Everybody knows the classic tale of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is most famous for its introduction of the character of Count Dracula into both deep-rooted and contemporary literature and media. One critic claimed,” Bram Stoker set the ground rules for what a vampire should be.” It follows the story of Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor who visits Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania – soon realising that he is being kept as a prisoner. Dracula forms a liking to the character of Lucy which ultimately leads to her death. Dracula learns that the group are plotting against him and feeds Mina his own blood to control her. In the final fight, humanity wins over the creature as they can kill him and Mina’s mind from his “spell.” The premise
Word Count: 1188 5. Describe the appearances Dracula makes throughout the novel. What does Stoker achieve by keeping his title character in the shadows for so much of the novel? In Bram Stoker’s 1897
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is a classic that has been enjoyed by readers for many years. It is one that involves fantasy, gore and even has the potential of scaring readers. It is a story that has been enjoyed and feared by readers for centuries. With that said, even though it is commonly known as a classic horror novel, it can also be seen as an erotica. Throughout the novel, Stoker incorporates sexual scenes, and scenes of desire that may or may not capture readers’ attention due to the presence of horror. The horror genre of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, combined with mild eroticism is able to draw in readers due to the fact that Stoker is able to intricately weave suspenseful sexual scenes/scenes of desire throughout the novel—making it clear that
Dracula starts off in Johnathon Harker’s diary. Johnathon heads to Transylvania on a business trip to sell Dracula, a wealthy count in Transylvania, some real estate in London. After several incidents of Count Dracula attempting to suck Johnathon’s blood, and imprison him, Johnathon escapes and the novel switches to Mina Murray, Johnathon’s fiancé, and her friend, Lucy Westenra’s, points of view through their letters. Its mostly just gossip, but there are several references to Johnathon. Next, it shifts to Dr. John Seward’s, sometimes referred to as Jack, dairy with a description of Renfield who is a patient at Jack’s asylum.
Dracula is about vampires in general, the myth, the mystery and the horror. Even though Dracula wasn’t the first vampire story, it was the first really popular one. Throughout the novel, the author, Bram Stoker, portrays many different aspects of women's roles in the 19th century. With the use of imagery and symbolism, the theme of sexuality and gender roles has an enormous presence in the novel. Social gender roles of women and men during the Victorian Era were very strict and looked upon differently than any other time period. One of the many characteristic features of the Victorian culture was its patriarchal ideas about women. This culture looked upon sexual activity as a negative matter amongst women. The theme of sexuality is very significant
During the Victorian period in which Dracula was written, morals and ethics were often strictly enforced. Some of the morals that were upheld had to do with personal duty, hard work, honesty, as well as sexual proprietary. It was very important during this period that one was proper in their sexual behaviors and conventional in whom they had sexual relations with. However, during this period, many authors sought to challenge the ‘norm’ with ideas of reform and change and Bram Stoker was no exception to this. In his novel, Dracula, Stoker provides a critique of this rigidity in his portrayal of Dracula and Dracula’s relationship with Jonathan Harker. Though he could not be explicit in his representation of homosexuality or queerness, in the
At first glance, the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker appears to be a typical gothic horror novel set in the late 1890s that gives readers an exciting look into the fight between good and evil. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Dracula is a statement piece about gender roles and expectations for men and women during the Victorian age. Looking at the personalities, actions, and character development of each of the characters in Dracula bring to light startling revelations about Victorian society and how Stoker viewed the roles of men and women during this time period.
Dracula is a household name; however, the actual meaning is not as well known. The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker contains a unique story, one which due to the structure of the book there are multiple main characters. The book is written in the form of letters, allowing the focus to be on many different people and viewpoints. Dracula starts out with Jonathan Harker an, Englishman, who takes a trip to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula. On his way to the castle he is warned of the dangers of Dracula, however, Jonathan chooses to persist. Once he arrives at the castle he meets the count. Jonathan is told of Dracula’s longing to live in England. After Jonathan left the castle, Dracula, with Jonathan's help moved to England. Dracula’s arrival was
In Dracula, Stoker portrays the presence of good vs evil by contrasting the two in a straightforward and odd manner. The characters interact having different sides, but sometimes couldn’t tell if a specific character has a personality of goodness in themselves or not. The main character in the novel, Dracula, is considered evil. His appearance and expressions that appear seem to have an evil sense to the others characters. The book also shows elements of gothicism, when the setting starts to turn into the daytime to nighttime quickly, which represents the role of light going against darkness.
Moreover, Stoker’s novel placed in motion an entire vampire culture during the 20th and 21th century, which eventually established an enduring place myth around Transylvania, and implicitly Romania, as the home of vampires
The presentation of Good vs. Evil is one of the main themes in the novel, Dracula. The portrayal of good and evil is seen in each character throughout the book. The characters considered “evil” in the novel are Dracula and his vampire brides. Dracula converts humans into vampires and has immense power over certain individuals. Everything he does demonstrates that there is no good in him at all. His vampire brides assist to Dracula’s dark deeds. What they all have in common is that they prey upon humans. On the other hand, the characters that are considered “good” in the novel are Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, John Seward, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. Throughout the novel, the good characters are constantly doing generous deeds to save others from Dracula.
Another noteworthy example of the way Stoker’s lascivious thematic begins outside the immediate circle of ‘good’ characters and then worms its way within is Mina Harker’s decent into vampirism. After Dracula manages to get into Mina’s bedchamber her forces himself upon her, drinking of her blood and forcing her to drink of his. “I was bewildered and strangely enough, I did not want to hinder him” (305), Mina declares as she realizes that even while she had tried to fight against the Count’s urgings she found it difficult not to yield to his demands. This is an intense moment where a pure hearted, if not pious, character is defiled and forced to recognize their own very human, and lustful desires. It is the basis of these humanizing desires
In Bram Stoker’s gothic novel, Dracula, the overall and fundamental theme of the book is given away the further you read, expressing Stoker’s view of religion. The novel is an account of the paths taken by many different characters such as Count Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray and Lucy Westenra. Since this poem was written with ideas focused primarily on the concepts of evil, as it was viewed during an appearingly-conservative nineteenth and twentieth century society, the book can be seen as a parallel to Eliot’s and others’ own religious quests. While Bram Stoker attempts to acquaint the reader with a frightening tale on the accounts of a dreadful vampire named Count Dracula, he also expresses the goal of strengthening
Seeing is believing, especially when it comes to the supernatural. Throughout Dracula, by Bram Stoker, the clash between science and the supernatural is a recurring theme. At the time, London, England, was in the middle of modernizing society and the science behind it. This included the invention of the phonograph, typewriter, and the way people were thinking. Because of this new era, the English began to discharge the ideas of superstitions. The group struggles to realize the matter of Dracula’s powers because they were being clouded by the era of science. It is only until Van Helsing brings together the ideology of the scientific West and the supernatural East that the group is able to overcome Dracula’s powers and defeat him, which portrays
In this story, Count Dracula has a strange and refined way of communicating and behave strangely towards the protagonist Jonathan Harker; he also displays a wide collection of supernatural abilities, such as strength, the ability to shapeshift and his thirst for blood. Many authors have used this template in order to create their own vampiric