{"id":635,"date":"2018-09-30T10:22:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-30T14:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/?p=635"},"modified":"2018-09-30T10:22:06","modified_gmt":"2018-09-30T14:22:06","slug":"fulfilling-fantasies-in-dracula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/2018\/09\/30\/fulfilling-fantasies-in-dracula\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulfilling Fantasies in Dracula"},"content":{"rendered":"

One outside text that helps shed light on Dracula<\/em> is Sigmund Freud\u2019s \u201cCreative Writers and Day-Dreaming\u201d. In this piece, Freud talks about the idea of fantasy and what people will do in order to achieve it. Freud argues that fantasies are an effect of the past, present, and future happening simultaneously. The idea in this article that stands out the most, in relation to the novel, is Freud\u2019s categories for the motives behind fantasy. Freud believes that fantasies \u201cfall naturally into two main groups. They are either ambitious wishes, which serve to elevate the subject\u2019s personality; or they are erotic ones\u201d (Freud 423). While the novel does depict fantasies that fall into these categories, it also shows other categories that Freud\u2019s article has overlooked.<\/p>\n

One moment that does represent Freud\u2019s categories is when the three female vampires confront Jonathan Harker in the hopes of sucking his blood. Harker\u2019s reaction to the situation demonstrates an erotic fantasy: \u201cThere was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips\u201d (Stoker 45). It is clear through the language of this quote, that Harker\u2019s fantasy to have the female vampires kiss him is erotic in nature. The words \u201clonging\u201d and \u201cdesire\u201d help represent the sexual tone of the scene. Both words suggest that a part of Harker needs this interaction to occur. There is an underlying force that is driving him to want them to kiss him. That underlying force helps depict Freud\u2019s theory that fantasies are oftentimes created out of an erotic desire.<\/p>\n

However, Freud\u2019s categories of the driving force behind fantasies are too limited. Freud\u2019s argument does not allow room for other options, which are clearly present in the novel. One of those moments that help demonstrate another force behind fantasies is when Dr. Seward is studying his patient. Renfield has been suddenly overcome with fits of rage and has escaped the insane asylum and Dr. Seward is at a loss for why. Dr. Seward wishes he \u201ccould get some clue to the cause. It would almost seem as if there was some influence which came and went\u2026 We shall tonight play sane wits against mad ones. He escaped before without our help; tonight he shall escape with it\u201d (Stoker 118). This quote helps show that fantasies can also be driven by curiosity and the eagerness for knowledge. Dr. Seward just wants to \u201cget some clue\u201d so he can understand why Renfield is behaving like so. He realizes that in order to do so, he should provide an opportunity for Renfield to escape again. Dr. Seward imagines that after this helped escape, he will be able to understand what is affecting Renfield. This fantasy of Dr. Seward\u2019s is purely driven from an academic standpoint. The doctor is being faced with a patient whose problems he cannot understand, so he is creating a controlled experiment in order to learn more. This driving force behind Dr. Seward\u2019s fantasy does not fall into Freud\u2019s categories. It is clear that this does not arise from an erotic nature nor does it serve as a way for Dr. Seward\u2019s personality to rise.<\/p>\n

Throughout the novel, many fantasies occur. While some of those may fall into Freud\u2019s two categories, like Harker\u2019s interaction with the female vampires, others do not. Dr. Seward\u2019s study of Renfield shows that academia and a desire for knowledge can be a driving force for fantasy. This helps demonstrate that there can be many driving forces behind a person\u2019s fantasies and it is really up to the individual who is experiencing them to know what that force is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One outside text that helps shed light on Dracula is Sigmund Freud\u2019s \u201cCreative Writers and Day-Dreaming\u201d. In this piece, Freud talks about the idea of fantasy and what people will do in order to achieve it. Freud argues that fantasies are an effect of the past, present, and future happening simultaneously. The idea in this … Continue reading Fulfilling Fantasies in Dracula<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2959,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125359],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2018-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635","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\/2959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}