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11

"The Vampyre": Romantic

Metaphysics and theAristocratic Other

G A V I N B U D G E

J o h n P o l id o r i ' s s h o r t s t o r y " T h e V a m p y r e" w as p u b l i s h ed an o n y -

mous ly in 1819. For some t ime af terwards , despi te denia ls , i t was bel ieved

to be the work o f Lord Byron , whose t r ave l ing companion Po l idor i had

been regular ly involved in t rans la t ions of h is works . Byron had, in fact ,

w r i t t en a f r agm en t o f a vam pi re s to ry , a p ro du c t o f the same s to ry te l l ing

sess ion in G eneva tha t fam ous ly fo rm ed the seed of M ary Shelley 's Franken-

stein ; i t was th is s tory that Pol idor i was regarded as having p lagiar ized .Recen t c r i t i cs , however , have emphas ized Po l idor i ' s own or ig ina l con t r i -

bu t ion to the s to ry , r egard ing i t a s in c rea t ive d ia logue wi th Byron ic

s o u r ces , r a th e r t h an a s t r a ig h t f o r w a r d b o r r o w in g o f t h em .1

The Byronic background to the s tory is s ignif icant , s ince what Pol i -

dor i con t r ibu tes to l i t e ra ry vampi r i sm i s a s e r ies o f topo i which empha-

s ize the ar is toc rat ic n atu re of the vam pir e . Po l idor i ' s va m pire is ca l led Lord

R u th v en , a n a m e b o r r o w ed f r o m th e B y r o n f igu re o f C a r o l in e L am b ' sroman-a-clef Glenarvon, an d w hich i s in tu rn bo r row ed by Cha r les Nod ie r

for h is sequel Lord Ruthven ou les vampires, pu blis he d in 1820, in w hic h

the vam pire ' s s ta tu s as an Engl ish "m ilord " is very m uc h s t ressed . A key

character is t ic of Pol idor i ' s vampire is the inscrutable reserve he d isplays

in the mids t o f f ash ionab le a r i s tocra t ic d i s s ipa t ions ; h i s incomprehens i -

b i l i ty f asc ina tes the s to ry ' s young hero , Aubrey . Nodie r s imi la r ly d raws

212

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t-

I

11. "The Vampyre" ( B U D G E ) 2 1 3

a t t e n t i o n t o h i s v a m p i r e ' s a r i s t o c r a t i c m a n n e r s , t h o u g h t h e s e a r e c h a r a c -

t e r i ze d i n a m or e conv en t i o na l way .2

B e f o r e P o l i d o r i , v a m p i r e s a p p e a r e d i n f o l k t a l e s a n d w e r e a l m o s t

a lways descr ibed as peasan t s ; s ince Po l idor i , they have re ta ined a t l eas t ana r i s t oc ra t i c f l avo r un t i l t he p res en t day (one cou ld c i t e Anne Rice ' s vam-

p i re Les t a t , o r t he upper -c l a s s Eng l i s h vampi re Sp ike i n Buffy, the Vam pire

Slayer). Th e i s sue t h i s pa pe r ex p lo res is w hy Po l i do r i ' s a s s oc i a t i on be tw een

the va m pi r e an d t he a r i s t o c ra t has p ro ve d s o l ong l a s t i ng . V am pi r i s m s ince

P o l i d o r i , i t s e e m s , h a s c o n s i s t e n t l y f u n c t i o n e d i n W e s t e r n c u l t u r e a s a

m e t ap ho r fo r t he c l a ss O th e r ; m y a im i s t o p rov ide s om e acc ou n t o f t he

l a t e - e i g h t e e n t h - a n d e a r l y - n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y c u l t u r a l a n d i n t e ll e c t u a lt endenc i es wh ich have made Po l i do r i ' s a r i s t oc ra t i c cha rac t e r i za t i on o f t he

v a m p i r e s o p o w e r f u l . 3

A s t h e m i s t a k e n a t t r i b u t i o n b y c o n t e m p o r a r i e s s u g g es ts , L o r d B y r o n

is t he s t o ry ' s a r i s t oc ra t i c O th e r , an i n t e rp re t a t i on wh ich b iog raph i ca l i n fo r -

m a t io n abo u t t he f r a ug h t pe r s ona l r e l a t i ons h ip be tw een Po l i do r i an d B yron

on t he i r t o u r t og e the r , w h ic h i s pa ra l l e l led by t he t o u r t ak en by A ubre y

a n d L o r d R u t h v e n i n t h e n a r r a t i v e , c a n o n l y s t r e n g t h e n . T h e s t o r y t h u sexh ib i t s , a t bo th an i n t e r t ex tua l an d an i n t r a t e x tu a l level , t he k ind o f pa ra -

no id s t ruc tu re t ha t Eve Kos o f s ky Sedgwick , i n The Coherence of Gothic

Conventions, has found i nd i ca t i ve o f " homos oc i a l pan i c . " Aubrey ' s be loved

Gre ek pe as a n t g ir l , I an the , f a ll s v i c t im to t he va m pi r e , and t he cu lm ina t -

i ng ho r r o r o f t he s t o ry com es on Au brey ' s r e t u rn t o Lon do n , w he n he finds

Lord Ru thven , whom he has s een dead and bu r i ed , engaged t o h i s s i s t e r .

A u b r e y , h o w e v e r , is r e s t r a i n e d b y t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l p o w e r o f a n o a t h f r o m

revea l i ng Ru thven ' s s ec re t . The women o f t he s t o ry func t i on mere ly a s a

bond be tween t he two men , i n t he way t ha t Sedgwick des c r i bes , and t he

in s t ab i l i t y o f t he m en ' s ho m os o c i a l r e l a t i o ns h ip i s r e f l ec t ed in the way t ha t

one is con s t an t l y s upp l an t i ng t he o the r .4

Whi le no t deny ing t he app l i cab i l i t y o f Sedgwick ' s " homos oc i a l " r ead -

ing to Po l ido r i ' s nar r a t iv e , I w ou ld l ike to exp lore a s l igh tly d i f fe ren t aspec t

o f t he t ex t ' s " pa rano id s t ruc tu re . " As Wi l l i am Hughes has s ugges t ed , i n a

cr i t i c i sm tha t cou ld be app l ied even to so sophis t i ca ted a c r i t i c as Sedg-

w i c k , t h e t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y t e n d e n c y t o i n t e r p r e t t h e v a m p i r e i n t e r m s

o f t he d i s cou r s e o f s exua l i t y t en ds t o obs c u re t h e ex t e n t t o w h ic h t he e f fec t

o f G o th i c " ho r r o r " i s p r od uc ed by a s pec if i ca l ly t ex tu a l k in d o f b re ak do w n

o r f a i l u r e :

S o m e t h i n g , i t a p p e a r s , a l w a y s e s c a p e s c a t e g o r i z a t i o n o r o b s e r v a t i o n : t h e

O t h e r is d a n g e r o u s b e c a u s e i ts b o u n d a r i e s m a p o v e r t h o s e o f t h e p e r c e i v -

i n g c u l t u r e , m a k i n g i t both a n " e n e m y w i t h i n " a n d a n e x t e r n a l i z e d ( o r

e x t e r n a l i z a b l e ) f e a r . 5

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2 1 4 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

The fa i l u re o f d i s cou r s e t ha t Po l i do r i ' s na r ra t i ve d ramat i zes a s " ho r ro r , "

t h e n , is n o t s o m u c h a b r e a k d o w n o f t h e h o m o / h e t e r o d i s t i n c t i o n a s a n

ind ica t ion o f f i c t ion ' s inab i l i ty to po l ice the d i s t inc t ion be tween the a r i s -

t o c r a t i c v a l u e s o f L o r d R u t h v e n a n d t h e e m e r g e n t m i d d l e - c l a s s v a l u e s o f

Aubrey and Po l i do r i ' s r ead ing aud i ence . The f i gu re o f Po l i do r i ' s vamp i rep ro j ec t s t he a r i s t oc ra t a s an ex t e rna l i zed t h rea t , bu t t he ve ry a t t r ac t i ve -

nes s o f t he vampi re h in t s a t i t s s t a t u s a s an " enemy wi th in , " i n t ha t t he

read e r ' s i n t e re s t i n Lo rd R u th ve n is do ub l ed w i th in t he t ex t a s t he va m -

p i r i c f a s c i n a t i o n t o w h i c h A u b r e y s u c c u m b s . A u b r e y ' s e n f o r c e d s i l e n c e ,

on wh ich t he ho r ro r o f t he s t o ry ' s denouement de p en d s , in th is w ay f igures

t h e r e a d e r ' s o w n c o m p l i c i t y w i t h R u t h v e n ' s v a m p i r i s m , t h e " o p e n s e c r e t "

a t wh ich t he t ex t cons t an t l y h in t s .

6

I w i l l t ake a s my s t a r t i ng po in t t he u s e made o f " The Vampyre" by a

c o n t e m p o r a r y r e v ie w e r as a m e t a p h o r f o r t h e c o r r u p t i n g i n f l u e n c e of

Byron ' s po e t r y ; t h i s ges tu re , a s we s ha ll see , is p r o fo u nd ly r evea l i ng abo u t

t he na tu re o f t he s oc i a l anx i e t i e s abou t wr i t i ng wh ich a re a t work i n Po l i -

do r i ' s na r ra t i ve . The r ev i ewer warns aga in s t " t he danger s o f a t h i r s t fo r

poe t i c f ame and i n t e l l ec tua l domin ion . " I f a wr i t e r s uch a s Byron , who i s

" a man o f dep raved f ee l i ngs , " makes h i s a im s imp ly " t he cons c ious nes s o fexc i t i ng v iv id s ens a t i ons i n o the r s , " t hen " t he f ab l e o f t he Vampyre" w i l l

be fu l f i l l e d , in tha t the w r i t e r wi l l be " re ne w ing the l i fe o f h i s p le asu res

f rom the hea r t ' s b lood o f t he p r i nc ip l e s o f h i s v i c t ims . " 7 For t he r ev i ewer ,

Byron ' s poe t ry i s a vampi r ic t ex t , in tha t i t d ra ins the reader o f h i s v i t a l

" p r i n c i p l e s . " T h e r e v i e w e r ' s a n x i e t y a b o u t a k i n d o f w r i t i n g t h a t a i m s

mere ly a t exc i t i ng " s ens a t i on" an t i c i pa t e s l a t e r n ine t een th -cen tu ry r ev i ew-

ing of " sen sa t io n fic tion," an d a l so the c r i t i c i sm th a t w as d i r ec ted aga ins t

" p e n n y d r e a d f u l s " : l i t e r a r y s e n s a t i o n a l i s m is r e g a r d e d a s a c o n t r i b u t i n g

c a u s e t o m e n t a l i n s ta b i l it y , i n t h a t it s e n c o u r a g e m e n t o f a n i m m e d i a t e

res pon s ivenes s i n t he r eade r is a t t he expens e o f t he capa c i t y fo r l on g - t e rm

rat ional cons i s tency . Po l idor i ' s nar ra t ive i t se l f f igures the unheal th iness o f

sen sa t ion al fic tion in the m en ta l co l l apse o f A ub rey as a resu l t o f h i s ob ses -

s i on w i th t he va m pi r e , a co l l aps e t ha t r e f l ec t s t he m en ta l l y p r ec a r iou s s i t -

u a t i o n t h a t c o n t e m p o r a r y c o m m e n t a t o r s w o u l d h a v e f o u n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

o f t he ho r r i f i e d r eade r . As we s ha l l s ee , a m ed ica l m od e l u nd er l i e s t hes e

anxie t i es , in which the ac t iv i t i es o f wr i t ing and read ing are f igured as fun-

d a m e n t a l l y v a m p i r i c i n n a t u r e , a t o n c e w e a k e n i n g t h e m i n d b y r e n d e r i n g

i t i ncapab l e o f r e s pons e t o a no rmal s t imu lus and p roduc ing a c rav ing fo r

m o r e o f t h e s a m e k i n d o f s t i m u l a t i o n .8

For t he m om en t , how ever , I w ill con f ine my a t t en t i o n t o t he r ev i ewer ' s

a s s umpt ion t ha t wr i t i ng s uch a s Byron ' s , pos s es s ing " t he i r r e s i s t i b l e f a s c i -

na t i on exe r t ed by a mind o f s uch t r ans cenden t f acu l t i e s , " pos es t he danger

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 1 5

t h a t it m i g h t w e a k e n t h e re a d e r ' s m o r a l " p r i n c i p l e s . " T h i s a r g u m e n t c o m e s

eas ily to the r ev iewer beca use i t ech oes a w ar n i ng a bo u t the dan ger s o f the

i m a g i n a t i o n w h i c h h a d b e e n r e p e a t e d l y m a d e b y m e m b e r s o f t h e S c o t t i s h

C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l o f p h i l o s o p h y o v e r t h e p r e v i o u s f o r t y y e ar s .

