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Essays on Dracula

What makes a good dracula essay topic.

When it comes to writing an essay on Dracula, it's important to choose a topic that is both interesting and relevant. A good Dracula essay topic should be thought-provoking, engaging, and offer the opportunity for in-depth analysis. Here are some recommendations on how to brainstorm and choose a strong essay topic:

First, consider the themes and motifs present in the novel. Dracula is rich with themes such as the battle between good and evil, the fear of the unknown, and the struggle for power. Choose a topic that allows you to explore these themes in depth.

Next, think about the characters in the novel. There are complex and multi-dimensional characters in Dracula, from the eponymous vampire to the brave vampire hunters. Consider how you can analyze and interpret these characters in your essay.

Finally, consider the historical and cultural context of the novel. Dracula was written in the late 19th century, a time of significant social and technological change. How does the novel reflect the anxieties and fears of this period? Choose a topic that allows you to explore these historical and cultural aspects of the novel.

In general, a good Dracula essay topic should be specific, focused, and offer the opportunity for original analysis and interpretation. It should also be relevant to the themes and motifs present in the novel, as well as the historical and cultural context in which it was written.

Best Dracula Essay Topics

When it comes to choosing a Dracula essay topic, it's important to think outside the box and choose a topic that is unique and engaging. Here are some creative and thought-provoking Dracula essay topics to consider:

• The role of gender in Dracula: How does the novel challenge traditional gender roles and expectations?
• The use of symbolism in Dracula: Analyze the use of symbols such as blood, the cross, and the stake in the novel.
• Dracula as a commentary on colonialism: How does the novel reflect the anxieties and fears surrounding the British Empire?
• The portrayal of mental illness in Dracula: Analyze the representation of madness and sanity in the novel.
• Dracula and the fear of the Other: How does the novel explore the fear of the unknown and the Other?

These prompts are designed to inspire creativity and originality, and to encourage you to think critically and imaginatively about the novel. Have fun with them, and let your imagination run wild!

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The Symbolism of Blood in The Novel "Dracula"

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Dracula: The Unfair War for Women's Thoughts

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26 May 1897, Bram Stoker

Horror, Gothic

Count Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, Renfield, Mrs. Westenra

1. Halberstam, J. (1993). Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker's" Dracula". Victorian Studies, 36(3), 333-352. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3828327) 2. Craft, C. (1984). Kiss me with those red lips: Gender and inversion in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Representations, 8, 107-133. (https://online.ucpress.edu/representations/article-abstract/doi/10.2307/2928560/82590/Kiss-Me-with-those-Red-Lips-Gender-and-Inversion?redirectedFrom=PDF) 3. Hughes, W. (2008). Bram Stoker: Dracula. Palgrave Macmillan. (http://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/705/) 4. Hatlen, B. (1980). The return of the repressed/oppressed in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Minnesota Review, 15(1), 80-97. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/4/article/427122/summary) 5. Wyman, L. M., & Dionisopoulos, G. N. (2000). Transcending the virgin/whore dichotomy: Telling Mina's story in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Women's Studies in Communication, 23(2), 209-237. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07491409.2000.10162569) 6. Kuzmanovic, D. (2009). Vampiric Seduction and Vicissitudes of Masculine Identity in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Victorian Literature and Culture, 37(2), 411-425. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/victorian-literature-and-culture/article/vampiric-seduction-and-vicissitudes-of-masculine-identity-in-bram-stokers-dracula/8C5957AAE79F1018DA8A089A32F78F88) 7. Almond, B. R. (2007). Monstrous infants and vampyric mothers in Bram Stoker's Dracula. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 88(1), 219-235. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1516/0EKX-38DF-QLF0-UQ07) 8. Rosenberg, N. F. (2000). Desire and Loathing in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Journal of Dracula Studies, 2(1), 2. (https://research.library.kutztown.edu/dracula-studies/vol2/iss1/2/)

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82 Dracula Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best dracula topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ most interesting dracula topics to write about, 🥇 simple & easy dracula essay titles, ❓ dracula essay questions.

