Count Dracula is presented in Dracula as a foreboding, aristocratic character whose main goal is to feed off of the human characters, such as Lucy and Mina, and gain an unquenchable desire for strength – both over the characters as they become dependent on him, and strength from the blood he takes from them. Franco Moretti talks to this point, describing Dracula as “a metaphor for capital” (433) who “sets out on the irreversible road of concentration and monopoly” (433). Dracula’s character represents a motif for capitalism, and the struggle to maintain authority over other capitalist societies.
This battle was a distinct feature of the Fin De Siècle, which was the mark of the “collision between the old and the new” (Luckhurst x) and the consequent panic that resulted from this new, unknown turn of the century and all of the changes that came with it.
Luckhurst goes on in talking about the Fin De Siècle, stating, “it was an age of very real decline, in which Britain’s primacy as global economic power was rivaled by Germany and America” (x). For the first time in many years, Britain was losing it’s power to other hegemonic forces, and was fearing the possibility of another country taking over its monopolizing power.
Moretti discusses these growing fears in Britain through his analysis of Dracula, specifically in the character of Morris. Moretti discusses Morris’s association with vampires, and the significance of this connection, stating, “Morris is connected with vampires – because America will end up subjugating Britain in reality and Britain is […] afraid of it” (436). The character of Morris is not only a direct challenge of Britain’s economic power, but also represents “a contrast by product of Western civilization, just as America is a rib of Britain and American capitalism a consequence of British capitalism” (436).
Just as Luckhurst referred to in his article, Britain is currently very concerned with their position in the economic world, and how their old monopolistic control is starting to crumble at the turn of the century. This explains why Stoker decides to kill off Morris, the American character, in hopes of stifling this increasing fear of American power over Britain. Moretti describes this choice, stating, “for the good of Britain, Morris must be sacrificed […] at the moment Morris dies, the threat disappears” (436).
Moretti points out the importance of Morris as a character, and the need for him to be killed off in the end due to his threat to Britain’s power in the world. Luckhurst exemplifies this need for reassurance during the dramatic period, known as the Fin De Siècle, when Britain’s authority is being threatened and the British society is experiencing much unrest.