{"id":299,"date":"2016-03-23T00:09:55","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T00:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/?p=299"},"modified":"2018-09-02T22:05:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T22:05:24","slug":"the-fear-of-god-or-of-dracula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/2016\/03\/23\/the-fear-of-god-or-of-dracula\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fear of God… or of Dracula"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most curious linguistic oddity within Dracula<\/em> occurs when Bram Stoker makes the conscious decision to capitalize the first letter in the pronouns \u2018He\u2019 or \u2018Him\u2019 in reference to Dracula whilst they are not positioned at the beginning of a sentence. This choice would not be considered strange if the capitalization of mid-sentence male pronouns were not intrinsically linked to religious implications. Normally, the capitalization of \u2018He\u2019 and \u2018Him\u2019 is reserved for references to God or statements about God\u2019s actions. As a result, the pronoun capitalization that Bram Stoker employs in various sections throughout the text is abnormal because it is quite possibly blasphemous. The sporadic pronoun capitalization within Dracula <\/em>creates an uncertainty between what is asked of him and what is required of Him- By this, I mean to say that the reader is unsure of whether God or Dracula is being addressed within these crucial passages.<\/p>\n

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In the article \u201cPronoun Capitalisation in the New King James Version: A Style in Translation and Communication,\u201d Ekpenyong states that the Bible utilized capital pronouns (in reference to God) in order to more greatly differentiate between God and man- and to also establish the concept that God should be placed \u201cabove everyone else\u201d (Ekpenong, 58). For the reader\u2019s sake, the pronoun capitalization within the Bible eradicated subject ambiguity and distinctly established a division between God and human beings. Ekpenyong suggests that using capital letters (or \u2018divine pronouns\u2019) instead of small letters brought \u201cinsight to the reader\u201d (Ekpenong, 60). Incongruously, Dracula\u2019s <\/em>perversion of capital pronouns creates a blurred line between what appears to be divine (God) and what is horrific (Dracula).<\/p>\n

If it is true that Dracula is, in fact, a distorted deity, then we must also explore the circumstances in which divine pronouns are ascribed to him in order for us to decode the meaning beneath Stoker\u2019s religious undertones. More specifically, in Dr. Seward\u2019s diary, Renfield describes his eexperience with Count Dracula:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen the dogs howled, away beyond the dark trees in His house\u2026A dark mass spread over the grass, coming on like the shape of a flame of fire; and then He moved the mist to the right and left, and I could see that these were thousands of rats with their eyes blazing red- like His, only smaller\u201d (298, Stoker).<\/p>\n

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Stoker\u2019s \u201cdivine pronoun\u201d usage implies that Dracula is not only magical, but holy in a sense. The relationship between Renfield and the Count is odd because he [Renfield] describes Him [Dracula] with great reverence despite the terror that is associated with the encounter. Perhaps, an argument can be made that Renfield is Dracula\u2019s apprentice and thus treats him with a great deal of respect. The manner in which Renfield speaks, for instance, \u201cI don\u2019t care for the pale people; I like them with lots of blood in them\u201d (Stoker, 299) implies a twisted likeness between both Dracula and Renfield. This godlike pedestal that Renfield places Dracula upon could explain the religious reverence, however, Renfield is not the only character within Dracula<\/em> to refer to \u2018Him\u2019 using capital pronouns.<\/p>\n

Comparatively, the Log of the Demeter contains references to Dracula\u2019s presence aboard the ship. The log includes the shipmate\u2019s fears about the Count, but his capital pronoun usage is extremely alarming.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had better come too, captain, before it is too late. He <\/em>is there. I know the secret now. The sea will save me from him\u2026I dared not go below, I dared not leave the helm; so here all night, I stayed, and in the dimness of the night I saw it- Him! God forgive me\u201d (Stoker, 95).<\/p>\n

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With this new discovery, I am led to think that Stoker\u2019s usage of \u201cdivine pronouns\u201d is reserved for moments of complete wonderment at the prospect of the Dracula\u2019s unknown powers.<\/p>\n

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Works Referenced:<\/p>\n

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Ekpenyong, Effiong. “Pronoun Capitalisation in the New King James Version: A Style in Translation and Communication.”\u00a0Babel Revue Internationale De La Traduction \/ International Journal of Translation Babel<\/em>\u00a055.1 (2009): 58-68.\u00a0University of Uyo<\/em>. Web.<\/p>\n

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Stoker, Bram.\u00a0Dracula (Revised Edition)<\/em>. Ed. Maurice Hindle. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1993. Print.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most curious linguistic oddity within Dracula occurs when Bram Stoker makes the conscious decision to capitalize the first letter in the pronouns \u2018He\u2019 or \u2018Him\u2019 in reference to Dracula whilst they are not positioned at the beginning of a sentence. This choice would not be considered strange if the capitalization of mid-sentence male pronouns … Continue reading The Fear of God… or of Dracula<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3046,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123782,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-blog-post","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3046"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}