Jordan Bryan
Edward Pettit
English 210
12 October 2015
When Bram Stoker’s fin de siecle novel, Dracula, was published in 1897, it perfectly illustrated the Victorian cultural anxieties created by the possible collapse of the British empire. Transylvania, literally meaning “through the woods”, is one of two major settings in the classic novel. Transylvania is Dracula’s homeland, where he is an infamous civilian. He is a clever creature, and was a nobleman of great linage. There is a clear difference in class between Dracula and the other inhabitants in Transylvania, as well as the other characters in the novel. In Dracula, the old, underdeveloped Europe, was is set against modern London. The west, London, was more advanced technologically, …show more content…
Dracula also has characteristics that other characters in the book do not possess. Because of Dracula’s appearance, intelligence, physical strength, and ability to move unnoticed, Dracula can be seen as both and stranger, as well an outside threat to the characters of the novel. Bram Stoker’s masterpiece is approximately four hundred pages, but Dracula only appears a handful of times. Nonetheless, his presence somehow permeates throughout the entire novel. When dealing with physical appearance, Dracula maintains his “stranger” status by shape shifting and using different tactics to avoid the other characters in the novel. He is also portrayed as a stranger in that many of his movements and actions are exhibited through the characters. Renfield, a patient in Dr. Seward’s mental asylum, is an assimilate to Dracula. Renfield enjoys consuming flies, spiders, birds, etc, in order to absorb their “life force” and bring himself vitality and strength. Renfield is also able to detect Dracula’s presence and inform the characters of his location. Due to the fact that Renfield is under the influence of Dracula, the following quote gives the reading audience some intuition as to why Dracula has the yearning to consume human blood: “At times I held the belief so strongly that I
Edward Pettit
English 210
12 October 2015
When Bram Stoker’s fin de siecle novel, Dracula, was published in 1897, it perfectly illustrated the Victorian cultural anxieties created by the possible collapse of the British empire. Transylvania, literally meaning “through the woods”, is one of two major settings in the classic novel. Transylvania is Dracula’s homeland, where he is an infamous civilian. He is a clever creature, and was a nobleman of great linage. There is a clear difference in class between Dracula and the other inhabitants in Transylvania, as well as the other characters in the novel. In Dracula, the old, underdeveloped Europe, was is set against modern London. The west, London, was more advanced technologically, …show more content…
Dracula also has characteristics that other characters in the book do not possess. Because of Dracula’s appearance, intelligence, physical strength, and ability to move unnoticed, Dracula can be seen as both and stranger, as well an outside threat to the characters of the novel. Bram Stoker’s masterpiece is approximately four hundred pages, but Dracula only appears a handful of times. Nonetheless, his presence somehow permeates throughout the entire novel. When dealing with physical appearance, Dracula maintains his “stranger” status by shape shifting and using different tactics to avoid the other characters in the novel. He is also portrayed as a stranger in that many of his movements and actions are exhibited through the characters. Renfield, a patient in Dr. Seward’s mental asylum, is an assimilate to Dracula. Renfield enjoys consuming flies, spiders, birds, etc, in order to absorb their “life force” and bring himself vitality and strength. Renfield is also able to detect Dracula’s presence and inform the characters of his location. Due to the fact that Renfield is under the influence of Dracula, the following quote gives the reading audience some intuition as to why Dracula has the yearning to consume human blood: “At times I held the belief so strongly that I