This has been argued a lot, not as a topic on its own, but as a part of an argument for other topics, so I thought I'd write this article discussing Lestat's childhood, and what formed his personality.
Many speculate that Lestat's behaviour, his rule-breaking in particular is caused by his father's coldness towards him. I aim to find out why Lestat is the way he is, and what part his father, mother and brothers play in his development.
The first thing to look at is his circumstances. He was the youngest brother, which naturally puts him in the lowest of family ranks, which would naturally make him restless and rebellious. They were poor, which would make Lestat regretful, to be born into a family with nothing to give financially. His eldest brother, Augustin, was destined to inherit the castle, estate and all they possessed. Which would make Lestat naturally jealous and angry towards his brother. His father was blind and old, and thus unable to fully be the father Lestat wanted.
Lestat says himself that as a child all he knew was his father's castle, estate and the nearby village, and this didn't give him a chance to explore the wider world, people, his future or any other options. This would make him the impulsive and daring person he is, so that he never misses a chance . This also must a very dull thing for him, after his first few years exploring the estate, it must get dull having no friends or purpose, ad so this will also make him restless, daring and cheeky, as it does most children who have nothing better to do.
Lestat says " I wouldn't talk of old wars." and so having different interests to the rest of his family will make him feel like an outcast, like he doesn't belong and angry.
He became after a while a hunter, he hunted his own lands to feed his family, this he liked, I believe because it cured his boredom, his restlessness, and gave him something to channel his anger into. It also gave him a purpose, a talent, and something his family would appreciate, as many winters they nearly starved, and so gave him a link into his family that wasn't there before. But thing didn't cure his anger and restlessness completely.
In The Vampire Lestat, he states "I'd been born restless - the dreamer, the angry one, the complainer." And although he says he was born like this, its quite plain his circumstances made him this way. And so far his family has no input into why he's the way he is.
Lestat goes on to talk about the different kinds of lords in France, and how city lords looked down on the country lords(which is what he was) calling then "hare catchers", he says they could sneer at them, but there is a touch of bitterness in his words, which shows he resents being looked down upon, thus proving he was already a proud man by the time of his early adulthood, and this jealousy gives birth to his love of all things luxurious.
Gabrielle plays a big part in Lestat's childhood, he says "I had a great and unshakable love of her", this proving she meant a great deal to him and for good reasons. The first time we hear of her doing something great for Lestat is when the parish priest desires to send Lestat to the monastery to be schooled. This would give Lestat an education, and with an education comes many opportunities, and a possible escape for Lestat.
His father objects to this, which will naturally make Lestat bitter towards his father. His mother argues with his father, and even sells her valuable(both in price and sentimentally, as they came from her grandmother back in Italy) jewels to pay for books and clothing. She also adds "should he wish to" showing that his mother is very considerate of his wishes.
Augustin tries to settle the angry father, saying as soon as Lestat was made to do something he didn't want to he would come running home. This has a mocking tone to it, and would be severely insulting to Lestat, and shows how his brother is continuously looking down on him.
Lestat loves the monastery, and says "i knew an intense happiness because someone for the first time in my life was trying to make me a good person" . He needed encouragement, and positive attention, this he never got from either his father or Augustin. He described his teachers as "people who believed I could be good if I wanted to be." He does in this passage emphasize on goodness, showing this is who he wanted to be, and be surrounded by people who believed in the goodness in him, such as his mother does, hence why he loves her so greatly. He doesn't make people there "unhappy or angry" and this he find unusual, which implies how badly treated Lestat was by his family, and how hard done by he feels because of it.
Now here comes the important part. Lestat wanted to stay at the monastery, he was happy there, and he assumed his family would be happy to get rid of him as he's such nuisance. But five days later he's dragged home, his books locked away from him, his brother rants to him about how he just didn't get it! They were lords, and no member of their great French family was going to be a poor teaching brother. And something about behaving habitually like a "wild creature". This suggests that Lestat is unruly and vastly different to the rest of the family, its also very belittling.
