"the sacred fount" has been seen as everything from a serious discussion of the "vampire" theory of human sexuality to a parody/treatment of the artist's construction of an alternative and more profound reality. but many have expressed simple bewilderment over what, if anything, james was trying to accomplish in the novel. james himself said that the book was "calculated to minister to curiosity," but many have maintained that the novel does little or nothing to reward that curiosity.