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Dolls
Burning down buildings represents rebirth—or, perhaps more accurately, the false promise of rebirth and a fresh start for the novel’s vampire characters. As Louis moves through his life as a vampire, he and his various companions burn down estates, houses, and shops as a way to create a clean break with the past and tie up loose ends. Burning Pointe du Lac with Lestat represents their attempt to quell the enslaved workers’ rebellion, while Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine burning Madeleine’s doll shop represents Madeleine’s rejection of her human past and her embrace of her new life as a vampire. Similarly, burning their New Orleans house with Lestat inside is how Louis and Claudia believe they’ll be able to leave their past (and their unfulfilling relationships with Lestat) behind and start anew. Yet, every time the vampire characters burn a building, any relief they enjoy proves to be short-lived. Lestat pursues Louis and Claudia in various ways throughout their journey, and Madeleine and Claudia are ultimately killed soon after the doll shop burns. The failure of these attempts to provide relief or a fresh start suggests that the vampires cannot fully escape their past, or indeed, the possibility that they can never find true happiness and companionship as vampires.
Fire Quotes in Interview with the Vampire
The Interview with the Vampire quotes below all refer to the symbol of Fire. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1, Pages 1-70
Quotes
“I forgot myself totally. And in the same instant knew totally the meaning of possibility. From then on I experienced only increasing wonder. As he talked to me and told me of what I might become, of what his life had been and stood to be, my past shrank to embers. I saw my life as if I stood apart from it, the vanity, the self-serving, the constant fleeing from one petty annoyance after another, the lip service to God and the Virgin and a host of saints whose names filled my prayer books, none of whom made the slightest difference in a narrow, materialistic, and selfish existence. I saw my real gods…the gods of most men. Food, drink, and security in conformity. Cinders.”
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Fire Symbol Timeline in Interview with the Vampire
The timeline below shows where the symbol Fire appears in Interview with the Vampire. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Pages 1-70
...a result, Lestat and Louis decide to leave the plantation. Before they leave, Louis sets fire to Pointe du Lac, ensuring its destruction. Then, the vampires bring their coffins to Babette’s...
(full context)
Part 1, Pages 71-158
...and Claudia overpower the fledging vampire and Lestat. Before leaving, they set the house on fire with the other two vampires still inside. Then, they flee into the New Orleans streets.
(full context)
Part 3, Pages 277-318
...vampire, Louis and Claudia join her as she burns down her doll shop. As the fire rages, Louis feels a cold, unsettling fear, as he recalls burning down the townhouse in...
(full context)
...Santiago gestures for Louis to pass through an open door. Through it, Louis sees the burned corpses of Claudia and Madeleine.
(full context)
Finally, Louis sets fire to the furniture and stage curtains. The flames spread rapidly, illuminating the theater. He flees...
(full context)
...asks Armand why there were no guards at the Théâtre des Vampires when he set fire to it.
(full context)
Part 4
...years later, close to the present day, Armand reveals to Louis that Lestat survived the fire at the Théâtre des Vampires and is in New Orleans. He did not share this...
(full context)
