Gothic Elements In Bram Stoker's Dracula

The evolution of religion, particularly the growth of atheism and the relaxation of catholicism and christianity in the U.S. and throughout the western world is expressed in the film. The film relies heavily on catholicism yet as religion becomes more and more relaxed in the film’s context, Bram Stoker’s Dracula features aspects of other religions. Throughout the novel and this film, crosses, crucifixes and the Body of Christ are used to ward off Dracula. This can be seen in the close up of the reflection of the crucifix that Jonathan wears (28:18). It’s effects on Dracula are immediate and obvious. Moreover, the idea of reincarnation and its accompanying values are evident throughout the text. The comparison between between Dracula’s wife and Mina reveal their physical appearances to be the same through the cut between the shots of Mina looking up at the painting of Dracula and his wife (2:00:42). Additionally and more evidently, Bram Stoker’s Dracula features a Dracula who is more humanised and romanticised than any movie that predecessor it. Dracula and Mina are shown to have a romantic bond as opposed to only the sexual attraction which is expressed in the novel. This relationship is evident in the panning of Mina and Dracula dancing (1:09:02). Through this technique, the intimacy and romanticism of this

Mina’s unconscious sexual wishes are expressed in her interactions with Dracula through an exchange of blood, which is a symbolic representation for sexual intercourse and semen. When Dracula forcibly

Gothic horror, what does it symbolize, does it connect to our modern lives, what exactly is it? Gothic horror is the genre of literature that has elements of both romance and horror. Gothic horror is very dark, stormy full of eerie winds and is usually set in an old mansion or in castles on high cliffs. Usually gothic horror is a combination of fiction, horror, and romance. This genre was famous throughout England and had and still does have a big influence on British culture and how they live their lives today. “Some get the gothic horror mixed up with paranormal romance but the difference between the two is in the results The Gothic builds up the protagonist until he achieves what he’s after, and then details the terrible consequences of achieving it” (Dittmer 1). The theme in Dracula is that classic Gothic theme of the epic battle of good versus evil. “In this novel this is expressed in a very direct way, there is never any question as to who is right and who is wrong. According to Duran “it can be clearly seen the protagonists on the side of good have many endearing qualities while the antagonists on the side of evil have a pact with Lucifer and are of the purest evil” (mikeduran.com). Bram Stokers Dracula demonstrates how religion can influence the mind of others and how they react and encounter to different situations of their lives.

Gothic literature is dominated by gothic horror, for instance dark and mysterious objects or events. It is a type of literature that combines fiction, horror, and romanticism. As Bram Stoker wrote his famous novel, Dracula he makes sure to include many different characteristics of gothic literature. Three important motifs that are stated in Dracula which also fit into the gothic literature category would be; blood, dreaming or nightmares, and superstition. This particular novel has many gothic motifs, but these are three that I believe really stand out.

Many gothic novels have tried to create an unsettling feeling within their audiences. None have achieved this quite as well as Dracula. The jarring transitions of action, and the sharp cliffhangers create many moments of suspense and unease. Using epistolary format is also a way of creating nervousness in the readers, as it not only make the story “believable”, but introduces many stories woven into one large mystery. However, the transitions of story is not the only factor creating the feeling of apprehension within the book. To create these feelings to his greatest potential, in Dracula, Bram Stoker uses symbolism to reinforce the uneasy atmosphere.

The novel, Dracula, was written by Bram Stoker in the late eighteen hundreds. The setting of Dracula is during the end of the nineteenth century, in England and Eastern Europe. The entirety of the novel is based on a vampire with heinous intentions that he casts upon a group of English citizens whom decide to rid the town of his evil. While reading the novel it is apparent that the genre is horror and gothic and that the tone is very dark and dramatic. Bram Stoker does this in a very intentional way. Therefore, discovering the ways Stoker implements Dracula into the criteria of the gothic fiction genre is simple.

The novel Dracula is a very popular book that was written in the form of Gothic Literature. This novel was written by Bram Stoker in the Victorian Age. A large portion of this piece of writing deals with many famous Gothic motifs. Gothic Literature combines the usual Gothic horror with fiction and Romanticism (Wikipedia). A motif is a distinctive symbol or dominant idea used in literature. So therefore, a Gothic motif is a literary symbol that usually combines fiction with either horror or romance. Bram Stoker’s usage of Gothic motifs not only helps define Dracula as a piece of Gothic Literature, but also helps the reader become better acquainted with what is happening in the novel. Gothic motifs are found in many different forms in pieces of work, and if readers are already accustomed to these motifs, it makes reading Dracula clearer and easier. Stoker uses many different Gothic motifs throughout this novel, but there are only a few that are the more important and stand out from the rest. These motifs are: castles and strange places, power and constraint, and revenants.

