...Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a novel focused on vampirism during Victorian time. Vampirism is a curse that awakens the dead as blood sucking monsters, however, it is also a metaphor or a symbol for disease. Vampirism can correlate with animal related illness such as rabies and bubonic plague seen in Dracula’s transformations. Although associating with animal related disease vampirism can also be associated with venereal disease such as syphilis shown in Dracula through the infection of Lucy and Mina. Vampirism rate of infection is closely related to the infectious theory. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is riddled with text that supports disease. “As the count leaned over me and his hands touched me, I could not repress a shudder. It may have been that his breath was rank, but a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which do what I would, I could not conceal. The count, evidently noticing it, drew back; and with a grim sort of smile, which showed more than he had yet done this protuberant teeth, sat himself down again on his own side of the fireplace” (Stoker 24). Specifically, “shudder”, “rank”, “nausea”, and “grim” all words hinting toward Dracula’s ill presence. These words are being used to describe an encounter with Dracula, they also happen to be the same words that could be used when describing illness. Dracula was written in a time when little was known or understood of infectious disease. However, while reading the novel’s subtext one can believe that vampirism and infection...
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... Count Dracula Count Dracula is practically the protagonist and antagonist of this book. The book is literally named after him. Bram Stoker, the author, describes the count as “a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white mustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere…[h]is face was strong- a very strong- aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils…[a] lofty domed forehead and hair growing scantly round temples, but profusely elsewhere…eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth […] was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp teeth; these protruded over the lips. […] His ears were pale and at the top extremely pointed. The chin was broad and strong and the cheeks firm through thin.” In addition, he had sharp nails and very bad breath. What many don’t know, is that Stoker made a very distinct allusion to a real Dracula; Vlad Dracul III. The count has many similarities to Vlad Dracul but still differentiates to the extent of making Stoker’s Dracula a very popular icon. The book mentions three women living in his castle with him and even argues about how he doesn’t love in page 43 chapter 3. In response, Dracula states that they know how he has been able to love and they should know from the past. According to the book Dracula, some writers in the twentieth century...
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...In Anne McWhir’s essay titled “Pollution and Redemption in Dracula” she examines the theme of the stark contrasts between pure and unclean. Pollution in the sense the writer was going for does not mean landfills and gas guzzlers, but when the unclean taints the pure. Going beyond the surface definition, the book Dracula has many instances of contrasting values surrounding the thoughts of purity. The ideas of good and evil, life and death, new and old, and civilization and savagery are examined throughout the novel. Dracula as a whole is a story of the characters quest to purify the world of the evil and uncleanliness that is Count Dracula. The novelty of Dracula is that often these lines can and have to be blurred in order for the characters to succeed. The book portrays the main three men of the novel as heroic hunters going out to find and kill Dracula. Is this heroism, or have they reverted back to an animalistic blood thirst, not unlike the animal they are hunting. The ideas of science and superstitious ritual also come into conflict throughout the novel. The further and further you read into the novel the more muddled these lines become, and the more the characters of the book must cross them in order to defeat Dracula. One big blurry area in the novel is the notion of blood. Blood in Dracula has multiple powers. It has the power to heal, or it can cause great pollution. It can be used to show undying love, or it can be used as the most violent attack. The removal...
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...Leon Ritchens Dr. O’Brien Approaches to Literature 11/14/13 Dracula Supernatural In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the Count is equipped with the some powers that set him aside from the other characters in the book. These powers allow him to be on a higher tier than the humans he hunts which gives him an edge on the field of battle. Dracula was a Transylvanian count who happened to be a vampire. We are introduced to Dracula as a potential customer of an opulent piece of real estate in London. He is visited by a solicitor by the name of Jonathan Harker. During Harker’s stay, he realizes that some things about Dracula are not right. He notices that the Count is only seen during the night and he always wants to talk, and he tells Harker to stay in his room during the night. One night, Harker sees Dracula scaling the castle wall with a sack that contains a child. Another night, Harker is looking around the castle, despite the Count’s decree to stay in his room, and realizes that most of the doors in the other rooms are locked. He finds an open one and comes to the bed. Soon he is sleepy and is visited by three woman. Dracula comes in the last minute to shoo away the woman before anything sinister continued. Harker faints and wakes up the next morning in his bed. Another night at Castle Transylvania, Harker is witness to Dracula scaling an immense tower. Harker is soon left alone at Castle Transylvania in a trance. Dracula moves to England where he starts his master plan to take over...
