As I was watching Living Conditions I could not help but notice how similar the two were. The most striking similarity to me was the true dreams. Both Laura and Buffy dream that terrible things are being done to them, but when they wake up, they believe they were simply dreaming. Both Carmilla and Kathy also claim to suffer the same nightmares as Laura and Buffy, making them seem like victims as well. Although Buffy and Laura know that something is off about their new roommates, they do not really understand. It is only when the danger becomes imminent and the vampire and glowing-eyed creature are near to succeeding that Laura and Buffy are finally made aware that their dreams were reality. The needles that Laura feels are actually Carmilla’s fangs as she tried to drain Laura of blood. The animal blood and scorpions are part of a ritual that Kathy was using to suck out Buffy’s soul. It is awful to think that what seems like nightmares are actually reality and that because of their claim of innocence, Carmilla and Kathy could have succeeded in killing Laura and Buffy.
wonderful parallels here! and a good example of the kind of bait-and-switch that gothic literature is quite adept at.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching “Living Conditions”, I was also struck by the horror of realizing things of a sinister nature were being done to Buffy while she was asleep and completely unaware. Buffy believed she was simply having a nightmare, a regular occurrence for her, and thought nothing of protecting herself against this creature of the night who was out to steal her soul. This idea of “sucking” also reminded me of the gothic and folklore nature of the incubus and succubus. These creatures would feed off of innocent humans while they slept and drained them of life energy, blood, etc. Kathy, along with these other creatures, only thought of her own well being and survival instead of the moral question of whether or not it is right to take things from unconscious, innocent people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura been very innocence making her a sheep living with a wolf. However, Buffy is far from a sheep. She is an experienced Vampire Slayer which is demonstrated from her heighten awareness of the surrounding and her skilled combat ability. Although both Laura and Buffy felt their companion been weird, the suspicion from Laura is a naive one, whereas, Buffy, due to her numerous encounters with demons, has a strong sense of
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