Despite the fact that there seems to be no direct link between the works of Nikolai Gogol and those of Oscar Wilde, Gogol’s novella, Портрет (The Portrait) and Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, share many elements in common, most notably the device of the predatory portrait. This report explores the parallels that exist between these two texts and argues that they mutually derive from elements found in Goethe’s Faust and the trope of the literary vampire. / text

This study offers insights into the motif of monstrous corporality in a transmedia environment, through the vampire and zombie characters. Different narratives of corporeal transformation surround us constantly. On one hand, discourses of self-improvement in late modernity (Giddens 1991/2008) and ‘makeover culture’ (Johansson, 2006; 2012; Miller, 2008; Weber, 2009) demand a ‘creation of self’ through change and development, often in relation to physical appearance and bodily traits. On the other hand, numerous narratives of monstrosity and bodily change through destruction are also evident. This study takes on this double focus on corporality, against the backdrop of a late modern mediascape that has enabled people to imagine lives and possibilities different from their own through electronic mediation (Appadurai, 1996). As narratives now move between media platforms, new dimensions are brought to the imaginary, as different platforms interact differently with audiences. The aim of the study is to examine monstrous corporality in popular culture both in relation to media texts and audience practices through analyzes of representation, consumption and performance. The study examines medial and corporeal transformation through: concrete bodily change (the monstrous body), shifts between media platforms (transmedia) as well as the transmission of affect between media material and viewer (embodied spectatorship). These dimensions are explored in four empirical chapters, which examine two television series (True Blood and The Walking Dead) through textual analyses, the promotion of these series, audience participation (in online fora) and also participatory practices (Live action role play and zombie walks) through focus group interviews. The results indicate that the theme of monstrous corporeal change in TB and TWD reflects corporeal change in late modernity in several ways. Both transformations are focused on ‘before’ and ‘after’ and change of the monstrous body is connected to particular traits or parts of the body, which are also prominent in makeover culture narratives, such as skin, teeth and weight (appetite). The televisual narrative offers representations of bodily interiors and bodily harm that affect the viewers in a physical way, through an embodied spectatorship. The analyses of transmedia environments connected to the series indicate that the promotion of the programs use dimensions that emphasize the corporeal address, by bridging the gap between diegetic and actual reality. This is done through media environments (posters, websites and the like), and by introducing diegetic elements as actual, tangible objects in the actual reality of potential viewers. The analyses of posts on televisionwithoutpity.com show that participants use forum discussions as strategies to prolong and widen the media experience, and share it with others. Interviews with larpers and participants in zombie walks indicate that practices that stage the monstrous, also function as deepened embodied narrative experiences. Performances such as larps and zombie walks are interpreted as both conscious acts, and as strategies to handle unconscious performative (Butler, 1991/2006) dimensions of late modernity. Taken together, the zombie and vampire embody the pressures, risks and paradoxes connected to late modern makeover culture, and the mediated form they are presented through, tie them closer to those who engage in narratives about them.

MUNHOZ, Virgínia Magda Alexandre. Nelsinho, o vampiro de almas femininas. 2008. 100f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras, Fortaleza (CE), 2008. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-08-08T11:08:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_vmamunhoz.pdf: 3053541 bytes, checksum: 3622993861b0f6206df4ea835fe0d823 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-08-08T11:09:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_vmamunhoz.pdf: 3053541 bytes, checksum: 3622993861b0f6206df4ea835fe0d823 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-08T11:09:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_vmamunhoz.pdf: 3053541 bytes, checksum: 3622993861b0f6206df4ea835fe0d823 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / This study aims to examine the protagonist of the book The vampire of Curitiba, of the writer Dalton Trevisan, the character Nelsinho, which can be found in the fifteen stories of the book. The analysis will be made under the perspective of the studies of gender, Stylistic and social history, and is divided into three chapters: Being the first chapter entitled "Women, men and vampires," the second "A vampire in Curitiba" and the third "The seduction in movement". / O presente trabalho se propõe a analisar o protagonista da obra O vampiro de Curitiba do escritor Dalton Trevisan, o personagem Nelsinho, que pode ser encontrado nos quinze contos do livro. A análise será feita sob a perspectiva dos estudos de gênero, Estilística e história social, dividindo-se em três capítulos: Sendo o primeiro capítulo intitulado “Mulheres, homens e vampiros”, o segundo “Um vampiro em Curitiba” e o terceiro “A sedução em movimento”.

