The Vampire Lestat

While the worlds of humans and vampires are, in theory, supposed to be more or less separate, Lestat’s longing to remain connected to human society begins to blur the boundaries between the mortal and immortal realms. Lestat is, above all else, a performer, and his desire to perform comes in conflict with the rules regarding the secret of vampirism. Lestat’s performing of vampirism in turn reveals the performative aspects of humanity, with the text exploring various facets of the nature of performance and role-playing.

The importance of performance first appears in Lestat’s human life. While he is human, Lestat performs with a traveling troupe of actors as a teen and in Renaud’s theater in Paris as an adult. Lestat is obsessed with performing; Nicolas says to him, “No matter what we’re talking about you bring it back to the theaters and the actors” (51). Against Lestat’s wishes, both of these gigs are cut short—his family forces him to leave the traveling troupe, and Magnus makes Lestat a vampire right after his big premiere at Renaud’s. When Lestat returns to Renaud’s as a vampire, he can perform feats that are impossible for many humans: “[M]y body could bend and contort like that of an acrobat” (124).