The Vampire Tapestry

Study Questions

1. Why does Weyland choose to pass himself off as a college professor? How difficult do you think it was for him to manage this, and what do you think he had to do to achieve it? Have you read about any real-life imposters?

2. What other identities might work well for Weyland in our modern world, and why?

3. How does Katje de Groot compare, personally, to Abraham van Helsing (the professor in Dracula who leads the party of heroes in destroying the count)? Think about her character, her background, and her function in the novel: if she weren't in it, what would not happen, what would you not know about the people and events in this chapter? Why do you think the author chose Katje as Weyland's first antagonist in The Vampire Tapestry?

4. Does Katje change in the course of the first chapter? How, and why?
How flexible and changeable do you think middle-aged people are? Do you have examples from your own life's observations?

5. What factors in Mark's character and situation lead him to be sympathetic to the captive vampire? Do your own feelings about Weyland change as you read this chapter, and if so, why? Do you like Mark? Why, and why not? Do you think Weyland likes him? How do you think Mark's life will change as a result of the events of "lost content?"
What would you do, in Mark's situation, differently from the way Mark handles it, and why?

6. What are the different kinds of imagination shown by different characters in the "Lost content" chapter? Who imagines what -- what does Roger see in his own future, how do Bobbie and her friend Julie see the world and their place in it, what kind of son does Mark's father imagine he can teach Mark to be, etc. -- and how does that imagining work for them? Against them?

7. What is "the land of lost content" for Mark? For Weyland? For others in the story? Does everyone have a personal "land of lost content" that they remember with longing and sadness? What is yours? Was it ever a real place, and if so how accurately do you think you remember it now? How important is it in your life?

8. Some one dies in the course of the "lost content" chapter; who is to blame? Is someone here a murderer on account of that death? Roger does not die; why not?

9. Where do you think Alan Reese got his ideas from? Does he really believe in what he's doing? Why does he want to destroy Weyland -- what would he, Reese, get out of it? Why do his followers follow him? Can you imagine circumstances in which you would ever follow someone like Reese?

10. Which characters in "lost content" function as teachers in this chapter, what lessons do they teach and who do they teach those lessons to? Have you had relationships or events in your life that have taught you in this way?

11. Which characters in this chapter do you think come out of it changed, and how?

12. Why is Floria unhappy at the beginning of "Unicorn Tapestry?" How does she feel at the end of the chapter, and why? What do you think she will do with the rest of her life, and how have the events of "Unicorn Tapestry" change her relationship with the world and people around her?

13. Why does Weyland decide to tell her the truth about himself? At what point do you think he makes up his mind to kill her, and why? Why does he change his mind?

14. Is Floria brave, or a coward? Neither, both? How do you know? What about Kenny? Why does he act as he does? What will happen to him as a result of these events? Would you like to have Kenny as a friend? Why? Why not?

15. Why is Floria attracted to Weyland? Why is he attracted to her? What allows him to let down his guard completely with her at the end of the chapter? Does he love her? If yes, why? And why does he believe that anything like love is dangerous to him? Do you agree? Is love always a positive influence on a person's life?

16. Do you think Floria acts responsibly in her handling of Weyland and her decision on what to do about him? What would you have done in her place? Will she ever write about him, and if so, how will she handle the story of their relationship?

17. How does the chapter "A Musical Interlude" function in the novel? How does it shift or advance the reader's attention and understanding of the story-line, and the mood of the story?

18. Why does Weyland respond so strongly to the opera "Tosca"? How does it relate to his own situation, and why does that lead him to kill? Why is he in such a bad mood from the beginning?

19. How is this chapter about "performance", and which characters in it are "performing" roles rather than just being themselves? What are the major differences between Weyland's performance of his role as professor and the artists' performance of Tosca? Who else is an artist in this chapter, and how do you justify that label for them?
Is Weyland an artist too? Can art be lethal and still be art? Can art exist where no one is aware that it is art, not reality (except the artist himself)?
What roles do you perform in the course of an ordinary day, and why? If you could execute one act that would sum up and exemplify the basic reality of your nature, what would that act be?

20. Why does Alison sleep with Weyland? What do you think her later relationships will be like? How do you think she will be affected by Weyland's disappearance?

21. What do you think is Irv's secret, that drives him to do what he does? Why is Irv drawn to Weyland? Could Weyland have saved Irv in any way? If yes, why didn't he?

22. Can you write an entry that would fit into the entries Weyland makes in his own diary? How does it feel to try to fit yourself into Weyland's point of view? Does it surprise you in any way? Do you ever stop to try to look through the eyes of the protagonist, or the minor characters, in a story, at anything beyond the world of the story itself?

23. What would you do if you had Weyland's unusual physical strength? Do you have any outstandingly unusual characteristics, or no anyone who does? How does that seem to affect their life as a normal human being?
What is "normal"? Is it always a good thing? Can it be changed? Does it change by itself?

24. At the end of the novel, Weyland believes he has become different than he was, and in a way that threatens his survival. Do you think he behaves differently at the end than he did in the first chapter? How did you feel about him at the beginning of the book? How do you feel about him at the end, and why? Do you think he makes the right final choice? If you were there, how would you advise him?
What do you think would happen to him if he chose to stay?

25. How is Weyland different from other vampires in fiction that you've read? How, throughout this book, does he utilize other ideas of vampires for his own ends?
How would he be different if he were one vampire among many others, instead of being unique?

26. In Elizabeth Knox's book The Vintner's Luck an angel is mistaken for a vampire; can you imagine circumstances in which Weyland might be mistaken for an angel?

27. Compare Weyland's fate with that of Bram Stoker's Dracula; who brings each one down, and how, and why? How do the differences reflect differences in Western culture and society between the ends of the 19th and the 20th centuries?
What is it about the idea of the vampire that makes it so useful and attractive to fiction authors in different historical times? If you were to write a vampire story, what kind of vampire would you write about? Why?

28. Which characters in the story seem to you to really be "monsters" and why? What do we humans do with the monsters in our midst, how do we relate to them, how do we try to normalize or control them? What is a "monster" and who defines him or her as such?