The specification of enterprise information systems using formal specification languages enables the formal verification of these systems. Reasoning about the properties of a formal specification is a tedious task that can be facilitated much through the use of an automated reasoner. However, set theory is a corner stone of many formal specification languages and poses demanding challenges to automated reasoners. To this end a number of heuristics has been developed to aid the Otter theorem prover in finding short proofs for set-theoretic problems. This dissertation investigates the applicability of these heuristics to next generation theorem provers. / Computing / M.Sc. (Computer Science)

Orientador: Álvaro Luiz Hattnher / Banca: Nícea Helena de ALmeida Nogueira / Banca: Carla Alexandra Ferreira / Resumo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar uma análise comparativa entre duas obras literárias que têm como foco a questão da representação literária feminina. Ao analisar os textos Carmilla (1872), de Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, e Sabella (1980), de Tanith Lee, buscamos apontar alguns traços comuns característicos quanto às descrições das personagens femininas e as posturas que assumem diante da sociedade na qual estão inseridas, a fim de encontrar alguns possíveis aspectos norteadores para a construção da identidade feminina literária. A partir de um olhar mais aprofundado para as personagens-título Carmilla e Sabella - ambas vampiras e representativas de dois momentos distintos da literatura de ficção inglesa - retratamos os contextos histórico-sociais em que os autores se inserem. A análise baseou-se em algumas teorias feministas desenvolvidas e disseminadas ao longo dos anos 70 e 80, que visam discutir os novos posicionamentos da mulher dentro de contextos sociais até então "proibidos", tais como trabalho, política e sexualidade. Interagimos também com textos que relacionam a representação social da mulher ligada à figura mitológica do vampiro - representação essa diretamente associadas às transformações emocionais que tratam do embate primitivo do bem vs. o mal. / Abstract: The aim of this study was to make a comparative analysis focusing on the female literary representations present in two English novels. Through the study of the novels Carmilla (1872), by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, and Sabella (1980), by Tanith Lee, we examined the main common characteristics from female characters and their attitudes within the society to which they belong, and with the purpose of finding some possible points leading to a literary female identity construction. From a deep contact with the title-characters Carmilla and Sabella - both female vampires and also representatives of distinct English literary fiction periods - we depict the social-historical contexts to which each author belongs. The analysis is based on some feminist theories developed and propagated along of the 70's and the 80's, which discuss the new places occupied by women in social contexts so far known as "banned", like out-of-house works, politics and sexuality. We also interact with texts related to social female representations linked to the mythological vampire figure - a kind of representation directly associated to some emotional transformations dealing with the primitive opposition between good vs. evil. / Mestre

