Summary
In Athens, Aubrey lives in the home of a Greek family and develops a strong attraction to a young Greek woman, Ianthe, who lives there. He explores the monuments and ruins of Athens and the beautiful, innocent Ianthe accompanies him. She watches him draw this scenery and tells him memories of her youth, including supernatural tales. Ianthe is particularly struck by the tales of vampires, which she and her family swear are real. They tell of local residents who were found dead, “marked with the stamp of the fiend’s appetite.” Ianthe describes the typical appearance of vampires and Aubrey is shocked to realize that the description resembles that of Lord Ruthven.
Aubrey tries to pursue his research but is increasingly distracted by his love for Ianthe. One day he decides to go on an excursion. Ianthe and her parents beg him to return by nightfall, since the route leads through a wood that is known for being "the resort of the vampyres in their nocturnal orgies"—"a place where no Greek would ever remain, after the day had closed, upon any consideration." Aubrey tries to laugh off their concerns, but he falls silent when he perceives their terror.
Aubrey promises Ianthe to return before nightfall. But he becomes so occupied in his research that he loses track of time. He tries to ride his horse speedily through the woods before night falls, but it’s too late. A storm falls and Aubrey is surrounded by thunder and lightning. His tired horse stops before a hut. As he approaches the dwelling Aubrey hears the shriek of a woman followed by dreadful laughter. He is startled and forces the door open.
Aubrey calls out but no one responds. Suddenly, he bumps into someone who cries out, "Again baffled!" and laughs, before the man hurls him to the ground with seemingly "superhuman" strength. The attacker kneels on Aubrey’s chest and grasps his throat. But then he sees the glare of many torches through a window and escapes into the woods. The people bearing torches enter and Aubrey asks them to look for the woman whose cries he heard. He is horrified when they return bearing the corpse of Ianthe.
Ianthe has blood on her neck and breast and teeth marks on her throat. The men with torches point to these signs and cry out: "A vampyre! A vampyre!" Aubrey finds that he is holding a strange dagger in his hands. His mind goes numb. The group returns to Athens, and Ianthe’s parents are devastated: "both died broken-hearted."
Aubrey contracts a violent fever. In his delirium, he calls out to Ruthven and to Ianthe, in turns cursing his former companion and begging him to spare the woman he loves. Ruthven arrives in Athens and comes to attend to Aubrey. At first, Aubrey is horrified at the sight of Ruthven. Then he sees him changed: Ruthven offers kind words, expresses regret for their separation, and shows Aubrey great care and attention. However, as soon as Aubrey begins to improve Ruthven returns to his old ways, and begins to regard Aubrey with a gaze expressing the desire to do harm. In the final stage of Aubrey’s recovery, Ruthven avoids eye contact completely.
Wishing to distract himself from the reminders of Ianthe’s death, Aubrey proposes to Ruthven that they travel together in Greece. They set off, and though others warn them of robbers, they are attended by only a few guards who serve mostly as guides. In a narrow mountain pass, robbers attack them and shoot Ruthven in the shoulder. Their guards immediately surrender and Aubrey rushes to his friend’s side, surprised to find himself surrounded by the robbers. Aubrey offers them a reward to bring Ruthven to a nearby cabin. They do so but Ruthven’s condition worsens. Still, his appearance and indifferent demeanor do not change. After two days Ruthven nears death. Before he dies, he demands that Aubrey swear not to mention anything of his crimes or his death for one day and one year. Aubrey swears and Ruthven dies.
Analysis
Ianthe’s name alludes to a figure from Greek mythology. The name means purple or violet flower. Ianthe was a young girl who was so beautiful that when she died the gods caused purple flowers to grow around her grave. Polidori alludes to this figure when Aubrey, devastated by Ianthe’s death, begins to see her everywhere: "in the woods, her light step would appear wandering amidst the underwood, in quest of the modest violet; then suddenly turning around, would show, to his wild imagination, her pale face and wounded throat…"
As Aubrey falls in love with Ianthe, Polidori continues to explore the theme of innocence. The author characterizes Ianthe as an innocent young girl. She is unaware of Aubrey’s love for her. She is beautiful yet hardly seems to be aware of her beauty and of the possibility that it might arouse attraction.
In particular, the narrator remarks: "But why attempt to describe charms which all feel, but none can appreciate?—It was innocence, youth, and beauty, unaffected by crowded drawing-rooms and stifling balls." In this way, the author draws a contrast between his pure love for the innocent, authentically beautiful Ianthe, and the oppressive, unauthentic social scene of the English noble classes.
Later, the narrator contrasts Ianthe’s "innocence" with "the affected virtues of the women among whom he had sought for his vision of romance." The implication is that the women who surrounded Aubrey in the drawing rooms and balls of London simply pretended to be virtuous and innocent when it was convenient for them to do so. In contrast, Ianthe is truly virtuous and innocent.
In passing, Polidori comments on class. Aubrey "ridicules" the idea that he, a wealthy, English nobleman, would marry Ianthe, "an uneducated Greek girl." Such a marriage is unacceptable given the social standards of the society he grew up in. At the same time, it is precisely Ianthe’s distance from this world that attracts Aubrey. She has not been corrupted by the "crowded drawing-rooms and stifling balls" or the empty, "affected virtues" that are the norm in these social spaces. This enables Aubrey to connect with Ianthe more authentically.
Polidori’s novella includes broader commentary on social class and the values associated with it. One of the most groundbreaking and influential aspects of Polidori’s novella is the author’s reimagining of the vampire as an aristocratic, cosmopolitan, elegant, and wealthy individual who moves freely among society’s upper classes. Prior to the novella’s publication, vampires were mostly wild and lowly creatures from popular folktales. In the context of Polidori’s troubled encounter with Byron, The Vampyre can also be read as a critique of a corrupt society that has allowed the excesses of celebrity figures like Byron to gain outsize power, at the expense of higher values like virtue and innocence.
Finally, this section introduces several elements of ambiguity into the interactions between Aubrey and Ruthven. All signs seem to point to Ruthven being a vampire. In particular, in this section it is suspicious that Ruthven happens to arrive in Athens right around the time of Ianthe’s murder and Aubrey’s illness.
At the same time, the narration throws a degree of doubt over the quality of Aubrey’s mind and perceptions. In this section, Aubrey falls ill with a violent fever. In his delirium, he calls out to Ianthe and Ruthven, begging the latter to spare the former, even though in reality it is already too late. Is Aubrey imagining things? Is he so grief-stricken that he’s become sick and can’t think straight? Or has he become physically ill and delirious because he’s the psychological victim of a vampire?
The novella’s third-person, subjective narration appears to be closely aligned with Aubrey’s perspective. The narrator seems to have access to Aubrey’s thoughts and feelings, but not those of other characters. In this way, Polidori’s choice of a narrator introduces an intriguing element of ambiguity into the novel more broadly.