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...My Blood is Your Blood “I want to suck your blood,” is a popular adage found when speaking of Dracula (although not found in Bram Stoker’s Dracula). Is it because it is his life line? The short answer would be yes, but is that all it is to Dracula? No. It is in fact the basic human life line. Without blood, there can be no human life. The same rings true for the undead, which is the case of Dracula. Blood is the essential fluid for all beings on Earth but blood stands for more in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Blood also produces other underlying topics such as lineage race and health. Blood is essential to all beings but why is it so essential to Dracula? The question can be raised does Dracula eat to live or does he eat to survive? In Dracula, it is known that for him to live he drinks or eats blood. This is his food. It is what he needs to continue to live and thrive. It is not a life force that he can produce on his own so he has to acquire it from several parasitic relationships. In this case, some live to tell the tale and others die a gruesome death. We see instances in Dracula where blood was merely to sustain life such as the event in chapter 4 where the mother of the stolen child is yelling outside of the castle for her baby to be returned to her unharmed (48). In this moment, you are given the sense that this was a meal. It was also the incident on the ship, the Demeter, where the men came up missing (81). We know that this was also a feeding frenzy. We know...
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...Dracula Name Course code Instructor’s name University name City, State Date of submission Introduction In this paper, I will attempt to examine the novel Dracula as authored by Stoker. I will be looking to determine whether or not it can be classified as a Gothic novel. Initially, I will present a short story of the Gothic and dwell briefly on the era of its publication. The paper will also examine the various characteristics that are common amongst gothic literature so as to run a comparison with this work. Several aspects like the surroundings, natural environment, the role of females in the Gothic novel, atmosphere, as well as the story’s Villain, will be compared with the elements that can be seen in the publication Dracula (Frank, 1988). I will attempt to find out the reasons why Gothic novels are normally so attractive. It is essential to break certain taboos so as to develop an atmosphere of fear and danger. I will examine Dracula to determine whether or not it contains similar elements. Meaning of Gothic novel According to the Oxford dictionary, Gothic refers to the architectural style that was common in Western Europe in the period that span between the 12th and 16th Century. It was mainly characterized by a ribbed vault, pointed arch as well as pillars that are clustered (Bernstein, 1991). This term was mostly used in connection with an individual that behaved like a barbarian. This was because of the destructive and primitive German tribe that was...
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...chin and neck” (Stoker 58). If I were a prop master directing the film version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I would make sure to include four specific props in my film that I believe to be essential to the story: a coffin, dirt from the earth, a crucifix, and blood. In the story Dracula, Stoker utilizes creepy objects associated with funerals and the dead to prove that though these items traditionally symbolize death upon first glance, from another aspect, that of a supernatural being, these items provide life. Stoker also overlaps and relates behavior and beliefs of vampires, to stories and beliefs of Christianity found throughout the Bible, in a twisted way. Though these two objects normally apply to living and being born again, Stoker reveals and illustrates how these holy and cleansing props can elicit death and darkness as well. These four props, two associated with death and two with life, enhance the story as they prove their complexity to individually represent both life and death. #7 #7 #2 #2 Throughout the novel, Count Dracula exhibits multiple and unique purposes of coffins and common dirt. Typically, only the dead find lasting use out of a coffin. However, #5 #5 Count Dracula proves otherwise when it comes to his sleeping arrangements. As Jonathan Harker, a young man completely oblivious to the existence of vampires, finds himself curious and suspicious of Dracula and his true identity. Harker sets out to explore the mansion he...