• Sex and Sexuality in “Dracula” and “The Bloody Chamber” On the other hand, Mina, who is portrayed as the typical modest and moral woman in the Victorian era, ends up being spared of criticisms and punishments in spite of her involvement with the Dracula […]
• Presentation of Transgression in Bram Stoker’s Dracula While Dracula remains at the centerpiece of the novel, the transgressions portrayed in the story also contribute to the sense of all-encompassing fear. Thus, the presentation of transgressions in “Dracula” is unique and thought-provoking.
• Dracula by B.Stoker: Transgression Lucy was vulnerable to Dracula from the beginning, and she received a great deal of assistance from others during her illness.
• “Dracula” by Bram Stoker: Female Characters Analysis The central figures of the novel, Lucy and Mina are not examples of a typical Victorian-era woman. According to Kistler, “Mina is a producer, and in this role she is integral to the success of […]
• “The Crazies” by Paul Mccollough: Identity and Connection With Stoker’s “Dracula” According to the video The Crazies there are two phases, one in which efforts are made to help the general public be safe and sound after the release of the biological weapon and the other […]
• Music in the Film “Dracula” directed by F. F. Coppola Therefore, the synchronization of the musical accompaniment with the drama which is developing on the screen in general and with the defining moment of the revelation of the woman’s suicide, in particular, is highly important.
• Mina and Lucy in Bram Stoker’s Dracula At the beginning of the novel, Mina Murray is seen as the more deviant of the two women because she is working as a school teacher’s assistant.
• Writing Techniques in Stoker’s Dracula and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis A critical analysis of the writing styles adopted by the two authors makes it clear that the texts have an effect on the reader.
• Stoker’s Dracula and Woolf’s Orlando Literature Compare When we talk about the qualitative aspects of the Victorian era in Britain, the first thing that comes in mind, in this respect, is the fact that European intellectuals of the time were strongly influenced […]
• Sex and Death in Stoker’s Dracula By presenting the portrayal of Mina as the one belonging to the New Women generation, the author provides an example of the Victorian woman that is capable of resisting the devil’s seduction.
• Phyllis Roth on the Themes in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” The research focuses on the summary of Phyllis Roth’s critical analysis of the Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. The writer uses the quotes to show proof of the author’s understanding of the Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel.
• Analyzing the Play “Dracula” at the Delaware Theater
• Belief Systems and Gender Roles in “Dracula”
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and the Distrust Between the Sexes
• “Dracula” and Science, Superstition, Religion, and Xenophobia
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, Charlotte Bronte’s “Villette”, and the Theme of Domesticity
• “Dracula”: The Picture Perfect Ideal of Gothic Literature
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” Meets Hollywood
• Monstrous Figure Dracula in the Spirit of Late Victorian Age
• Comparing and Contrasting “Dracula” and “Nosferatu”
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” Is Far From Being a Simple
• Comparing Elements of Horror in “Dracula” and “Frankenstein”
• Sexuality and Power in “Dracula” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” Compared”
• Comparing Stroker’s and Coppola’s Versions of the Movie “Dracula”
• Correlation Between “Dracula” and “Little Red Riding Hood”
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, Capitalism, and Reverse Colonization
• Differences Between Count Dracula and Vlad Tepes
• The Use and Importance of Symbolism in Bram Stokers “Dracula”
• “Dracula” and Its Overwhelming Appeal in the 20th Century
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• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and the Fears of Victorian England
• “Dracula” and the Female Sexuality as Disease
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”: Lucy Western Character Analysis
• “Dracula” and the Threat of Female Sexual Expression by Bram Stoker
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” as Attack on Christian Tradition and Victorian Ideals
• “Dracula”: Metaphor for Human Evil
• Female Sensuality and Rebellion in “Dracula”
• “Frankenstein”, “Dracula”, and “Shrek”: Marxist Interpretations
• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”: A Window Into the Victorian Soul
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• “Dracula”: The Classic Monster by Bram Stoker
• Similarities Between Adolf Hitler and Dracula
• The Correlation of Social Class and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
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• “Dracula”: The Victorian Vampire and Fallout From Repressive English Culture
• The Perversion and Triumph of Christian Ideas in “Dracula”
• The Strengths and Weaknesses in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
• Unseen Forces: Lesbian Relationships in Stoker’s “Dracula”
• What Makes Good Characters Good in “Dracula” by Bram Stoker
• “Dracula” Versus “Frankenstein”: Which Story Is More Terrifying
• What Does the Wolf Symbolize in “Dracula”?
• How Did Vlad the Impaler Become Dracula?
• How Many Main Characters Are in “Dracula”?
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• How Long Did Bram Stoker Write “Dracula”?
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• Was the Sun Ever an Actual Lethal Threat to Dracula?
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• Who Is the Most Famous “Dracula” Actor?
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• What Happened to Count Dracula’s Wife in “Hotel Transylvania”?
• Why Are Dracula and Vampires Associated With Romania?
• How Old Is Dracula in the Original Bram Stoker Novel?
• What Is the Moral of the Story “Dracula”?
• Why Is Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” So Famous?
• Who Was Dracula’s First Victim?
• Who Turned Dracula Into a Vampire?
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by Bram Stoker

Dracula study guide.

