In Adriana Craciun's Dacre: A Necessary Evil

A common concept used throughout literature is monsters that are based solely off of the differences characters are able to identify between themselves and another character. This relates to the fourth thesis in Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s essay titled Monster Culture, where he states that monsters are based on differences. These differences can include “cultural, political, racial, economic, and sexual” (Cohen 7) differences, just to name a few. This thesis is exemplified in many medieval poems, including Bisclavret, by Marie de France, and Beowulf. Bisclavret and Beowulf both exemplify Cohen’s idea of monsters lying at the point of difference by showing that people discriminate and create stereotypes based on these differences.

The notion of separate spheres serves to set up the roles of men and women in Victorian society. Women fulfill the domestic sphere and are seen as submissive and emotionally sensitive individuals. Conversely, men are intelligent, stable, and fulfill all of the work outside of the home. In Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, the Count seems to actually embody the fear of the breakdown of such separate spheres. However, Stoker breaks down these separate spheres and the fear associated with their breakdown through the theme of the “New Woman” intertwined with the actions and behaviors of the characters in the novel.

"Doing Justice to the complex character of Dracula was one our main goals. He's been portrayed as a monster or as a seducer, but knowing his biography made me think of him as a fallen angel, as Satan...

Dahms explanations of the text is minimal, allowing for the reader to see what mattered to common people at this time based on real testimonies and letters. The work reveals a lot of the inner working of people who would have their tale told. Most people do not write down how they see the world, but this case shows modern readers that early modern Europe was a world of magic and witches, and the fight against Satan was unending. It helps show that the witch hunting craze Europe experienced was not just hunting shadows and attacking enemies, but at its core was, in their minds, a war to defeat Satan and go to

Where there is evil, there is good in the darkest shadow. Van helsing as the antagonist is the most threating adversary towards Count Dracula in the novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. In many novels, the protagonist is the main character who is usually a hero and the antagonist is the character who opposes them, however in this novel “Dracula,” the protagonist is a demon from the pits of hell while the antagonist is the hero who opposes the evil creature. Vanhelsing’s role as the antagonist is seen through specific events of conflict, characterization of both Dracula and Vanhelsing, and the theme of where there is evil, good arises to fight.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula magnificently portrays Anti-Christian values and beliefs through one of its central characters, Dracula. Dracula himself, a demonic figure, both in appearance and in behavior, could be considered the Anti-Christ. This idea of Dracula as a gothic Anti-Christ is a major element in the novel. Stoker displays numerous Anti-Christian values, superstitious beliefs, and compares and contrasts the powers of God with those of Dracula.

In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Stoker’s use of inverted gender roles allows readers to grasp the sense of obscureness throughout, eventually leading to the reader’s realization that these characters are rather similar to the “monster” which they call Dracula. Despite being in the Victorian era, Stoker’s use of sexuality in the novel contributes to the reasoning of obscureness going against the Victorian morals and values. Throughout the novel the stereotypical roles of the Victorian man and woman are inverted to draw attention to the similarities between Dracula and the characters. Vague to a majority of readers, Bram Stoker uses Dracula as a negative connotation on society being that the values of

In everyday life, as in literature, there will always be an opposing force to evil. In the novel “Dracula,” by Bram Stoker, Professor Van Helsing acts as Dracula’s main antagonist. An antagonist is the character who acts against the main character, which increases the conflict of the story and intensifies the plot. Through the use of theme, characterization and specific events, the author shows readers how Dr. Van Helsing effectively fits the role of Dracula’s most threatening adversary.

In contrast, there is a fear of becoming the “Other.” In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the charismatic figure seems benevolent; however, his deceiving appearance turns out to be a creature that corrupts mankind – his attractiveness acts as a lure to display vice in people. Dracula targets virgins to become his lamias – so that innocent women

All too often the gothic literature genre is reduced in its interpretation to gloomy weather and archaic haunted houses. These patterns do exist, but they do not define the genre. Gothic literature found its niche in the 18th and 19th centuries, and during the Victorian era it served a more nuanced purpose than simply to scare readers. Many gothic authors used a monster as a vessel to symbolize topics that the Victorian era sensibilities would label as “monstrous.” They are the incarnation of the taboo subjects society is trying to repress. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Tell-Tale Heart”, the authors use Freudian symbolism along with literary symbolism to demonstrate the repercussions of repressing “id” desires.

Within My Last Duchess, The Bloody Chamber and Dracula, there is evidence to suggest that women within the gothic genre as portrayed as victims of male authority, as well as evidence to disprove this argument, instead suggesting that it is the women within the Gothic genre which makes themselves victims. ‘Angela Carter is particularly interested in the portrayal of women as victims of male aggression as a limiting factor in the feminist perspective of the time’[i] Carter, with her modern twist on traditional fairytales places a

In Margaret Atwood’s “Lusus Naturae”, a young girl/ monster is hidden away from the world because her family will not accept her appearance. While her parents thought keeping her locked up in the house was a beneficial decision, she became isolated and lacked the knowledge and understanding of the world outside her four walls. Even though “Lusus Naturae” is a dark, twisted, and frightening tale there is more to the story than just a “freak of nature” being hidden from the world. One must read the story more in depth and closer to illustrate the themes of women’s roles in society in relation to the monster. Margaret Atwood uses symbolic parallels and narrative tones to exemplify her views of women’s historical roles in society.

The next thesis proposed by Cohen is that a monster is the harbinger of category crisis. In order to feel comfortable about places, people, and things in the word, we tend to group things into categories. All of these are placed in categories typically by physical appearance and certain traits that tend to stick out. Well, what’s scary about monsters is that they tend to be unnatural and not just fit into one category, but rather many different categories. One of the most common characters described by this thesis is Count Dracula, a monster that is neither dead nor alive. When one cannot be distinguished into a basic category this tends to frighten us because it goes against one of our common norms. He breaks our human-made laws of nature. Along with the violations of our norm groups, monsters also tend as an act to forewarn our cultures of crisis. The creator of Frankenstein can be seen as an act to

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is not only a classic story of men and monsters, but a dramatic reactionary work to the perceived threats to Victorian society in nineteenth century England. In modern times there have been many film adaptations of the novel, each developing a unique analysis or criticism of the literary text within the framework of the society and time period in which it was created. The 1972 film Blacula is one of the most culturally specific variations on the story of Dracula, and highlights many of the themes and messages found in Stoker’s original text. Among the primary similarities between the novel and the film is the portrayal of race, sexuality, nationality, and culture, and the characterization in each work speaks to the

Beginning the course of Gothic fiction in the nineteenth century, the villains were either the mysterious dark figure or the seductive human who later transforms into a demon from hell. Though, one task most have in common is luring the innocent protagonist onto a path of darkness. They seduce them with words, body language, and actions; therefore, enticing those dark thoughts that occasionally slip through the mind. The only mission they have is to create chaos. They want to help bring the evil inside the protagonist to life. In Zofloya, this is mainly achieved through Victoria’s dreams. At first, she experiences a vivid dream that involves who she believes to be a stranger,