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...Dracula Essay Since the beginning of time, it has become culturally accepted that men are the stronger, preeminent gender in society. Throughout history, it can be seen that males, as a whole, have been perceived as dominant and impervious species to which nothing is inferior. Women were considered insignificant and useful only for irrelevant tasks. Evidence of this can be seen throughout the world, from prehistoric cave paintings in Lascaux, France dated back to 17000 BCE. in which men are depicted hunting and defeating wild beasts, to the Holy Bible where women played a secondary role. It was not until much later that women prevailed and made their mark on the world. One of the periods in history in which men’s role in society was at its height was during the Victorian Era. This era was a time in English history in which the British empire flourished and prospered. There was a revival in the arts, especially, gothic literature. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mina Murray symbolizes the modern woman through her relationships with the other characters, her strong will to participate and learn, and her perseverance. Wilhelmina Murray’s closest friend in the novel was Lucy Westenra. Mina and Lucy were childhood friends, but were not of the same social standing. This was so because Mina’s mother worked for the Westenra household. Therefore, Mina was the child of a servant, which did not entitle her to the same privileges that Lucy had. As the two girls grew up, they each encountered...
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...Draculas Homep Elizabeth Miller, REFLECTIONS ON DRACULA from Transylvania Press REFLECTIONS ON DRACULA is a collection of ten non-sequential essays written by Elizabeth Miller (with the exception of one, co-authored by Margaret L. Carter). The essays draw on Miller's broad experience as both a scholar and an aficionado. Five focus on Stoker's novel, while the others five examine questions of context and influence. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Vlad Tepes vs Count Dracula [Exactly what is the connection between Count Dracula and the historical Vlad the Impaler? Not as much as most people think....] 2. Has Dracula Lost His Fangs? (co-authored by Margaret L. Carter) [Elizabeth Miller and Margaret Carter examine what has happened to the vampire since Stoker's novel.] 3. Typing Transylvania [Why do we associate Transylvania with vampires? Should we?] 4. Life as a Dracula Aficionado [Elizabeth Miller recounts in anecdotal fashion some of her experiences as a Dracula scholar and fan.] 5. Adventures in Draculand [Want to visit sites associated with Dracula? Take this armchair vacation with Elizabeth.] 6. The Fearless Vampire Hunters [A re-assessment of the "heroes" of Stoker's novel.] 7. Frankenstein and Dracula [Miller examines the relationship between Frankenstein and Dracula - which goes back quite a long way!] 8. Dracula and Shakespeare [Stoker's knowledge of Shakespeare, gleaned from years working at the Lyceum Theatre...
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...The Art of Deception in Dracula "Be not deceived with the first appearance of things, for show is not substance" (English Proverb). Abraham Stoker, the author of Dracula, initially presents Count Dracula as a man of nobility, moral decency, and kindness. However, as Jonathan Harker learns more about Dracula, he discovers the otherworldliness, deceptiveness, and cruel intentions of Dracula. Stoker illustrates the Count in this manner to remove the disguise of the Victorian era. From 1837 to 1901, the people of London, England cloaked themselves with wealth, peace, and confidence through their expansions of land and population. However, Londoners were corrupt with their expectations of gender and society, while their city was grimy and impoverished....
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... DRACULA DRACULA A Mystery Story Bram Stoker REIDER BOOKS Los Angeles Copyright © 1897 by Bram Stoker Electronic edition copyright © 2012 by Andrea Reider/Reider Books How these papers have been placed in sequence will be made manifest in the reading of them. All needless matters have been eliminated, so that a history almost at variance with the possibilities of latter-day belief may stand forth as simple fact. There is throughout no statement of past things wherein memory may err, for all the records chosen are exactly contemporary, given from the standpoints and within the range of knowledge of those who made them. Table of Contents 1 Jonathan Harker’s Journal .................................................... 1 2 Jonathan Harker’s Journal .................................................. 17 3 Jonathan Harker’s Journal .................................................. 33 4 Jonathan Harker’s Journal .................................................. 49 5 Letter From Miss Mina Murray To Miss Lucy Westenra ... 65 6 Mina Murray’s Journal ............................................
