Interview with the Vampire: "Queering" of the Family

There is a saying that goes something like, "You can't choose your family". Well, in the realm of vampires you can! Regarding Lestat, he chose very strangely his companions for the rest of eternity. Lestat created his first child, Louis. Already, the uncanny nature of the book reveals itself in this act. As in "Frankenstein", Victor creates without a woman a fully grown and functional vampire son and must teach it how to survive in the world, which he doesn't seem to do a very good job of. Louis tells the interviewer that Lestat's reasons for turning him were for Pointe du Lac to keep his dying father. Louis also suggests that Lestat was not that great with finances, "If he were not picking the pocket of a dead man in the alley, he was at the greatest gambling tables in the richest salons of the city, using his vampire keenness to suck gold and dollars and deeds of property from young planters' sons... But this had never given him the life he wanted, and so for that he had ushered me into the preternatural world that he might acquire an investor or manager..." (Pg 39). Louis was a security measure for Lestat so he could live forever in luxury. In this sense, the son was more of a slave: someone who only came to be in order to better the living experience of the master, which is what happened. Could this be a critique on the function of the American son? that he is only born to support his father? Or could it be a broader question of the function of future generations? Are people born only to support the lives of who came before them? (Social Security?).
When Louis finally drank from a human of his own will, Lestat bonded with him. This bonding seemed to be some sort of marriage for them and Lestat was all for it. Lestat finally suggested that they "talk" for the first time and he was very encouraging of Louis to accept and embrace the act of taking human blood. After they were married, Lestat was urgent about having a child. Lestat exclaimed, "I am like a mother... I want a child!" (Pg 88). This is another uncanny moment for Lestat. Instead of just playing the part of a human mother, he readily admits to this quality in him as feminine. Does this make him the wife of the couple? Well, Lestat had Louis suck the little girl almost to death and then he brought her into vampirism as their daughter. So here we have Lestat, a mother of two and spouse to the first, and Louis who contributed to the "birth" of his sister. This is very possible for a human family, an incestuous human family, to accomplish so it is not entirely far fetched. If Lestat had been a woman then it would not seem so entirely strange, but he is indeed a man. Is this a critique on what would happen if men were given the ability to reproduce?
As if it could not become weirder, the relationship between the little vampire daughter, named Claudia, Louis and Lestat becomes different over time. At first, Louis and Lestat are strictly teachers to her. It is kind of funny that Lestat is more of a father to her and teaches her to hunt while Louis teaches her to appreciate "vampire eyes" and literature. This suggests that it is Louis who is the mother in their couple. Then as Claudia's mind grows older, Louis notices, "She sees herself as equal to us now, and us as equal to each other" (Pg. 105). Their fear is that she does not understand the slavery and power structure that is part of the vampire family and she threatens the balance of their harmony by even questioning it. She plays on Louis's affection for her to help overthrow Lestat and to run away with her. During their adventure she confesses loving him and even kisses him. Louis and Claudia go from a mother and daughter relationship to being equally enslaved by Lestat and running away as equals, to being lovers, which Louis doesn't seem to object to. All of this is happening while she is trapped in the body of a little girl, which makes it really disturbing. Is this pointing out the flexibility of the woman's personality?

ALSO

I thought it was kind of funny seeing them as Lestat = Father, Louis = Mother, and Claudia = Daughter and the situations they were in. When Louis was interested in Babette, Lestat seemed rather jealous and short tempered with Louis as if he was cheating on him. Then when Louis described Lestats interest in the young musician he seemed very particular and personal about his obsession. I just thought it was funny that they were so petty about it with each other as if they really were lovers