How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Bridget's always knitting. She was eighty-two when she was infected, so she can't do much else. Even climbing stairs can be a problem for Bridget because of her hip joints. There's only one thing worse than being a vampire, and that's being an elderly vampire with bad hips. (1.49)
Oh, sorry if your vision of glamorous, sexy, strong vampires just got dashed to pieces. Based on Nina's description of vampire life, we know that vampires don't automatically heal from whatever aging or illness/injury they've experienced while mortal. In fact, the vampiric infection just seems to make things worse. It's no wonder Nina thinks that being a vampire dooms you to endless suffering.
Quote #2
A vampire's stomach isn't capable of digesting normal food…Even stale blood can result in some pretty gruesome side effects: not just stomach cramps and migraines, but continual vomiting, extreme dehydration, and a slimy red discharge from the gums. (5.3)
Well, isn't that pleasant? Nina informs us that yeah, garlic is bad for vampires, but then again, so is every other human food. The consequences of eating food instead of blood sound pretty dire. No wonder Sanford gets on everyone's case about eating regularly, and eating well.
Quote #3
I've heard tell that Gladys once begged for a stake through the heart after she stupidly dosed herself with horse chestnut. Her skin was peeling off in powdery flaps, and her joints swelled up like balloons. (5.4)
We don't even know what horse chestnut is, and this makes us want to avoid it. Yuck. Based on Nina's graphic description of what happened to Gladys after eating it, we now have a very icky mental image of how much vampires can suffer from poor dietary choices. It's almost like they're allergic to everything.
Quote #4
When Casimir was finally released from his underground confinement, back in 1973, he looked just like a bog mummy. He couldn't even blink for a week. His tongue was kippered, his teeth were loose, and his eyeballs had shrunk to the size and consistency of dried peas. (7.6)
Oh joy, more graphic descriptions of suffering vampires. Isn't that just what we needed? It sounds like depriving a vampire of food for a few decades will really do a number on them. Being immortal, thus surviving to suffer through imprisonment, maybe isn't so appealing after all.
Quote #5
"I killed him and then I ate him," Reuben continued. There was so much raw anger and self-disgust in his voice that I could hardly bear to listen. (13.121)
Poor Reuben has suffered a lot in his life. Being a werewolf doesn't seem as bad as being a vampire, in terms of the amount of physical pain and disability it inflicts, but then, Reuben has to deal with not remembering what he does when he's a wolf (hint: it's usually violent and bloody). Not to mention everything that the McKinnons have inflicted on him.
Quote #6
"You keep saying that vampirism is just another form of humanity," I exclaimed, "yet you're happy to sit here and let other people suffer! Is that what a real human being would do?" (17.75)
Nina is annoyed at how nobody wants to mobilize to rescue Reuben from the McKinnons (who, let's remember, keep him in captivity, abuse him, and make him fight other werewolves to the death). So Nina goes for the throat and calls out the other vamps on their lack of empathy for suffering.
Quote #7
"I'm glad it's making you sick. I hope it makes you even sicker. […] I hope you rupture something, Horace! I hope you're in bed for a week! Don't you realize what you've done? You've infected someone!" (23.44)
Nina really lets loose on Horace here. Normally she doesn't seem like the sadistic type, but given that Horace just bit Dermid, thus dooming him to become a vampire, she pulls out all the stops. Horace looks like he's suffering (since Dermid had drugs in his system when Horace bit him), and to Nina, that's a good thing: Maybe it'll teach him not to bite people. Whoever said pain wasn't a good teacher?
Quote #8
"Her life seems pretty awful, if you ask me," Reuben went on. "She can't go out in the daytime. She can't go to parties. She's always sick. Isn't that right, Mrs. Harrison?" (25.45)
Reuben and Nina's mom talk to Nefley while he's in their custody and try to convince him vampires aren't the evil villains he's made them out to be. How do they do this? By painting a sympathetic portrait of Nina in particular, and highlighting how much she suffers due to the infection. Seems like a pretty effective tactic, based on how Nefley changes his mind and becomes a vampire supporter.
Quote #9
Barry's had to miss a lot of meetings. His transformation was especially hard—perhaps because he was infected by a blood relative. He can barely stand up. […] That's why he and his son are both living with Sanford, at present. They need constant medical supervision." (29.13)
We've spent a lot of time learning just how suffering-filled a vampire's life is, so it seems like poetic justice for the violent werewolf wranglers to have to suffer that same existence. Barry and Dermid are nasty, cold-blooded killers, but now they can barely stand up straight. At least we won't have to worry about them harming Reuben or other werewolves again, right? They may still be a danger to humans, but hopefully that's a long time coming.
Quote #10
It was Sanford who closed the lid on Horace. Nobody else would have had the stomach for it. (29.18)
For biting Dermid, Horace is sentenced to be interred underground. This is a terrible punishment, since going without blood for however many months or years will physically destroy Horace, even though he won't die from it. Does the punishment fit the crime? Will Horace's suffering reform him? We'll have to wait and see.