The Morality of Killing

Interview with the Vampire

This flow traces Louis’s attempt to distinguish appetite, beauty, conscience, and responsibility within The Kill.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Death as Experience Death as Experience from "Interview with the Vampire". Death as Experience Sensation The victim’s heart becomes a drum synchronized with Louis’s own.

Death as Experience from "Interview with the Vampire". Death as Experience Sensation The victim’s heart becomes a drum synchronized with Louis’s own.

Death as Experience Sensation The victim’s heart becomes a drum synchronized with Louis’s own. Knowledge The Kill reveals another life through blood rather than through sympathy alone. Danger Louis recognizes that transcendence and violence are inseparable in Vampire existence.

Animal Mercy Animal Mercy from "Interview with the Vampire". Animal Mercy Practice Louis feeds on Rats and other animals to avoid human victims.

Animal Mercy Practice Louis feeds on Rats and other animals to avoid human victims. Justification He calls the choice aesthetic because he is not ready to name it moral. Insight His restraint exposes the ethical consequences hidden inside artistic preference.

Lestat’s Theology Lestat’s Theology from "Interview with the Vampire". Lestat’s Theology Claim Lestat says Vampires are predators whose role is to bring conscious death.

Lestat’s Theology from "Interview with the Vampire". Lestat’s Theology Claim Lestat says Vampires are predators whose role is to bring conscious death.

Lestat’s Theology Claim Lestat says Vampires are predators whose role is to bring conscious death. Defense He compares their killing to divine judgment and rejects human moral categories. Challenge Louis hears a persuasive philosophy that cannot erase his revulsion.

The Child’s Death The Child’s Death from "Interview with the Vampire". The Child’s Death Hunger Louis kills the child he once spared and feels the full force of her heart.

The Child’s Death from "Interview with the Vampire". The Child’s Death Hunger Louis kills the child he once spared and feels the full force of her heart.

The Child’s Death Hunger Louis kills the child he once spared and feels the full force of her heart. Shame The act proves that pity cannot permanently defeat appetite. Consequence He accepts that moral knowledge does not remove the power to kill.

The Single Life Principle The Single Life Principle from "Interview with the Vampire". The Single Life Principle Argument Louis tells Armand that one human life has absolute value if there is no God.

The Single Life Principle from "Interview with the Vampire". The Single Life Principle Argument Louis tells Armand that one human life has absolute value if there is no God.

The Single Life Principle Argument Louis tells Armand that one human life has absolute value if there is no God. Responsibility The Vampire’s awareness makes every killing a deliberate moral act. Limit No metaphysical explanation can relieve Louis of the responsibility he already understands.

during Louis’s first human kill

after Louis rejects human feeding

during the hotel argument

the night after the hotel argument

during Louis’s conversation with Armand