The Vampyre

“He gazed upon the mirth around him, as if he could not participate therein.”

Ruthven’s enigmatic character is an early clue foreshadowing his vampiric nature: Ruthven stands apart from the frivolities of human society because he is not human and has no interest in them.

“In spite of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a warmer tint, either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions, and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection.” 

Polidori’s description of Ruthven establishes the classic physical appearance of the vampire while using the connotations of his descriptive language to allude to Ruthven’s predatory nature.

“[H]e was as often among those females who form the boast of their sex from their domestic virtues, as among those who sully it by their vices.”

Polidori uses juxtaposition to muddle Ruthven’s true intentions; His presence among dishonored women and the exceedingly virtuous makes his true intentions difficult to find.