Die ‚’Twilight’‘-Saga der Autorin Stephenie Meyer, welche die Geschichte von dem Vampir Edward und seiner menschlichen Geliebten erzählt, hat eine neue Phase des Vampir-Genres eingeläutet. Fernab von gesellschaftlich verankerten Mythen um die geheimnisvollen und gefährlichen Blutsauger, kreiert die Autorin ein neues Vampirbild. Das einst rücksichtslose, egoistische Monstrum ist gezähmt und tritt in Form eines aufopferungsvollen Liebhabers in Erscheinung. Für die Zielgruppe, weibliche Teenager und junge Erwachsene, ist Edward, der Prototyp des neuen Vampirs, schnell zum Idol avanciert. Rund um die ‚’Twilight’‘-Saga hat sich somit eine riesige, internationale Fangemeinschaft gebildet, die vorwiegend über das Internet den Vampirismus-Diskurs zum populärkulturellen Gegenstand werden ließ. Die neue Vampir-Begeisterung stellt jedoch nur den vorläufigen Höhepunkt einer langen Genre-Geschichte dar. Bereits seit der Entstehung des Vampir-Glaubens übt der Mythos vom blutsaugenden Wesen eine enorme Faszination auf die Menschen aus. Grund dafür ist seine Anlehnung an menschliche, meist tabuisierte Bedürfnisse und Wünsche, die mit Hilfe der Vampir-Metapher zum Ausdruck gebracht werden können. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit soll es sein, die Entwicklung des Vampir-Genres und seine Funktionen im Rahmen gesellschaftlicher Kontexte nachzuzeichnen. Zu diesem Zweck erfolgt zunächst ein kurzer Überblick über die Entstehung des Vampir-Mythos und eine Charakterisierung des ‚klassischen‘ Vampirs, wie er im Volksglauben verankert ist. Im Anschluss soll das Vampir-Genre als multidimensionales und historisch variables Genre analysiert werden. Der Schwerpunkt der Betrachtung liegt hierbei auf dem Vampirfilm, welcher sich im Laufe seiner Entwicklung vom Sub-Genre des Horrorfilms zum zielgruppenspezifischen Unterhaltungsmittel ausdifferenziert hat. Abschließend erfolgt eine Skizzierung der aktuellen Vampir-Begeisterung, welche durch die Verfilmung der ’Twilight’-Romane von Stephenie Meyer ausgelöst wurde.:1 Einleitung...1 2 Vampir-Mythos…2 2.1 Der abendländische Vampir...2 2.2 Herkunft und Entwicklung des Vampir-Begriffs...3 2.3 Der Vampir im Menschen…3 3 Das Vampir-Genre…4 3.1 Einflüsse…4 3.1.1 Fantasy…5 3.1.2 Horror…8 3.1.3 Mystery…11 3.2 Charakterisierung…14 3.3 Der Vampirfilm…15 3.3.1 Versuch einer formalen Einordnung…15 3.3.2 Funktionen…17 3.3.2.1 Der Vampirfilm als Spiegel der Gesellschaft…18 3.3.2.2 Die Vampir-Metapher und Sexualität…19 3.3.3 Zielgruppe…20 4 Der gesellschaftsfähige Vampir als popkulturelles Phänomen...21 4.1 Die ‚Twilight‘-Saga: Ursprung eines Vampir-Hypes…21 4.2 Das neue Vampirbild…21 4.3 Der Fan als ‚Opfer‘…23 4.4 Vampirismus und Populärkultur…24 5 Fazit und Ausblick...26 6 Literaturverzeichnis…27 7 Eidesstattliche Erklärung...30

Analyzing Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and linking trends of the Byronic hero that have merged into a variety of genres reveal that the hero is a mode of subversive gender expression, which has evolved within the Gothic through feminine desire. Delving into Bram Stoker’s Dracula will provide unique insight into the audience’s desires/expressions of gender. Finding the transition point from the monster vampire of Dracula to Stephanie Meyer’s desirous, sparkling boy-next-door in Twilight will track the trajectory of gender and sexual norms through time. From the foundational adaptation of the Byronic hero in Wuthering Heights to the repressed vampiric desire of Dracula, to queer desire/domestication within Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, ending with sparkling vampires of Twilight, we can invite the Byronic hero, which already supports rejection of societal expectations, into a genderless space, becoming a champion of desire absent from the constraints of gender and sexuality conformity.

