Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Vampire Pun
Did anyone else like the pun "consumption of the blood" in "Luella Miller?" It was referring to a disease that causes the victim to become weak, but it's an interesting choice of words considering the context of the story. Do you think the author intentionally used this pun? "Consumption" was a common word, but usually it referred to tuberculosis. I looked it up. Originally it was used to describe any wasting disease, so it does fit here.
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Yeah, I can see that connection. She drains the life out of the people who help her just like a vampire drains the life out of its victims. Several of our stories have involved female vampire creatures, such as "The Blood is the Life" and "Berenice." Also, vampires are often depicted as being beautiful, like Luella. Since it never tells you exactly how she kills the people that help her, I don't think it's out of reason.
ReplyDeleteI thought about that too when I read it, I was like why consumption..
ReplyDeleteKent, Berenice is a "female vampire creature" only in the narrator's imagination, right?
ReplyDeleteCharlie, I also noticed the chosen word when reading this story. It did put a smirk on my face, intentional or not.
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