Immortality In Bram Stoker's Dracula

Dracula’s Immortality

No horror novel has achieved the fame of Dracula. Bram Stoker’s imaginative battle between a motley crew of characters and a centuries-old vampire is one that has captivated for over a century. This longevity cannot be attributed to the plot alone. Dracula is able to captivate because it contains many types of struggles, each one relatable to different social contexts. Aside from its hold as a horror novel, Dracula endures because it serves as a reminder of how society is constantly in flux: authority figures fall to the powerless, tradition is confined by progress, and human values are rediscovered somewhere in the midst.

The Victorian Era is known for its pious and sexless society where women only expected to be wives

Dracula himself embodies the extremes of tradition. When Jonathan Harker first meets Dracula, the Count is already a man past his prime. “We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship.” (65) Dracula feels deserving of power because he inherited it- and he annihilates any threat to it. Count Dracula’s stubbornness makes the tradition he stands for appear childish and insensitive. In his dedication to his lineage, Count Dracula employs simple, technologically outdated methods for his plans, such as using horses in his trips instead of a train, or using a old ship where a steamboat would have been more efficient. Jonathan Harker, Mina, and the ‘Crew of Light,’ embody progress- they use the latest technology of 1897 in the fight against Dracula. Characters memorize train schedules, write in shorthand, and use cutting edge technology such as blood transfusions. While to the readers this gives the ‘Crew of Light’ a clear upper hand, Stoker does not reveal his opinion on the matter until the closing scene. In the final scene of Dracula, Jonathan and and his friends surround Quincy, a dying friend. However, the event is not written to be sad. Quincy’s last words are spent telling the group of the sunrise at the horizon, “Now God be thanked that all has not been in vain! See! the snow is not more stainless than her forehead! The curse has passed away!” (772) Being both a literal and metaphorical sunrise, Stoker makes it clear that to the audience the importance of looking forward. Dracula was a nonhuman creature burdened by his need to stay in the past, so through him Stoker points out that the ability to progress must be an integral human trait. However, the rejoicing of the sunlight does reference superstition because it hints at a fear of the dark, showing that progress and