The first edition of Dracula was published in June 1897. As late as May of that year, Stoker was still using his original working title for the novel, The Un-Dead. "Undead," a word now commonly used in horror novels and movies, was a term invented by Stoker. Dracula was his most famous novel, instantly a bestseller and perhaps the most famous horror novel ever. It has been made and re-made in film adaptations, been reprinted numerous times, and has continued to sell copies for a hundred years.

Although earlier novels about vampires had been published in England, Stoker's depiction of the vampire has had perhaps the strongest hold on the popular imagination. Stories of vampires or vampire-like creatures exist in all cultures: from China to India to the Incan Empire, variations of the vampire have populated diverse peoples' nightmares and folklore. Stoker researched Eastern European legends, which offer widely varied tales about supernatural monsters. In Eastern European lore, there is not one kind of vampire but many, and "vampire" is not so distinct a category from "demon" or even "witch" as it has become in modern horror movies. Stoker chose freely from among the legends about various Eastern European demons, some of them bloodsucking, and came up with a suitable interpretation of the vampire for his novel.

He also studied Eastern European history. In the prince of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, or Dracula ("Son of Dracul"), Bram Stoker found inspiration for his tale of an undead nobleman. Vlad Tepes ("Vlad the Impaler") was a fifteenth Christian nobleman who fought against the Turks. He was a defender of his country and his religion, winning the Pope's praise for his campaigns against the Moslems. The times were full of fear for Christendom?Constantinople, the Rome of the East, had just fallen to the ever-expanding Turks. Vlad was also legendary for his cruelty, to Moslem and Christian enemies alike. He was famous for his love of impaling his victims, a method of execution in which it often took days for the condemned to die. After one battle, thousands of Turkish soldiers were impaled at Vlad's command. After Vlad's death, legends about him continued to multiply. Stoker drew on Vlad's legend for the creation of the vampire Dracula.

Stoker was deeply concerned with sexual morality. Although his novel is full of racy subtext?possibly far more subtext than the author intended?his own views regarding sex and morality were in many ways quite conservative. He favored censoring novels for their sexual content?he considered racy literature dangerous for the ways that it nurtured man's darker sexual tendencies. Although Dracula has many scenes that seem to revel in sexual language and sensual description, these pleasures are sublimated to a Victorian and Christian sense of morality. Sexual energy, in Stoker's view, has great potential for evil, but part of the novel's trick is that Stoker is allowed to have his cake and eat it, too. In writing a novel that implicitly conflates sin with sexuality in a moralizing way, Stoker is also given free reign to write incredibly lurid and sensual scenes. The themes of Christian redemption and the triumph of purity carry the day, but the sexually loaded scenes?that of the three female vampires closing in seductively on a powerless but desiring Jonathan Harker , for example?tend to linger longest in the reader's mind.

Dracula Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Dracula is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

How does the zookeeper discuss xenia (hospitality)?

Are you referring to Dracula?

In what year does the novel "Dracula" take place?

Jonathan Harker's first entry in his diary reads, "Wednesday, 3 May 1893.

Seward suspects Dracula has been hiding right next door to them in the asylum.

Study Guide for Dracula

Dracula is a novel by Bram Stoker. The Dracula study guide contains a biography of Bram Stoker, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Dracula
• Dracula Summary
• Character List
• Chapter 1-5 Summary and Analysis
• Related Links

Essays for Dracula

Dracula is a book written by Bram Stoker. The Dracula literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Dracula.

• Dracula as Social Fusion
• Dracula as Feminine
• Dracula: The Self-Aware Mass of Typewriting
• Social Class and Bram Stoker's Dracula
• The Fantastic in Dracula

Lesson Plan for Dracula

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Dracula
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Dracula Bibliography

E-Text of Dracula

Dracula is an e-text that contains the full text of Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Wikipedia Entries for Dracula

• Introduction

Dracula: Context ( OCR A Level English Literature )

Revision note.

