Robert Morris University

Romanticism is something of a constant play, the pieces to me always seem so foreign given the leagues differences in what I am used to. Romanticism also seemed to me like it should be foreign to the vampire. Being a twenty-year old kid from America, I already had a preconceived idea on what a vampire should be, how it should act and look like etc, so seeing and reading these things act like a bunch of overdramatized bunch of actors I honestly couldn’t take many of the stories seriously. Nothing…

There nearly countless incarnations of the famous Count Dracula. Even today, just saying his name is more than enough to get people talking. Such is the staying power of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Originally published in 1897, Dracula has become an incredibly well known and beloved classic. Throughout the novel, the title character represents an inversion of typical Christian values, particularly the act of Holy Communion. This repeated inversion of common Christian beliefs and values are used to…

The Victorian Era was a period during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), where England had an outreach across the world through the use of colonialization and their development of science and technology. Darwin’s evolutionary theory of humans coming from ancestors of apes caused huge uproar, which got people thinking about god and religion. Also, due to the new found industrial revolution causing a rapid growth of factories, mills, industries and the ever growing middle class caused people…

“A strong woman who recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away”- Thomas Hardy. Dracula, by Bram Stoker was written during the late nineteenth century, and is classified as a horror film. Further analysis however, has brought to light the buried symbols and themes of sexuality that the novel holds within it. Mina and Lucy are very significant to the novel as they are the only female characters, and they are both given very…

The key factor in this novel is the use of the vampire. Both of the female characters, Mina and Lucy, are rebellious and use their vampire forms as a way to express their New Woman behavior. As they transform into vampires this dual side of them can be shown clearly and the male characters begin to see it throughout the novel. For example when Lucy is in her vampire like state she becomes more flirtatious and request Arthur to kiss her.Dr Seward writes:” Arthur oh my love, I am so glad that you…

In Chapter Three of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster uses examples of novels in order to explain the difference between literal vampirism, such as Dracula, and symbolic vampirism, such as Daisy Miller. Throughout the initial pages of the chapter, Foster keeps a focus on literal vampirism, an extremely cliché concept. An attractive man laced with evil, bites and leaves a mark on a pure woman, taking away her innocence. Literal vampirism is a non-stop cycle of life. One…

In Chapter 21, Dracula is bolder than ever. I can now see why he is looked at as the enemy of the Christian church. He neglects traditional norms, in this case marriage, when it comes to preying upon women. As written in Dr. Seward’s diary, Dracula said to Mina “[a]nd you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, kin of my kin; my bountiful wine-press for a while; and shall be later on my companion and my helper…[n]ow you shall come to my call,” (Stoker p.…

Essay #2 People around the world claim that they would do just about anything for the ones they love, but to what extent does that dedication reach? In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Jonathan Harker goes to Transylvania to work for Count Dracula at his castle. He realizes that there is something off about the Count, and eventually finds out that Dracula is of the undead, a vampire. Jonathan eventually escapes the castle to be with his friends and fiance, Mina. Mina’s best friend, Lucy Westenra falls…

Bram Stoker is the author of one of the greatest genre-changing novels of all time, Dracula. Throughout the writing process, there are many factors to take into account that affect an author’s writing style. Bram Stoker chose to follow the genre of gothic horror/ historical fiction in Dracula because of his interests in vampiric mythology. Stoker was born on November 8, 1847 in Dublin, Ireland during the Irish potato famine. He was the third of seven children of his father, whom worked at…

The academy in this novel isn't any ordinary academy. The Academy is filled with different kinds of vampires, such as Strigois. Strigois are vampires who become evil by draining a victim’s blood, causing them to have an extraneous amount of strength. These vampires have the patience of no saint and the temper of a ticking bomb. They live underground, where they are hidden from sunlight and hunters – also known as guardians. Guardians are determined and motivated to exterminate all vampires. They…