Many people have discussed the comparable presence of third wave feminism in Buffy and “Carmilla”, but I would like to use my blog space to explore a different shared similarity between the texts: the presence of tension between Ampata and Carmilla’s survival needs and their desire to be young women.
Both Ampata and Carmilla struggle with maintaining their lives as monsters while functioning in society as girls with typical teenage desires. Ampata says at the beginning of the episode, “You must teach me everything about your life. I want to fit in, Buffy. Just like you. A normal life.” This wish for normalcy is in constant opposition with her requirements for survival, which involve sucking the life force out of humans through a kiss. Similarly, Carmilla agonizes between wanting to be Laura’s friend and having to suck her blood to stay alive.
The portrayal of this tension between their supernatural and human qualities enables the audience to feel empathy for them. As Byers says, “they are slayers, demons, and witches after all – and yet they are ‘normal’ too[1].” This normalcy highlights Ampata and Carmilla’s goodness and their mortal humanity. Moreover, because Ampata and Carmilla were changed into monsters against their own will, the audience empathizes with them even more. Their helpless victimization is the source of this internal tension, and because they did not wish to be “chosen,” their human desires seem to resonate more strongly than their supernatural needs (even when their requirements for survival eventually take priority.)
In addition to this important result of creating empathy in the audience, the depiction of tension raises a provocative question: what is a monster made of? In these two texts we are forced to see that monsters are more than just soulless killers. They are creatures who once lived as innocent youthful humans; and this humanity, regardless of the extent to which it is distorted in their monster forms, is still present in them.
[1] Byers, Michele. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Next Generation of Television." Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century. (2003): 173. Print.
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