English Content Creator

Dracula: Context

Context should inform, but should never dominate, your reading of the text. Any comments on context must consider the significance and influence of the contexts in which the text was written and received. When exploring context for Dracula, you should consider primarily the literary context, and then include any other relevant contexts as appropriate to the question. Each of the topics below link directly to the key themes and ideas in Dracula:

Literary context

Social context, historical context.

Assessment objective 3 (AO3) requires you to demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. It is the dominant AO in Question 4 (the comparative essay) – worth 50% of the marks – but it is still important in Question 3 (the critical appreciation task) as it is worth 12.5% of the marks. In both of your responses, it is imperative that you do not just reproduce prepared material on contextual factors (the most obvious being historical context). Context should be referred to in a way that sheds light on the text, and the contextual factors you should explore are entirely dependent on the focus of the question.

When considering a novel’s literary context, it is important to explore the form and genre it is written in, as well as anything the novel might do that defies the expectations of a particular genre. Dracula is considered an excellent example of Gothic fiction. The section below will explore Gothic fiction in relation to the novel in more detail.

Gothic fiction

Gothic literature is a genre that emerged in the late 18th century and, many argue, began with the publication of ‘The Castle of Otrantro’ by Horace Walpole in 1764. This novel is considered the first Gothic novel, which introduced many of the genre’s key elements. 

Some of the Gothic genre’s key elements include:

Gloomy settings such as ruins and religious buildings like churches and abbeys

Mysterious and supernatural occurrences

Omens and curses

Emotional distress such as nightmares and feverish dreams

Death and decay

Madness/possession

A villain or a supernatural being that is unknown

Dracula, which is set in the late 19th century, contains many elements from Gothic fiction such as the setting:

It starts in an old Transylvanian castle with a mysterious count whose appearance and mannerisms are not completely familiar

The castle also adopts many elements from Gothic fiction, such as its remote location with its dark passages and locked rooms

The narrative then moves to a familiar place, England, but places the count, who threatens to destroy the civilised world, at the centre:

Whitby Abbey is a key setting in which events unfold and it fits into the gothic genre due to its history and condition

Stoker creates an atmosphere of fear, dread and unease throughout the novel:

He uses dense fog to obscure characters’ views

He also uses animal imagery, such as bats and wolves, to create a sense of dread and unease and to enhance the eerie atmosphere

By doing this, he turns places that are familiar into dangerous settings

Supernatural elements are also adopted in Dracula:

Count Dracula himself is a vampire, which is a supernatural creature that feeds on the blood of the living

The three female vampires also go against the natural order of things and the societal expectations of the 19th century, making them something to be feared and loathed

Dracula also has powers that enable him to shapeshift into animals and dense fog, which disarms characters around him

The novel deals with  psychological  tension and fear through the characters’ encounters with Dracula and other supernatural beings: 

The psychological impact of encountering something that is unfamiliar and unknown is central to the story and can be seen through characters such as Jonathan Harker and Arthur Holmwood

Stoker also deals with romantic and erotic elements in Dracula:

The interactions between the vampire and his victims are intimate and touch on the idea of seduction and pleasure, which were generally taboos in Victorian England

It also deals with the idea of the fallen woman through the character of Lucy and how her weakness leads to her downfall

Isolation and helplessness is also a prevalent idea in both Gothic fiction and Dracula:

Many of the characters from Harker to Lucy and Mina experience an acute sense of loneliness and helplessness in the face of unnatural threats

Good vs evil is a recurring theme in Gothic literature and in Dracula it is evident through the characters of Van Helsing and Dracula

In the comparative essay, AO3 carries a weighting of 50%. However, this does not mean that the majority of your response should be focused on historical or cultural information.

You should aim to integrate contextual information into your argument to support your wider reading of texts, rather than giving your essay a heavy historical focus. Examiners are not looking for everything you know about Bram Stoker and the Gothic genre in Victorian England, but are instead looking at how well you can pick out contextual information to support your reading of Dracula.

A novel’s social context can be thought of as the social and political environment in which it was written, and the social and political environment in which it is understood. Stoker explores the anxieties of Victorian England and his influences include science, religion and the fear of invasion from the “other”, so these are the two aspects of social context explored in more detail below.

