Character Analysis
Turning Trickster
Santiago is the most obvious antagonist in the novel. It's obvious that he and Louis will be at odds from their first meeting, when Louis observes, "He was the vampire; I seemed the mirror" (3.45). Santiago is pure evil, through and through. From the moment we meet him, he tricks and torments Louis and searches for a way to punish him. Louis's crime: calling him a "buffoon" (3.49). Santiago cannot forgive such an indiscretion.
The sad thing about this is that Louis desperately wants to find another vampire like himself: a civilized vampire with knowledge of the past. Instead, he finds Santiago, who is civilized on the surface but loads more diabolical than the primitive Revenant vampires in Eastern Europe.
After Santiago kills Claudia and Madeleine, Louis burns down the Théâtre des Vampires with Santiago inside. Santiago is one of the few piles of ash Louis doesn't cry over. Good riddance!