Louis And Claudia

Claudia Is Transformed Into A Vampire

Louis de Pointe du Lac is the reluctant vampire transformed by Lestat de Lioncourt. He is of a sensitive disposition and does not enjoy killing humans. It is a struggle for him to come to terms with his vampire nature and for a long time, he restricts himself to killing animals only. One night as he tries to come to terms with his apparent evilness he finds a five year old girl who is trying to wake her mother. But this is plague ridden New Orleans, and her mother is dead from the plague.

Louis experiences a range of conflicting emotions. He pities the poor girl, yet at the same time he hungers for blood. Before he knows what is happening, he is feeding hungrily on her and intends to end her suffering by killing her. Unbeknownst to Louis, Lestat witnesses the whole scene and mocks him for succumbing to the vampire urges he has for so long openly despised. Claudia lives and is taken to a hospital.

Lestat kidnaps Claudia from the hospital and tranforms her into a vampire the same way that he transformed Louis: by cutting his wrist and allowing Claudia to drink his blood. And so she becomes a vampire.

The nature of the vampire means that she never ages physically and her body is forever "five years old", even though her mind develops and matures. This becomes a source of resentment for Claudia as time passes.

The Happy Vampire Family

Louis had been thinking about breaking free of Lestat for a long time. Fearing this, Lestat turned Claudia into a vampire, knowing that Louis would feel no choice but to care for and look after her. This is exactly what Louis does, and the three of them live together as a family. Louis teaches her the finer points of "life" and Claudia inherits his love for books and longing for knowledge. From Lestat she learns cold detachment and a lust for killing. The friction between Louis and Lestat is also felt between Claudia and Lestat.

Louis feelings towards Claudia are complex. He loves her and his protective feelings for her are encouraged by her small size and girlish appearance. However, as she has the same vampire powers that Louis has, she is more than capable of looking after herself. Louis also feels guilt for having transformed her into a vampire thereby condemning her to the evil vampire life he also shares. One night, 65 years after her transformation, she finally asks Louis the question he has been dreading for so long: who made her what she is? Louis reluctantly admits the truth. Claudia does not take it well.