Carmilla: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

One evening, the son of the picture cleaner from Gratz arrives with cases of paintings. After eating dinner, Laura, her father, and the servants (other than Carmilla who sits back apathetically) crowd around as he unpacks the paintings, which are mostly old portraits that have been restored. The paintings have been sent to them by Laura’s mother’s family, and Laura’s father focuses on one painting, a portrait of a woman whom he believes is Marcia Karnstein, an aristocrat. The portrait is small, without a frame, and Laura is shocked to see that the woman in the portrait is identical to Carmilla down to the very last detail.

Laura comments on the striking resemblance, but Laura’s father appears fairly unimpressed and uninterested, continuing to talk with the son of the picture cleaner. Laura continues to gaze upon the portrait  in wonder, and she asks if she can hang it in her room. Carmilla, meanwhile, does not even acknowledge the portrait, merely smiling at Laura instead.

Upon closer examination, Laura and her father realize that they’re not looking at a portrait of Marcia Karnstein, but of Mircalla, Countess Karnstein. Carmilla reveals that she is descended from the Karnsteins and that there are no longer any living Karnsteins, although the ruins of their castle lie only about three miles away. Carmilla still appears fairly unenthusiastic, and she asks Laura if she wants to take a walk in the moonlight. Laura comments that the evening reminds her of the night Carmilla first came to them.

The two girls depart with their arms around each other’s waists. Carmilla asks Laura if she’s happy that she came to stay with them, and Laura tells her she’s delighted by her company. Carmilla draws her closer, happy that Laura asked to hang the portrait that resembles her in her room. Laura tells Carmilla that she is sure that Carmilla has been in love before from the way she speaks, and Carmilla tells her that she has never loved anyone but Laura. Carmilla says that she lives in Laura, and that Laura would die for her.

This scares Laura, who pushes herself off of Carmilla. Suddenly, Carmilla once more becomes apathetic and asks if she’s been dreaming. Laura tells Carmilla that she looks ill, and they return to the schloss. Laura worries that Carmilla has caught the illness that has been infecting the surrounding villages. This would upset her father greatly, who would immediately send for the physician. Carmilla insists that she is fine, that she is simply weak and incapable of much exertion. They pass the remainder of the evening talking, without any more of the incidents and behavior that frighten Laura.