Claudia

• VAMPIRE •

Claudia is one of the most memorable characters in the Vampire Chronicles. A child vampire made to keep a small coven together, she is both a child and a paramour for Louis and Lestat, as well as the cause of their ruined relationship for centuries. Claudia appears in two Vampire Chronicles, first as a vampire in Interview with the Vampire (1976) and then as a ghost in Merrick (2000).

On a night when Louis can no longer resist the temptation to drink human blood, he drinks the blood of a five-year-old girl to the point of her death. He stops only when Lestat discovers him and mockingly celebrates Louis’s capitulation to the blood thirst. Louis flees in shame, leaving the girl only a few feet away from the corpse of her mother, Agatha, but Lestat brings the child back with him to their townhouse on Rue Royale. There, he reveals to Louis that the child will die if they do not turn her into a vampire. Reluctantly, Louis allows Lestat to change the five-year-old girl into a vampire. Together, they adopt her as their mutual fledgling (Louis having drained her blood, Lestat having given her his own) and they name her Claudia.

As a daughter to both Lestat and Louis, Claudia learns from them how to hunt for victims. Through their tutelage, she becomes one of the fiercest blood drinkers. As she matures mentally throughout the next sixty-five years, living together with Lestat and Louis in the same townhouse, she begins to realize that human girls mature into women, but, as an inhuman vampire, that natural ability is beyond her. She will remain trapped in the body of a little girl forever. Claudia becomes increasingly angry because of her inability to grow up. When Louis reveals to her how she was turned into an immortal, she is outraged at both her makers, but she loves Louis too much to feel vengeful towards him for long, so she directs all her antipathy towards Lestat. She and he argue often, until one night she develops a cunning trap to kill him by overdosing two young boys on absinthe and laudanum, which makes them appear passed out and their blood warm; then she presents them to Lestat as a peace offering. Unwittingly, Lestat drinks their dead blood, which weakens him so much that Claudia is able to cut his throat with a knife, right before she plunges the knife into his heart. Believing he is dead, she and Louis sink Lestat’s body in the Louisiana swamps, expecting alligators and swamp life to consume him. Unaware that he is still alive, soliciting the assistance of Antoine, his soon-to-be fledgling, Claudia and Louis make preparations to leave New Orleans on a boat for Europe, in search of other vampires as well as answers to the purpose of their immortal existence. On the night that their ship is bound to sail for Europe, Lestat appears at their Rue Royale townhouse. Afraid for their lives, Louis and Claudia fight off Lestat by setting their maker, Lestat’s new fledgling Antoine, and the townhouse on fire. Believing that this second attempt at killing him must have been successful, they flee to the boat in time to depart for Europe.

Louis and Claudia travel across the world for many years. They find some vampires, but they are revenants—mindless and ravenous for blood, incapable of answering any of their questions. Throughout their travels, Claudia grows increasingly furious at the fact that she is an immortal trapped in a five-year-old’s body. Eventually, they come to Paris, where they first encounter another vampire like them, Santiago, who is a member of the coven at the Théâtre des Vampires. Shortly thereafter, Louis and Claudia meet the leader of the coven, Armand, who invites them to see how the coven has survived in the modern age. When Louis and Claudia discover that the coven of the Théâtre des Vampires pretends to be humans pretending to be vampires in stage plays, Claudia is immediately repulsed by them. Meanwhile, Lestat has also come to Paris, seeking Armand, whose ancient and powerful blood can more quickly help restore him to his former strength. Lestat reveals to Armand that Claudia tried to kill him, which inspires Armand to plot against Claudia, since he and Louis have been spending more time together and developing deep feelings for each other’s company.

Claudia becomes aware of this and realizes that Louis is going to leave her for Armand. So she finds a new companion and guardian for herself, Madeleine, a doll maker by trade, whose daughter has died and who has been re-creating the image of her lost child in her dolls. At first Louis is reluctant to turn Madeleine into a vampire, but through persuasive arguments and guilt, Claudia convinces Louis to give Madeleine the Dark Gift because she herself does not have the strength. They remain a small coven for a while, until the coven at the Théâtre des Vampires abducts them and holds a trial, accusing Louis and Claudia of violating one of the Great Laws—not to kill or attempt to kill one’s maker. Armand promises Lestat that he will give him some of his blood if he testifies against Claudia, but because Lestat wants Louis to be with him and because of the bitterness that Armand holds against Lestat for ruining his former coven over a century earlier, Armand does not keep his agreement and pushes Lestat out a window once Claudia is found guilty. As punishment for their crime, the coven locks Louis in a coffin with large iron locks and buries him for all eternity. Then they lock Claudia and Madeleine in a prison without a roof, where they wait for the dawn. Claudia and Madeleine hold on to each other as the sun rises. Their screams can be heard throughout the théâtre. All that remains of the vampire who looks no older than a little girl is ashes.

For more perspectives on Claudia’s character, read the Alphabettery entries Agatha, Armand, Dark Gift, Fledgling, Lestat de Lioncourt, Louis de Pointe du Lac, Madeleine, Maker, Revenant, and Théâtre des Vampire.