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“Men! Normalcy and sanity, cities and machines and half forgotten values, coming nearer and nearer over the tossing sea, beneath the brassy sky…

Men! Like himself, like his father, who hovered shouting his disgust.

And he, lying in the arms of—God, God, what if they should see him!”

This is when Craig and Hofmanstahal’s long time stranded at sea is finally coming to an end. They have finally spotted a ship and know they are about to be saved, so Hofmansthal feeds on Craig one last time. This is right before Hofmanstahal dies, as Craig pushes him into the water because he is ashamed of whether people should see what they are doing.

This passage very much reflects Craig’s final attitude towards Hofmanstahal’s nature, regardless of their long time spent together at sea. Although Craig is first repulsed By Hofsmantahal when he finds out what he truly is, he soon comes to accept and even form a quite close bond with him as he realizes that this way of life is in his nature—there is nothing either of them can do about it. They come to form an interesting friendship, and soon Craig becomes familiar with and even looks forward to their mutual “symbiotic relationship” at night. Although in the back of his mind he knows that this against his values, he realizes that for the time being there is nothing more he can do, it is said that their relationship became a “single flow and purpose” between them.

In this moment, however, Craig realizes that he would give up all this—this mutual purpose and the unusual friendship that he and Hofmanstahal now share—in order not taint the way that society views him. He fears he will be judged and criticized by others if they see what Hofsmantahal is doing, and knows that it goes against his values as well as those of his peers, and so is therefore ashamed. Although we know that Craig very soon after regrets what he has done, Craig’s actions in this instance show a very important part of his true nature—he cares more about what others think of him than his newfound loyalty to the vampire.

Q: If Hofmanstahal had survived, what would his relationship have been like with Craig once they were back to civilization?