Science and religion

Published in the last decade of the 19th century, Dracula reflected the intellectual and cultural debates surrounding science and religion during that time:

One of the main conflicts in the novel is the clash between rational and scientific views, which are represented by characters such as Dr Seward, and the traditional, religious views that Van Helsing uses to destroy Dracula

At the time the novel was written, religion was being overlooked in favour of science and medicine:

However, religion is depicted as a source of strength against Dracula and the forces of evil

From the very beginning of the novel, characters use religious symbols and prayers to protect themselves against supernatural beings

Stoker is suggesting that faith and religion can provide a sense of security and hope when faced with something unknown and unnatural

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was published decades earlier and society was beginning to question traditional religious  doctrine :

Stoker attempts to highlight the limits of science through the characters of Van Helsing and Dr Seward, who fail to save Lucy using scientific methods

This message highlights the idea that science alone may not have all the answers and that old practices and beliefs should not be completely dismissed

While science was a big focus during the 19th century, there was a resurgence of interest in the occult and the supernatural:

This may have reflected the crisis of faith that was taking place during that time

The characters of Dracula and Van Helsing represent these conflicts and clashes as they both represent good vs evil

Fear of invasion from the “other”

During the 19th century, the British Empire was one of the largest superpowers and a formidable empire that consisted of countries such as Canada, India, Australia and New Zealand:

The British Empire was therefore determined to maintain its power and status in the world

The sheer size of the empire meant that people feared invasion from outsiders that could weaken or diminish its stronghold in the world:

Stoker’s Dracula is a reflection of those fears

The image of the vampire as the “stranger” who has infiltrated civilised Western society is a reflection of the fears of that time

Stoker also uses the character of Dracula as a means to threaten England’s spiritual identity:

Christianity was the only significant religion in Victorian England and Victorians were afraid that a foreigner would infiltrate and destroy their core beliefs

In Dracula’s case, he brought godlessness and evil with him and was a threat to Victorians’ morality

Dracula also represents a cultural “otherness” as he spends time familiarising himself with English culture and norms in order to   infiltrate  and prey on the society:

When he arrives in England, he metaphorically invades England via his attack on Lucy Westenra

She is a representation of England and its morals, so when she is attacked, those morals are attacked

As a result, when Lucy begins to change, she becomes a part of the “other” and becomes less like her old self, thus reflecting society's fears of invasion

Whilst background knowledge of the historical context in which a text was written and received is useful, any reference to historical context should be made judiciously and linked carefully to the themes in the novel and the focus of the exam question. Below you will find some comments about historical context relevant to the key themes and ideas in the novel.

Abraham Stoker was born in Ireland in 1847

According to Stoker’s son, his inspiration for Dracula came from a particularly disturbing dream about a “vampire king emerging from the dead”

Stoker used Whitby as the setting for some of the key events that unfold in the novel and it is now considered the “birthplace of Dracula”:

He was recommended to visit Whitby by a friend

Some of the stories that Stoker incorporated into the novel were stories that he had been told during his stay at Whitby

These include the story of the Russian boat that became shipwrecked off the coast of Whitby

It is also worth noting that Stoker borrowed a book from the local library in Whitby:

In this book, there was mention of a 15th-century prince by the name of Vlad Tepes

Stoker may have taken some of this as inspiration for his villain in Dracula

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Author: Nadia Ambreen

Nadia is a graduate of The University of Warwick and Birmingham City University. She holds a PGCE in secondary English and Drama and has been a teacher for over 10 years. She has taught English Literature, Language and Drama across key stages 3 to 5. She has also been an examiner for a leading exam board and has experience designing and delivering schemes of work for AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas.

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• Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Essay

One of the human’s most distinct emotions is fear, specifically that in which surfaces as the result of the unknown. Fear is an emotion generally associated with anxiety – a powerful feeling that is brought upon by worry, dread and trepidation. To dread something that is unknown is often the result of foreshadowing, which is a dominant literary component of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Stoker’s effective use of foreshadowing has an influence on the most evident effect in his novel: the effect of anxiety. As the multiplicity of the characters increases, the story itself thickens with the underlying emotion of fear.

Therefore, as the story continues through a one-person narrative, the reader becomes equipped with the capability of predicting certain fears through evidently frightening circumstances prior to the character’s ability to do so.

