Dracula
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Dracula Essay
Stereotypes of the Gothic involve diabolical monsters out of the dark, barbarian past of Europe. The nineteenth century became particularly enamoured of this sort of horror story, perhaps due to insecurity induced by the new industrial age and the Victorian love of morbidity. Confronting images of bloodshot eyes, a pale unhealthy complexion and a fresh fang wound became the hallmarks of the prince of darkness, the legendary Count Dracula. In Bram Stoker’s 1897 representation of Dracula, the familiar myth of menace is once again brought to life, “His eyes blazed with a sort of demonic fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat.” This time the master of the wolf pack reflects Victorian morals and values, for example, the reign of religion or fulfilling the importance of one’s gender role. For the most part, Stoker reveals the true character of Dracula through various language techniques which reinforce Gothic fiction in its position in nineteenth century popular culture.
Towards the late eighteenth century there was a renewed interest in the Gothic genre and by the near century it had taken on many hidden fears of Victorian British sexuality, together with attitudes to xenophobia. Not only was the Count of Vampires created, but wild, hair-raising fantasies with archetypal characters such as, the villain or heroine, and a sense of shock-horror were introduced. Highly plot driven, Gothic fiction exposed a fallen world with terrors dating back to the Middle Ages, filled with the sublime and the supernatural. It was a time when conformist society was ostensibly dominated by Christianity but yet enslaved by numerous superstitions. Most of all, there was a rigid class structure with differing and strictly enforced roles between men and women. Respectability and social etiquette shaped “good” society. This age also bore signs of forming an empire and the xenophobic fear of the “East” or the exotic. Stoker’s depiction of the seductive Dracula underscores this mortal and sexual fear entwined with romance, thus startled this formal society with, morbid theatrical, yet exciting nightmares.
Count Dracula was the ruthless villain who created mystery and a heady atmosphere of blood, bones and sweat which emphasised Western society’s fear of the savages on the uncivilised fringe of Eastern Europe. The Carpathians and even Dracula himself symbolised the untamed and beast-like ethos of the “primitive;” Jonathan Harker even admits, “The strangest we saw were the Slovaks, who are more barbarian than the rest.” Castle Dracula which was hidden in Transylvania, which was not even given an exact location as opposed to the chartered “Ordnance Survey maps”. Stoker heightens this “fear of the unknown” by representing Dracula as a human in appearance with noble bloodlines and an aching desire to expand his empire to modern day London, just as the British had annexed large portions of the world for themselves.
It is hard to imagine the Count, a human with monstrous qualities, as the embodiment of respectability and etiquette he simulates in Victorian society. Stoker deliberately places Dracula in contemporary nineteenth century society to not only expose the Count’s abilities to transform into a gentleman and mingle with human populations, but he shows signs of a proper host when welcoming Jonathan Harker to his home. He stresses, “Nay, sir, you are my guest…let me see to your comfort myself.” Notwithstanding his princely manners, Dracula is also characterised as a vulgar beast sent from Hell transforming “pure” and reputable women to those noted for their voluptuousness, like the terrorising experiences of Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker. Thus, a determined group of British adversaries uphold their moral responsibility of protecting the “damsel in distress” and tackling the exotic and sinister aristocrat, thus providing a mirror of Victorian values. This notion is exemplified when Dracula sardonically derides, “Your girls that you all love are mine already…and others shall yet be mine.” Stoker deliberately utilises a formal register and ornate speech in order to further emphasise the need for formality and propriety in Dracula’s context.
In many respects, the supremacy of Christianity and religiosity was an important function of Victorian life as it is reflected in the symbolism of the European vampire. Stoker’s bloodsucking villain is an epitome of Lucifer the “fallen