On the one hand, vampires have eternal life that humans do not have. Thus, instead of realizing the maximum inpidual value in a limited life, vampires question and reflect on their existence and the value of a lasting life. While there is no death in the vampire world, then what is the sense of their existence? What is the value of a lasting life? Vampires in Rice’s novels never end the search for the answers. Detached from the limitation of time, from the perspective of an observer, they witness the vicissitudes and fickleness of human life. When beloved relatives and friends, familiar streets have all passed away, leaving them alone, what they have tasted is not joy or merriness, but endless torture and loneliness. Vampires without life goals seem indistinguishable from ordinary people who have lost their life direction in society, for whom living is nothing but endless anxiety and panic. Depending on vampires’ living state, Rice alludes to the loneliness and despair in real life since humans cannot grasp their fate in their own hands. Although presented in a fictional world, it proves the contradiction between life and death, human and environment, and human themselves in society. 

Rice, on the other hand, feels compassionate for her created vampires. Although they enjoy an eternal life, literally pine, they are the outsiders of human society and have been isolated after all. They are helpless wandering souls, disguising themselves and lingering in the secular world due to disgust and rejection from humans. The vampire protagonists in Rice’s works never stop seeking the source of their life, eager to recognize ancestors to get identity. By portraying such characters, Rice intends to encourage people to embrace novel things tolerantly rather than viewing the world with established values.