Throughout the novel so far, I think there has been an emphasis on the power that the supernatural holds. I decided to close read a passage on page 113, “I am here to do Your bidding, Master. I am Your slave, and You will reward me, for I shall be faithful. I have worshipped You long and afar off. Now that You are near, I await Your commands, and You will not pass me by, will You, dear Master, in Your distribution of good things?) I noted the usage of capitalization on “you” throughout this passage as a connection to the way God is capitalized in religious writings. I thought that the word usage related to a religious-like figure, such as; “faithful”, “worshipped”, “commands”, “distribution of good things”, and “reward me” all show the supernatural power that Dracula holds. It shows the submission that Redfield has toward Dracula, and I think that it also shows the absolute adoration that Renfield, and these other “victims,” have toward him. I think that this passage relates to the fear of the supernatural and its control, but also maybe to the foreign. Dracula, a foreign character who also had a supernatural aspect to him, has control over people like people in the Victorian era hadn’t heard of before. I think all of this is Stoker playing off of the people in these times fear of the unknown, and he portrays Dracula as a regular man that has a different side to him that can be dangerous, and dominant.
One thought on “Complete submission”
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Certainly, Renfield’s relation to Dracula draws upon Darwinistic themes of evolution. Diagnosed by Dr. Seward with “Zoophagous,” Renfield is deemed a “life-eating maniac,” who believes consuming progressively stronger lifeforms increases his power (80). Renfield moves up this “food chain,” and upon reaching Dr. Seward is depicted as animalistically “licking up… blood,” whilst proclaiming that “the blood is the life!” (152). Although Renfield’s Zoophagous clearly leads him to “devolve,” his relationship with Dracula remains constant. That is, Dracula remains above Renfield at the top of this food chain, to the point at which, as you point out, Renfield is “completely submissive.”