Beyond Blood and Bruises: The Manifestations of Violence in Carmilla

Carmilla (1872) is a foundational gothic novella that explores female intimacy, monstrosity, and transgression within a patriarchal context. While widely recognized for its depiction of same-sex desire and subversion of Victorian gender norms, the story also reveals a deeper network of violence that sustains social and gendered hierarchies. However, critical attention has often focused more on Carmilla’s queer and feminist dimensions than on how violence operates structurally and symbolically throughout the text. Scholars such as Elizabeth
Signorotti and Amy Leal have analyzed the novella’s disruption of traditional gender roles and its coded portrayal of lesbian desire. Yet these readings frequently overlook the role of violence as a subtle but powerful mechanism of control that manifests emotionally, through class-based oppression, and patriarchally to reinforce female oppression. This paper addresses that gap by
arguing that Carmilla presents violence not only as physical harm but also as a layered and pervasive force that defines identity, enforces social order, and suppresses female autonomy. By uncovering how violence functions as both an instrument of repression and a response to nonconformity, this analysis offers a more comprehensive understanding of the novella’s engagement with gender, power, and desire.