Was Daniel dying of AIDS before being turned?
(Thanks to anon for pushing me into this research whirlwind)
As we all know, Anne Rice began writing the Vampire Chronicles in a crucial moment of her life, and âInterview with the Vampireâ was published right at the pinnacle of the gay rights movement and before the terrible AIDS epidemic.
(Quote from âPrism of the night: A biography of Anne Riceâ)
As Anne continued writing the Chronicles the themes morphed and, in her words, she accessed the subconscious to bring to life the characters and storylines we all love.
(Quote from âThe Vampire Companionâ)
It was only after trying different narratives and themes (âThe Sleeping Beauty Quartetâ, âCry to Heavenâ, âExit to Edenâ, âBelindaâ) that Anne got to a point in her life where loss and grief struck her again, both in her personal and professional life. In less than a year two of her editors and friends died, one of them out of complications of AIDS.
(Quote from âPrism of the night: A biography of Anne Riceâ)
And it was then, in the midst of her grief, that she once again found the inspiration to write. She began her journey into crafting her most ambitious Vampire Chronicles book: âThe Queen of the Damnedâ.
(Quote from âPrism of the night: A biography of Anne Riceâ)
And even if the themes of this book might seem universal and wide, Anne was conscious that her own personal experiences shaped certain aspects of the narrative.
Anne never really tied the AIDS crisis with Danielâs character arc in âQotDâ. She wanted to explore the theme of addiction and obsession through Daniel and Armand, and she linked Danielâs addiction to drinking blood to his addiction to drinking alcohol. Daniel ultimately wasted away through the bottle (an addiction Anne knew intimately), until Armand turned him into a vampire.
(Quote from âThe Vampire Companionâ)
But one has to wonder what Anne unconsciously worked into Daniel, especially when the grief and loss she had experienced prior to writing âQueen of the Damnedâ started with the deaths of two of her editors, one of them dying of AIDS.
The violence present in 'QotDâ through Akashaâs male-directed massacres speak loudly of Anneâs own experiences.
(Quote from âPrism of the night: A biography of Anne Riceâ)
Long story short, Anne never linked Danielâs casual sexual encounters (through Armand) with his death, nor did she consciously work the AIDS crisis into Danielâs story.
Funnily enough, the only time Anne linked her experience of AIDS with her work was while talking about âThe Witching Hourâ, which she began writing right after âQueen of the Damnedâ.
(Quote from the article âRemembering 'Vampire Chroniclesâ author Anne Riceâ)
And only this year (2023), Christopher Rice referenced his late motherâs âinspirationâ for âViolinâ, and the autobiographical tones in relation to her experience with AIDS. Anne wrote 'Violinâ almost a decade after writing 'Queen of the Damnedâ, after losing another friend, John Preston, to AIDS.
(Quote from Anne Riceâs facebook page)
The answer to the question remains in the negative. Consciously, Anne never put Daniel in the path of the AIDS crisis. Whether unconsciously she wove AIDS into Danielâs obsession and downfall through the Blood will always remain a mystery (or at least, an unverified statement).
