The Vampyre
Summary
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The Vampyre
Setting
England and across Europe
Main Characters
Lord Ruthven: A nobleman with an unusually pale appearance and aloof personality.
Aubrey: A young man who attracts the attention of Lord Ruthven.
Miss Aubrey: Aubrey’s sister.
Ianthe: Aubrey’s love interest.
Summary
Lord Ruthven is charming yet peculiar. Despite, and because of, his peculiarities, he is popular in London’s high society. At one of the many parties to which he is invited, Ruthven meets the young, wealthy, orphaned Aubrey. While Ruthven makes Aubrey feel somewhat uncomfortable, Aubrey is also fascinated by him and, after briefly getting to know each other, the two agree to travel around Europe together.
While in Rome, Ruthven attempts to seduce the daughter of a mutual friend. Aubrey is shocked and leaves, believing Lord Ruthven delights in the degradation of others. Aubrey travels to Greece, where he falls in love with Ianthe, an innkeeper’s daughter. Ianthe tells Aubrey of the legends of the vampire, popular in the area. Aubrey begins to notice the similarities to Lord Ruthven in the physical description of the monster.
Soon after, Ianthe is killed, her throat torn open by an attacker who also injures Aubrey and leaves behind an unusual dagger. It is widely believed that the attack was from a vampire. When Aubrey falls ill, he is found by Ruthven and nursed back to health. Although he is still suspicious of Ruthven, Aubrey agrees to travel with him once again. On their travels, the pair are attacked by bandits and Ruthven is mortally wounded. On his deathbed, Ruthven makes Aubrey swear an oath that he will not speak of Ruthven or his death for a year and a day. After Aubrey agrees, Ruthven dies laughing. Following Ruthven’s death, Aubrey finds a sheath in Ruthven’s belongings which matches the dagger found by Ianthe’s body.
Aubrey returns to London and to his amazement meets Ruthven shortly after his arrival, alive and well. Ruthven reminds Aubrey of his oath. Though Aubrey wants to warn others of Ruthven’s character, he is unable to break his oath, and as a result he has a nervous breakdown. When he recovers, he learns that Ruthven has inherited an earldom and is engaged to Aubrey’s sister. They are to be married on the day that the oath will end. Unable to stop the wedding, Aubrey has a stroke. That night, his oath expires, and Aubrey relates the entire story before dying, but it is too late. Ruthven has disappeared, leaving his new wife dead and drained of blood.
The character of Lord Ruthven – the notorious, charismatic, and seductive vampire – is considered modelled after the poet Lord Byron, by the author who was Byron’s physician (it was previously believed that Byron was the author). Unlike later vampires, The Vampyre barely mentions bloodsucking, instead Ruthven wreaks havoc through seduction, acting as a catalyst for his victims to unleash their repressed desires and tendencies.
This opening passage locates the mythology of the vampire in “the general East”, reiterating the idea that, although Ruthven is British, the origins of the vampire hail from the East and have travelled West to influence and disrupt society.
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