On Matters of Female Seduction...

...and by that I don't mean seduction of the female, but rather by the female. If you'd like an example of Gothic literature operating on the boundaries of what is acceptable, and perhaps exploring the taboo, then look no further than Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. Written in 1872, it touches on preoccupations of the time such as the female exhibiting 'unregulated' behaviour.

Carmilla is a female vampire - a Gothic monster who seduces her victim - in this case, the daughter of a wealthy family. Listen to this:

'...she would press me more closely in her trembling embrace, and  her lips in soft kisses gently glow upon my cheek.'

In Le Fanu's text, Carmilla is 'languid'; she is, typically for Gothic writing at this time, erratic, unstable - these were considered feminine qualities. Even while we can consider her a Gothic monster, she remains feminine, and uses the (feminine) language of seduction.

Carmilla was pre Stoker's Dracula, by the way. And we thought he was original!