Carmilla: a mulher lésbica entre a transgressão e o castigo na era vitoriana

Abstract

In the present work, an analysis of Carmilla, a gothic fiction novel by Irish writer Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873), will be made. The approach to assist in the course of this text refers to a search to understand the dynamics of this work that represents a classic of the 19th century Gothic literature, the precursor of a thematic approach that considers relevant points about female sexuality and its multiple nuances, and how the female nature was linked to mysticism, in addition to addressing the history of vampires over the centuries and the construction of what it would become in contemporary times, when the myth takes on more notorious literary forms, such as Count Dracula. In this context, it is pertinent to say that the contextualization presented in the course of this text regarding the historical construction of the myth of the vampire, with singular characteristics often linked to the relationships between sexuality and monstrosity, has the intention of showing the way in which this narrative still infers nowadays the need for a more careful and accurate look at the issue of homosexuality, especially lesbianity. However, the timelessness of Le Fanu's narrative does not obscure specific points about female sexuality and the place of women in the Victorian era, when their struggle for rights before the patriarchy was just beginning.