Mothering Desires in LeFanu’s “Carmilla”
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document in english
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date published 17/12/2007
 
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section Summary
 
 
William Veeder’s essay “Carmilla: The Arts of Repression”, claims that LeFanu’s “Carmilla” attempts to explain the two-sided nature of human life through what he describes as “dualisms.” He says that humans attempt to find the side of these dualisms they wish to identify with, while pushing away the opposing view. This pushing away is dubbed “repression.” He asserts that this repression is caused by isolation, and Veeder identifies the most important of these isolations Laura’s separation from women, specifically her mother: “Laura craves the mother whom death has denied her” (206). However, while Laura desires Carmilla to fill the void of her mother’s absence, Carmilla consciously manipulates those feelings to have Laura become her next victim. To do so, Carmilla must first organize a “plan of attack”, which begins with an information gathering stage.
 
 
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