that existence comes before essence, this chapter makes a statement by extension that it is impossible any longer for Louis to turn away from all the other characters and all the things around. As a result, Louis chooses to leave the vampire world by forgiving Lestat, memorizing Claudia, and alienating Armand and to linger on in the society forever so as to find a way to communicate with human beings.In the conclusion, this thesis takes suicide as a counterevidence to show the essence of human existence—man should possess himself as what he really is and man should confront himself with the reality bravely. Thus, this thesis proves that Louis should not commit suicide to end everything once and for ever. Moreover, this thesis touches upon some problems existing in the researches and studies on Interview with the Vampire and gives some pieces of advice.All in all, Anne Rice has revolutionized the image of the vampires by changing the classic tales into the modern myths, and her novels reflect some spiritual and philosophical quest for the life and the existence of human beings. Attempting to analyze Interview with the Vampire from the perspective of Sartre's existentialism can not only provide us a new way to comprehend the novel but also offer us a gateway to the contemporary life.