So for my blog this week I want to explore the relationship between Håkan and Eli. In most the novels we have read all the people hate the vampires and want to see them dead, with the exception of “Interview with the Vampire.” Even in “Interview with the Vampire” the interviewer was not scared of the vampire but the people in the vampire’s story were scared of them. But in “Let the Right One In” Håkan is actually in love with a vampire. We have seen in previous novels like “Carmilla” where people really like the vampires but this is because they do not actually know what they are. In this book Håkan knows that Eli is a vampire and is willing to risk his life to get her blood so that he can sleep next to her. He worries that if he does not kill for Eli she will die. He says on page 113, “What if he didn’t manage to find anyone? If he came home without anything? His beloved wouldn’t die, he was sure of that. A difference from the first time. But now there was another aspect, a wonderful one. A whole night. A whole night with the beloved body next to his. The tender, soft limbs, the smooth stomach caress with his hand. A lighted candle in the bedroom whose light would flicker over silken skin, his for a night.” This is what Håkan thought while he was in the swimming pool locker room waiting to find someone to kill and drain their blood and bring it back to Eli. In previos novels the vampires have had the ability of mind control. It makes me wonder if Eli was controlling Håkan’s mind or if he truly loves her enough to die or be caught like he did. Seeing Eli with Oskar could have made Håkan more nervous of losing her and mybe that is why he is offering to risk his life for her. However, this was not the first time that he has killed someone for her. I do think that jealousy did put a lot of preasure on Håkan and that caused him to be careless and get caught and in the end he is named “The Killer.”
I don’t think that Eli was controlling Hakan’s mind, but it definitely is an interesting idea. I think in a way, she does have control over his mind, but in the sense that Hakan’s mind is so cluttered with sick thoughts that Eli seems to “cure” him for a brief moment.
ReplyDeleteEven though Hakan is a pedophile, I think the scene you quote describes love rather than lust -- I think it’s the difference between “sex” and “making love” in the way that Hakan obsesses (quite sickly) about the boys, but when it comes to Eli, he actually cares about her and her health. I think this book is full of different stages or types of relationships, but the fact that they are between a vampire trapped in a young body and a pedophile makes it more difficult to analyze.
I definitely don't think that Eli was controlling Hakan's mind. There are several instances where Eli has to tell Hakan no when he wants to touch her. But I do agree that what Hakan feels is more than lust. He is in love with Eli and feels ok about it because even though she looks like a child, she is really an adult. Hakan doesn't just kill these boys so he can sleep with Eli. He genuinely cares for her and wants to be with her and for her to love him the way he loves her. I think in a way he's trying to win her love by killing for her.
ReplyDeleteI find the relationship of Hakan and Eli strange and disturbing. I like you're idea of mind control but I'm not sure if its the case here. Eli would have no need to give Hakan anything in that case but obviously there is an advantage for Hakan in the situation as well. I feel that Hakan is basically willing to do anything to get what he wants from Eli, especially if that means Eli is willing. That might be what he wants, not to rape a child, but to find a willing one and therefore have the illusion of love. It seems crazy to anyone sane but Hakan is not a human who is right in the head and Eli is not human at all.
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