Lestat's father doesn't say or do much in this rant, as he is blind and old, but Lestat is fully aware that he ordered him home. And this adds to Lestat's bitterness towards his father. After this Gabrielle buys Lestat a couple of dogs, who he breeds and forms a kennel, he spends his days in the fields, repairing them. But his family didn't want to hear of his stories about him re-growing the vineyard, thus making him feel neglected and an outcast. Now so far Lestat is only 12 and this resent event isn't evidence for his behaviour but a birth place for a lot of his bitterness, especially to his father, who he sees as having ripped him from where he was truly happy.
The next significant event in Lestat's young life is when he's 16 years of age. An acting group come to his village with the fair. They let him play the part of Lelio, and applaud his performance, and of course Lestat Loves this, he's having attention for being good. He falls for the girl who plays his on stage sweetheart of Isabella. They love his company and make him feel appreciated and loved, and so the next morning he leaves with them.
Acting he loved, because he had a talent for it, and was applauded for it, he was appreciated something he never got at home( although he loved his mother and she him, she was always cold and refused hugs and any form of intimacy), and was able to escape him miserable life in the castle, and be someone different on stage. Some say that it was also appealing for him as he knew his father would be angry, and while I agree this would be true, he does this act impulsively, and with no second to think of how his family will react, he was caught in the moment, and acted only on his passion.
He was dragged home again, dragged by his brothers from something he enjoyed back to the dreary castle that held nothing for him. He was severely beaten when he gets back, although it doesn't say who does it, I assume it was his older brother Augustin. This act only furthering his hatred of his brothers and father.
His mother on the other hand, although terribly hurt that her most loved son would leave without a word, defends him, and talked to him directly in conversation around the dinner table, which Lestat says is "unnatural to her". And this only deepens his love of her.
Lestat says that the bitterness in him never subdued, and that he became a little cruller because of the whole ordeal. He "alone put the fear of God into the servants and tenants", and became an extraordinary hunter.
After these events his personality is set. Yes over time he becomes a little less bitter, but mostly only when he is able to escape his life to Paris, has money to full fill all his dreams of luxury, has a fitting companion, and a loving father and mentor, Marius.
So, in conclusion, a lot of his personality was moulded from his circumstances, he has younger sibling syndrome, being in the lowest rank of the family, he is restless and bored, and has no future at the castle but if forced to stay there and be made to act like a Lord. His father thought of Augustin as a Saint, and disciplined and condemned Lestat. He doesn't intend to be a rule-breaker he is just searching for happiness, yet he's punished by his brothers and father for this. He doesn't mean to be rebellious either, he just didn't understand what was truly expected of him, or why they objected to him being happy. He clearly is searching for attention from his family, thus why he loves hunting, he says himself, he loves seeing his family eating his kill. He has a lot of bitterness towards his family, hence his dreaming of murdering them.
Mostly his feeling of being trapped in the castle, and from boredom spawns the irrational and impulsive behavioural patterns. His rule-breaking is to test boundaries, and out of curiosity, which again derives from boredom and a lack of satisfaction in his life. But mostly out of a warpped connection, when Lestat
found happiness his family told him that he was bad because he broke rules, and so to him rule breaking equals happiness.
His father is annoyed and angered by Lestat, and so this enhances Lestat's feelings of dissatisfaction and hatred. And so this forms his bitter, cruel and frank side of his personality, which Louis concentrates a lot on in his book.
Lestat's mother, Gabrielle was always loving and understanding, and tried to do the best by him, and so this created a very strong bond between them.
I think this article makes quite clear that Lestat's personality is formed in his childhood. Becoming a vampire enables Lestat to magnify his persona, and so many believe that Lestat's personality is formed by Magnus. do not be fooled muahahahaha, sorry.
If you have another view on Lestat's character development, or would like to add to my views, please don't hesitate to comment =D