A l t h o u g h n o t m u c h re a d t o da y , C o m m o n S e n se p h i l o s o p h y w a s a d o m i -n a n t i n t e l l e c t u a l t e n d e n c y i n e a r l y - n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y B r i t a i n , s o m u c h

s o t h a t C o l e r i d g e c o u l d c a s u a ll y r e f e r t o it s m o s t p r o m i n e n t p o p u l a r i z e r

as " the amiab le Bea t t i e " in h i s Biographia Literaria. P o l i d o r i ' s E d i n b u r g h

m e d i c a l t r a i n i n g w o u l d h a v e m a d e h i m t h o r o u g h l y fa m i l i a r w i t h C o m m o n

Sense ph i lo sophy , pa r t i cu la r ly s ince a t the t ime i t was in f luenc ing s tud ies

o f the phys io logy o f the b r a i n . Po l id o r i ' s kn ow led ge o f th i s in te l l ec tua l

t r a d i t i o n i s e s t a b l i s h e d b y e x p li c it r e f e r e n c e s i n u n p u b l i s h e d w r i t i n g s s u b -s e q u e n t t o " T h e V a m p y r e . "

9

Th e C o m m o n Sense scho o l , pa r t i cu la r ly in i ts ea r ly phas es , d id no t

so m uc h adva nce a ph i lo so ph y as c r i t i c ize the a sso c ia t ion i s t acc ou n t o f the

m i n d p r o p o s e d b y D a v i d H u m e . I t w a s c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y a r e j e c t i o n of

H u m e ' s s y s t e m a t i c m o d e of p h i l o s o p h i z i n g , w h i c h it c l a im e d c o n t r a d i c t e d

" t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f c o m m o n s e n s e , " f r o m f r e q u e n t a p p e a l t o w h i c h t h e

C o m m o n S e ns e s c h o o l d e r i v ed its n a m e . C o m m o n S e ns e p h i l o s o p h e r sr e g a r d e d t h e s e " p r i n c i p l e s o f c o m m o n s e n s e " a s a n i n d e f i n i t e n u m b e r o f

e s s e n t i a l l y u n a n a l y z a b l e i n t u i t i o n s o n w h i c h a l l t h o u g h t w a s n e c e s s a r i l y

b a s e d : o n e s u c h i n t u i t i o n w a s t h a t a r e a l w o r l d e x i s t e d o u t s i d e o u r p e r -

c e p t i o n s , a p r i n c i p l e w h i c h D r . J o h n s o n i l l u s t r a t e d , i n B o s w e l l ' s f a m o u s

a n e c d o t e , b y k i c k i n g a s t o n e t o d e m o n s t r a t e h i s a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e C o m -

m o n S e n s e s c h o o l , a n d d i s a g r e e m e n t w i t h B e r k l e y a n i d e a l i s m .1 0

T h e c l a i m t h a t H u m e ' s p h i l o s o p h y is s i m p l y a b s u r d a n d r i d i c u l o u s

p r e s e n t s t h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l w i t h s o m e t h i n g o f a p r o b l e m . H o w i s

t h e f a c t o f H u m e ' s p h i l o s o p h i c a l p e r s u a s i v e n e s s , h i s d e m o n s t r a t e d a b i l it y

to conv ince r eade r s o f the t ru th o f h i s ph i lo sophy , to be accoun ted fo r ,

g i v e n h i s c o n t r a d i c t i o n o f p r i n c i p l e s , w h i c h m u s t b e , b y d e f i n i t i o n , s e l f -

e v i d e n t t o e v e r y i n d i v i d u a l ? T h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l s u r m o u n t s t h i s

d i f f i c u l t y b y p o i n t i n g t o t h e w a y i n w h i c h H u m e ' s w r i t i n g a p p e a l s t o t h e

i m a g i n a t i o n : H u m e ' s p h i l o s o p h i z i n g , th e y a r g u e , in v o k e s a n u m b e r o fm a t e r i a l m e t a p h o r s f o r t h e m i n d , s u c h as t h a t o f " i m p r e s s i o n , " w h i c h a r e

then i l l eg i t ima te ly ex tended so a s to imp ly tha t a l l men ta l ope ra t ions can

b e e x p l a i n e d i n m a t e r i a l t e r m s . T h o m a s R e i d , t h e f o u n d e r of t h e C o m -

mon Sense schoo l , sugges ted tha t Hume ' s r ea l t a l en t a s a wr i t e r was fo r

poe t ry , w he re the ima g i na t io n can be a l low ed f r ee p lay , r a th e r than fo r

p h i l o s o p h y , w h e r e i t m u s t b e k e p t o n a t i g h t r e i n . "

T h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l ' s d e f e n s e o f t h e e s s e n ti a l i m m a t e r i a l i t y o ft h e m i n d , t h e n , i n v o lv e s a c e r t a i n d i s t r u s t o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n . T h e i m a g -

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2 1 6 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

i n a t i v e w r i t i n g o f H u m e , b y a c c u s t o m i n g t h e m i n d t o a p u r e l y m a t e r i a l

m o d e o f e x p l a n a t i o n , c a n o b s c u r e t h e m i n d ' s a w a r e n e s s of i ts i n t u i t i v e a n d

i m m a t e r i a l " p r i n c i p l e s , " a n a r g u m e n t t h a t is e c h o e d b y t h e r e v i e w e r ' s

r e m a r k a b o u t t h e i n f l u e n c e o f B y r o n ' s p o e t r y . J a m e s B e a t t i e , w h o s e An

Essay on the Nature and Imm utability of Truth p o p u l a r i z e d t h e C o m m o n

Sense ph i lo soph ica l pos i t ion , pu t s th i s a rgumen t in s t rong t e rms tha t an t i c -

ipa te the rev iew er ' s use of Po l idor i ' s The Vampyre as a m e t ap ho r fo r Byron' s

r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h i s r e a d e r s . B e a t t i e c l a i m s t h a t H u m e ' s p h i l o s o p h y

ac t ive ly co r ru p t s the m in d s o f h i s r eade r s . I t is spec i fi ca lly H um e ' s de ta i l ed

wr i t ing s ty le wh ich Bea t t i e b lames fo r th i s , s ince " the ve ry ac t o f s tudy ing

d i s c o m p o s e s o u r m i n d s a l i tt l e , a n d p r e v e n t s t h a t f r e e p l a y o f f a c u l ti e s

f rom wh ich a lone we can judge wi th accu racy , " l ead ing us " to mis take ve r -ba l ana log ies fo r r ea l ones , and to app ly the l aws o f ma t t e r to the ope ra -

t i o n s o f m i n d . " S y s t e m a t i c p h i l o s o p h i c a l w r i t i n g o f t h e k i n d i n w h i c h

H u m e e n g a g e s , b y t h e w a y it l e a d s u s t o " f ix t h e a t t e n t i o n o n m i n u t e a n d

t r i f l in g o b j e c t s " a n d so " c r a m p t h e i m a g i n a t i o n , " h a s a n i n h e r e n t t e n d e n c y

t o m a k e u s r e g a r d t h e m i n d i n m a t e r i a l t e r m s , s i n c e i t e x a g g e r a t e s t h e

i m p o r t a n c e a t t a c h e d t o m a t e r i a l m e t a p h o r s . B u t o n c e t h e r e a d e r h a s b e e n

l e d b y H u m e ' s l a n g u a g e i n a d v e r t e n t l y t o a d o p t m a t e r i a l i s t f o r m s o f e x p l a -n a t i o n , h i s i n t u i t i v e m e n t a l p r i n c i p l e s h a v e b e e n f a t a ll y c o m p r o m i s e d , s o

t h a t h e h a s n o t h i n g l e f t t o o p p o s e H u m e ' s f u l l - b l o w n p h i l o s o p h i c a l m a t e -

r i a l i sm: tu rns o f ph rase tha t were in i t i a l ly accep ted by the r eade r a s mere

m e t a p h o r s i n s e n s i b l y c o m e t o b e r e g a r d e d a s l i t e r a l d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e

r e a l i t y o f m e n t a l f u n c t i o n i n g . A t t h e e n d o f t h e Essay, Bea t t i e makes i t

c l e a r t h a t h e r e g a r d s H u m e ' s p h i l o s o p h i c a l s e d u c t i o n o f h i s r e a d e r s w i t h

t h e u t m o s t s e r i o u s n e s s , c o n c l u d i n g w i t h a r i n g i n g d e n u n c i a t i o n i n w h i c hhe a rgues tha t the "de tes tab le" na tu re o f Hume ' s wr i t ings i s "o f tha t pecu -

l i a r s o r t " w h i c h r e q u i r e s e x p o s u r e " i n t h e i r p r o p e r c o l o u r s " o f H u m e ' s

" a b i l i t i e s a n d m o r a l c h a r a c t e r , " d i s r e g a r d i n g a n y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f p o l i t e -

ness "w h ich , if we a re w ha t we p r e t en d to be , w ou ld be hyp ocr i t i c a l a t

bes t , a s we l l a s m oc ke ry o f the pub l i c , and t r ea ch e ry to ou r cou r se . "1 2

F o r B e a t t ie , H u m e Y p h i l o s o p h i c a l w r i t i n g s ap s t h e m i n d ' s s o u r ce s of

s t r e n g t h ( it s " p r i n c i p l e s , " o r i n t u i t i o n s ) a n d s o r e p r e s e n t s a v a m p i r i c f o r m

of t ex tua l i ty o f the k in d w h ic h the r ev iewer finds exe m pl i f i ed in Byron ' s

w r i t i ng : in bo th cases , w ha t is a t s t ake is the m en ta l hea l th o f the r eade r ,

tha t " f r ee p lay o f facu l t i e s" tha t is im pa i r ed by excess ive s t im u la t ion o f the

i m a g i n a t i o n . P o l i d o r i , I w i ll a r g u e , d e s c r ib e s A u b r e y ' s m e n t a l c o l la p s e i n

" T h e V a m p y r e " as b r o u g h t a b o u t b y e x a ct ly t h i s k i n d o f e x c es s iv e i m a g i -

n a t i v e s t i m u l a t i o n , i n t e r m s t h a t m a k e A u b r e y ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o L o r d

R u t h v e n p a r a l l e l t h e r e a d e r ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o P o l i d o r i ' s f a n t a s t i c n a r r a t i v e .

Befo re mak ing th i s case , however , fo r "The Vampyre" a s a se l f - r e f l ex ive

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 1 7

t e x t t h a t d r a m a t i z e s i t s r e a d e r ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o a R o m a n t i c i m a g i n a t i o n

em bo d i ed by the t ex t it se lf , I am go in g to ex am in e som e o f the th em at i c

deta i l s in the s to ry tha t suggest the re levance of the Common Sense school ' s

a c c o u n t o f t h e p e r n i c i o u s i n f l u e n c e o f H u m e a n p h i l o s o p h y a s a c o n t e x t

f o r t h e n a r r a t i v e o f A u b r e y ' s f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h , a n d u n d o i n g by , L o r d

R u t h v e n .

Th e i s sue o f soc ial c l ass tha t is p r es en t in A ubre y ' s r e l a t ion sh ip w i th

Lord R u t hv en , as in Po l ido r i ' s rea l l if e r e l a t ion sh i p w i th Byron , has an

a n a l o g i n t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a l c o n t e x t I h a v e b e e n d e s c r i b i n g . O n e o f H u m e ' s

m a j o r c o m p l a i n t s a b o u t B e a t t i e ' s ad hominem at tack in the Essay on the

Nature and Imm utability of Truth was tha t Bea t t i e had no t t r ea ted h im

" l ike a ge n t l em an ," an d th i s qu es t io n o f ge n t l e m an ly s t a tu s is on e o f the

majo r i s sues in the passage , inc luded a t the end o f l a t e r ed i t ions o f the

Essay, w h i c h I h a v e j u s t s u m m a r i z e d . B e a tt ie t h e r e a r g u e s t h a t H u m e ,

w ho se w ork i s, i n h i s v iew, " subv er s ive o f v i r tu e , " does no t dese rve to be

a d d r e s s e d w i t h r e s p e c t , a n d i n p r i v a t e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e h e c o m p l a i n e d t h a t

o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l h a d t r e a t e d H u m e t o o m u c h

with k id g loves . I t was jus t th is k ind of soc ia l deference , in Beat t ie ' s v iew,

t h a t h a d a l l o w e d H u m e t o c o n t i n u e t o c o r r u p t o t h e r s t h r o u g h h i s w r i t -ings .

1 3B e a t t i e d o e s n o t s c r u p l e t o p o r t r a y H u m e , i n t e r m s t h a t a r e h e a v -

ily i n d e b t e d t o H e n r y M a c k e n z i e ' s s e n t i m e n t a l c la s s r h e t o r i c , as o n e o f t h e

" e n e m i e s o f r e l ig i o n " w h o a r e a r i s t o c r a t i c d e b a u c h e r s o f o p p r e s s e d i n n o -

c e n c e :

C a r e s s e d b y t h o s e w h o c a ll t h e m s e l v e s t h e g r e a t , i n g r o s s e d b y t h e f o r m a l -

i ti e s a n d f o p p e r i e s o f l if e , i n t o x i c a t e d w i t h v a n i t y , p a m p e r e d w i t h a d u l a -

t i o n , d i s s i p a t e d i n t h e t u m u l t o f b u s i n e s s , o r a m i d s t t h e v i c i s s i t u d e s o f

f o ll y , t h e y p e r h a p s h a v e l i t t le n e e d , a n d li t t le r e l i s h , f o r t h e c o n s o l a t i o n s

o f r e l i g i o n . B u t le t t h e m k n o w , t h a t , i n t h e s o l i t a r y s c e n e s o f l i f e , t h e r e i s

m a n y a n h o n e s t a n d t e n d e r h e a r t p i n i n g w i t h i n c u r a b l e a n g u i s h , p i e r c e d

w i t h t h e s h a r p e s t s t i n g o f d i s a p p o i n t m e n t , b e r e f t o f f r i e n d s , c h i l l e d w i t h

p o v e r t y , r a c k e d w i t h d i s e as e , s c o u r g e d b y t h e o p p r e s s o r ; w h o m n o t h i n g

b u t t r u s t in P r o v i d e n c e , a n d t h e h o p e o f a f u t u r e r e t r i b u t i o n , c o u l d p r e -

s e r v e f r o m t h e a g o n i e s o f d e s p a i r . A n d d o t h e y, w i t h s a c r i l e g i o u s h a n d s ,

a t t e m p t t o v i o l a t e t h i s l as t r e f u g e o f t h e m i s e r a b l e , a n d t o r o b t h e m o f t h e

o n l y c o m f o r t t h a t h a d s u r v i v e d t h e r a v a g e s o f m i s f o r t u n e , m a l i c e , a n d

t y r a n n y ! [ B e a t t i e 4 4 3 ] .

B e a t t i e ' s e x a m p l e s h o w s t h a t t h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l ' s c r i t i q u e o f

H u m e a n p h i l o s o p h y p o s s e ss e s c la s s o v e r t o n e s t h a t p a r al le l t h o s e in P o l i-

do r i ' s na r r a t ive . Ru thven ' s s t a tu s a s a lo rd enab les h im to sp read h i s vam-

p i r i c co r rup t ion th rough soc ie ty in ju s t the same way as Bea t t i e a rgues tha t

h i s c r it ic s ' m i s t a k e n t r e a t m e n t o f H u m e a s a " g e n t l e m a n " a l lo w s h i s w r i t -

ings to con t inue c i r cu la t ing the i r ev i l in f luence . Ken Ge lde r , in h i s 1994

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2 1 8 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

Reading the Vampire, d r a w s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e w a y i n w h i c h R u t h v e n i s

immed ia te ly r ecogn ized as a vampi re by the Greek peasan t s , bu t i s ab le to

p a ss u n r e c o g n i z e d i n p o l i t e so c ie ty , c o m m e n t i n g t h a t " P o l i d o r i ' s s t o r y

seem s to sugges t tha t ' soc ie ty ' is va m pi r i sh ; i ts a r i s to c ra t i c r ep res en ta t iv es

p r e y u p o n ' t h e p e o p l e ' w h e r e v e r t h e y g o " ( 3 4 ) .

