Lilith, is my female antagonist in The Starblood Trilogy. She is definitely a villain, although some have claimed she’s a feminist hero. She is a survivor of assault, but her extreme strength and power have warped her perspective of fairness and cruelty. While her end goal is not evil, her acts certainly are. Lilith frequently inverts sexual stereotypes, and can do so because she is a supernatural creature. Some may call her a demon, but she self-identifies as a god.
This interview was first published on Gothic Moms.
An interview with Lilith -
Carmilla – Thank you for joining me today, Lilith. I hope your journey from Binah was pleasant. My first question, if you’ll forgive my impertinence goddess, is why, when you are all powerful you chose to meddle in the affairs of the two humans – Star and Satori?
Lilith – I’m delighted to be here, and thank you for the delicious cup of coffee. It will be a shame when the Earth’s reserves of coffee beans run out. If you want to know about Star and Satori the first thing you need to understand is that eternity can bore a person after a while. Distractions keep us young. It’s unlikely I would have met the couple had it not been for the lonely soul, Freya, who was determined to engage my services. That said Fate has a way of bringing people together and even without the young sorceress’s summoning perhaps I would have arrived by some other route. Satori annoyed me. I must be honest and admit most human males do. I have not had positive experiences with many of them. But something stayed my hand and instead of crushing the vermin I watched him instead. In retrospect, I believe a greater power was at work. Satori had a role in events to come, but at the time I didn’t understand my decision, and wondered whether I was simply being fickle. In many ways Star and Satori reminded me of the first humans I met – Adam and Eve. Satori was just as determined to assert his dominance and will over his mate as Adam had been. Part of me wanted to free Star from the start, but another part wanted to punish her for being weak.
Carmilla – Do you still believe Star is weak?
Lilith – Her metal is strengthened at times of extreme pressure, as it was when I tortured her, but she wasn’t strong enough to survive, was she?
Carmilla – You mentioned Freya. Can you tell me more about your relationship with her?
Lilith – Freya is a classic case of the imprisoned maiden gone bad. She fascinates me. Her obsession with her brother rivalled Samael’s obsession with me. All these humans seem to think about is sex, don’t you agree? Look at them all – Star, Satori, Freya, Paul and Raven – the were all driven by their desire to get off with each other. I barely had to manipulate them at all. They would have been perfectly capable of destroying themselves without my intervention.
Carmilla – The boys you killed in the woods, did you suspect their motives when they offered you a lift, and if so why did you go with them?
Lilith – Really, Carmilla, victim-blaming? That’s beneath you, don’t you think? If I hadn’t gone with them they would have found someone else, someone less able to defend themselves. I am a survivor, and yes my trauma has no doubt increased my rage. Who wouldn’t be angry after having their agency taken from them? I suspected the boys’ motives. I knew I had the strength to survive their intentions and I took the opportunity to teach them a lesson; just like I did with that sleaze-bag who pursued me through the abandoned industrial estate. I hope the lesson is heard far and wide – Men beware. If you are looking for a victim you may well get more than you bargained for. Women’s rage is a powerful force.
Carmilla – That’s very relevant to what’s happening today – with the Kavanaugh protests. Have you been following the news?
Lilith – It has been relevant from day one. Yes, I’ve watched those pathetic men with their hair pieces, smiles as fake as their tans, and hands forever down their pants or grabbing some poor woman’s, what do they call it, pussy. It’s because they are afraid of women. They are so desperate to keep their power that they will crush, in any way they can, all resistance. Fear of sexual assault, and the shame it inspires, is an effective weapon for them. But if the women shed their shame and overcome their fear, they can change the world. I’d like to say that’s what’s happening now, but waves like this rise and fall. Time will tell whether women are ready to say “no more” and overthrow their oppressors.
Carmilla – Thank you, Lilith. Is there anything else you want to say before you head home? I know you have lots of new souls to make bodies for.
Lilith – I’ll repeat what I told Star, when I thought the truth might save her. Every day I make flesh for new spirits, some are male and some are female. The spirits within both are infinite until I make that arbitrary choice as to how to shape their flesh. Each is limited by their new shell. Their bodies separate them from each other, organising the spirits into logical patterns which conform, with varying success, to the rules which cage them. Rules such as you can no longer fly; you can no longer expand into your environment; you can no longer merge completely and seamlessly with another; one day you will die and your spirit will return to the source. These are the rules of being bound into flesh and they are the same for male and female forms. Everything you have been taught since you were pushed from your screaming mother, other than these rules, is bullshit. These new limits humans have imposed upon themselves, and each other, are not real. They hold no profound truth about yourself or the human condition. You are neither inferior nor superior to the billions of other spirits caged in flesh that roam the earth.
