Category: 2021 Blog Post

After finishing the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, I realized that throughout the text it shows a theme of distrust of strangers and foreigners and gaining power. Throughout the book you can see these themes popping up all around the text. One of the main times that I saw it was in the beginning of the book when Jonathan was staying at Dracula’s castle. When he was first there he felt safe, even though he was staying at a complete stranger’s castle. This is because Dracula was such a good host when Jonothan was there. As time went on Jonathan became more and more suspicious of Dracula due to his behavior, which made him trust Dracula less. In the book it seems like Dracula’s whole mission is to gain power. He does this by killing people and making them into vampires. “My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine—my creatures, to do my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed.”(Stoker 245 Chapter 23). This shows how Dracula is wanting to gain power and feel powerful and he does this by making people feel afraid. When people are afraid of him then he feels more in power and more in control. These themes might show how in the Victorian age there was a distrust to foreigners and strangers in their society, and also how they might have been craving power and what they do to get it.

 

“A Pause of Thought” wonderfully portrays the internal conflict people had in relation to the social and political unrest of the 19th century. It could speak to numerous issues, such as marriage and social status, but one that was most apparent was the struggle in the search for faith and truth behind religion. This poem opens with the line of “I looked for that which is not, nor can be”. It then goes on to say how they waited and searched for this, but in vain. Though critical of the idea, they never lost sight of it and seemed as if they were disappointed in themselves that they could not. I interpret this thing or being that the author is searching for to be God and faith in her or him.  

During this era of revolution, many people found themselves to be uprooted from their stable, traditional values they held dear. Many things were left to the unknown and societal norms and morals were in question. Confusion rose and so did the question of faith. People wanted to find answers to transform their beliefs into concrete facts, but something like spirituality and religion is difficult to prove. Frustration in the search of answers consumed the thoughts of those who found themselves in this state.  

A differing factor that led to the question of God and religion was the fact that many other things were also being questioned, tested, and in a state of unrest. People have the tendency to find someone or something to bring blame upon when something they see as negative is happening outside of their own control. It has seemed that God was often this scapegoat. Though many attributed all good things to God and the glorious wonders brought about through her or him, they are also quick to blame when something goes wrong. Because of this philosophy, the issue of unrest in other areas very well could have led to the questioning of faith. 

Whether it be from the search of the unknown or the overall turmoil of this time period, the faith in God was in great question at this time. Though many people were not able to outwardly express their doubts because of social or legal repercussions, the issue is extremely prevelent in many works during the 19th century.  

Bram Stoker’s Dracula presents us with themes of imperialism and power that represent the people’s views and fears on colonization in the Victorian Era. In Stephen Arata’s essay, “The Occidental Tourist: Dracula and the Anxiety of Reverse Colonization” he says that “vampires are intimately linked to military conquest” in Dracula (Arata 627). Vampires symbolize military conquest because of how they infect others and turn them into vampires. This also relates to imperialism because, like vampires invading foreign land and infecting the population, Europeans would invade foreign countries, often with military forces, and force that country’s people to assimilate to their culture. During the era of Imperialism, Europeans colonized many countries in order to profit off their resources and also so they could be seen as a global power.

Dracula’s lust for power can be seen when he meets Jonathan in London and says, “That is not enough for me. Here I am noble; I am boyar; the common people know me, and I am master. But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one” (Stoker 27). This quote shows that Dracula gets fulfillment out of ruling over people who know of his power and also fear him. Dracula does not get satisfaction out of being in London because the people there see him as a stranger and have no sense of his power. In his essay, Arata argues that Dracula represents the Victorians fear of “reverse colonization” and the decline of Britain as a global power. In the late 18th century, other countries like Germany, France, and the United States were rising to power. The “changes in international power relationships” caused a widespread fear that another country was likely to invade Britain and take control (Arata 624). This fear is reflected in Dracula when Count Dracula travels to London. Even though he is seen as a stranger, he has the power and potential to conquer Britain. Dracula and his subjects in Transylvania are symbolic of the fear of another country “trying to colonize the civilized world” (Arata 625).

