Hugging a Vampire

I’ve come to the conclusion that I must be a masochist. I don’t mean that I want to be beaten, but I can relate to the character of Severin in “Venus in Furs,” the model masochist, who is attracted to romantic situations that are no good for him. In the course of my masochistic adventures I once spit up the term, while considering a situation in which I got bit, so to speak, “It isn’t wise to hug a vampire.”

It seems obvious what the result would be of embracing a vampire. At the least you’d get bitten, and at the most you’d be drained of all life. Typically, the vampiress here has no reflection. The mirror reveals that he is essentially holding nothing. She is incapable of being present in any substantial manner, but he’s too idealistic to realize it, as he pulls to himself a monster who is ready to drain him.

 

Return to "Hugging a Vampire."

 

(Paintings featuring revealing mirrored reflections are "Conversion," "Narcissist," "Her Ghost," "Hugging a Vampire," "Villana," and "Dog Fight.")