I f one looks a t the r e spec t ive soc ia l pos i t ions o f Hume and the Com-

m o n S e n s e p h i l o s o p h e r s B e a t t i e a n d T h o m a s R e i d , i t b e c o m e s c l e a r w h y

C o m m o n S e n se p h i l o s o p h y r e p r e s e n t e d a n a r t i c u l a t i o n o f a n e w l y e m e r -

g e n t m i d d l e - c l a s s o u t l o o k . H u m e w a s f i n a n c i a l l y i n d e p e n d e n t , a n d h i s

w r i t i n g s ( p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e Treatise of Hum an Nature) t a rge t a r eade r sh ip

o f "gen t l emen ," an o r i en ta t ion a l so r e f l ec ted in the pos t s he occup ied a s

a h i g h - r a n k i n g o f f ic i a l, w h i c h w e r e e n t i r e l y d e p e n d e n t o n a r i s t o c r a t i c

p a t r o n a g e . B e a t t i e a n d R e i d , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , w e r e e m p l o y e d a s p r o -

f esso r s in Sco t t i sh un ive r s i t i e s ; the s tud en t s to w h ic h the i r w r i t ing s were

addressed were mos t ly , l ike Po l ido r i h imse l f , seek ing to e s t ab l i sh ca ree r s

fo r themse lves in the p ro fess iona l f i e ld s o f l aw and med ic ine . The soc ia l

t e n s i o n s w i t h i n t h e m i d d l e cl as s r e f le c t e d b y t h e C o m m o n S e n s e p h i l o s o -

pher s ' c r i t ique o f Hume a re a l so exempl i f i ed by Po l ido r i ' s pos i t ion a t the

t ime he wro te "The Vampyre" : Po l ido r i ' s accep tance o f the pos t o f Lo rd

B y r o n 's p e r s o n a l p h y s i c i a n c o n s t i t u t e d a r e s o r t t o a r i s t o c r a t i c p a t r o n a g e ,

a f t e r h i s f a i lu re to e s t ab l i sh h imse l f p ro fess iona l ly . In v iew o f Po l ido r i ' s

p e r s o n a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s , it is u n s u r p r i s i n g t h a t " T h e V a m p y r e " is c h a r a c -

t e r i z e d b y a d e e p a m b i v a l e n c e a b o u t a r i s t o c r a t i c p o w e r .1 4

T h e c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n t h e " g e n t l e m a n l y " t e r m s i n w h i c h H u m e

e x p e c t e d p h i l o s o p h i c a l d e b a t e t o b e c o n d u c t e d a n d t h e C o m m o n S en se

a s s e r t i o n o f i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m " t h o s e w h o c a l l t h e m s e l v e s t h e g r e a t " i sn o t j u s t a m a t t e r o f t o n e , b u t e x t e n d s t o s u b s t a n t i v e p h i l o s o p h i c a l i ss u es ,

par t icu lar ly in the f ie ld o f e th ics . Po l idor i ' s descr ip t ion of the vampir ic cor -

r u p t i o n s p r e a d b y L o r d R u t h v e n c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d i n th e s e t e r m s , a s a

c r i t i c i s m o f t h e a r i s t o c r a t i c e t h i c o f " b e n e v o l e n c e " f r o m t h e m i d d l e - c l a s s

s t a n d p o i n t a r t i c u l a t e d b y C o m m o n S e n s e p h i l o s o p h y . L o r d R u t h v e n i s

sh ow n as exe rc i s ing a t r ad i t ion a l m od e o f a r i s toc ra t i c cha r i ty , o f a so r t tha t

B y r o n h i m s e l f p r a c t i c e d :

H i s c o m p a n i o n w a s p r o f u s e i n h i s l i b e r a l i t y ; t h e i d l e , t h e v a g a b o n d , a n d

the begga r , r ece ived f rom h i s hand more t han enough to r e l i eve t he i r imme-

d i a t e w a n t s . B u t A u b r e y c o u l d n o t a v o i d r e m a r k i n g , t h a t i t w a s n o t u p o n

t h e v i r t u o u s , re d u c e d t o in d i g e n c e b y t h e m i s f o r t u n e s a t t e n d a n t e v e n u p o n

v i r t u e , t h a t h e b e s t o w e d h i s a l m s ; t h e s e w e r e s e n t f r o m t h e d o o r w i t h

h a r d l y s u p p r e s s e d s n e e r s ; b u t w h e n t h e p r o f l i g a t e c a m e t o a s k s o m e t h i n g ,

no t t o r e l i eve h i s wan t s , bu t t o a l l ow h im to wa l low in h i s l u s t , o r t o s i nkh im s t i l l deepe r i n h i s i n iqu i ty , he was s en t away w i th r i ch cha r i t y . Th i s

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 1 9

w a s , h o w e v e r , a t t r i b u t e d b y h i m t o t h e g r e a t e r i m p o r t u n i t y o f t h e v i c i o u s ,

w h i c h g e n e r a l ly p r e v a i l s o v e r t h e r e t i r i n g b a s h f u l n e s s o f t h e v i r t u o u s i n d i -

g e n t . T h e r e w a s o n e c i r c u m s t a n c e a b o u t t h e c h a r i t y o f h i s L o r d s h i p , w h i c h

w a s s t i ll m o r e i m p r e s s e d u p o n h is m i n d : a ll t h o s e u p o n w h o m i t w a s

b e s t o w e d , i n e v i t a b l y f o u n d t h e r e w a s a c u r s e u p o n i t , f o r t h e y w e r e a ll

e i t h e r l e d t o t h e s c a f f o l d , o r s u n k t o t h e l o w e s t a n d t h e m o s t a b j e c t m i s -

e r y [ P o l i d o r i 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 ] .

R u t h v e n ' s c h a r i t y is s h o w n t o b e s u p e r f ic i a l: b y re w a r d i n g i m p o r t u n i t y

r a t h e r t h a n v i r t u e , it s i m p l y f u r t h e r s t h e m o r a l c o r r u p t i o n o f t h e p o o r .

P o l i d o r i ' s c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f a n a r i s t o c r a t i c c h a r i t y g u i d e d n o t b y " p r i n -

c ip le" bu t mere ly by pass ive r e sponse to ex te rna l s t imu lus , echoes ea r ly -

n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y d e b a t e s a b o u t p o o r r e li e f; a r g u m e n t s a g a i n s t " i n d o o rr e l i e f " m a k i n g v e r y s i m i l a r c l a i m s a b o u t c h a r i t y ' s m o r a l c o r r u p t i o n o f t h e

poor can be found in the 1834 Poor Law Repor t .1 5

R u t h v e n ' s a p p a r e n t l y b e n e v o l e n t b e h a v i o r t u r n s o u t t o b e v a m p i r i c

c o r r u p t i o n i n d i s g u i s e . T h i s , I w o u l d a r g u e , r e f le c t s a d i s a g r e e m e n t

b e t w e e n H u m e a n d t h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l o v e r t h e n a t u r e o f v i r t u e

i t se l f . H u m e h a d c l a i m e d t h a t a ll v i r t u o u s b e h a v i o u r h a d i ts o r i g i n i n

"be ne vo len ce . " S ince th i s is a d i s in te res ted f ee l ing , H u m e a r gu ed , it is theo n l y e m o t i o n t h a t c a n b e c o n s i s t e n t l y a w a k e n e d b y e v e n t s , a n d s o m u s t

c o m e t o p r e d o m i n a t e i n o u r r e s p o n s e s e v e n t h o u g h , i n i ts e lf , i t is a c o m -

p a r a t i v e ly w e a k e m o t i o n .1 6

A s T h o m a s R e i d p o i n t s o u t , t h e d e r iv a t i o n o f v i r t u e f r o m b e n e v o -

l e n ce i m p l i e s t h a t it is t h e a r i s t o c r a t , o r g e n t l e m a n o f l e i s u r e , w h o e m b o d -

ie s v i r t u e . H u m e ' s a r g u m e n t im p l i c i tl y a p p e a l s t o a n a r i s t o c r a t i c b r e a d t h

o f e x p e r i e n c e : t h e g r e a t e r t h e r a n g e o f s i t u a t i o n s t o w h i c h t h e m i n d h a sb e e n e x p o s e d , t h e m o r e th e e m o t i o n o f b e n e v o l e n c e w il l p r e d o m i n a t e

w i t h i n i t. F u r t h e r m o r e , H u m e ' s a r g u m e n t a s s u m e s t h a t a d e t a c h m e n t f r o m

a c ti v e c o m m i t m e n t s is n e c e s s a r y t o t h e p r a c t i c e o f v i r t u e , s i n c e a p e r s o n a l

invo lvemen t in any pa r t i cu la r s i tua t ion wi l l necessa r i ly t end to exc i t e more

s e l f - i n t e r e s t e d e m o t i o n s , a n d t h i s k i n d o f d e t a c h m e n t is a v a i l a b l e o n l y t o

t h e a r i s t o c r a t . A m o r e m u n d a n e a r g u m e n t , w h i c h R e i d d o e s n o t e m p l o y

bu t w h ic h is im p l ie d in Po l ido r i ' s na r r a t ive , i s tha t "b ene vo l enc e , " in thed i scou r se o f Sens ib i l i ty wi th in wh ich Hume s i tua te s h i s e th ic s , i s r ea l ly a

code word fo r g iv ing money , an ac t iv i ty in wh ich the a r i s toc ra t has an

o b v i o u s a d v a n t a g e .1 7

Po l id o r i ' s cha rac te r i za t ion o f R u th ve n ' s cha r i ty an d i ts e f f ec t s i l lu s -

t r a t e s the wa y in wh ic h h i s na r r a t iv e genera l ly f igu res the a r i s toc ra t i c O the r

i n t e r m s of v a m p i r i s m . R u t h v e n ' s v e r y s u p e r fi c ia l it y , h i s p u r e l y m a t e r i a l -

i st ic a p p r o a c h t o g i v i n g , is s h o w n s i m u l t a n e o u s l y a s a f a s c i n a t i n g s o u r c eo f p o w e r , a n d a s a s o u r c e o f m o r a l c o r r u p t i o n . A s i m i l a r p o i n t c a n b e m a d e

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2 2 0 Part III: Dark M aster, D ark Slave

a b o u t a p r o m i n e n t f e a t u r e o f P o l i d o r i ' s d e s c r i p t i o n o f L o r d R u t h v e n , t h e

e m p h a s i s a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s t o r y o n L o r d R u t h v e n ' s f a s c i n a t i n g g a z e :

T h o s e w h o f e lt t h i s s e n s a t i o n o f a w e , c o u l d n o t e x p l a i n w h e n c e it a r o s e :

so m e a t t r i b u t ed i t t o t h e d ead g rey ey e , w h ic h , fix in g u p o n th e o b jec t ' s f a ce ,

d i d n o t s e e m t o p e n e t r a t e , a n d a t o n e g l a n c e t o p i e r c e t h r o u g h t o t h ei n w a r d w o r k i n g s o f t h e h e a r t ; b u t f el l u p o n t h e c h e e k w i t h a l e a d e n r a y

t h a t w e i g h e d u p o n t h e s k i n i t c o u l d n o t p a s s . . . t h e d e a d l y h u e o f h i s f a c e

. . . n e v e r g a i n e d a w a r m e r t i n t , e i t h e r f r o m t h e b l u s h o f m o d e s t y , o r f r o m

t h e s t r o n g e m o t i o n o f p a s s i o n [ P o l i d o r i 1 08 ],

Lord R u th ve n ' s f ace is com ple te ly unex pres s ive , in a wa y tha t l inks P o l i -

d o r i ' s d e s c r i p t i o n w i t h l a t e - e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y b o u r g e o i s c r i t i c i s m s o f t h e

i n s i n c e r i t y o f a r i s to c r a t ic m a n n e r s . T h e c o n t e m p o r a r y r e a d e r m i g h t w e llhave r eca l l ed Ches te r f i e ld ' s f amous adv ice , in h i s Letters to his Son, n e v e r

t o b e t r a y a n y s p o n t a n e o u s e m o t i o n , a k i n d o f b e h a v i o r w h i c h e i g h t e e n t h -

c e n t u r y r e v i e w e r s c h a r a c t e r i z e d a s p o s i ti v e ly i n h u m a n .1 8

P o l i d o r i g i v e s h i s d e s c r i p t i o n o f L o r d R u t h v e n a m o r e m e t a p h y s i c a l

d i m e n s i o n w h e n h e c h a r a c t e r i z e s h i m a s "a m a n e n t i r e l y a b s o r b e d i n h i m -

se lf , w ho gave f ew o th e r s igns o f h i s ob se r va t ion o f ex te rna l ob je c t s , t ha n

the t ac i t a s sen t to the i r ex i s t ence , imp l ied by the avo idance o f the i r con -t a c t . " P o l i d o r i e c h o e s h e r e o n e o f t h e c h i e f a r g u m e n t s o f t h e C o m m o n

S e n s e s c h o o l f o r t h e a b s u r d i t y o f H u m e ' s s k e p t ic a l p h i l o s o p h y . H u m e h a d

arg ue d tha t it was im poss ib le to g ive a r a t io na l de m on s t r a t io n o f the ex i s -

t e n c e o f a n e x t e r n a l w o r l d . T h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l d e n i e d H u m e ' s

a s s u m p t i o n t h a t s u c h e x t r e m e s k e p t i c i s m w a s i n h e r e n t i n p h i l o s o p h i c a l

r a t iona l i ty , u s ing a s one o f the i r ch ie f po in t s the ad hominem a r g u m e n t

t h a t H u m e ' s o w n b e h a v i o r s h o w e d t h a t h e w a s in f ac t c o n v i n c e d o f th ee x t e r n a l w o r l d ' s e x i s t e n c e ( a s i n d e e d , i n t h e i r v i ew , o n l y a m a d m a n c o u l d

fa i l t o be ) (R e id 102 ). H u m e , in the v iew o f the Co m m o n Sense sc hoo l ,

tac i t ly assen ted to the ex is tence of "ex terna l ob jec ts" in exac t ly the same

w a y a s L o r d R u t h v e n i s d e s c r i b e d a s d o i n g . P o l i d o r i ' s r e f e r e n c e t o t h i s

ph i lo soph ica l deba te thus a ssoc ia te s the a r i s toc ra t i c in sc ru tab i l i ty tha t had

b e e n c r i t i c i z e d i n L o r d C h e s t e r f i e l d w i t h t h e s k e p t i c a l m a t e r i a l i s m o f

H u m e a n p h i l o s o p h y a n d w i t h t h e u n k n o w a b l e m y s t e r i o u s n e s s o f t h eGo th ic Othe r . The uncann iness o f Ru thven ' s gaze cons i s t s in i t s pu re ma te -

r i a l i ty , the quas i -phys ica l way in wh ich i t "we ighs upon the sk in , " a t rope

w h i c h figures t h e a r i s t o c r a t i c O t h e r a s a n i g h t m a r i s h a n i m a t e d c o r p s e .

