Der Vampir by Heinrich Ossenfelder - analysis
Question: Corruption is the basis of all we fear. Discuss this statement in 500 words and make relation to the text ‘Der Vampir’ by Heinrich Ossenfelder.
Corruption is not the basis of all we fear. It is the unknown means through which corruption occurs that leads to our fear of its connotations. The unknown bringer of our degradation is the monster at the root of its causality—and thus, the unknown cause of corruption is the basis of all we fear.
Der Vampir uses the girl’s ignorance to his true intentions to indicate that we do not fear the possibility of corruption; rather, only when the cause is present do we feel the terror of its implications:
“But my Christine thou dost dally,
And wilt my loving parry
Till I myself avenging
To a vampire’s health a-drinking”
The dramatic irony upon discovering the vampire’s true intentions, to drink her blood for health, invokes suspense as they are unknown to his victim. At this time, in her ignorance, she possesses an impression of power over the vampire, and ‘dallies’ in reciprocating his affections. The cause of corruption to the girl’s values in ‘Der Vampir’ is, at this time unknown, and thus her fears remain unrealized until the Unknown becomes known, and the threat materializes.
We only fear corruption when corruption is imminent; and this fear remains to be realized in the animated inducement of corruption rather than the abstract notion of corruption itself:
“And so shalt thou be trembling
For thus shall I be kissing And death’s threshold thou’ it be crossing With fear, in my cold arms.”
The romanticisation of the act of corruption, named ‘kissing’ to embellish the act with a gentle aspect, instigates a powerful realisation of the girl’s sexual corruption. This contradicts her previous impression that she was powerful against the charm of the vampire, the force of which had not been recognised in the totality of its power. In saying this, she expresses fear through the act of corruption,
Corruption is not the basis of all we fear. It is the unknown means through which corruption occurs that leads to our fear of its connotations. The unknown bringer of our degradation is the monster at the root of its causality—and thus, the unknown cause of corruption is the basis of all we fear.
Der Vampir uses the girl’s ignorance to his true intentions to indicate that we do not fear the possibility of corruption; rather, only when the cause is present do we feel the terror of its implications:
“But my Christine thou dost dally,
And wilt my loving parry
Till I myself avenging
To a vampire’s health a-drinking”
The dramatic irony upon discovering the vampire’s true intentions, to drink her blood for health, invokes suspense as they are unknown to his victim. At this time, in her ignorance, she possesses an impression of power over the vampire, and ‘dallies’ in reciprocating his affections. The cause of corruption to the girl’s values in ‘Der Vampir’ is, at this time unknown, and thus her fears remain unrealized until the Unknown becomes known, and the threat materializes.
We only fear corruption when corruption is imminent; and this fear remains to be realized in the animated inducement of corruption rather than the abstract notion of corruption itself:
“And so shalt thou be trembling
For thus shall I be kissing And death’s threshold thou’ it be crossing With fear, in my cold arms.”
The romanticisation of the act of corruption, named ‘kissing’ to embellish the act with a gentle aspect, instigates a powerful realisation of the girl’s sexual corruption. This contradicts her previous impression that she was powerful against the charm of the vampire, the force of which had not been recognised in the totality of its power. In saying this, she expresses fear through the act of corruption,