After Lucy’s death, Van Helsing tried to convinced Quincey Morris, Seward and Arthur Holmwood that Lucy has turned into “Un-dead” by bringing them to her tomb. They eventually find a solution by plunging a stake into Lucy’s heart. They chop off her head and stuff her mouth with garlic. After Jonathan and Mina’s returning to England, they joined forces with the others. Mina helps Van Helsing by collecting various journals and dairies to retype them. Their efforts were useless went one of Seward’s patient has let Dracula into the asylum to prey upon Mina. These men divided forces among them tracks Dracula across land and sea. Van Helsing takes Mina with him and he killed three female vampires by using sacred objects. Quincey and Jonathan use knives to destroy Dracula went Dracula is about to reached his castle. In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola has released a Dracula movie based on Bram Stoker’s novel. I would prefer watching a Dracula movie rather than reading a book because Coppola evokes the origins of Dracula before he turn into a vampire, twisted the subplot where Mina is the reincarnation of Dracula’s greatest love and the movie ends with Dracula’s soul

The first relationship explored in the novel, that of Dracula and Jonathan, defies the constraints of heteronormative sexuality. Dracula’s interest in seducing, penetrating and draining another male are desires that are acted out in the novel, however not solely by the Count himself, but instead by his three vampiric paramours. The homoerotic desire between Dracula and Jonathan is offered a feminine form for the masculine penetration that is being detailed (Craft,

A creature of disturbing wickedness, Dracula is not fulfilled by merely controlling the body of humans, but he also yearns for the domination over the soul of mortal beings. This calls to mind the image of a distinctly anti-Christian vision. The first image of Dracula reinforces the idea that he is not a simple villain but a complex one. As Jonathon Harker ventures to meet Dracula, he witnesses Dracula’s control and mastery of beasts: “How he came there, I know not, but I heard his voice raised in a tone of imperious command, and looking towards the sound, saw him stand in the roadway. As he swept his long arms, as though brushing aside some impalpable obstacle, the wolves fell back and back further still” (pg.11). While we are to believe that Christ gained his power over the environment and its inhabitants through His divinity, we are left to ponder where Dracula may have accumulated his power. While Jesus chose to use his power for good, Dracula’s accumulated power acts as a dark mirror being used for evil.

Dracula is a novel that indulges its male reader’s imagination, predominantly on the topic of female sexuality. When Dracula was first published, Victorian women’s sexual behaviour was extremely restricted by social expectations. To be classed as respectable, a women was either a virgin or a wife. If she was not either, she was considered a whore. We begin to understand once Dracula arrives in Whitby, that the novel has an underlying battle between good and evil, which will hinge on female sexuality. Both Lucy Westenra and Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray embody two-dimensional virtues that have been associated with female. They are both virgins, whom are innocent from the evils of the world and that are devoted to their men. Dracula’s arrival threatens those virtues, threatening to turn Lucy and Mina into the opposites, noted for their voluptuousness, which could lead to an open sexual desire.

The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different

“He speaks in perfect English and welcomes Harker inside, shaking his hand with an ice-cold, vice-like grip” (Dracula, 55). Dracula explains to him that he will no be able to make the trip to London, but one of his trusted servants will be going along with Harker back to London. After supper Jonathan analyzes Dracula and notices one very strange feature, his mouth is thick and white; they cover sharp white teeth, which stick out over his lip. What Jonathan does not know is that those teeth are canine teeth only found in animals. There are exceptions, for instance, vampires have these teeth so they can puncture the human’s carotid vessel in their neck and suck their blood. The first time that Jonathan sees Dracula’s cannibal teeth grow is when Harker starts shaving. He accidentally cuts himself and Dracula leaps for his throat so he can suck his blood. Harker touches his crucifix and Dracula’s “demonic fury” vanishes. The strangest event that Harker notices in Dracula’s castle is “Dracula emerge from his room on the floor below, slither out, head downward, in lizard fashion, with his cloak spread out around him like great wings” (Dracula, 179). This shows that “Dracula is not a person. He is a presence, an absence that requires concealing” (Wolf, 368). This tells Harker that something is very wrong with this man. He recalls how the peasants behaved

Dracula uses his supernatural powers to feed his fascination with youth and innocence. In the beginning of the novel, when Dracula is first encountered, he is described as old, although “His face was strong… [his] lips, whose ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years… The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor.” (27). This description of the Count shows that while he is old, he still possess some attributes and features of the young. Once Dracula finds that the men have made a bond against him, he makes a bond to take all of their women. He succeeds in transforming Lucy and scaring her mother to death, although Mina is stronger and the men save her by killing Dracula. Also, the three women vampires in his home are past conquests of beautiful, young women. Dracula only sucks the blood of young women in the novel reflecting his hunger for youth and innocence. As the

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a true Gothic novel that belongs on any gothic literature course. Focusing in on the recurring themes, characters and settings used throughout the novel one sees how Dracula has set the standard for Gothic literature today.