Ken Ge lde r no tes tha t the way Po l ido r i desc r ibes I an the , the Greek

pea san t g ir l w i th w h o m A ub rey f a l ls in love , is a de l ib e ra te r ev i s ion o f one

o f h i s B y r o n i c s o u r c e s . T h i s g e s t u r e t o o c a n b e l i n k e d t o t h e C o m m o n

Sense ph i lo s op h ic a l con tex t tha t I am sug ges t ing shape s Po l ido r i ' s t r e a t -m en t o f the a r i s toc ra t i c O th e r in "T he Vam py re , " as can the ro le a ss igne d

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 221

to women genera l ly wi th in the nar ra t ive . In Byron ' s "The Giaour , " in which

the be l ie f in vampi res i s inc iden ta l ly r ecoun ted , the hero ine Le i la ' s eyes

a r e d e s c r i b e d :

H e r e y e' s d a r k c h a r m ' t w e r e v a i n t o t e ll

B u t g a z e o n t h a t o f t h e G a z e l l e

I t w i l l a s s i s t t h y f a n c y w e l l ;

A s l a r g e , a s l a n g u i s h i n g l y d a r k .1 9

Ge lder h igh l igh ts Po l idor i ' s r ew r i t in g o f the co m pa r i s on to a gaze l le in h i s

d es c r ip t i o n o f I an th e , i n a w ay w h ich ap p a r e n t ly c r i t i q u es B y r o n :

A s s h e d a n c e d u p o n t h e p l a i n , o r t r i p p e d a l o n g t h e m o u n t a i n ' s si d e , o n e

w o u l d h a v e t h o u g h t t h e g a z e ll e a p o o r t y p e o f h e r b e a u t i e s ; f o r w h o w o u l dh a v e e x c h a n g e d h e r e y e , a p p a r e n t l y t h e t y p e o f a n i m a t e d n a t u r e , f o r t h a t

s l e e p y l u x u r i o u s l o o k o f t h e a n i m a l s u i t e d b u t t o t h e t a s t e o f a n e p i c u r e .2 0

G eld e r u s e s t h i s ex am p le t o a r g u e t h a t " Th e V a m p y r e " is a co n s c io u s ly

rev is ion is t t ex t , r a ther than a mere cen to o f Byron ic mot i f s , bu t he fa i l s to

n o te t h a t P o l id o r i ' s r ew o r k in g o f B y r o n ' s s im i l e is l i n k ed b o th t o co n t em -

p o r a r y c r i t i c a l re s p o n s es t o B y r o n ' s p o e t r y , an d t o a w h o le t h em a t i c s o f

the eye wi th in the s to ry i t s e l f . The descr ip t ions o f women in Byron ' s o r i -en t a l t a l e s w e r e f r e q u en t ly c r i t i c i zed i n co n t em p o r a r y r ev i ew s f o r t h e i r

c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n e x t e r n a l , p h y s ic a l ly f e m i n i n e a t t r i b u t e s , w i t h r e v ie w e r s

c o m m e n t i n g t h a t B y r o n s u b s c r i b e d , p o e ti c a ll y a t l ea s t, t o t h e M a h o m e t a n

v i e w t h a t w o m e n h a d n o s o u l s . P o l i d o r i ' s o s t e n t a t i o u s r e j e c t i o n o f t h e

g aze l l e co m p ar i s o n ech o es t h i s ch a r ac t e r i za t i o n o f B y r o n , im p l i c i t l y i d en -

t i f y in g h i m w i th t h e l u x u r io u s a r i s t o c r a t i c ep i c u r e , an d p o in t e d ly a s s o c i -

a t e s t h e m a te r i a l i s m o f w h ich B y r o n h ad b een accu s ed b y c r i t i c s w i th t h ea r i s t o c r a t i c hauteur o f h i s v a m p i r e — an d th e u n can n y s u p e r f i c i a l i t y o f h i s

gaze — whose recep t ion in London soc ie ty c lose ly para l le l s tha t o f Byron

h im s e l f . 2 1

Th i s p a s s ag e , h o w ev e r , is o n ly o n e o f a n u m b e r o f p l aces i n " T h e

V am p y r e " i n w h ic h d es c r ip t i o n s o f ey es p l ay a p r o m in en t r o l e . A u b r ey ' s

s i st e r, f o r ex am p le , is a l s o ch a r a c t e r i zed t h r o u g h th e R o m an t i c i n w ar d n es s

of her eyes :

H e r b l u e e y e w a s n e v e r l it u p b y t h e l e v i t y o f t h e m i n d b e n e a t h . T h e r e w a s

m e l a n c h o l y c h a r m a b o u t i t w h i c h d i d n o t s e e m t o a r i s e f r o m m i s f o r t u n e ,

b u t f r o m s o m e f e e l i n g w i t h i n , t h a t a p p e a r e d t o i n d i c a t e a s o u l c o n s c i o u s

o f a h i g h e r r e a l m [ P o l i d o r i 1 2 0 ] .

A ub rey ' s s i s te r ' s eye , l ike tha t o f I an th e , is des cr ib ed in t e rm s o f a co n t r as t

b e t w e e n t h e s u p e r f i c i a l it y o f t h e m e r e l y m a t e r i a l , a n d t h e " d e p t h " t h a t

i n d i ca t e s co n s c io u s n e s s o f a s p i r i t u a l r ea lm . B o th o f t h e s e d es c r ip t i o n s

co n t r a s t m ar k e d ly w i th t h e " d ead g r ey ey e" o f Lo r d R u t h v en h im s e l f , an d

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22 2 Part III: Dark M aster, Da rk Slave

c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e C o m m o n S e n se s c h o o l 's c l a i m s f o r t h e e s s en t ia l i m m a -

t e r i a li t y o f t h e h u m a n m i n d , f o r w h i c h th e y a d d u c e d t h e s p o n t a n e o u s

p h y s i ca l ex p r e s s io n o f t h e h u m a n b o d y as ev id e n ce ( R e id 4 5 8 ) .

In t e rm s o f the para l le l I have bee n sugge s t ing be tw een Lord Ru thve n ' s

v a m p i r i s m a n d t h e c o r r u p t i n g i n f l u e n c e t h a t t h e C o m m o n S e n se sc h o o la t t r i b u t ed t o H u m ea n p h i lo s o p h y , i t is s i g n i f i can t t h a t ex p r e ss iv e gazes a re

co n s i s t en t l y a s s o c i a t ed w i th t h e w o m en in P o l id o r i ' s n a r r a t i v e . W i th in t h e

co n tex t o f C o m m o n S en s e p h i lo s o p h y , th e ex p r e s s iv en es s o f I an t h e an d o f

A ub rey ' s s i s te r t es t if i es to the i r mo ra l c la im s on the w or ld o f m e n , w hich

th e v am p i r i c Lo r d R u th v en b r u t a l l y d i s r eg a r d s . S u ch d i sr eg a r d f o r w o m en ' s

r i g h t s is i d e n t i f i e d b y T h o m a s R e i d a s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f H u m e a n p h i l o s -

o p h y : H u m e ' s H o b b e s i a n a r g u m e n t t h a t r i g h t s a r e a n e f fe c t o f p o w e rimpl ies tha t women , as the phys ica l ly weaker s ex , "owe the share they have

in the r igh t s o f soc ie ty , to the power which the i r addres s and the i r charms

g iv e t h em " r a th e r t h an t o an y i n t r i n s i c m o r a l c l a im o n m e n , a v i ew w h ich

R e id r e j ec t s a s s e l f - ev id en t ly im m o r a l ( 6 6 0 ) . Th i s H u m ean v i ew o f r e l a -

t ionsh ips be tween the sexes as a power s t rugg le in which there no such

t h i n g a s m u t u a l i t y is e n c a p s u l a t e d i n L o r d R u t h v e n ' s p a r t i n g w o r d s t o

A u b r ey a t t h e en d o f " Th e V am p y r e , " " W o m en a r e f r a i l ! " ( 1 2 5 ) , h in d n gtha t Aub rey is pow er les s to p rev en t Ru th ven ' s m ar r iag e to h i s s i ste r because

s h e h a s a l r e a d y b e e n d e b a u c h e d .

S o f a r , I h av e b ee n s u g g es t i n g t h a t t h e a s s o c i a t i o n o f v a m p i r i s m w i th

a r i s t o c r acy t h a t is f u n d am e n ta l t o P o l id o r i ' s n a r r a t i v e r e f l ec t s t h e c r i t i q u e

o f a r i st o c r a ti c v a lu e s e m b o d i e d i n l a t e - e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y C o m m o n S en se

p h i lo s o p h y , an d , m o r e g en e r a l l y , i n t h e s en t im en ta l d i s co u r s e o f au th o r s

s u ch a s H en r y M ack en z i e ; J am es B ea t t i e , p o e t o f S en s ib i l i t y a s w e l l a sC o m m o n S e n s e p h i l o s o p h e r , i l l u s t r a t e s t h e c o n t i n u i t y b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o

t r a d i t i o n s . B u t m u c h o f t h e h o r r o r o f " T h e V a m p y r e " c o m e s f r o m th e w a y

i ts en d in g s t ag es a b r ea k d o w n o f t h e m id d le - c l a s s v a lu es t h a t t h e r ead e r is

l ed t o e x p e c t t h e n a r r a t i v e w i ll e m b o d y , a b r e a k d o w n t h a t m i r r o r s t h e

b r eak d o w n o f t h e m id d le - c l a s s n a r r a t i v e o f p r o f e s s io n a l s u cces s i n P o l i -

do r i ' s ow n l if e a t the t im e he w ro te the S to ry. A ub rey ' s r e la t ion sh i p to Lord

R u th v e n is a s t r an g e ly am b i g u o u s o n e o f a t t r a c t i o n an d r ep u l s io n , an d Iw o u l d li ke t o a r g u e t h a t t h i s c o r r e s p o n d s t o a m o r e g e n e r a l R o m a n t i c

a m b i v a l e n c e a b o u t t h e so c ia l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n i ts e lf , a

t h e m e w i th w h ich A u b r ey is v e r y s tr o n g ly i d en t i f i ed w i th in t h e s t o r y .

Th e am biv a le nc e o f A ub rey ' s r e la t io n to Lord Ru th ve n f inds a para l -

le l i n t h e C o m m o n S en s e s ch o o l ' s r eac t i o n t o H u m e , in w h ich t h e ca t e -

gory o f the imag ina t ion a l so p lays an impor tan t ro le . As I have a l ready

n o t e d , m e m b e r s o f t h e C o m m o n S e ns e s c h o o l re p e a t e d l y s u g g e st th a t t h e

m a in f au l t o f H u m e a s a p h i lo s o p h ica l w r i t e r w as t h a t h e h ad a l l o w ed h i s

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 2 3

i m a g i n a t i o n t o r u n a w a y w i t h h i m . T h e y li n k t h i s c r i t ic i s m w i t h H u m e ' s

m a t e r i a li s t ic e p i s te m o l o g y . H u m e ' s i m a g i n a t i o n , t h e y a r g u e , w a s s o s t r u c k

w i t h m a t e r i a l m e t a p h o r s f o r t h e m i n d , s u c h a s t h a t o f " i m p r e s s i o n , " t h a t

h i s c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e m i n d b e c a m e c o m p l e t e l y d o m i n a t e d b y s u c h

m e t a p h o r s a n d h e n c e m a t e r i a l i s t ic , i g n o r i n g e v i d e n c e a s t o t h e n o n - m a t e -r i a l n a tu r e o f m in d . 2 2 H o w e v e r , t h e p r o b l e m w i t h t h i s c r i t i c i s m o f H u m e ,

a s t h e C o m m o n S en s e s ch o o l ce r t a in ly k n o w s , is t h a t it is im p o s s ib l e t o

w r i t e a b o u t t h e m i n d w i t h o u t e m p l o y i n g m a t e r i a l m e t a p h o r s , w h i c h a r e

em b e d d ed in t h e v e r y l an g u ag e w e m u s t u se t o d e s c r ib e t h e m i n d . To w r i t e

ab o u t t h e m in d a t al l i s t o r i sk f a ll i n g i n to H u m ea n m a te r i a l i s m . I t is i n

th i s co n t ex t , I w o u ld s u g g es t , t h a t t h e f u l l am b ig u i t y i n " T h e V a m p y r e , "

b o th o f t h e im ag in a t i o n a n d o f P o l id o r i ' s p o s i t i o n a s an au th o r , b e co m esap p a r en t ( S t ew ar t 1 7 9 - 1 8 2 , 4 4 7 ) .

T h e m o r a l a m b i g u i t y o f A u b r e y w i t h i n P o l i d o r i 's n a r r a t i v e c a n b e

i d e n t i f ie d w i t h th e a m b i g u i t y o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n w i t h i n C o m m o n S e ns e

p h i l o s o p h y . F o r t h e C o m m o n S e n s e s c h o o l , t h e i m a g i n a t i o n c o n f i r m s a n d

em b o d ie s o u r o r ig in a l m o r a l i n tu i t i o n s , b u t i t a l s o h as t h e p o t en t i a l t o

s ed u ce u s i n to a m a te r i a l i s t i c w o r ld v i ew . S im i l a r ly , i n " Th e V am p y r e , "

A u b r e y ' s i m a g i n a t i o n m a k e s h i m d e l i g h t i n t h e s p i r i t u a l i t y t h a t is e m b o d -

ied by the g ra cef u ln es s o f I an the , b u t it a l so l eads h i m in to a f asc in a t io n

w i th t h e d ead m a te r i a l g aze o f Lo r d R u th v en . Th i s am b ig u i ty , h o w ev e r , i s

a l so tha t o f Po l idor i ' s c las s po s i t io n as a R om an t ic w r i t e r : is h i s a t t em p t

to ap p ea l t o t h e read e r ly im ag in a t i o n a W o r d s w o r t h i a n ex e r c is e i n aw ak -

e n i n g t h e n a t u r a l m o r a l i n t u i t i o n s o n w h i c h m i d d l e - c l a s s a u t h o r i t y i s

b a s e d , o r is h i s w r i t i n g d o o m e d t o s u c c u m b t o t h e v a m p i r i c c o r r u p t i o n o f

H u m e a n m a t e r i a l i s m a n d a r i s t o c r a t i c a u t h o r i t y ? A u b r e y ' s i n a b i l i t y a t t h e

end o f "The Vampyre" to r evea l Lord Ruthven ' s s ecre t sugges t s tha t Po l i -

do r i fo u n d no wa y to r eso lve h i s an x i e ty ab o u t the c las s po l i t i cs o f fic tion.

