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The majority of this thesis consists of my creative work in poetry, accompanied by researched information and concepts that serve to contextualize and illuminate the poems themselves and my creative process. Key areas of scholarship that underlie my poetry include the tropes and motifs of Gothic literature from the Romantic era to the present; the progression of women’s writing, particularly writing by women identifying as lesbian; and the conflation of female writers and characters with the concept of the ‘monstrous’ and transgressive. Also informing the two research chapters are some of the basic concepts about abjection and depression developed by philosopher and theorist Julia Kristeva. The collection of my poems contains both narrative and lyric poems. The final chapter, following on from my collection of sixty-eight poems, outlines my creative progress as I developed my particular poetic aesthetic. It is heavily informed by my growing acquaintance and comfort level with my own darkness and depression reflected in Gothic tropes, lesbian fiction, and aspects of Kristevan theory. The progression of my craft as a writer led me to strive for an effective expressive balance between the abstractions of the French Symbolists and Surrealists and a more ‘Imagistic’ focus on accurate, concrete imagery.

Objetivo: Verificar a atribuição de um teor de negatividade para a liberação sexual feminina em produtos culturais, focando no caso do seriado estadunidense The Vampire Diaries, levando em consideração a concepção de feminino predominante na cultura ocidental e os significados que a figura da vampira adquirem dentro dela. Metodologia: Analisar a cultura de violência contra a mulher, os preconceitos que a justificam e como isso aparece de forma ideológica em produtos culturais; comparar a vampira Katherine Pierce e seu duplo, a humana Elena Gilbert, ambas do seriado The Vampire Diaries, utilizando teoria semiótica francesa; comparar as contrapartes masculinas Damon e Stefan Salvatore e verificar reações do público alvo, predominantemente feminino, diante de suas condutas; observar o tratamento dado à sexualidade feminina em diversos produtos culturais. Resultados: A mensagem ideológica velada no seriado é de que a vampira Katherine e sua sexualidade exuberante representam o mal, enquanto a humana Elena e sua conduta recatada representam o bem. Entretanto, a conduta sexual violenta de Damon Salvatore não é representada como algo passível de punições. Conclusão: O presente estudo conclui que a sexualidade feminina é apresentada de forma negativa no seriado, e que isso é um reflexo de valores arraigados na cultura ocidental. A conduta sexual é, de modo geral, utilizada como um dado definidor do caráter de personagens femininos em produtos culturais, sendo que a atividade sexual \"excessiva\" predominantemente acarreta punições. / Purpose: Determining the attribution of a level of negativity towards sexual liberation of women in cultural products, focusing on the case of the U.S. series The Vampire Diaries, considering the prevailing conception of women in Western culture and the meanings that the figure of the female vampire acquires within it. Methods: Analyzing the culture of violence against women, the prejudices justifying it and how it is displayed in ideological ways in cultural products; comparing the vampire Katherine Pierce and her doppelganger, the human Elena Gilbert, both of the series The Vampire Diaries, using French semiotic theory; comparing the male counterparts Damon and Stefan Salvatore and verifying reactions by the target audience, predominantly female, in the face of their conduct; observing the treatment given to female sexuality in different cultural products. Results: The ideological message veiled on the series is that the vampire Katherine and her exuberant sexuality represent the evil, while the human Elena and her modest demeanor represent the good. However, Damon Salvatore\'s violent sexual conduct is not represented as something liable to punishment. Conclusions: This study concludes that female sexuality is presented in a negative way on the show, and that is a reflection of values entrenched in Western culture. Sexual conduct is in general used as a defining of the character in female characters in cultural products, and the \"excessive\" sexual activity predominantly entails punishment.

Abstract  ”The Vampire from past to present”. This essay studies and compares the early historical Vampire as it is presented in some of the Western Europe countries, primarily Greece, but also Romania and how their descriptions of the Vampire have inspired the portrait of vampires in modern films and literature. The essay aims to answer the questions: How has the historical, traditional, European Vampire developed through the centuries into the modern Vampire of today?   Which original facts and perceptions about the Vampire from a Christian and pre-Christian point of view can be observed in the modern Vampire, as it is presented in the chosen films and furthermore, can any new ideas be observed in the films? By studying Vampire literature and poems throughout the centuries, a very interesting picture appears. Therefore lots of stories, poems and historical individuals, both real and fictional, are presented in a part of this essay. Another important fact for this essay, is that the Vampire is historically related to the Werewolf, and therefore this creature is also presented here. The conclusion is that the Vampire seem to fit in every historical context, and has managed to thrive over time. It is still presented as a mean, blood-sucking creature, even though we don´t seem to fear it any longer. It has become more of an ideal for many people; representing our longing for youth, beauty and a never-ending life, than a frightening, dangerous creature as it was presented in the early history.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in English. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 276-306). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ56254.

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This thesis examines three diverse vampire narratives from around the 1990s, arguing that the liminal figure of the vampire, forever in between life and death, is also then well-positioned to queer norms around gender, sexuality, and relationships. This queering, however, manifests differently in each narrative. My analysis looks at each of these three narratives in turn, while also considering how each text’s placement as mainstream or not mainstream affected the manifestation of the vampires’ queering.