It becomes evident that the novel operates on fear quite early on. Within the first chapter of the book – Jonathan Stoker’s leading journal entry – distress begins to surface throughout his journey to his initial encounter with Dracula.

Jonathan is an English solicitor who is embarking on his first professional venture, in hopes of selling real estate to Count Dracula. Originally, Jonathan keeps his journal in order to later be able to tell his fiancée Mina Murray of his journeys. However; it soon becomes the primary text responsible in large parts for keeping him sane.

The final means of transportation liable for getting Jonathan to the Count’s castle is that of a carriage. Upon boarding it, Jonathan notes how “[he] felt a little strange, and not a little frightened. [He thought] had there been any alternative [he] should have taken it, instead of prosecuting that unknown night journey” (Stoker, p.12).

This is a point in which the feeling of anxiety surfaces within the reader and this feeling is intensified when Jonathan writes “…a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road – a long, agonized wailing, as if from fear” (p.12), and in response to the realization that such howling was created by a pack of wolves, transcribes that “[he] grew dreadfully afraid” (p.13).

It is evident to the reader that this is foreshadowing for a series of events yet to come – a series of events with seemingly negative associations or consequences. Jonathan accentuates his fear for the unknown when he writes that “all at once the wolves began to howl as though the moonlight had had some peculiar effect on them” (p.14) and by noting that the effect was out of the ordinary, it is made obvious that the reasoning behind the acting out of the wolves is both unclear to Jonathan, as well as uncommon.

Another primary factor associated with the surfacing of anxiety is that of confusion. Confusion is a constituent that often leads to stress and stress to worry – all stepping stones toward the more intensified emotions of fear and anxiety.

Upon the conclusion of Jonathan’s worrisome journey to the Count’s Castle, he shook Dracula’s hand and noted that “the strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which [he] had noticed in the driver, whose face [he] had not seen, that for a moment [he] doubted if it were not the same person to whom [he] was speaking” (p. 17).

Jonathan’s brief – yet seemingly important – contemplation about the possibility of Dracula holding the position of both the operator of the carriage and the Count himself ignites the emotion of worry within the reader; and also equips the reader with the capability of now fearing for Jonathan’s overall safety.  

However, it is not until the physical description of the Count himself that the fear of Jonathan’s safety is solidified. Jonathan goes on to describe Dracula by writing “His face was a strong – a very strong – aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with the lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples, but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion.

The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy mustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth” (p.19). By regarding the Count’s teeth as peculiar – Jonathan emphasizes that his physical description deviates from what he and readers would now consider the norm, and such an abnormality stresses the anxiety supplementary to the unknown; resulting in the preliminary sense of fear toward the Count himself.

Jonathan records that the Count did say “You may go anywhere you wish in the castle, except where the doors are locked, where of course you will not wish to go” (p. 23). After spending a short amount of time within the Count’s castle – Jonathan reaches the realization which was in a small sense dreaded by readers all along; he comes to terms with the fact that “The castle is a veritable prison, and [he is the] prisoner!” (p.29).

Anxiety is at this point in the novel an extremely dominant emotion conveyed by the reader, as by this point it is accepted that Jonathan is in danger, yet the reasoning behind why it is he that has been placed in a seemingly horrific situation remains unclear. This steady lingering of the unknown could be considered responsible for the continuation of anxiety throughout the duration of the novel.

It is now in which the readers are asking the same questions as the character. Who is Dracula, and what is the reasoning behind Jonathan’s captivity? The audience’s fear of the Count himself is strengthened when Jonathan writes how “[his] very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when [he] saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down , with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings” (p.38).

Jonathan refers to the Count’s actions as “lizard like” (p.38), and emphasizes his emotions when writing “I feel the dread of this horrible place overpowering me; I am in fear – in awful fear – and there is no escape for me; I am encompassed about with terrors that I dare not think of…” (p.38). Dracula’s now obvious deviations from that of both societal norms and human behavior leaves readers hypothesizing and theorizing Dracula’s capabilities and motives.

It also leaves the audience faced with the decision as to whether or not Jonathan is simply mad; as it is clear that such a circumstance is ostensibly impossible. The surfacing of such impossibility, again, heightens the emotion of fear in regards to the unknown. The readers are posed with the question of how could these impossibilities occur.