T h e ex p r e s s iv en es s an d s p o n ta n e i ty of I an th e an d M is s A u b r ey , i n

th e i r o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e s t u d i ed i n d i f f e r en ce o f Lo r d R u t h v en , r ep r e s en t a

s e c u r e l o c u s f o r m i d d l e - c l a s s v a l u e s w i t h i n t h e n a r r a t i v e , w h i c h m a k e s

M is s A u b r e y ' s final co r r u p t io n b y t h e v a m p i r e a ll t h e m o r e s h o ck in g . Th e

ch a r a c t e r o f A u b r ey , h o w e v e r , w h ic h t h e n a r r a t i v e s o s t r o n g ly a s s o c i a t e s

I w i th the im ag in a t i on an d w hic h co ns t i tu tes a focus o f ide n t i f i ca t ion fo r; t h e m id d le - c l a s s r ead e r , p lay s a cu r io u s ly a m b ig u o u s r o l e i n t h e tex t ' s c l as s

[ o p p o s i t i o n s , i n a w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e v a m p i r i c p o w e r o f L o r d

* R u t h v e n s te m s f r o m A u b r e y ' s ( a n d t h e r e a d e r ' s ) u n a c k n o w l e d g e d a f f i n i ty

w it h th is ar is t oc ra t ic figure .

I Th i s p o t en t i a l c l as s am b ig u i ty is p r e s en t f r o m th e b e g in n in g o f t h e

I n a r r a t i v e . A u b r e y is i n t r o d u c e d a s a " g e n t l e m a n , " w h o s e p a r e n t s h a v e l e f t

' h im " in p o s s e s s io n o f g r ea t w ea l th " t h a t is h e ld i n t r u s t f o r h im b y

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2 2 4 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

g u a r d i an s — th e r a th e r u n s p ec i f i c n a tu r e o f t h e " w ea l th " im p l i e s , t h o u g h

th i s is n o w h e r e ac tu a l ly s t a t ed , t h a t t h e w e a l th co m e s f r o m t r ad e . Th e n a r -

r a t i v e ch a r ac t e r i ze s h im i r o n i ca l l y a s p o s s e s s in g " th a t h ig h r o m an t i c f ee l -

i n g o f h o n o u r a n d c a n d o u r , w h i c h d a i l y r u i n s s o m a n y m i l l i n e r ' s

ap p r en t i c e s " ( 1 0 9) , a d e s c r ip t i o n t h a t j u x t a p o s es t h e e s s en t ia l l y m id d le -

c la ss v a l u e o f o p e n - h e a r t e d " c a n d o u r " w i t h t h e n o t o r i o u s a r i s t o c r a t ic

p r o p en s i t y f o r d e b a u c h in g w o m en o f i n f e r io r s o ci al s t a tu s an d w i th a r i s -

t o c r a t i c i n s c r u t ab i l i t y . A s im i l a r am b ig u i ty is p r e s en t l a te r o n :

H e h i n t e d t o h i s g u a r d i a n s , th a t it w a s t i m e f o r h i m t o p e r f o r m t h e t o u r ,

w h i c h f o r m a n y g e n e r a t i o n s h a s b e e n t h o u g h t n e c e s s a r y t o e n a b l e t h e

y o u n g t o t a k e s o m e r a p i d s t ep s in th e c a re e r o f v i c e t o w a r d s p u t t i n g t h e m -

s e l v e s u p o n a n e q u a l i t y w i t h t h e a g e d , a n d n o t a l l o w i n g t h e m t o a p p e a r a s

if f a ll e n f r o m t h e sk i es , w h e r e v e r s c a n d a l o u s i n t r i g u e s a re m e n t i o n e d a s

t h e s u b j e c t s o f p l e a s a n t r y o r o f p r a i s e , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e d e g r e e o f s k i l l

s h e w n i n c a r r y i n g t h e m o n [1 10 ].

I t is no t a l to ge the r c lea r w he the r the cyn ica l ton e the nar ra t ive as su m es

h e r e is t o b e a t t r i b u t ed t o A u b r ey h im s e l f , t h o u g h a s t h i s s eem s in c o m -

pa t ib le wi th the p rev ious heavy emphas i s on h i s na ive idea l i sm, i t i s a pos -

s ib i l i t y t h e r ead e r t en d s t o d i s co u n t . Th e ech o , h o w ev e r , o f q u es t i o n in g s

of the va lue o f the g rand tour in the l i t e ra tu re o f Sens ib i l i ty , does make

A u b r ey ' s ac t i v e d es i r e t o u n d e r t ak e t h e t o u r s eem s o m ew h a t d u b io u s .2 3

A u b r ey ' s r o l e i n b r in g in g ab o u t t h e v am p i r i c d ea th s o f b o th o f t h e

w o m en th a t h e l o v es g r ap h ica l l y i l l u s t r a t e s t h e am b ig u o u s m o r a l s t a tu s a t

w h ich t h e s e p as s ag es h in t . A u b r ey r a t i o n a l i s t i c a l l y d i s co u n t s t h e G r eek

pea san ts ' t a les o f va m pi r es , s e t t in g o f f on an ex cu rs io n th a t l eads to I an th e

s u c cu m b in g to t h e v a m p i r e ( t h e s t o r y im p l i e s t h a t I an th e , w o r r i ed b y h is

l a t en es s i n r e tu r n in g , h a s co m e o u t t o l o o k f o r h im an d h as m e t t h e v am -

p i r e i n s t ea d ) . A u b r ey is a l so i n d i r ec t l y i n s t r u m en ta l i n p r o m o t in g t h e f a t a l

mar r iage o f Lord Ruthven to h i s s i s te r ; h i s men ta l co l lapse on f ind ing Lord

R u th v en m o v in g i n Lo n d o n p o l i t e s o c i e ty a f t e r A u b r e y h as w i tn es s ed h i s

dea th a l lows the vampi re to ga in acces s to h i s house and cour t h i s s i s te r

u n d e r p r e t e x t of i n q u i r i n g a b o u t A u b r e y ' s h e a l t h .

Lo r d R u th v en f u n c t io n s , t h e n , as A u b r e y ' s d a r k a l t e r - eg o , a H y d e t o

h i s J eky l l , t ak ing h i s p lace by the s ide o f the women he loves . Th is uncan-

n i ly symbio t ic r e la t ionsh ip i s l inked in the nar ra t ive to the s ta tus Lord

R u t h v e n h as t a k e n o n w i t h i n A u b r e y ' s i m a g i n a t i o n :

H e w a t c h e d h i m ; a n d t h e v e r y i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f f o r m i n g a n i d e a o f t h e c h a r -

a c t e r o f a m a n e n t i r e l y a b s o r b e d i n h i m s e l f . . . a l l o w i n g h i s i m a g i n a t i o n

t o p i c t u r e e v e r y t h i n g t h a t f l a t t e r e d i ts p r o p e n s i t y t o e x t r a v a g a n t i d e a s , h es o o n f o r m e d t h i s o b j e c t i n t o t h e h e r o o f a r o m a n c e , a n d d e t e r m i n e d t o

o b s e r v e t h e o f f s p r i n g o f h i s f a n c y , r a t h e r t h a n t h e p e r s o n b e f o r e h i m [1 10 ].

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11. "The Vampyre" (B UDG E ) 2 2 5

Lo r d R u th v en ' s a r i s t o c r a t i c i n s c r u t ab i l i t y , t h e u n av a i l ab i l i t y o f h i s s u b -

j ec ti v i ty , is i n le ag u e w i th t h e im ag in a t i o n t h a t is A u b r ey ' s p r i m a r y ch a r -

ac te r i s t i c , an d it is th i s tha t g ives h im h i s va m pi r ic po w er and th a t r en de rs

h i m t h e u n k n o w a b l e o b j e c t if i e d O t h e r . T h i s c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n R u t h v e n ' s

v a m p i r i s m a n d A u b r e y ' s i m a g i n a t i o n is r e i n f o r c e d b y t h e fa c t t h a t u n t i lr e l a t i v e ly l a t e i n t h e n a r r a t i v e , i t r em a in s u n c l ea r w h e th e r R u th v en r ea l l y

w i l l t u r n o u t t o b e a v am p i r e , o r w h e th e r t h e s t o r y w i l l en d i n t h e d em y s -

t i f y in g m o d e o f A u s t en ' s Northanger Abbey. T h e v a m p i r i c h i n t s t h a t t h e

n a r r a t i v e t h r o w s o u t m a y , u n t i l a f a i r l y l a t e p o i n t , t u r n o u t t o b e t h e

" o f f s p r in g " o f A u b r ey ' s , an d t h e r ead e r ' s " f an cy " ; t h e ap p a r en t ly t o - b e -

d e b u n k e d t e n d e n c y t o i n t e r p r e t R u t h v e n a s " t h e h e r o o f a r o m a n c e " is n o t

o n ly A u b r ey ' s , b u t , o w in g to t h e g en e r i c i n s t ab i l i t y o f t h e n a r r a t i v e , o u r salso .

A u b r e y ' s m o r a l a m b i g u i t y w i t h i n P o l i d o r i ' s n a r r a t i v e i s s y m p t o m a t i c

o f t h e a m b i g u o u s s t a t u s o f t h e R o m a n t i c i m a g i n a t i o n i n r e l a t io n s h i p t o

g en e r a l m id d le - c l a s s v a lu es . A s im i l a r ly am b i g u o u s s t a tu s is a cco r d ed t o

t h e R o m a n t i c i m a g i n a t i o n i n W a l t e r S c o t t ' s Waverley, p u b l i s h e d o n l y a

co u p le o f y ea r s b e f o r e P o l id o r i w r o t e " Th e V am p y r e . " S co t t ' s " m ed io c r e"

hero was in a l l l ike l ihood Po l idor i ' s model fo r the charac te r o f Aubrey .L ike A u b r ey , W av e r l ey is s t r o n g ly a s s o c i a t ed w i th t h e R o m an t i c im ag in a -

t ion a t an ea r ly s tage in Sco t t ' s na r ra t ive ; whereas Po l idor i b r ie f ly no tes

t h a t A u b r e y h a d " c u l t i v a t e d m o r e h i s i m a g i n a t i o n t h a n h i s j u d g e m e n t "

(109) , Sco t t g ives an ex tended accoun t o f the def ic ienc ies o f Waver ley ' s

e d u c a t i o n :

T h e i n s t r u c t o r h a d t o c o m b a t a n o t h e r p r o p e n s i t y t o o o f t e n u n i t e d w i t hb r i l l i a n c y o f f a n c y a n d v i v a c i t y o f t a l e n t , — t h a t i n d o l e n c e , n a m e l y , o f d i s -

p o s i t i o n , w h i c h c a n o n l y b e s t i r r e d b y s o m e s t r o n g m o t i v e o f g r a t i f i c a t i o n ,

a n d w h i c h r e n o u n c e s s t u d y s o s o o n a s c u r i o s i t y is g r a t i f i e d , t h e p l e a s u r e

o f c o n q u e r i n g t h e first d i f f i c u l t i e s e x h a u s t e d , a n d t h e n o v e l t y o f p u r s u i t a t

a n e n d . . . . A l as ! w h i l e h e w a s t h u s p e r m i t t e d t o r e a d o n l y f o r t h e

g r a t i f i c a t i o n o f h i s o w n a m u s e m e n t , h e f o r e s a w n o t t h a t h e w a s l o s in g f o r

e v e r t h e o p p o r t u n i t y o f a c q u i r i n g h a b i t s o f firm a n d i n c u m b e n t a p p l i c a -

t i o n , o f g a i n i n g t h e a r t o f c o n t r o l l i n g , d i r e c t i n g , a n d c o n c e n t r a t i n g t h ep o w e r s o f h i s o w n m i n d f o r e a r n e s t i n v e s t i g a t i o n , — a n a r t f a r m o r e e s s e n -

t i a l t h a n e v e n t h a t l e a r n i n g w h i c h i s t h e p r i m a r y o b j e c t o f s tu d y .2 4

Scot t ' s mora l iz ing commentary on the way Waver ley ' s "b r i l l i ancy o f f ancy"

l ead s h im to w eak en h i s m in d b y r ead in g o n ly f o r am u s em en t ( a co m m o n

t h e m e in la t e - e i g h t e e n t h - a n d e a r l y - n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y d e s c r i p t io n s o f t h e

ef fec t s o f nove l r ead ing) s t res ses the inco m pat ib i l i ty o f the im ag ina t ion w i th

m idd le -c las s v a lues : W aver ley fo r fe i t s exac t ly thos e "ha b i t s of ... app l ica -

t ion" that were regarde d as indisp ensa ble in es tabl ish ing a profess io nal career.

