Abstract Vampire has a long history in western culture and it gains popularity in the modern society. Although it is originated from the continent, its development is mainly in British and American culture. Literature on vampires is enduring and prosperous through centuries and the vampire culture has become an important part of the mass culture. One of the most famous vampire works is the novel Dracula (1897) which is written by the Irish writer Bram Stoker and the vampire image in this novel has become a classic. Many years later, the release of The Twilight Saga once again triggered a vampire fever. Changing with the development of human society, the vampire image has carried increasingly rich connotations. It can be easily found that the vampire images in The Twilight Saga are different from those in other vampire novels. The vampire images in The Twilight Saga are endowed with new connotations, as well as the theme of the novels. This thesis aims to analyze the development of vampire images on the basis of The Twilight Saga so that people can have a better understanding of the contemporary connotation of vampire culture.52867

Keywords: vampire culture; The Twilight Saga; vampire images

摘要吸血鬼在西方文化中有着悠久的历史,在现代社会广受欢迎。它起源于欧洲大陆，在英美文化中得到了进一步的发展。以吸血鬼为题材的文学经久不衰，并且成为了大众文化的重要组成部分。其中最著名的是由爱尔兰作家布兰姆·斯托克于1897年所著的小说《德库拉》，其中的吸血鬼形象更是成为了经典。时隔多年，《暮光之城》系列小说的出版又一次引发了吸血鬼狂潮。随着人类社会的发展，吸血鬼形象越来越丰富。《暮光之城》系列中的吸血鬼形象明显不同于其他吸血鬼小说中的吸血鬼形象，并且这其中的吸血鬼形象和主题都被赋予了新的内涵。本论文在《暮光之城》系列小说的基础上研究吸血鬼文化的演变，以便人们更好的理解当代吸血鬼文化的内涵。

毕业论文关键词：吸血鬼文化；《暮光之城》；吸血鬼形象

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 The Significance of the Study 1

1.2 The Organization of the Study 2

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 The Origin of Vampire Culture 2

2.2 Vampires in Early Literature Works 4

2.3 Vampires in Modern Literature Works 5

3. Vampire Culture in The Twilight Saga 6

3.1 The Introduction of The Twilight Saga 6

3.2 The Love between Edward and Bella, Jacob and Bella 8

3.3 The Contradiction between Reason and Desire of Edward 9

3.4 The Racial Conflict between the Vampires and Werewolves 10

4. New Development of Vampire Culture in The Twilight Saga 11

4.1 The Transition of the Vampire Image 12

4.2 The Transition of the Theme 14

4.3 Summary 16

5. Conclusion 16

Works Cited 18 

1. Introduction 

French philosopher Rousseau once said that if there exists a well-documented history, then this is the history of vampires. (Zhou Yimou, 2000: 286) A vampire is a spiritual product created for a long time by human beings, as well as the accumulation of social history. Vampire culture, obviously, is not the culture that belongs to vampires; because the vampire is a fictional group that not exactly exists in the world. Vampire culture is people’s understanding and thinking of the vampire, a spiritual product of human beings, and the behavior under its influence. It is generally considered to belong to the category of popular culture and often active in literary works.