Mia James- By Midnight
It was interesting to finally find vampire fiction by a British author, in the form of Mia James. Her narrative takes place within modern day London, something which breaks away from the theme of isolation shown in similar American novels, such as Twilight or TrueBlood.
Her protagonist, April Dunne, appears to display more female agency than her American predecessors; she is attacked frequently by male ‘villains’ but appears to initiate her own escape. In one instance she is attacked by an unknown force in the graveyard, but she eventually needs assistance from the ‘hero’, Gabriel, in order to escape, even if his role is only to tell her to run.
Overall Mia James appears to conform to female protagonist stereotypes often seen within the vampire genre, however she is also showing how she is ready to put a step forward towards a different kind of feminine representation.
The vampire genre?
Visiting whsmiths in Blackpool would allow you to see a new section they have put in: ‘Books with bite’. Does this show how vampire literature is moving away from the supernatural and gothic genres to form its own sub-genre?
The representations of females within the supernatural genre can be traced right back to Cinderella. She requires a supernatural aide, in the form of her fairy godmother, who allows her to gain the attention of the Prince, who can then rescue her from her step family.
Has the representation of women changed with the supernatural genre?
This was the question I was asking myself whilst re-reading Twilight recently. Don’t get me wrong this is one of my favorite books of all time, but Bella Swan does bear a striking character resemblance to Emily St Aubert in Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho.Both women appear to be confined and over-shadowed by powerful male characters, and despite both women being the protagonist of their respective novels, they are not actually classed as the ‘hero’, for example Emily still needs Valencourt to rescue her from Count Montoni and Bella still needs Edward to rescue her from James. In this way the male characters are still viewed as the most powerful and the female character still requires rescuing from an evil, and still more powerful, male character.
It seems that female protagonists have only had a break through within other forms of communication, such as the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy is stronger than all the male characters and has a solo role in stopping that episode’s ‘evil’. Buffy still has romantic interests in the forms of Angel, Riley and Spike, but she is reliant on them for emotional support rather than the physical support of her predecessors within the genre.