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2 2 6 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

Y et w i t h o u t W a v e r l e y ' s e x c e s si v e i m a g i n a t i o n t h e r e w o u l d b e , o f

co urs e , no nove l , s ince i t is th i s m en ta l w ea kn ess tha t leads W aver ley to

th row in h i s lo t w i th the Jacob i te Rebe l l ion . Sco t t makes th i s c lea r in h i s

d es c r ip t i o n o f t h e e ff ec t o f t h e c r u c i a l m e e t in g w i th t h e P r e t e n d e r a t w h ich

Waver ley i s l ed to dec la re h i s a l l eg iance :

U n a c c u s t o m e d t o t h e a d d r e s s a n d m a n n e r s o f a p o l i s h e d c o u r t , in w h i c h

C h a r l e s w a s e m i n e n t l y s k i l fu l , h i s w o r d s a n d h i s k i n d n e s s p e n e t r a t e d t h e

h e a r t o f o u r h e r o , a n d ea s il y o u t w e i g h e d a ll p r u d e n t i a l m o t i v e s . T o b e t h u s

p e r s o n a l l y s o l i c it e d f o r a s s is t a n c e b y a p r i n c e , w h o s e f o r m a n d m a n n e r s ,

a s we l l a s t he s p i r i t wh i c h he d i s p l a ye d i n t h i s s i ng u l a r e n t e r p r i z e , a n s w e r e d

h i s i d e a s o f a h e r o o f r o m a n c e ; t o b e c o u r t e d b y h i m i n t h e a n c i e n t h a l l s

o f h i s p a t e r n a l p a l a c e , r e c o v e r e d b y t h e s w o r d w h i c h h e w a s a l r e a d y b e n d -

i n g t o w a r d s o t h e r c o n q u e s t s , g a v e E d w a r d , in h i s o w n e ye s t h e d i g n i t y a n d

i m p o r t a n c e w h i c h h e h a d c e a s e d t o c o n s i d e r a s h i s a t t r i b u t e s [ S c o t t 1 93 ],

W a v e r l e y c o m m i t s h i m s e l f t o t h e J a c o b i t e c a u s e b e c a u s e t h e f i g u r e o f

C h a r l e s S t ew ar t ap p ea l s t o h i s im ag in a t i o n , co r r e s p o n d in g t o " h i s i d eas o f

a h e r o o f r o m an ce , " an e ff ect o f w h ich S co t t im p l i e s t h e P r e t en d e r an d h i s

m i n i o n s a r e w e l l a w a r e . T h e b e d a z z l e m e n t c a u s e d b y t h e P r e t e n d e r ' s

ap p ea r an ce , h o w ev e r , ap p l ie s j u s t as m u c h to t h e r ead e r as t o W a /e r l e yh im se l f : the P re t en de r i s the first non - f ic t io na l ch ara c te r to ap pe ar in the

n o v e l , w h ic h u p t o t h i s p o in t h a s co n c en t r a t ed o n im a g in a t i v e ly ap p ea l -

i n g d e s c r i p t i o n s o f e x o t i c H i g h l a n d l i fe , p a r t o f w h o s e f u n c t i o n is t o

en c o u r ag e u s t o i d e n t i f y w i th W av e r l ey 's v i e w p o in t , i n t h e ab s en ce o f an y

o th er f am i l ia r r e fe rence p o i n t . Sco t t ' s r eader i s, by def in i t ion , a nove l r eader

an d i s, i n th i s , l ik e W av e r l ey h im s e l f , so t h a t t h e o n to lo g i ca l d i s c o n t in u -

i ty o c c a s i o n e d b y t h e P r e t e n d e r ' s s u d d e n a n d u n p r e p a r e d a p p e a r a n c e a s ach arac te r in Sc o t t ' s f ic tiona l na r ra t iv e m ak es us "e nc ou n t e r " the P r e te nd er

in the same way as Waver ley does . The whole des ign o f Sco t t ' s nove l i s to

m a k e u s r e c o g n i z e W a v e r l e y ' s t e n d e n c y t o l e t h i s i m a g i n a t i o n p r e d o m i -

n a t e o v e r h i s j u d g m en t a s o u r o w n t en d e n c y a s r ead e r s o f t h e n o v e l , an d

so to enab le us to exper ience the po l i t i ca l power tha t the P re tender exer t s

t h r o u g h h i s i m a g i n a t i v e a p p e a l.2 5

W a v e r l ey ' s e n c o u n t e r w i t h t h e P r e t e n d e r is s t r u c t u r a l l y s i m i l a r t oA u b r e y ' s e n c o u n t e r w i t h L o r d R u t h v e n a s p r e s e n t e d i n " T h e V a m p y r e . "

Th e r e is t h e s am e k i n d o f i d en t i f i ca t i o n b e tw een th e read e r an d t h e r a th e r

in e f f ec tu a l h e r o : t h e r ead e r o f P o l id o r i ' s n a r r a t i v e s eek s a f t e r im a g in a t i v e

"sen sa t io n" in the sam e wa y as A ub rey h im se l f does , so tha t A ub rey ' s f as -

c in a t i o n w i th L o r d R u th v e n f u n c t io n s a s an a l ib i f o r r ead e r ly d es i r e i n a

way which recal ls Bar thes ' s analys is in S/Z o f t h e r ead e r ' s co m p l i c i t y w i th

n a r r a t i v e m y s t i f i ca t i o n . A u b r ey co u ld a lm o s t ex c l a im w i th B au d e l a i r e , "—Hypocrite lecteur— mon semblable— mon frere!"

26 Th e " h o r r o r " o f P o l i -

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 2 7

d o r i ' s n a r r a t i v e , w h i c h I h a v e b e e n a rg u i n g c o n s i s ts in t h e b r e a k d o w n o f

t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t we e n mi d d l e -c l a s s a n d a r i s t o c ra t i c v a l u e s (o r t h e c o n -

s u m i n g f r o m w i t h i n o f m i d d l e - c l a s s " a u t h e n t i c i t y " b y a r i s t o c r a t i c

super f i c i a l i t y ) , a l so has i t s pa ra l l e l i n Sco t t ' s nove l , i n Waver l ey ' s d i scov-

e ry tha t Jacob i t i sm th rea tens to rep lace the bu reaucra t i c ra t iona l i ty , i den t i -f i ed wi th the midd le c l a sses , wi th a r i s toc ra t i c cour t i n t r igue , a l though in

Sc o t t t h e t h r e a t p o s e d b y t h e a r i s t o c ra t i c O t h e r i s a v e r t e d .

T h e a s s o c i a t i o n o f i ma g i n a t i o n wi t h a r i s t o c ra t i c p o we r , wh i c h i s p r e -

s e n t i n Sc o tt a n d w h i c h I w o u l d a rg u e a ls o u n d e r l i e s L o rd R u t h v e n ' s v a m -

p i r i c fa sc in a t io n , re f l ec ts an ana lys i s o f t he na t u r e o f a r i s to c ra t i c d o m in io n

p r e s e n t e d i n A d a m S m i th ' s q u a s i - s o c i o l o g i c a l a c c o u n t o f t h e n a t u r e o f

m o r a l i t y , The Theory of Mo ral Sentiments, which was wide ly read in thee a rl y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . S m i t h e x p l a i n s a r i s t o c r a ti c p r e d o m i n a n c e i n t h e

s o c i e t y o f h i s d a y a s o wi n g t o t h e n a t u ra l t e n d e n c i e s o f t h e i ma g i n a t i o n .

Fo r Sm i t h , o u r c a p a c i t y fo r s y m p a t h y is d u e t o t h e i m a g i n a t i o n , w h i c h

p laces us m en ta l ly in so m eo ne e lse 's s i t u a t io n . Bu t in o r de r fo r t h i s m e n -

t a l t ran s fe ren ce success fu l ly to t ake p lace , t he o th e r ' s s i t ua t ion h as to be

representable t o t h e mi n d , a n d Smi t h a rg u e s t h a t t h e r e a d i n e s s w i t h wh i c h

the m in d p ic t u re s an o th e r ' s s i t ua t io n to i tse lf is a f fec t ed by the m in d ' s na t -u ra l t e n d e n c y t o s e e k p l e a s u re a n d a v o i d p a i n .

2 7Smi t h p o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e

s i tua t ion o f the wea l thy i s e spec ia l ly easy fo r t he imag ina t ion to env i sage ,

b e c a u s e t h e y a r e s u r ro u n d e d b y o b j e c t s t h a t a r e s p e c i a l l y t a i l o r e d t o p ro -

mo t e t h e i r p l e a s u re a n d c o n v e n i e n c e . T h i s e n s u re s t h a t t h e r i c h , wh o m

Smi th imp l i c i t l y equa tes wi th the a r i s toc ra t i c c l a ss , have a ready ca l l on

o u r s y m p a t h y t h a t t h e p o o r d o n o t . T h e v e ry f a c t t h a t a r i s t o c ra t s a r e t h e

cen te r o f a t t en t ion enab les them to exe rc i se a po l i t i ca l i n f luence over soc i -e ty tha t is ou t o f p r o po r t io n to the i r m ea ns an d ab i li t ie s , s ince be ing a t

the cen te r o f a t t en t io n is t he s i tu a t io n abo ve a ll o th e r s tha t is a t t rac t ive to

t h e i m a g i n a t i o n :

D o t h e g r e a t s e e m i n s e n s i b l e o f t h e ea s y p r i c e at w h i c h t h e y m a y a c q u i r e

t h e p u b l i c a d m i r a t i o n ; o r d o t h e y s e e m t o i m a g i n e t h a t t o t h e m , a s t o o t h e r

m e n , i t m u s t b e t h e p u r c h a s e e i t h e r o f s w e a t o r o f b l o o d ? B y w h a t i m p o r -t a n t a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s is t h e y o u n g n o b l e m a n i n s t r u c t e d t o s u p p o r t t h e

d i g n i t y o f h i s r a n k , a n d t o r e n d e r h i m s e l f w o r t h y o f t h a t s u p e r i o r i t y o v e r

h i s f e l l o w - c i t i z e n s , t o w h i c h t h e v i r t u e o f h i s a n c e s t o r s h a d r a i s e d t h e m ?

I s i t b y k n o w l e d g e , b y i n d u s t r y , b y p a t i e n c e , b y s e l f - d e n i a l , o r b y v i r t u e o f

a n y k i n d ?

A s a l l h i s w o r d s , a s a l l h i s m o t i o n s a r e a t t e n d e d t o , h e l e a r n s a n h a b i t -

u a l r e g a r d t o e v e r y c i r c u m s t a n c e o f o r d i n a r y b e h a v i o u r , a n d s t u d i e s t o

p e r f o r m a ll t h o s e s m a l l d u t i e s w i t h t h e m o s t e x a c t p r o p r i e t y . A s h e is c o n -s c i o u s h o w m u c h h e is o b s e r v e d , a n d h o w m u c h m a n k i n d a re d i s p o s e d t o

f a v o u r a ll h i s i n c l i n a t i o n s , h e a c t s , u p o n t h e m o s t i n d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s ,

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2 2 8 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

w i t h t h a t f r e e d o m a n d e l e v a t i o n w h i c h t h e t h o u g h t o f t h i s n a t u r a l l y

i n s p i r e s . H i s a i r , h i s m a n n e r , h i s d e p o r t m e n t , a l l m a r k t h a t e l e g a n t a n d

g r a c e f u l s e n s e o f h i s o w n s u p e r i o r i t y , w h i c h t h o s e w h o a r e b o r n t o i n f e -

r i o r s t a t u s c a n h a r d l y e v e r a r r i v e a t . T h e s e a r e t h e a r t s b y w h i c h h e p r o -

p o s e s t o m a k e m a n k i n d m o r e ea s il y s u b m i t t o h i s a u t h o r i t y , a n d t o g o v e r n

t h e i r i n c l i n a t i o n s a c c o r d i n g t o h i s o w n p l e a s u r e : a n d i n t h i s h e i s s e l d o m

d i s a p p o i n t e d . T h e s e a r t s , s u p p o r t e d b y r a n k a n d p r e e m i n e n c e , a r e , u p o n

o r d i n a r y o c c a s i o n s , s u f f i c i e n t t o g o v e r n t h e w o r l d [ S m i t h , 18 1- 18 3; 5 3 - 5 4 ] .

For Sm i th , t hen , t he ch ie f su pp or t o f a r i s to c ra t i c au t ho r i ty is t he aes th e t i c

qua l i ty o f g race fu lness , because th i s i s a v i s ib l e ind ica to r o f t he s i tua t ion

t h e a r i s t o c ra t o c c u p i e s a s t h e h a b i t u a l c e n t e r o f a t t e n t i o n . Ar i s t o c ra t i c

g races a re " su f f i c i en t t o gove rn the w or ld" bec aus e o f the appea l the y m ak e

t o t h e i m a g i n a t i o n . T h e a r i s t o c ra t l e a rn s t h ro u g h h i s b e h a v i o r t o r e p re -

sen t h i s ow n socia l co n di t io n , an d it is th i s tha t en su re s th a t he wi l l a lway s

e li ci t m o r e s y mp a t h y , o r " p u b li c a d m i ra t i o n , " t h a n t h o s e w h o p e rh a p s h a v e

g re a t e r me r i t b u t d o n o t e a s i l y i n h a b i t t h i s d i me n s i o n o f s o c i a l r e p re s e n -

t a t i o n . T h e a s c e n d e n c y t h a t C h a r l e s S t e w a r t , i n Sc o t t 's n o v e l , o b t a i n s o v e r

W a v e r l e y is a p e r f e c t e x a m p l e o f t h i s p ro c e s s a t w o rk : Wa v e r l e y a c k n o w l -

edges the Pre t ender a s h i s sovere ign because he looks the pa r t , a s Sco t t ' s

desc r ip t ion o f h i s "easy and g race fu l manners" makes c l ea r (Sco t t 192) .

A r i s toc ra t i c au th o r i ty , t he n , i n the v i ews of Sco t t and S m i th , is a p ro d -

u c t o f r e p re s e n t a t i o n , a c o n n e c t i o n w h i c h s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e v a m p i r i c f a s -

c i n a t i o n P o l i d o r i a t t r i b u t e s to L o r d R u t h v e n is a n e x p r e s s i o n o f

mi d d l e -c l a s s a n x i e t y a b o u t t h e c l a s s i mp l i c a t i o n s o f t h e i ma g i n a t i o n , a s

t h e f a c u l t y t h a t is r e s p o n s i b l e fo r r e p r e s e n t i n g s o c i e ty . A u b re y s u c c u m b s

to the ev i l i n f lu enc e o f Lord Ru thv en in the sam e w ay the reader su cc um bs

to the a t t ra c t io ns o f Po l ido r i ' s na r ra t ive , an d in b o th cases , Po l ido r i rega rds

t h i s l u x u r i a t i n g i n th e r e a l m o f i m a g i n a t i o n a s a b e t r a y a l o f m i d d l e -c l a s s

v a l u e s . P o l i d o r i ' s t e x t t h u s e n d s b y u n d o i n g t h e m i d d l e - c l a s s p o s i t i o n

w hic h i ts na r ra t ive vo ice a r t i cu la t e s , an d i t is t h i s t ha t co ns t i tu t e s the t ex t ' s

"ho r ro r" : t he reader f inds tha t t he t ex t i s i ncapab le o f po l i c ing the d i s -

t i n c t i o n b e t we e n mi d d l e -c l a s s a n d a r i s t o c ra t i c v a l u e s , b e t we e n t h e mi d -

d i e - c l a s s se lf a n d t h e a r i s t o c r a t i c O t h e r , w h i c h t h e n a r r a t i v e i n i t ia l l y

ap pe ars to offe r . I t is the re ad er , jus t as m u c h as A ubre y , w h o i s the v i c t i m

o f t h e a r i s t o c ra t i c v a m p i r e .