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...The novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is a complex novel. It is full of juxtaposition, symbolism and complex themes about life, the world around us, society, and our deepest internal struggles. Yet perhaps one of the greatest juxtapositions in Dracula is the juxtaposition between science and superstition, seen through the shortcomings of both, where the other succeeds, and the balance between them seen in the character of Professor Van Helsing. Throughout the novel there are many evident shortcomings of both science and superstition. For example When a young woman, named Lucy, is bitten by a vampire, named Dracula, which is where the book gets its title, she is cared for by a doctor, Dr. Seward, but despite his science and medical knowledge he...
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...Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a piece of literature that was one of a kind in its time frame. The book was so out of the everyday norm for society back then the novel has stuck around for so long. The thought of vampires at this point in time was thought of, but never imagined like it is in this novel. This novel was so unique because Bram Stoker actually portrayed Van Helsing as himself, with all of Bram Stokers education. The way that the novel begins and the break down of how the flow of the novel starts was very entertaining, its as if they went away from the anti-climatic build up of the vampires lair and went to what is Dracula. Although the detail of the story and all the details that were so different of the time most definitely over shadowed Dracula as a character. The overhead of the story was of three males who are all suitors to the young Lucy. Eventually leading to her demise, Lucy is bitten and turned into what is considered a female vampire courtesy of yours truly, Dracula . While each one of the suitors for young Lucy is in a daze to try to grasp whats wrong with her the eventually figure out what is wrong. The transition in the story flowed very well and was most of time very easily understood. The whole concept of how they need to set young Lucy free i believe was very climatic in a sense to where these men had come to marry her also had to kill her which was unique of a novel of this time. Bram Stoker threw so many different little details which made the...
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...To what extent is the vampire representative of the context it was created in? Gothic literature originated in response to a period of rapid societal, cultural, and theological change in nineteenth Europe. Works written in this time focused on the representation of fear in the face of dissolution of traditional structures, gender roles and religion. The resurgence of vampire fiction in the late twentieth century presents a different image of the vampire figure, appropriate to the changing societal values and nature of our world. Bram Stokers novel “Dracula” (1897) is compared to the Catherine Hardwicke’s film “Twilight” (2008) to display the development of conventional archetypes and tropes of the vampire into a more contemporary context....
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...Bram Stoker’s Dracula is set in the Victorian Era, a time where a woman’s body and the rights to it were not her own, they were either her husband’s or father’s, or the government’s. This time period was one of sexual oppression, especially for women. Women were either both pure and innocent or a wife and a mother, if not, she was considered a whore and scorned by society. Those who did partake in pre-marital sex were left unable to be married due to their lack of purity and the shame it would cause the male to be seen with them. The idea that male sexual pleasure was worth more than female sexual pleasure as it is necessary for reproduction, and female pleasure is not, was a common thought in the Victorian age. This statement shows that this was a very patriarchal one, where men were in control. It was also a time where men began to fear female sexuality; however these feelings were often contrasted with feelings of desire. The fear of female sexuality was created through the idea, that if women gained power of their sexuality, they would also gain control of the men. So in order to prevent this from occurring, female sexuality had to remain oppressed. Bram Stoker was married to Florence Balcombe; however this has never stopped the rumours of his sexuality. As Stoker was around the same time as, and friends with, Oscar Wilde, who was imprisoned for being a homosexual, it is thought that Stoker’s wife may have been a cover up so that he would not be imprisoned also. His novel...
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