How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Most people are familiar with vampires in literature, but Foster argues that “actual vampires” are not even the scariest thing about this genre. Consider the character of Dracula, who is presented both in Bram Stoker’s novel (1897) and subsequent film versions as an immortal, evil, yet strangely attractive male figure who preys upon young, beautiful, innocent virgins. This dynamic shows that vampires are frightening not only because they are monstrous creatures, but also because they play on fears about sexuality. Vampirism is as much about “body shame and unwholesome lust,” seduction, temptation, selfishness, and exploitation as it is about actual bloodsucking bat-people.

Just as vampires symbolize more than monstrous horror, so too do ghosts and doppelgangers (doubles). Often, ghosts exist in order to convey a message or teach living characters a lesson—this is true of the ghosts in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1605) and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843). Doppelgangers, on the other hand, emphasize the idea that everyone has a dark side (think of the doubles in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)).

Dickens, Stoker, Stevenson—all these authors featured monstrous characters in their fiction, and all lived during the Victorian era. This is no coincidence, Foster claims. During Victorian times, explicit depiction of sexuality was forbidden in works of literature. As a result, authors developed covert techniques of portraying sex and sexual themes—methods that have survived in the present day. Consider the success of the “teen vampire” era, which began with Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire (1976) and achieved a climax of popularity with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight (2005). Although sex is generally considered less scandalous now than it was in the 19th century, authors still utilize vampires and other figures as ways of indirectly representing sexuality.

Foster concludes that “ghosts and vampires are never only about ghosts and vampires.” This is also true of other scary stories, even if these stories do not feature any fantastical figures. Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw (1898) features a governess who believes she is being haunted by ghosts. James makes it deliberately unclear whether the ghosts are real or if the governess is insane, or some combination of the two; yet no matter whether the ghosts are real, their presence in the narrative symbolizes the same themes of madness, neglect, and claustrophobic love.

Foster turns to another work by Henry James, the novella Daisy Miller (1878). Unlike The Turn of the Screw, this story doesn’t feature any ghosts or ghouls. However, when the independent female protagonist contracts malaria and dies, Foster argues that it is actually a vampire that kills her. Foster explains that Winterbourne, the man Daisy loves, is a vampiric character; while he represents coldness, evil, and death, Daisy symbolizes innocence, youth, and life. “Daisy Miller” is a realist story and thus contains no monstrous creatures but, as Foster explains, “you don’t need fangs and a cape to be a vampire.”

Henry James is one of many Victorian writers who use ghoulish figures in order to depict psychosocial disturbance. Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, and J. S. Le Fanu were all influenced by the naturalist movement of the late 19th century, which explored the harsh, animalistic side of human nature. Meanwhile, 20th century writers such as Franz Kafka, Gabriel García Márquez, and Iris Murdoch depict the ways in which humans (metaphorically) devour one another through scheming, voyeurism, and exploitation. Although there are many books that also feature actual ghosts, vampires, and monsters, Foster argues that these tend to be less haunting than literature depicting the “horrors” of human psychology.