This dissertation is a text analysis of the short novel Carmilla (1872) by the Irish ghost story-author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is a close reading analysis where I apply a queer theoretical perspective using Mia Franck’s model to analyze different silence practices in Carmilla. I focus on the female vampire Carmilla and her companion Laura and how they are portrayed in this short novel. I will ask the questions: do the characters Carmilla and Laura show a non-heterosexual relationship, passion and desire? How do they depart from the gender norm and can they be seen as characters who deviate from what society considers ‘normal’ behaviour? And can Carmilla and Laura’s relationship be seen as an example of silenced homosexuality and in what way is it expressed? Carmilla and Laura’s behaviour can certainly be described as queer and it is effective to examine the novella using silence practices through a queer perspective. Many of the practices are written silences. Mostly, its things that the reader realizes before the storyteller Laura does herself. They reveal numerous oddities in the story, taking the form of narrative, camouflaged, performative, ritualized and existential silences. Prominent examples are the way Carmilla hides both her vampiric and lesbian sides which Laura is repelled at in addition to her own lustful and passionate emotions. As a future teacher, one of my most important jobs will be to educate my pupils about democratic values and that all kinds of discrimination should be discouraged. An essay of this sort is one way to educate them in how gender and sexuality can be seen from historical, political and cultural perspectives.

Submitted by Fabiano Vassallo (fabianovassallo2127@gmail.com) on 2017-05-03T18:29:38Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Danilo - Mestrado.pdf: 4582767 bytes, checksum: e268d638f435833cc3b7d2e69a1ac790 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-05-29T16:56:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Danilo - Mestrado.pdf: 4582767 bytes, checksum: e268d638f435833cc3b7d2e69a1ac790 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-29T16:56:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Danilo - Mestrado.pdf: 4582767 bytes, checksum: e268d638f435833cc3b7d2e69a1ac790 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esse trabalho tem por objetivo analisar como os pensamentos religioso e científico se relacionam nos contos “O demônio familiar”, “Chá verde” e “Carmilla, a Vampira de Karnstein”, do autor irlandês Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, incluídos na coletânea In a Glass Darkly. Nessas narrativas, os representantes da fé e da razão são apresentados com enfoques distintos, o que permite observar as diferentes maneiras como Le Fanu aborda a religião e a ciência. Com base nessas leituras, procura-se observar se o autor dá mais credibilidade a algum desses ramos ou se ambos se mostram ineficazes perante os elementos sobrenaturais. Neste estudo também será levada em consideração a ambientação das narrativas e a quem pertence a voz narrativa de cada um dos relatos, que não permanecem as mesmas em todos os contos. Para fins teóricos, foram utilizados autores que estudaram o gênero do fantástico – Todorov e Roas – e do horror – Carroll / This work aims to analyze how the religious and scientific mentalities relate in “The Familiar”, “Green Tea” and “Carmilla”,short stories included in the collection In a Glass Darkly, written by the Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. In these short stories, the representatives of both faith and reason are presented in distinct perspectives, which makes it possible to observe Le Fanu’s different approaches to science and religion in these works. Based on these readings, there is an attempt to observe whether the author gives more credibility to any of these branches of thought or if both prove to be ineffective in dealing with the supernatural events. This study will also take into account the settings of these short stories and their narrative voices, which do not remain the same in all short stories considered here. Authors who worked with the fantastic genre – Todorov and Roas – and with horror – Carroll – provided the theoretical support for this dissertation

Devenu célèbre sous les traits de Dracula, le vampire est un monstre révélateur et résilient qui s'est fait archétype incontournable de la culture populaire et dont l'existence diégétique précède le roman de Bram Stoker. Du folklore à la fiction et de l'ombre à la lumière, son évolution est représentative des sociétés et des époques dans lequel il revient à la vie. A la fois transgressifs et normatifs, ses avatars jouent un rôle cathartique en incarnant le refus des lois humaines naturelles et divines, mais aussi la réitération de ces règles et la création de canons littéraires. Cette étude diachronique centrée sur "Carmilla" (1872), "Dracula" (1897) et les vampires d'Anne Rice démontre que leurs aventures invitent à réfléchir autant aux conséquances des fautes qu'à la validité des normes, à l'essence de la nature et des failles humaine et à la fonction libératrice des personnages de fiction et particulièrement des monstres. / Known to most as Dracula, the vampire is revealing and resilient monster whose diegetic existence predates Stoker's novel, and that has become a key figure of popular culture. From folklore to fiction and from shadow to ligjhte, its evolution is indicative of the times and societies in wich it return to life. Equally transgressive and normative, its avatars play a cathartic role aas they epitomize rejection of human, natural and divine laws, but also the reiteration of the rules and the creation of literary canons. This diachronic study focused on "Carmilla" (1872), "Dracula" (1897) and Anne Rice's vampires shows that their adventures induce reflection on both the consequences of wrongdoing and the validity of norms, on the essence of human nature and hubris, and the liberating fucntion of fictional characters, particulary monsters.