While Dracula first appears to simply be a scary story, upon further examination, it becomes clear to the reader that Bram Stoker may have actually been writing a postcolonial novel. The concept of colonialism is exceedingly present in Victorian times, as the British Empire was a prevalent force across the entire globe. However, as the 19th century came to a close, many of those residing in Great Britain at the time feared becoming the colonized, rather than the colonizer. Stoker expertly navigates this issue through Count Dracula’s role as the primitive outside force in Dracula. Dracula’s chosen method of evil power is to infiltrate the body and infect it, similar to how a nation infiltrates another nation and takes over: “This was the being I was helping to transfer to London, where, perhaps, for centuries to come he might, amongst its teeming millions, satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless,” (Stoker, 60). Aside from his monstrous power though, Dracula is also often referenced as an outsider and loner, even in his residence. When the group goes to ultimately kill Dracula, the journey to get to his castle and the isolation of it is described in vivid detail: “All yesterday we travel, ever getting closer to the mountains, and moving into a more and more wild and desert land,” (Stoker, 388). By emphasizing how different Dracula’s land and domain is to theirs, it reveals their fear of the outside.
Furthermore, it is no coincidence that Stoker wraps up the novel in the way that he does. Dracula dies, and Mina goes on to become the perfect picture of a domesticated, pure woman (Stoker, 42). By ending the novel with the eradication of Dracula and the return of normalcy to the characters, Stoker calms any post-colonial fears. Dracula, the colonizer, is defeated by the native people, and is unable to colonize anymore. If Stoker had ended the novel with some question as to whether or not Dracula was alive, the post-colonial fear would still be present. But instead, Stoker reassures readers, and the English people, that no one can colonize them; the characters, as well as Great Britain, will remain triumphant.