T h e k i n d o f r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t we e n a r i s t o c ra t i c a u t h o r i t y a n d t h e n a t u re

o f r e p re s e n t a t i o n ( t h a t is, t h e n a t u ra l t e n d e n c i e s o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n ) t h a t

we h a v e fo u n d in Sm i t h , is a l s o p re s e n t i n H u m e ' s p h i l o s o p h y . T h e C o m -

m o n Se n s e s c h o o l ' s c r i t ic i s ms o f H u m e a n p h i l o s o p h y , wh i c h I h a v e a rg u e dis a n i m p o r t a n t i n t e l le c t u a l c o n t e x t fo r t h e u n c a n n y f a s c i n a t i o n t h a t Po li-

dor i a t t r ibu tes to Lord Ruthven , can be seen as d i rec ted agains t the equat ion

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 2 9

of soci al r e l a t i ons h i p s w i t h r ep r e sen t a t i on ( o r t he i m ag i na t i o n ) t ha t is f u n -

d a m e n t a l t o S m i t h 's a r g u m e n t : R e i d , f o r e x a m p l e , i n s is t s t h a t th e p r i m a r y

m or a l v i r t ue i s t he e ssen t i a ll y un r ep r e s en t ab l e one o f du t y . I n t he R om an -

t i c pe r i od , howeve r , t h i s m i dd l e - c l a s s c r i t i que o f t he a r i s t oc r a t i c v i ew o f

s o c i e t y a s c o n s t i t u t e d b y r e p r e s e n t a t i o n r e m a i n s v u l n e r a b l e . T h i s v u l n e r -ab i l i t y is exp r e s sed by P o l i do r i i n "T he Vam pyr e , " bu t can be f o un d i n

o t he r Rom an t i c wr i t e r s a s we l l .

O n e o f t h e c l o s e s t e q u i v a l e n t s t o t h e b r e a k d o w n o f t h e a r i s t o -

c r a t i c / m i d d l e - c l a s s d i s t i n c t i o n f o u n d in " T h e V a m p y r e " is t h e a c c o u n t o f

t he i m a g i n a t i o n o f f e r ed by Haz l i t t . H az l i t t 's conce p t i on o f t he soc ia l f u nc -

t io n o f the im ag in a t io n is ver y c lose to the on e we hav e fo u n d in Sm i th

an d S co t t . F o r H az l i t t , t he i m ag i n a t i on is na t u r a l l y an "exc lu s i ve" a nd"agg r ega t i ng" f acu l t y , an d t h i s acc ou n t s , f o r exa m pl e , f o r S h akespea r e ' s

s i d i ng w i t h t he a r i s t oc r a t i c v i ewpo i n t i n p l ays such a s Coriolanus: th e

poe t i c i m a g i n a t i o n ca nn o t he l p b u t be a t t r ac t e d t o a r i s toc r acy . Haz l i tt c a r -

r i es th i s ana lys i s s t i l l fu r ther when he descr ibes the ro le the imagina t ion

p l ays i n t he m a i n t enance o f m ona r ch i ca l power . Haz l i t t a r gues t ha t t he

i m ag i na t i on na t u r a l l y s eeks t o ex t r ac t ou t o f any s i t ua t i on t he m a x i m u m

st imulat ion for i t se l f , and in the case of pol i t ics , th is natural ly leads to an

exa l t a t i on o f t he m ona r ch , and an abasem en t o f h i s sub j ec t s , t ha t i s a s

ex t r em e a s poss i b l e . T he r e l a t i on o f sub j ec t s t o a m ona r ch , Haz l i t t sug -

ges ts , is e s sen t i a l ly s ado - m as oc h i s t i c i n na t u r e : sub j ec t s ga i n a k i n d o f

p e r v e r s e i m a g i n a r y e n j o y m e n t o u t o f t h e i r o w n h u m i l i a t i o n b e f o r e a

m o n a r c h , a n d t h i s l e a d s t h e m t o e x a g g e r a t e t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n

m o n a r c h a n d s u b j e c t s e v e n f u r t h e r .2 8 Haz l i t t ' s t heo r y o f t he i m ag i na t i on

env i sages a k i nd o f s e l f - an n i h i l a t i on by t he m i dd l e - c l a s s r eade r o r spec -

ta to r o f the i r ow n c lass po s i t io n , wh ich , I w ou ld su gges t , is very s im i la r

t o wha t occu r s a t t he end o f "T he Vam pyr e . " I n Haz l i t t ' s v i ew , t he i m ag-

i n a t i o n c a n n o t t o l e r a t e a n y m e d i u m b e t w e e n th e d e s p o t i c m o n a r c h a n d

the degra de d po pu lac e : tha t is as m uc h to say, it ca nn ot to le ra te the m id -

d le c lass . But the imagina t ion , as Smi th ' s The Theory of Moral Sentiments

makes c lear , i s a l so what cons t i tu tes the midd le -c lass pos i t ion i t se l f : the

a r i s t oc r a t does no t need t o i m ag i ne any s i t ua t i on ou t s i de h i s own , whe r eas

m i dd l e - c l a s s am b i t i o n t o m ak e one ' s m ar k i n t he w or l d is t he p r od uc t o f

i m ag i na t i on ( S m i t h 181 - 183 ) .

T h i s e s sen t i a l l y s e l f - des t r uc t i ve cha r ac t e r o f t he Rom an t i c i m ag i na -

t i on , a s p r e sen t ed by Haz l i t t , h e l p s t o exp l a i n t he k i nd o f r e spons i b i l i t y

a t t r i b u t e d t o A u b r e y fo r h i s o w n m e n t a l b r e a k d o w n t o w a r d t h e e n d o f t h e

na r ra t iv e . Haz l i t t 's des cr ip t ion o f the ima gin a t io n as seek ing it s ow n "s t im -u l a t i o n " d r a w s o n th e m e d i c a l m o d e l , k n o w n a s B r u n o n i o n i s m , p u t f o r -

war d by t he phys i c i an John Br own and h i s f o l l ower s t owar d t he end o f t he

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2 3 0 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y . A c c o r d i n g t o B r o w n , a ll m e d i c a l s y m p t o m s a n d t r e a t -

m e n t s c o u l d b e r e d u c e d t o t h e s i n g l e d i m e n s i o n o f u n d e r - o r o v e r s t i m u -

la t ion o f the o rg ans . A l tho ug h th i s m igh t seem to s im pl i fy m edic a l p rac t i ce

r a d ic a l ly , t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n u n d e r - a n d o v e r s t i m u l a t i o n w a s , i n

Brow n ' s v iew, no t easy to d raw, s ince b o t h c on d i t io ns m igh t p res en t exac t ly

t h e s a m e s y m p t o m s : o v e r s t i m u l a t i o n w e a k e n e d t h e o r g a n s , m a k i n g t h e m

unr e spo ns i v e t o m i l de r s t i m u l i , bu t c r ea t i ng a nee d f o r f u r t h e r s t i m u l a -

t ion , a s t a te k n o w n as " i r r i t ab i l i ty . "2 9

A s a d o c t o r t r a i n e d i n E d i n b u r g h , t h e c e n t e r o f t h e B r u n o n i a n m o v e -

m en t , P o l i do r i w ou l d ce r t a i n l y have be en f am i l i a r w i t h it s m ed i ca l m od e l

o f " s t i m u l a t i o n . " T h e B r u n o n i a n m o d e l m a k e s an a p p e a r a n c e i n P o l i d o r i' s

na r r a t i ve w he n t he "d r ead f u l l y v i c i ous " na t u r e o f L o r d R u t hv en ' s cha r ac -

ter i s revealed:

I t h a d b e e n d i s c o v e r e d , t h a t h i s c o n t e m p t f o r t h e a d u l t r e s s h a d n o t o r i g i -

n a t e d i n h a t r e d o f h e r c h a r a c t e r ; b u t th a t h e h a d r e q u i r e d , t o e n h a n c e h i s

g r a t i f i c a t i o n , t h a t h i s v i c t i m , t h e p a r t n e r o f h i s g u i l t , s h o u l d b e h u r l e d

f r o m t h e p i n n a c l e o f u n s u l l i e d v i r t u e , d o w n t o t h e l o w e s t a b y s s o f i n f a m y

a n d d e g r a d a t i o n : i n fin e, t h a t a ll t h o s e f e m a l e s w h o m h e h a d s o u g h t , a p p a r -

e n t l y o n a c c o u n t o f t h e i r v i r t u e , h a d , s i n c e h i s d e p a r t u r e , t h r o w n e v e n t h e

m a s k a s i d e , a n d h a d n o t s c r u p l e d t o e x p o s e t h e w h o l e d e f o r m i t y o f t h e i r

v i ce s t o t he pub l i c gaze [Po l ido r i 112 ] .

Lord Ruthven i s "v ic ious" no t on ly in the mora l sense , bu t a l so in h i s per -

ve rse t a s t e f o r b r i n g i n g abo u t t he m or a l deg r ada t i on o f o t he r s . I n a m a n -

ne r t ha t r ecal ls Ha z l i t t 's de sc r i p t i on o f t j ie i m ag i na t i on , R u t h ve n seeks the

m a x i m u m e ff ec t o f c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n h i s p a r t n e r ' s p r e v i o u s l y u n s u l l i e dsta te an d her m or al fa l l , to add som e sadis t ic re l ish to se du ct io n. The ap pa r-

en t l y blase a t t i t u de by w h i c h Ru t hv en i s cha r ac t e r i zed a t t he be g i n n i n g o f

t h e n a r r a t i v e a c c o r d s w i t h t h e B r u n o n i a n m o d e l o f o v e r s t i m u l a t i o n :

Ruthven i s in a s t a te o f mora l " i r r i t ab i l i ty , " in which he i s insens ib le to

n o r m a l s t i m u l a t i o n , b u t c r a v e s t h e p i q u a n c y of a c ti v e d e p r a v i t y . B u t

R u t hv en ' s i m a g i na t i ve e n j oy m en t o f co n t r a s t is a l so ou r s , a s r eade r s of

P o l i d o r i ' s r a t h e r m e l o d r a m a t i c n a r r a t i v e , a n d t h e s a m e B r u n o n i a n d i a g -nos i s m i gh t be app l i ed t o ou r i n t e r e s t in P o l i do r i 's sup e r n a t u r a l t a l e : dea d -

ened t o eve r yd ay in t e r e s t s , we seek ou t t he s t i m u l a t i on p r o v i d ed by h o r r o r

(Pol idor i 108) .

I n e a r l y - n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y m e d i c a l w r i t i n g , t h e B r u n o n i a n c o n c e p t

o f o v e r s t i m u l a t i o n w a s f r e q u e n t l y u s e d a s a n e x p l a n a t i o n f o r m e n t a l

d e r a n g e m e n t , a n d , i n p a r t i c u l a r , f o r m o n o m a n i a . P o l id o r i 's d e s c r i p t i o n o f

t he p r ocess by wh i ch Aubr ey l o se s h i s s an i t y a l l udes t o t he Br unon i anm o d e l :

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 3 1

H e p a c e d t h e r o o m w i t h h u r r i e d s t e p s , a n d fixed h i s h a n d s u p o n h i s

h e a d , a s if h i s t h o u g h t s w e r e b u r s t i n g f r o m h i s b r a i n . L o r d R u t h v e n a g a i n

b e f o r e h i m — c i r c u m s t a n c e s s t a r t e d u p i n d r e a d f u l a r r a y — t h e d a g g e r —

h i s o a t h . . . .

A u b r e y b e c a m e a l m o s t d i s t r a c t e d . If b e f o r e h i s m i n d h a d b e e n a b s o r b e d

b y o n e s u b j e c t , h o w m u c h m o r e c o m p l e t e l y w a s i t e n g r o s s e d , n o w t h a t t h e

c e r t a i n t y o f t h e m o n s t e r ' s l i v i n g a g a i n p r e s s e d u p h i s t h o u g h t s . . . . A t l a s t ,

n o l o n g e r c a p a b l e o f b e a r i n g s t i l l n e s s a n d s o l i t u d e , h e l e f t h i s h o u s e ,

r o a m e d f r o m s t r e e t t o s t r e e t , a n x i o u s t o f ly t h a t i m a g e w h i c h h a u n t e d

h i m . . . . H i s s i s te r , a n x i o u s fo r h i s s a fe t y , e m p l o y e d p e o p l e t o f o l l o w h i m ;

b u t t h e y w e r e s o o n d i s t a n c e d b y h i m w h o fled f r o m a p u r s u e r s w i f t e r t h a n

a n y — f r o m t h o u g h t . . . .

T h e y e n g a g e d a p h y s i c i a n t o r e s i d e i n th e h o u s e , a n d t a k e c o n s t a n t c a r eo f h i m . H e h a r d l y a p p e a r e d t o n o t i c e i t , s o c o m p l e t e l y w a s h i s m i n d

a b s o r b e d b y o n e t e r r i b l e s u b j e c t . . . . H e w o u l d o f t e n l ie f o r d a y s , i n c a p a b l e

o f b e i n g r o u s e d [ P o l i d o r i 1 2 1 - 2 3 ] .

T h e t h o u g h t o f L o r d R u t h v e n b e c o m e s a n o b s e s s i o n t h a t A u b r e y i s p o w -

er less to con t ro l , even tua l ly l ead ing to s t a te o f comple te to rpor . Th i s par -

a ll el s c o n t e m p o r a r y d e s c r i p t i o n s o f m a d n e s s as a c o n d i t i o n o f m e n t a l

" i r r i t ab i l i t y , " b r ough t abou t by excess i ve s t i m u l a t i on o f pa r t i cu l a r l oca -

t i ons i n t he b r a i n t h r ough t oo g r ea t a p r eoccupa t i on w i t h a l i m i t ed r ange

o f i d e a s ( a c o n d i t i o n t o w h i c h w r i t e r s w e r e t h o u g h t e x t r e m e l y l i a b l e ) .

