Carmilla - vol. 1 of the Undead yarn & book club
Carmilla is an eerie midnight castle of a color. Deep violet hues layered over stone gray with mossy bits were inspired by the dreadful schloss, or castle, in Styria where the story takes place. Ruins and nightmares are common in the book, and echoed in this moody dark colorway.
Carmilla (1872) preceded Dracula, and is an atmospheric and moody lesbian vampire love story. As is the issue with a lot of classics and Victorian norms, we have lots of toxic masculinity and sexual repression fueled by oppressive religiousness. Carmilla is presented as a monstrous character with villainous urges and her sexuality becomes part of her villainy, though there is definitely attraction between Laura and Carmilla. If your library has the Carmen Maria Machado edition I highly recommend - she expertly tears apart the stereotypes and issues in the original text and gives life to Laura and Carmilla and their relationship (and also digs up some archival dirt to reveal where Le Fanu “borrowed” the idea for his story in the first place).
The next Undead sign ups go live September 11, 2022 at 2PM Eastern; any guesses on what classic vampire title is next? (hint: once again for yarn club, I select titles that are all public domain, easily accessible titles so that you don't need to buy a book in addition to buying yarn!)
AND: There will be one virtual discussion this fall, possibly one in-person in Pittsburgh if interest warrants - Zoom fatigue is real and I want to keep this fun 🤗