The Necessity of Suffering: An Exploration of Louis from Anne Rice's Novel Interview with the Vampire
BY: DAVID B. GOURGUES
Life is suffering." This is the first of the Four Noble Truths which were taught by the Indian philosopher Buddha. This is the greatest truth because only when we see this truth can we transcend it. Once we accept that life is difficult and that suffering exists; can we live life fruitfully? Because when we accept suffering, the suffering no longer matters. I first came across this idea in the book The Road Less Traveled by Dr. M. Scott Peck in my first year of college; one that was filled with despair and lacking any type of fulfillment. Now, four years later, this semester, cured of the evils from the idea of suffering, I read for the first time Anne Rice's extraordinary novel, Interview With The Vampire. In this novel, the reader is introduced to the vampire Louis and his constant quest to capture the answers to the meaning of his dark and tragic life as a creature of morbid existence. But instead of accepting his plight, Louis decides to reject it as often as possible, thus creating his path through life more strenuous and less accessible.
One of the parallels that I found in Interview With The Vampire that relates to the idea of suffering is the state of mind that Louis succumbs to throughout the novel. On page 73, Louis says, "Am I dammed? Am I from the devil? Is my very nature that of a devil?...I stood in an empty desolate street and heard the sound of a child crying." Through this immensely powerful image of an "empty desolate street", one can clearly see the importance and feelings of suffering. What sucks Louis farther into despair is his thoughts that he is dammed and from the devil and not a creature who is suffering because it is the nature of all existence. If Louis would just except the consequences of his becoming a vampire as a necessary part of his life, then the suffering that comes along with it would be more acceptable. But this, of course, is one of the major obstacles that Louis, others and I am constantly running head on with. On page 84 of the novel, Lestat, upon killing a young female that he has seduced in their apartment, turns to Louis and screams, "Vampires are killers! Predators." While Lestat has told Louis the very truth of all vampires, it is Louis who rejects these words by saying, "That is how you see it!" Again, Louis not only questions the suffering that has overtaken him, but he also doubts the very fact of what he has become.
So is there a concrete answer to all of this? Perhaps. While at first I thought that Louis may feel that he became a vampire as punishment for his brother's death, I later realized that Louis had no idea why he became a vampire. He had not committed any grave crime or sin against God; so why was Louis subjected to this life of suffering? To prove this question, I decided to examine one of the Poetical Books of the Old Testament, The Book of Job. The Book of Job, which is also appropriately known as the Book of Suffering, deals with the ageless human question: the affliction of suffering upon the righteous of the human race. In this book, God allows his servant Job to be struck down and engendered to constant suffering by the devil in order to prove Job's loyalty even in times of misfortune. Overall, though, the book's principal aim is to refute the view that suffering is only intended for those who have sinned against God. If Louis would read The Book of Job, perhaps he would venture to accept the crisis he is in as an act of God and not a punishment for a crime. Louis has not become a vampire because he is guilty of any sin he committed. Louis becomes a vampire because the suffering that he goes through in the process is necessary for him to fulfill his role on the earth.
To explore this even farther, I feel I must explain why Louis suffered so much in this novel. Rice constantly provides the reader with hints of Louis's pain in brief but to-the-point statements. On page 87, Louis says, "My agony was unbearable." We know from this sentence that Louis is suffering, that Louis feels despair, that Louis is reaching for something that we all want to accept but cannot: that suffering is a necessity. A few lines down on the same page, we see the first evidence that Louis is starting to accept his life as a vampire. He says, "I knew peace only when I killed, only for that minute." Though this revelation is important to Louis now, he will continue to neglect it as the book continues.
As I examine it more closely in my mind, I cannot help but recall one of the lectures from this class. The most pertinent thing that I have heard this semester was Dr. Jones' talk on the evolution of a person into a higher innocence. She mentioned that the only way for one to achieve this "higher innocence" is for them to no longer be terrified by their experiences. This is so true in the case of Louis. He is horrific in the fact that he is terrified of being a vampire. This experience totally degrades his very self - emotionally and physically. Not only is Louis's internal self-riddled with pain and suffering, but he also cannot hide himself from the rest of the world because of his outward appearance. The most compelling scene in this novel is when Louis enters the cathedral. Not only does this scene reveal the animosity that Louis has for God, but it reveals the most terrible part of suffering - loneliness. On page 145 Louis says, "I was the only super mortal thing that stood conscious under this roof! Loneliness! Loneliness to the point of madness." Even in the presence of the Lord, Louis still feels a great amount of suffering.
Finally, and perhaps the scariest part of the suffering process, one that I slave over day after day, is the idea of the body rotting in the ground with the suffering of loneliness turned into the possibility of nothingness. Louis does suffer. Yet he fears dying because there may not be anything "out there" to rescue him from his earthly state. The thought of himself having to live until the end of time scares Louis because he is not completely sure that Jesus will come for the Final Judgment. In other words, Louis is totally embedded in the earthly state of suffering. A state where for one to be completely satisfied with their own death, they must cease to suffer in their mortal life. This enables them to die peacefully. What Louis does not understand is that everyone suffers a certain amount and dies with that pain still lodged within their hearts, minds, and souls. God allows this to happen for his own divine purpose. I am not sure what that purpose is and neither is Louis. However, I do know that suffering allows one to become more understanding with the world around them. It allows one to experience the bad as well as the good. For without one, you cannot understand the other.
After reading Vampire and being shocked by its conclusion, I felt extremely sorry for Louis. After thinking that he had found his life's savior in Armand, Louis is even further devastated when the boy who has been interviewing him yearns to become a vampire. Louis is appalled that after pouring out his inner self to the youngster, he still does not understand the pain and suffering that Louis went through. This puzzles Louis a great deal, as it did me. But upon further investigation, I thought that the boy was curious in a positive aspect and wanted to experience the ultimate pain in life besides that of impending death - becoming a vampire. But this is not the case. Louis sums up his feelings on page 344as the boy tells him that he wants the opportunity to become a vampire. Louis says, "I've failed. I have completely failed."
Interview With The Vampire became a tragedy for me after Louis uttered these six words to the youngster. Not only did Louis fail to understand himself in his vampire state, neither did the perfect sign of human innocence, a young boy. As Louis walked down those desolate empty streets of New Orleans, so did I, walking side by side, step for step with a character from the literary pages of Anne Rice. But one thing separated me from Louis. Something so powerful that even though he towered over me physically, he was nothing more than a midget in my presence. I understood that to live life, suffering is necessary. Lestat did have a point when he told Louis to "act and don't think." But I disagree. Louis did not think deeply enough, but he tried. And in an imperfect world, where no one accepts the idea of suffering as belonging to them, just to others, Louis did a commendable job.
Written while attending Louisiana State University, circa 1991. Reproduced largely as originally written.