Cette thèse suggère que la figure du vampire est une représentation de la neutralité, et ce, à travers diverses perspectives telles que la neutralité du genre, la neutralité temporelle et la neutralité corporelle. Le vampire a d’abord été considéré comme une créature malsaine avant de devenir plus humanisée au fil du temps. Cependant, je maintiens que le vampire contemporain n’est ni « négatif » ou « positif », mais plutôt neutre, ce que mettent en lumière les concepts de performativité et de corporalité élaborés par Judith Butler. Le vampire, étant à la fois arrêté dans le temps et existant pour toujours, manifeste non seulement la neutralité sexuelle et celle du genre, mais la créature vampirique illustre également l’importance du neutre tant au niveau corporel (tel qu’élaboré par Judith Butler) qu’au niveau temporel (tel que défini par Frank Kermode). Le neutre sera défini à partir des théories de Claude Stéphane Perrin, Maurice Blanchot et Roland Barthes. Étant à la fois présent/absent et à l’intérieur/à l’extérieur de l’expérience humaine, le vampire n’est pas seulement neutre, mais il permet d’étudier les différents aspects inhérents à la neutralité, soient-ils liés à la performativité du genre et de la sexualité, à la corporalité ou à la temporalité. Les aspects théoriques développés dans cette thèse sont analysés à travers les romans vampiriques contemporains suivants : Let the Right One in de John Ajvide Lindqvist (2004), The Vampire Chronicles de Anne Rice, plus précisément The Vampire Lestat (1987) et Queen of the Damned (1989), et The Passage (2010) de Justin Cronin. Le texte de Lindqvist redéfinit, entres autres, la neutralité du phallus à travers la castration, faisant du personnage d’Eli un vampire neutre et genderqueer. De plus, les crocs des vampires permettront une redéfinition neutre du phallus. La prépuberté vampirique dans les romans de Cronin et de Lindqvist sera également pertinente puisqu’un corps arrêté dans le temps et qui demeurera toujours prépubère solidifie le statut neutre du vampire. Les romans de Rice permettront de redéfinir le tabou de l’inceste et, donc, de consolider la neutralité du vampire. Les espaces vampiriques neutres dans les romans de Rice et de Cronin seront également mis de l’avant, et ce, à travers une conceptualisation de la temporalité comme étant neutre. Concrètement, la figure littéraire du vampire tente de déconstruire les normes sociétales du genre, de la sexualité, de la corporalité et de la temporalité en faveur d’une ontologie fluide et libre qui mène au neutre. / The figure of the vampire is a representation of the concept of neutrality, shown through different perspectives ranging from gender neutrality, corporeal neutrality, and temporal neutrality. The vampire has been shown to go from a “negative” representation to a “positive” one over the centuries. My claim is that the contemporary vampire is neither “negative” nor “positive” but neutral. This neutrality will be analyzed through the lens of Judith Butler’s conceptualizations of gender performativity and of corporeality. The vampire, being both time-stopped and existing forever, not only manifests gender and sexual neutrality, but also neutral corporeality (as elaborated by Judith Butler) and neutral temporality (as defined by Frank Kermode). The concept of the neutral will be approached based on the works of Claude Stéphane Perrin, Maurice Blanchot, and Roland Barthes. By being both present/absent and inside/outside the human experience, the vampire manifests different aspects of neutrality, be it performing gender and sexuality, understanding corporeality, or experiencing temporality. The theoretical aspects of this dissertation are analyzed based on the following contemporary vampire-centric narratives: Let the Right One in (2004) by John Ajvide Lindqvist, The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, more specifically The Vampire Lestat (1987) and Queen of the Damned (1989), and The Passage (2010) by Justin Cronin. Lindqvist’s novel redefines, among other things, the neutrality of the phallus through the act of castration, making the character of Eli a neutral and genderqueer vampire. Furthermore, vampire fangs will be of importance as they can be perceived as a manifestation of a neutral phallus. Vampiric prepubescence is also shown to espouse the neutral as it personifies a time-stopped body that will forever exist on the cusp of change. Rice’s novels will allow a resignification of the taboo of incest, further manifesting vampiric neutrality. The concept of vampiric neutral spaces will be tackled in both Rice’s and Cronin’s novels through a neutral conceptualization of temporality. In essence, the figure of the literary vampire attempts to deconstruct societal norms pertaining to gender, sexuality, corporeality, and temporality in favor of a free and fluid ontology which leads to the neutral.

This paper analyzes the concept of immortality as expressed in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire romance novel Midnight Sun (2021). By way of a comparison with the authors Mormon faith, I intend to highlight how the main characters portray key parts of LDS soteriology. Using Synne Myreböe’s notion of actualization (aktualisering) the paper considers Mormonism as a lens rather than as an institutionalized religion.  Although Midnight Sun makes use of numerous religious themes, it is in my opinion not to be regarded as a theological text. After all, Meyer is a novelist. Her religiosity motivates the questions posed by the study, but the connection between her writing and explicit Mormon theology is established by me. By making the Mormon concept of immortality a lens through which I view the material, I intend to highlight aspects of the narrative which otherwise would be less apparent.  Midnight Sun is a paraphrase of Meyer’s earlier work Twilight (2006). The latter tells the story of Bella, a student who falls in love with an ancient vampire called Edward. In Midnight Sun the story is inverted, making Edward the main narrator. Due to Midnight Sun’s disposition, my work relies on a resource not available to prior studies on Twilight, namely Edward’s voice. In this paper, I examine how the character relates to his father figure, thus paraphrasing the Mormon concept of priesthood.

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