The reader’s equally intensified sense of worry in regards to Jonathan’s safety is solidified when Jonathan writes “Whilst I live on here there is but one thing to hope for: that I may not go mad, if, indeed, I be not mad already. If I be sane, then surely it is maddening to think that of all the foul things that lurk in this hateful place the Count is the least dreadful to me; that to him alone I can look for safety, even though this be only whilst I serve his purpose” (p.40).

It is throughout the duration of the initial introductory journal pieces, as documented by Jonathan Harker, that the reader’s sense of anxiety is developed.

Stoker’s effective use of foreshadowing has a persuasive influence on the dominant effect of anxiety throughout the novel; and the continuation of this theme is carried on throughout the multiplicity of characters that are presented, including Jonathan’s wife Mina Harker.

The theme of anxiety is derivative in large portions to both the reader and the character’s fear of the unknown – the accompanying theme that remains constant within the novel as well, which is a result of Stoker’s effective use of literary schematics.

In conjunction with this surface the reader’s evident distaste for Count Dracula; as such anxiety has ultimately resulted in fear of his character, accompanied by the audience’s lack of knowledge in regards to his capabilities.

It was said by Einstein “in time we hate that which we often fear” (Bartlett, 112), and such a statement is proven to be true through the reader’s interpretation of Dracula as seen through the eyes of Jonathan Harker.

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Oxford Playscripts: Dracula

An engaging classroom playscript. He is Nosferatu, the Undead. He can walk through locked doors, change his shape. Sometimes he looks like a man, sometimes a huge wolf-like dog, or a bat. He never grows ill, never dies And if you invite him into your home, he will take your life and your soul. New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing

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• Introduction

Jonathan Harker goes to Transylvania

Lucy westernra’s fate, the vampire hunters, count dracula and vlad the impaler, immigration, sexual desire, and gender, the problem of modernity, dracula ’s legacy.

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Dracula , Gothic novel by Bram Stoker , published in 1897, that was the most popular literary work derived from vampire legends and became the basis for an entire genre of literature and film.

• What strange things happen when Jonathan meets Count Dracula in Transylvania?
• How does Lucy become a vampire, and what do her friends do to stop her?
• What shocking thing do the vampire hunters discover about Mina, and how does it affect their mission?
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Dracula tells its story through journal entries, diaries, letters, and telegrams written by the novel’s main characters. In form it is, fundamentally, an epistolary novel , though the presence of telegrams and a “ phonograph diary” shows the manner in which Stoker was incorporating communications technologies of his time.

Dracula begins with Jonathan Harker , a young English lawyer, as he travels to Transylvania . Harker plans to meet with Count Dracula , a client of his firm, in order to finalize a property transaction. When he arrives in Transylvania, the locals react with terror after he discloses his destination: Castle Dracula. Though this unsettles him slightly, he continues onward. The ominous howling of wolves rings through the air as he arrives at the castle.

When Harker meets Dracula, he acknowledges that the man is pale, gaunt, and strange. Harker becomes further concerned when, after Harker cuts himself while shaving, Dracula lunges at his throat. Soon after, Harker is seduced by three female vampires, from whom he barely escapes. He then learns Dracula’s secret—that he is a vampire and survives by drinking human blood. Harker correctly assumes that he is to be the count’s next victim. He attacks the count, but his efforts are unsuccessful. Dracula leaves Harker trapped in the castle and then, along with 50 boxes of dirt, departs for England.

Meanwhile, in England, Harker’s fiancée Mina is visiting a friend named Lucy Westenra, who has recently gotten engaged after declining a number of suitors. One night Mina must search for Lucy, as she has fallen back into her old habit of sleepwalking. When Mina finds her outside near a graveyard, there appears to be a shape hovering over her for a split second. Mina notices two small red marks on Lucy’s neck and assumes that she must have inadvertently pricked Lucy with a pin. Over the following days, Lucy falls ill and is at times seen through a window next to a bat. Mina is worried, but she is called away once she receives correspondence from Jonathan. Lucy goes into the care of Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing, who, after a number of failed blood transfusions, decide further action is needed. They then drape Lucy and her room with garlic —a strategy used to ward off vampires. Lucy, however, soon dies.

After her death, many report the appearance of a creature who is attacking children in the area. When Jonathan (who was able to escape Count Dracula’s castle) and Mina return to England, now as a married couple, Jonathan’s accounts of Dracula lead Van Helsing to believe that Lucy contracted vampirism from the count and is the one tormenting the children. In order to prevent her from further killing, they unearth her corpse, stake her through the heart, cut off her head, and stuff her mouth with garlic.