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e B r u n o n i a n m o d e l , t h i s m e n t a l o v e r s t i m u l a t i o n l e a d s t o

obses s i on , because i t s i m u l t aneous l y m akes t he b r a i n i n sens i b l e t o no r -

m al s t imul i (hen ce A ub rey is finally " inc apa b le o f be ing rou se d" ) an d l eads

t o a qu as i - p hy s i ca l need f o r m or e o f t he sam e k i nd o f s t i m u l a t i o n . T he

B r u n o n i a n d e s c r i p t i o n o f o v e r s t i m u l a t i o n f u r n i s h e s a n e a r ly m o d e l f o r th e

p h e n o m e n o n o f a d d i c t i o n , s o t h a t A u b r e y ' s c o n d i t i o n c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d

as t ha t o f a ho r r o r j unk i e .3 0

Aubrey ' s f ina l s t a te para l l e l s the k ind o f menta l enerva t ion tha t was

o f t en i n t he ea r l y n i ne t een t h cen t u r y sa i d t o be t he r e su l t o f excess i ve

nove l r ead i ng . L o r d Ru t hven ' s vam p i r i c i n f l uence ove r Aubr ey can t hus be

i den t i f i ed w i t h t he va m pi r i c d r a i n i ng o f t he r eade r ' s m en t a l s t r eng t h byt he sensa t i ona l t ex t . T he "ho r r o r " o f t he end o f P o l i do r i ' s na r r a t i ve r ep -

r e sen t s a co l lapse of t he b ou n d a r y be t wee n r eade r and t ex t : Au br ey ' s r e duc -

t ion to a cond i t ion o f pass iv i ty i s a l so tha t o f the r eader . But as Haz l i t t ' s

accoun t o f t he i m ag i na t i on m akes c l ea r , t h i s pa s s i ve cond i t i on , i n wh i ch

t he m a x i m u m o f s ens a t i on is c r av ed , f u r n i s he s t he ch i e f su pp o r t f o r a r i s -

tocra t i c au thor i ty , and cons t i tu tes the se l f - abnega t ion o f the midd le c lass .31

T he ho r r o r o f P o l i do r i ' s Go t h i c na r r a t i ve t hus cons i s t s u l t i m a t e l y i nt he r eve l a t i on o f a m a t e r i a l i t y t ha t , i n t he dua l i s t i c C o m m o n S ense p h i l o -

soph i ca l pos i t i on t o wh i ch P o l i do r i s eem s t o have subsc r i bed , i s conce i ved

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2 3 2 Part III: Dark Master, Dark Slave

o f a s f u n d a m e n t a l l y a l ie n t o t h e h u m a n m i n d . T h i s is t r u e a t a n u m b e r o f

l eve l s wi th in the t ex t . At the themat ic l eve l , the "a r i s tocra t i c inscru tab i l -

i t y " o f Ru t hven de r i ves i t s Go t h i c uncann i ness f r om i t s pu r e ex t e r na l i t y :

R u t hv en ' s va m p i r i c s t a t u s a s t he G o t h i c O t h e r is sho w n by t he shee r m a t e -

r i a l i ty o f h i s gaze , which i s no t on ly impene t rab le by the perce iv ing eyeb u t w h i c h , u n c a n n i l y , r e m a i n s outside what i t r eg i s t e r s and "weighs upon

t h e s k i n . " R u t h v e n r e m a i n s w h o l l y u n k n o w a b l e , i n t h e w a y t h a t m a t t e r

its elf w a s u n k n o w a b l e w i t h i n t h e C o m m o n S e n se p h i l o s o p h y o f R e i d a n d

Stewar t . 1 2

Rut hven seem s t o pas s t h i s m a t e r i a l i t y on by con t ag i on , and i t i s i n

t h i s t ha t h i s vam p i r i c co r r up t i on cons i s t s . No t on l y does he conve r t t he

express ive I a n th e in to a co rps e , bu t he r evea l s the f l eshy f r a i l ty o f A ubre y ' s

s i s t e r , and , t h r ough h i s appea l t o t he i m ag i na t i on , ends up by m a t e r i a l i z -

i ng Aubr ey ' s ve r y m i nd , s i nce t he i m ag i na t i on was an e s sen t i a l l y m a t e r -

ia l f acu l t y i n t he C o m m o n S ense ph i l o sop h i ca l pos i t i o n . T h e final h o r r o r

of A ub rey ' s po s i t io n i s tha t he r ea l izes the ma ter ia l i t y o f h i s ow n m en ta l

p r o c e s s e s i n t h e c o n d i t i o n o f m a d n e s s , w h i c h B r u n o n i a n m e n t a l p h y s i o l -

ogy de f i ned i n t he m a t e r i a l t e r m s o f t he i r r i t ab i l i t y o f m en t a l t i s sue ; t he

cu l m i na t i on o f t h i s m a t e r i a l i z a t i on o f A ubr e y ' s m i n d i s h i s dea t h f r o m a

b r a i n h e m o r r h a g e w h e n R u t h v e n w h i s p e r s t o h i m t h e n e w s o f h i s s i s t e r ' s

" f r a i l ty . " I n t he t e r m s o f C o m m o n S ense ph i l o so phy , w h i ch de f i ned t he

m i nd a s e s sen t i a l l y i m m at e r i a l , t h i s de scen t i n t o a cond i t i on o f m a t e r i a l -

i ty is a t r a n s g r e s s i o n o f t h e b o u n d a r y n o t o n l y b e t w e e n m i d d l e - c l a s s

i nw ar d nes s an d a r i s t oc r a t i c supe r f i c ia l it y , bu t be t w een self an d t he u l t i -

m a t e O t he r , m a t t e r i t s e l f . Bu t , a s I have been a r gu i ng , t h i s ho r r i f i c con -

d i t ion in which con sc iou snes s is co nf ro n t ed w i th i ts ow n m ater ia l i ty is a l so ,

impl ic i t ly , tha t o f the r eader o f Po l idor i ' s t ex t , bo th in the search fo r the

excess ive s t im ula t io n o f sen sa t ion a l f ic tion a nd in the im m er s io n w i th in

w ha t C o m m o n S ense ph i l o sop hy r ega r ded as t he e s sen t ia ll y m a t e r i a l na t u r e

of t ex tua l i ty .

Notes

1 . For example , Ken Gelder , Reading the Vampire (London : Rou t l edge , 1994 ) , 31 .

2 . John Po l ido r i , " The Vampyre , " i n Vam pyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula, ed .

C hr i s t op he r Fray l ing (L on do n: Faber an d Fab er , 1991), 108 , 111; Ch ar les N od ier , Lord

Ruthven ou les Vam pires (Pa r is : Lad vo cat , 1820, fac . ed. M arse i l le : L aff i t te , 1978) , 14-16.

3 . C hr i s to ph er Fray l ing , ed . , Vam pyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula (London : Fabe r

and Faber , 1991) , 5-6.

4 . Eve Ko sofsky Sedg wick , The Coherence of Gothic C onventions ( L o n d o n a n d N e w

York : Me thuen , 1986 ) , passim.

5 . W i l li a m H u g h e s , " F i c t i o n a l V a m p i r e s i n t h e N i n e t e e n t h a n d T w e n t i e t h C e n -

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11. "The Vampyre" (BUDGE) 2 3 3

t u r i e s , " i n A Companion to the Gothic, e d . D a v i d P u n t e r ( O x f o r d : B l a ck w e l l, 2 0 0 0 ) ,

148.

6 . See E ve K o s of s k y Se d gw ic k , Epistemology of the Closet ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h : P e n -

gu in , 1994) , 34 on t he c om pl i c i t y o f t he na r r a to r i a l vo i c e w i th t he r e a de r ; s e e a l s o

R o l a n d B a r t h e s , S/Z, t r a n s . R ich a rd M i l le r (O x fo rd : B lackw el l , 1990) , 151. Ba lzac 's Sar-

rasine i t s e l f c ou ld be r e a d a s a pa r a b l e o f c l a s s , t hough t h i s i s a pe r s pe c t i ve w h ic hB a r t h e s c h o o s e s t o u n d e r p l a y .

7. D o n a l d H . R e i m a n , The Romantics Reviewed: Contemporary Reviews of British

Rom antic Writing: Pa rt B, Byron and Regency Society Poets, vo l . 2 ( N e w Y or k a nd L on-

d o n : G a r l a n d , 1 9 7 2 ) , 7 5 9 .

8 . H . L . M a n s e l , " S e n s a t i o n N o v e l s , " Quarterly Review 113 ( 1 8 6 3 ) : 4 8 2 - 4 8 3 ,

4 8 5 - 4 8 6 ; E . S . T u r n e r , Boys Will Be Boys ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h : P e n g u i n , 19 7 6) , 112.

9 . C o l e r i d g e , Biographia Literaria r e f . ; s e e J o h n A b e r c r o m b i e , Inquiries Concern-

ing the Intellectual Pow ers, 7 t h e d . ( E d i n b u r g h , 1 8 3 3) ; D . L . M a c d o n a l d , Poor Polidori:

A Critical Biography of the Author of "The Vam pyre" ( T o r o n t o : U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r o n t o

Press, 1991), 15-17, 154.

10. Fo r a ge n e r a l a c c ou n t o f t he C o m m o n Se ns e s c h oo l , s e e S . A . G r a ve , The Scot-

tish Philosophy of Comm on Sense ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n P r e s s, 1 9 6 0 ); J a m e s B o s w e l l,

Bosw ell's Life of Johnson, e d . G . B . H i l l , r e v . L . F . Pow e l l , 6 vo l s . ( O xf o r d : C l a r e n do n

Press , 1934) , vol . 1 , 471.

1 1. T h o m a s R e i d , Works, e d . W i l l i a m H a m i l t o n , 7 t h ed . , 2 v o l s . ( E d i n b u r g h , 1 8 7 2 ),

229 , 202 , 472 .

12 . Jam es Be a t t i e , An Essay on the Nature and Imm utability of Truth, 6 t h e d . ( E d i n -burgh , 1777) , 129-130, 395 , see a l so 307 & 135, 473 .

13 . W. Forbes , An Accoun t of the Life and Writings of fames Beattie L L D , 2 vo l s .

( E d i nb ur gh , 1806) , vo l . 1, 171 ,131-132 .

1 4. D a v i d H u m e , A Treatise of Human Nature, ed s . L . H . Se lby -Bigge an d P. H . N id -

d i t c h ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n P r es s , 1 9 78 ), 2 7 2 ; E r n e s t C a m p b e l l M o s s n e r , The Life of

David Hume, 2 n d e d . ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n P r e ss , 1 9 80 ), 2 0 5 - 2 0 8 ; An Oxford Compan-

ion to the Rom antic Age, e d . I a i n M c C a l m a n ( O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 9 9 ) , " B e a t -

t i e , " 418 , "R e id , " 672 , 164; M a c do na ld 4 3 - 4 6 , 53 .

15. The Poor Law Report of1834, e d . S . G . a n d E . O . A . C h e c k l a n d ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h :

Pe ngu in , 1974) , 167 - 179 .

1 6. D a v i d H u m e , Enquiries Concerning Hum an Understanding and Concerning the

Principles of Mora ls, e ds . L . H . Se lby - B igge a n d P. H . N id d i t c h , 3 r d e d . ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n -

don P r e s s , 1975) , 270 - 271 .

17. Re id , 58 0- 58 6; see G old sm i th ' s des c r ip t ion of the Ma n in Black in "Th e Ci t i zen of

th e W or ld ," c ha ps . 26 8c 27, in Works, e d . D . M a s s on ( L o nd on : M a c m i l l a n , 1874), 125 -129 .

18. The Mirror, n o . 3 5 , 1 0 t h e d . ( L o n d o n , 1 7 9 4) , 2 5 7 - 2 6 2 .

19 . L or d B yr on , "T he G ia our , " i n Complete Poetical Works, e d . J e r o m e J . M c G a n n ,7 v o l s . ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n P r e ss , 1 9 8 0 - 1 9 9 3 ) , v o l . 3 , 5 5 l i n e s, 4 7 3 - 4 7 6 .

2 0 . P o l i d o r i q u o t e d i n G e l d e r , 3 3 .

2 1 . T h e o d o r e R e d p a t h , The Young Rom antics and Critical Opinion, 1807-1824 ( L o n -

don, 1973) , 102 .

2 2 . R e i d , 2 0 2 , 2 3 5 , 4 7 2 - 4 7 4 , 5 3 7 ; D u g a l d S t e w a r t , Elem ents of the Philosophy of the

Human Mind, in Works, e d . W i l li a m H a m i l t o n , 11 v o l s . ( E d i n b u r g h : C o n s t a b l e , 1 8 5 4 ) ,

v o l . 2 , 5 3 - 5 4 .

2 3 . O l i v er G o l d s m i t h , The Present State of Polite Learning, in Works, e d . D . M a s s o n

( L o n d o n : M a c m i l l a n , 1 8 7 4 ) , 4 4 2 - 4 4 3 .

24 . W a l t e r Sc o t t , Wa verley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since, e d . C l a i r e L a m o n t ( O x f o r d :

O xf o r d U n ive r s i t y P r e s s , 1986) , 12 .

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2 3 4 Part III: Da rk M aster , Da rk Slave

25 . O n the exp lo i ta t ion of on to log ica l d i sc on t in u i ty in f ic tion, see Br ian M cH ale ,

Postmodernist Fiction (London and New York : Rou t l edge , 1987 ) , 7 -11 .

26 . Bar the s , 51; Ch ar les Bau de la i re , "Au lec te ur" in The Flowers of Evil, ed . Jona than

Cu l l e r , t r ans . J ames McGowran (Oxfo rd : Oxfo rd Un ive r s i t y P re s s , 1993 ) , 6 , l i ne 40 ;

Scot t , 250 .

27. A da m Sm i th , The T heory of Mo ral Sentiments, ed. D. L. Raphael and A. L. Macfie(O xfo rd : C l a r e nd on P re s s, 1976 ), 10, 27 -2 9 .

28 . W i l l i am Care w Haz l i t t , Works, ed . P. P. H ow e, 21 vo ls . (L on do n an d N ew York :

D en t an d D u t to n , 1930), vo l . 4 , 214; vo l . 19, 255 -25 6 .

29 . C hr i s to ph e r Law rence , " C u l l en , B ro wn and the Pove r ty o f Es se n t i a l i sm ," i n

Brunonianism in Britain and Europe, eds . W. F . Bynum and Roy Po r t e r , Medical His-

tory, Sup p lem en t no . 8 (1988 ): 6 ; M ichae l Ba r fo o t , " B run on ian i sm un de r t he Bed : An

Al t e rna t i ve t o Un ive r s i t y Med ic ine i n Ed inbu rgh in t he 1780s , " i b id . , 36 -37 ; Guen te r

B . R i s se , " Bru no n ian Th e rap eu t i c s : Ne w W ine i n O ld Bo t t l e s? " ib id . , 46 , 48 .

3 0 . S ee A l e x a n d e r C r i c h t o n , An Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Mental

Derangement, 2 vo ls . (Lo nd on : Cade l l and Dav ies , 1798) , 29 -3 3 ; Risse , 46 .

31 . See B. L . K „ " Im ag ina t io n ," The Mo nthly Packet 1 (2nd s e r i e s ) , ( 1866 ) : 472 -473 .

3 2 . T h e r e v is i o ni s t C o m m o n S e ns e p h i l o s o p h e r T h o m a s B r o w n d r a w s a t t e n t i o n t o

the way in wh ich m a t t e r r em a in s e ssen t ia l ly un kn ow ab le and func t ion l e s s i n Re id 's

adap ta t i on o f Be rke l ey ' s ph i lo sophy , Inquiry into the Relations of Cause and Effect, 3 rd

ed . (Ed inbu rgh : Cons t ab l e , 1818 ) , 107 -125 .

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