# What Corruption of Innocence means in The Vampire

> The vampire Lord Ruthven systematically preys upon the virtuous and innocent, particularly young women and naive individuals like Aubrey, corrupting them or leading them to ruin, while showing contempt for genuine virtue.

## Explanation

The vampire Lord Ruthven systematically preys upon the virtuous and innocent, particularly young women and naive individuals like Aubrey, corrupting them or leading them to ruin, while showing contempt for genuine virtue.

Lord Ruthven's charity and gambling lead to the destruction of families and individuals, highlighting the theme of innocence corrupted by evil.

Corruption of Innocence is one of the patterns The Vampire by John William Polidori returns to. The chapter notes above are from this edition’s companions — open those chapters to see how the book stages the idea rather than treating the theme as a slogan.

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