Now that Lucy has been taken care of, the group decides to track down Count Dracula and the 50 boxes of dirt he brought with him. According to lore , Dracula needs the dirt of his home country to remain healthy. The group attempts to destroy the boxes so that Dracula has no means of regeneration.

One night, amid feelings of uneasiness toward Mina’s recent behaviour, Van Helsing and Seward break into her room to find Jonathan unconscious and Mina drinking blood from a gash in Dracula’s chest. The vampire disappears and returns to Transylvania only to be followed by the determined group. They find him buried in the final box of dirt and promptly cut off his head and stab him through his heart. Dracula crumbles into dust. The vampire hunters also lose one of their own, Quincey Morris, during the expedition .

The vibrancy and complexity of Stoker’s Dracula has provoked a vast range of interpretations and analysis by scholars and critics.

A popular theory among critics is that the character Count Dracula is based on the infamously barbaric Vlad III, better known as Vlad the Impaler . Vlad was born in Transylvania in the 15th century and was known popularly as Drăculea, meaning “Son of Dracul” (his father was surnamed Dracul after being appointed to a knightly order called the Order of the Dragon). This name was derived from the Latin draco , meaning “dragon,” the basis for the elder Vlad’s epithet. In modern Romanian, drac has evolved to mean “devil.” Stoker is thought to have picked the name Dracula after reading a book that revealed to him this modern translation. His notes include the annotation “in Wallachian language means DEVIL,” written in response to drac .

The name, however, is not all Dracula and Vlad III have in common. Vlad impaled his enemies on stakes to consolidate his political power in Walachia . One account also claimed that while his victims were dying atop the stakes, Vlad would dip bread in their blood and eat it in front of them, but that account is unconfirmed. Whether Vlad truly consumed blood, the parallels with Stoker’s Dracula remain evident. Some critics, however, have argued that Stoker’s inspiration came primarily from other sources and that Vlad simply provided the name.

Dracula has been interpreted as an expression of anxiety about eastern Europeans invading western Europe, as represented by a Transylvanian who arrives in London and terrorizes its residents. Others see Stoker’s novel as an exploration of suppressed sexual desire and a reaction to the patriarchal and conservative norms broadly prevalent in Britain during the Victorian period . Notably, it inverts the era’s stereotypical gender roles through the highly sexualized actions of the female vampires. Yet Dracula can also be seen as the evil of temptation personified as he preys on women who must then be protected by the men around them (though those men still fail, particularly in Lucy’s case). The novel’s complexity, especially in its representation of gender, allows numerous, sometimes contradictory, interpretations.

While vampirism is clearly at the forefront of Stoker’s novel, be it literal, metaphorical, or just for the Gothic scare, Dracula is also preoccupied with modernity. Some critics argue that the novel is about the relationship between the past and the future, with Count Dracula perhaps representing the primitive nature of the past as it permeates the present and challenges modernization. For example, Dracula drains Lucy’s blood, and the newly resurfaced technology of blood infusion fails her. She dies by the hand of the past, despite the use of modern medical technology. Stoker might be acknowledging contemporary suspicions about the effectiveness of new technology. As Jonathan writes in reference to Dracula, “the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere ‘modernity’ cannot kill.”

Stoker’s Dracula was instrumental in the creation of the vampire trope that has permeated Western popular culture in the forms of novel and film alike. Dracula was well received when it was published, but its success is even better measured by the number of adaptations it inspired. These adaptations began in 1922, when the novel was plagiarized in the silent motion picture Nosferatu , in which the director F.W. Murnau took Stoker’s story, tweaked it, and put the results on the big screen. Stoker’s estate won a lawsuit against the production company responsible for the movie, but the movie had made its way to the United States , where Dracula was already in the public domain. Duplicates were created, and thus Nosferatu survived.

Since then vampires of the same kind have appeared across popular culture. Some of them have been modernized, as in Stephenie Meyer ’s Twilight Saga . Others have maintained the integrity of Stoker’s original Count Dracula, as in Stephen King ’s Salem’s Lot (1975), a novel King claimed had been inspired by Stoker. Even the American children’s television show Sesame Street developed a character, Count von Count, modeled on Dracula; instead of drinking blood, this vampire counted everything around him (and helped his audience learn simple mathematics).