Gothic Motifs In Dracula

“His eyes flamed red with devilish passion; the great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge; and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood-dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast (pg. 305).” The collection of ideas, images, and symbols portrayed in the novel Dracula provide an insight to the darker, supernatural world of reading and support the various motifs that are contained in Gothic literature. The most prominent gothic motifs depicted in the novel Dracula in which the reader is able to gain an insight of the mood and tone include sleepwalking and uncontrollable dreaming, rituals and superstition, and imprisonment. Scenes of sleepwalking and uncontrollable dreaming are described throughout the novel with Jonathan, Lucy, and Mina as they make encounters with Count Dracula. The rituals and superstitions included in the novel describe traditions and practices used by …show more content…
Dracula comes unnoticed as a mist, fog or even as elemental dust, mesmerizing and contorting Jonathan and Mina’s thoughts and making them believe that what they were experiencing was only a peculiar dream. Jonathan experiences this strange occurrence in Dracula’s castle when the three vampire sisters find him alone in a room. Mina experiences this peculiar sensation at Dr. Seward’s asylum with Dracula himself when he comes to visit her in her room. Furthermore, Dr. Van Helsing also experiences an episode of mesmerization at the end of the novel when destroying the three vampire sisters at Dracula’s castle. The execution and utilization of this Gothic motif eases the reader’s ability to understand that Gothic literature contains supernatural beings who possess supernatural powers and have the ability to control one’s mind causing a sense of fear in the reader along with curiosity, excitement, and