5 Chapter 2- The Bold Escapism of Existence
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The Modern Monster
Whenever people act in a way considered outside the norm there’s an instantaneous backlash, thrown at these so called “monsters” in attempts to scare people back into their simple assigned role in their communities.
Monsters always push back on society’s constraints, even if there are severe consequences including alienation, ridicule, and in some cases even death.
An example of this is the queer undertones in specific vampire stories told throughout history.
a prime showing of this issue is the vampire. The intimate problems regarding the historical period in which the creature was first created. These problems range from topics like dressing and acting out of societal standards––sucking blood, dressing in such elegant fabrics, or acting purely from impulse–– to dealing with the lifelong burdens of being a so called, “monster in society”
For specific instance with this type of vampire readers look to Dracula from the Novel by Bram Stoker. Dracula says, “But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one; men know him not—and to know not is to care not for. I am content if I am like the rest, so that no man stops if he see me, or pause in his speaking if he hear my words, to say, “Ha, ha! a stranger!” Excerpts like this prove a clear understanding, even from the monster’s perspective of being alienated due to their outward appearance on society.
Because of stories like that of the vampire our literary monsters will always have to be stronger than the community holding them back to create a narrative that has some dimension to it as well. If these monsters always gave into societies demands the world would be far less innovative and in depth than how it is now.
It’s our responsibility to lift these constraints in the real-life community we participate in every day to achieve a society in which the “monster” no longer needs unbeatable strength, but rather just a well witted conversation at hand.
The Claim
The Vampires Exhibit
