Bonded by Blood: An Examination of the Violence and Monstrosity within the Queer Relationships of Carmilla and Hannibal
Abstract
Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel Carmilla and Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal depict queer characters and their relationships as expressed within the gothic genre. The gothic genre often portrays marginalized groups, such as queer people, as undesirable social groups that contain morals that go against the majority. Within these depictions the social, political, and economic norms are upheld by the utilization of such groups as scapegoats. The genre associates these groups with monstrous features and violent actions, which is displayed in Carmilla and Hannibal. Carmilla and Hannibal depict their title characters with monstrous qualities in both the physical and moral sense. This project looks to explore the links between monstrosity, violence, and queerness in relation to these texts. My research focuses on the nature of the relationships between the couples in both texts and how they are portrayed as stereotypes and archetypes. This examination is to explore how the relationship between queerness and monstrosity has been historically portrayed and how it has developed into more recent times. Furthermore, this project aims to explore how symbols and archetypes have remained similar in queer stories while still developing new meaning.
Bonded by Blood: An Examination of the Violence and Monstrosity within the Queer Relationships of Carmilla and Hannibal
Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel Carmilla and Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal depict queer characters and their relationships as expressed within the gothic genre. The gothic genre often portrays marginalized groups, such as queer people, as undesirable social groups that contain morals that go against the majority. Within these depictions the social, political, and economic norms are upheld by the utilization of such groups as scapegoats. The genre associates these groups with monstrous features and violent actions, which is displayed in Carmilla and Hannibal. Carmilla and Hannibal depict their title characters with monstrous qualities in both the physical and moral sense. This project looks to explore the links between monstrosity, violence, and queerness in relation to these texts. My research focuses on the nature of the relationships between the couples in both texts and how they are portrayed as stereotypes and archetypes. This examination is to explore how the relationship between queerness and monstrosity has been historically portrayed and how it has developed into more recent times. Furthermore, this project aims to explore how symbols and archetypes have remained similar in queer stories while still developing new meaning.