Objetivo: Verificar a atribuição de um teor de negatividade para a liberação sexual feminina em produtos culturais, focando no caso do seriado estadunidense The Vampire Diaries, levando em consideração a concepção de feminino predominante na cultura ocidental e os significados que a figura da vampira adquirem dentro dela. Metodologia: Analisar a cultura de violência contra a mulher, os preconceitos que a justificam e como isso aparece de forma ideológica em produtos culturais; comparar a vampira Katherine Pierce e seu duplo, a humana Elena Gilbert, ambas do seriado The Vampire Diaries, utilizando teoria semiótica francesa; comparar as contrapartes masculinas Damon e Stefan Salvatore e verificar reações do público alvo, predominantemente feminino, diante de suas condutas; observar o tratamento dado à sexualidade feminina em diversos produtos culturais. Resultados: A mensagem ideológica velada no seriado é de que a vampira Katherine e sua sexualidade exuberante representam o mal, enquanto a humana Elena e sua conduta recatada representam o bem. Entretanto, a conduta sexual violenta de Damon Salvatore não é representada como algo passível de punições. Conclusão: O presente estudo conclui que a sexualidade feminina é apresentada de forma negativa no seriado, e que isso é um reflexo de valores arraigados na cultura ocidental. A conduta sexual é, de modo geral, utilizada como um dado definidor do caráter de personagens femininos em produtos culturais, sendo que a atividade sexual \"excessiva\" predominantemente acarreta punições. / Purpose: Determining the attribution of a level of negativity towards sexual liberation of women in cultural products, focusing on the case of the U.S. series The Vampire Diaries, considering the prevailing conception of women in Western culture and the meanings that the figure of the female vampire acquires within it. Methods: Analyzing the culture of violence against women, the prejudices justifying it and how it is displayed in ideological ways in cultural products; comparing the vampire Katherine Pierce and her doppelganger, the human Elena Gilbert, both of the series The Vampire Diaries, using French semiotic theory; comparing the male counterparts Damon and Stefan Salvatore and verifying reactions by the target audience, predominantly female, in the face of their conduct; observing the treatment given to female sexuality in different cultural products. Results: The ideological message veiled on the series is that the vampire Katherine and her exuberant sexuality represent the evil, while the human Elena and her modest demeanor represent the good. However, Damon Salvatore\'s violent sexual conduct is not represented as something liable to punishment. Conclusions: This study concludes that female sexuality is presented in a negative way on the show, and that is a reflection of values entrenched in Western culture. Sexual conduct is in general used as a defining of the character in female characters in cultural products, and the \"excessive\" sexual activity predominantly entails punishment.

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Ce mémoire est l'occasion d'établir une courte généalogie des femmes vampires au cinéma, en mettant en avant la manière dont la figure de la femme vampire résonne avec celle de la femme fatale, dans la mesure où elle constitue à la fois une vision négative de la femme émancipée, tout en offrant une manière d’échapper au modèle féminin traditionnel. En me demandant si le vampirisme peut être une source de pouvoir émancipatoire pour les femmes, j’analyse attentivement Byzantium (2012) de Neil Jordan. À travers l’étude successive des deux personnages principaux, Clara et Eleanor, je montre comment le film résonne avec la généalogie des femmes vampires établie préalablement, ainsi qu’avec certains enjeux féministes. Surtout, l’accent est mis sur la manière dont les personnages féminins contestent le pouvoir masculin, à travers la performance des stéréotypes, pour Clara, et la prise de contrôle du récit, pour Eleanor. Enfin, je me concentre sur la manière dont, à travers des mouvements de devenirs, ces personnages sortent du cycle fatal de l’oppression masculiniste, qui mène habituellement à l’extinction de la femme vampire en fin de récit, mais qui ici aboutit à une tentative de réconciliation entre les sexes. Mon travail s’appuie sur de larges recherches concernant la figure du vampire, ainsi que sur les études féministes et gender studies relatives aux textes vampiriques. Je m’appuie également sur les réflexions de Judith Butler, les travaux deleuziens sur la notion de « devenir », et les considérations de Derrida sur le don. / This master thesis is the opportunity to establish a short genealogy of vampire women on screen, highlighting how the figure of the vampire resonates with that of the femme fatale, since it is both a negative vision of the emancipated woman, while also providing a way to escape the traditional female model. Wondering if vampirism can be a source of emancipatory power for women, I analyze carefully Byzantium (2012, Neil Jordan). Through successive study of the two main characters, Clara and Eleanor, I show how the film resonates with the genealogy of vampire women established previously, as well as some feminist issues. Above all, the emphasis is on how the female characters are challenging male power, through the performance of stereotypes, for Clara, and through the takeover of the narrative, for Eleanor. Finally, I focus on how, through movements of becomings, these characters come out of the fatal cycle of masculinist oppression, which usually leads to the extinction of the female vampire at the end of the story, but here leads to an attempt at reconciliation between the sexes. My work is based on extensive research on the figure of the vampire, and women and gender studies relating to vampiric texts. I also rely on Judith Butler’s work, the deleuzian concept of “becoming”, and considerations on the gift by Derrida.