How Does Bram Stoker Use Fear Of The Unknown In Dracula

Dating back all the way to the late eighteen hundreds, fear itself and fear of the unknown has been a major concept in a person’s life. In the novel Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, Stoker introduces the first idea of fear of the unknown through an encounter with a mysterious being. Throughout his novel, Stoker explores fear within an individual through the genre of horror fiction. Furthermore, revealing fear of the unknown by virtue of the novel’s characters, such as, Jonathan Harker, Lucy Westenra, and Dracula. The welcoming of the unknown is often accepted, producing individuals to experience fear in different ways.

Within the process of writing the novel, Bram Stoker was influenced by many factors. This gives the novel a deeper aspect

Obstacles are thrown in one’s path to get a reaction through fear. As an obstacle is given towards Lucy, someone brings forth God into her path, “‘Well, the devil may work against us for all he’s worth, but God sends us men when we want them’” (Stoker, 106). In this case, the devil equals fear, god equals the overcome obstacle. Once Lucy had come into contact with Dracula, many more obstacles are thrown her way. Some view Dracula as the devil and with each of his attacks, the aftereffects grow worse and worse. According to Marco Torres, in his article “Fear of The Unknown Is Creating Hysteria In Every Part of Our Lives”, “The dangers of modern life have a stranglehold on people’s imaginations… cultures increasingly preoccupied with threats to safety… definitely imagined” (Torres). Referring to an unknown, similar to Dracula himself, his threats cause great harm to the society. Faced with a fearful event allows the individual to use their fears to overcome. When Lucy died, many odd things happened around the town. Seward and Van Helsing visit her grave every night, “I drew near and looked. The coffin was empty” (Stoker, 142), trying to figure out what is the cause. Lucy’s body in the coffin disappears each visitation and as this happens, children go missing. Marco Torres, in his article, states, “Fear… creates desperation and indecision that paralyze our logic,

“‘And now, my friends, we have a duty here to do. We must sterilize this earth, so sacred of holy memories, that he has brought from a far distant land for such fell use’” (Stoker, 217). As the plan to kill Dracula sets in, the aftereffect is decided: rid the world of Dracula’s drastic force. The group hunting down Dracula are in constant fear. The only way to save everyone is to rid the world of Dracula since he is harming society by turning people into vampires. Anything should be looked as a possibility of doing if an individual wants to create the end to their fears. One including, “‘I have an idea. I suppose it must have come in the night, and matured without my knowing it. He must hypnotize me before the dawn, and then I shall be able to speak. Go quick, dearest, the time is getting close.’” (Stoker, 265). Van Helsing believes that the count is scared since the group is coming in closed to his location. Van Helsing wants to hypnotize Mina to trace Dracula’s movements. Stated by Mark Perry in “Fear of the Unknown: How Can I Overcome It?”, “In some cases, the fear of the unknown would be based on specific factors that are beyond our control. In such instances, educating oneself about the fear is the best way to curb the fear of the unknown” (Perry). Now, that Mina can speak spiritually to Dracula, the group may educate themselves on the situation. This can allow