Introduction to Dracula and Bram Stoker


Dracula and Historical Context

Dracula fitted into the literary scene in 1897 when it was published, as other writers were also exploring similar ideas: fabulous and dangerous creatures that come from far away place to trouble Victorian Britain and its industrial and industrious culture. These writers included:

H. Rider Haggard (She)

Rudyard Kipling (the Beast People in The Island of Doctor Moreau)

Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Tale of Jekyll and Hyde)

H. G. Wells

Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Colonisation had brought Britain an Empire upon which the sun never set... but also the fear that 'reverse colonisation' could also damage them in terrible, terrible ways. Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness) saw Africa and India as "the dark places of the earth." Would 

What are interesting traits of Dracula?

He has never left Transylvania, but then fits into English life very easily.

Meanwhile, Jonathon leaves England for the first time and then is very uneasy in Transylvania.

This movement in and out of England has its importance. Indeed, he embodies the threat of the fin de siècle - the idea that a cultured person can revert to being an animal.

At the end of the Victorian era, Britains could celebrate the beauty, complexity and industry of their developing culture but could also be aware of the delicate and fragile nature of that success.

Gothic writers are thus interested in what lies beneath, our animal and sexual natures, and also the monsters that lie in wait on the edges/borders of "civilisation."

The heroes in Dracula are surrounded by "modern" inventions: type writers, dictating machines, cameras. However, in the end, they have to use their knowledge of folklore and mythology, and also accept to become like their enemy, to truly defeat him.

And the British women? Do we need to talk about how quickly their succumb to Dracula's charms? !

One could argue that the men in the novel are threatened not only by monsters but also by women.

Why is that interesting? Because patriarchal hierarchy was so important to the concept of Victorian society. In the 1890's the feminist suffragette movement began in earnest. A similar, and aligned movement was called the New Woman movement. 

For example, in Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "The Yellow Wallpaper"  a young woman chooses madness rather than being confined in the role of a passive housewife. That is, she has needs that go beyond the limited vision of the patriarchy.

Within Dracula, we can see the uncomfortable shift of power between men and women, expectations and 'realities' of female lust and desire. Simply said, Lucy and Mina are not under the control of their men.

Homosexuality was also 'a monster from within' that interested writers of Gothic fiction.

Bram Stoker knew Oscar Wilde and will have followed the trial that led to his two year imprisonment for being a homosexual... and some researchers suggest that Dracula was written as an exploration of his own sexual "fears."

That said, Dracula does not ever bite Jonathon and strives after the women not the men in the novel. 

Task: 

Complete the following 4 tasks for next Thursday, and be ready to present your answers to the class.

1. Read the handout "Extended Commentary: Stoker, Dracula (1897). Explain the meaning of the opening idea, "The vampire (and so Dracula)... acts as a lightning rod for the specific cultural anxieties of the moment." Use quotations from the handout to valide your answer. You can list / use bullet points to organise your ideas.

Read Chapter one of Dracula.

2a. Identify key quotes/images/references that emphasize the differences between the West and the East.

2b. Why do you think Stoker included the detail that Jonathon was traveling on "St. Georges Day/Night". Include quotes to validate your answers.

2c. Describe the "stranger driver" and their journey towards Dracula's castle. What elements of both the driver and the journey fit into our (now clichéd) expectations of a gothic novel?

Note: We will discuss chapters 1 and 2 next Thursday in class.








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