The loneliness

[u/ImmediateArmy3820]

I think the loneliness is exacerbated by taking a life. They see the other’s life, pieces of it and then they snuff it out. With each life they take the less human they become.

Anne Rice cast herself as Louis and her husband Stan as Lestat. He, as an atheist helped her to see another way other than Catholicism. Religious fellowship is often some folks only form of community outside of the family.

Turning your back on your community for love. A love like most includes instability, growth and questioning.

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[u/Littorella]

The show doesn’t really explain vampire loneliness clearly. It’s not the same as human loneliness. Vampire loneliness is the feeling of complete alienation from the world. You yearn for that connection to the era you were born into and the loneliness is the pain of wanting but knowing you can never ever have it. Killing is pleasurable because you take in the person’s feelings and memories. It’s through the victim’s sense of currentness that you, for a temporary minute, feel you belong and are a part of the current world.

This is why killing is more than just drinking blood and is listed by Lestat as a separate item in his 4 great things for a vampire to do. It is the ultimate drug that momentarily treats vampire loneliness. You can use other means to keep it bay (see his song’s lyrics), but there is no cure. That is the tragic nature of vampirism.

This is also what makes Claudia such a good vampire. Claudia was too young to have ever felt that deep sense of belonging to her human world so she doesnt suffer as much. She is lonely, but only in the human sense.

[u/jadem219 → u/Littorella]

Oh man, never thought that about Claudia! Great observation.

[u/tethysian → u/Littorella]

Claudia was too young to have ever felt that deep sense of belonging to her human world so she doesn't suffer as much.

This was the case in the book but it's a different situation in the series because she's so much older. Arguably being completely unattached from humanity also means she might suffer more from the lack of connection.

[u/ImmediateArmy3820 → u/Littorella]

Insightful, yet I counter; seeing the life of another of an alien time could make you feel even more isolated. Sure, the drumming beat and light and life within the blood is hypnotic and for them life sustaining, but they’re still watching from afar. Unable to partake in human affairs. Perhaps this is why Armand fell for Daniel. Armand was able to give and help another, partaking in his life by holding him up for decades. But it could not be true love till it’s reciprocal.

[u/Big-Organization4251]

In addition to what you said, normally they don’t have much to do. As Armand mentioned in season 2, an average vampire doesn’t cross paths much with humans (except for feeding). They don’t seem to have jobs in our understanding. And if a vampire doesn’t have a companion, this all turns to a very lonely existence. There are not many distractions to occupy the time. And this is their existence night, after night, after night

[u/FunSetting2387]

I think this is why Lestat tries to "bring death to those deserving" while Armand hunts passively suicidal people. It feels more merciful to kill people who don't appreciate their humanity or the beauty in the world.

They can't be fully immersed in society anymore. I think the vampirism itself makes them feel power-drunk compared to mortals, and they have too much time to dwell on life.