In Dracula, Bram Stoker sets up a contrast between good and evil that persists throughout the story, which is represented by Mina Harker and Dracula. Before Mina makes her speech after the men return from their failed attempt at capturing Dracula, Dr. Seward writes a commentary on her appearance and character (Stoker 328). He opens with an observation of “that sweet, sweet, good, good woman in all the radiant beauty of her youth and animation.” The pronounced repetition of “sweet” and “good” drives home the idea that Mina is the most pure, innocent, perfect woman. Throughout the story, Mina is presented in this idealized light; she can do no wrong, and she is adored by all who surround her because of her everlasting kindness and devotion to her friends. She represents a double symbol within the book: she epitomizes both the concept of pure goodness and the idea of the perfect woman.

Mina’s foil is Dracula, who embodies evilness. While Dracula is a centuries-old, Undead, foreign vampire, Mina is a young, healthy, properly English woman. Throughout the story, these characters remain perfect opposites, but the lines between them are blurred when Dracula begins to feed on Mina. This relationship is solidified when Mina is branded with the sacred wafer, leaving a glaring red scar on her forehead. This scar serves as a symbol of Mina’s “taintedness,” how her perfect purity has been marred by evil. The scar itself is explicitly recognized as a symbol by Seward, who writes, “we, knowing that so far as symbols went, she with all her goodness and purity and faith, was outcast from God.” Even though Mina is still just as kind and loving as ever, the scar has marked her as impure and has thus made her unholy. This binds her even more closely to Dracula, who has been established as an anti-God character throughout the novel.

Dracula and Mina’s foil pairing and the tragedy of their connection represent the Victorian fear of the invasion of the foreign as a threat to the purity of English women. More broadly, it represents the contrast between good and evil, specifically in the context of religion. Stoker presents the fall of Mina, and her eventual redemption, as a word of warning that pure goodness must be protected from the unholy touch of evil.

Through “Goblin Market” there are moments regarding the fruits that the Goblins sell, the cut hair used as a way to pay the Goblins for the fruits, and the violence that they use against Lizzie which refer to sexual temptation/curiosity, prostitution, and sexual assault respectively.

Firstly, there are many cases where the Goblins try to get people’s attention, by emphasizing how great their fruits are. The fruits seem to be described in a sexual way, “Sweet to tongue and sound to eye” (Rossetti, 1), constantly mentioning its freshness and exoticness “our grapes fresh from the vine” (Rossetti, 1). Laura, despite her sister’s warning, is curious to go up to the Goblins and ask for some of these precious fruits, “Laura stared but did not stir, Longed but had no money: The whisked-tailed merchant bade her taste, in tones as smooth as honey” (Rossetti, 3). Thus, Laura’s curiosity could have been considered as sexual, having a sexual temptation to eat the valuable fruits.

Secondly, early in the poem, Laura accepts to cut some of her hair and provide it to the Goblins as a form of currency, “Buy from us with a golden curl. She clipped a precious golden lock, she dropped a tear more rare than a pearl, then sucked their fruits globes fair or red” (Rossetti, 4).  Laura basically turns her hair into a product of value, essentially selling part of herself for these cursed fruits. This action resembles the one of a “whore” or a prostitute who would sell her body as a way to earn money or in this case magical fruits.

Finally, when Lizzie goes on to face the Goblins and tries to buy some fruits, she refuses to buy them with her hair and rather pay with actual monetary currency. When Lizzie continues to refuse the Goblin’s offer, they start to get angry and violent “their looks were evil”, “they trod and hustled her”, “elbowed and jostled her”, “tore her gown and soiled her stocking” (Rossetti, 11). These violent actions resemble actions or attempts of sexual assault toward Lizzie, which also resemble the actions that men took in the Victorian era when women were not “obeying” their men’s orders.

Dracula as a novel seems to be about eradicating the evil influences of vampirism (and vampires’ representation of foreignness) from Victorian society. However, in questioning who is evil in our text, Bram Stoker paints Victorians themselves as monstrous, calling attention to widespread cultural guilt resulting from imperialism. The monstrous and yet contrite nature of Victorianism is perhaps best captured by Stoker’s portrayal of Dracula’s death (401). 

Throughout this scene, exceptionally violent actions and tumultuous surroundings lead up to the tranquil death of Dracula’s character. Opening this scene with the “level[ing] of weapons,” “the flashing [of] knives,” and the “howling of wolves” enables Stoker to build climactic tension (401). The resolution for this tension comes with Jonathan and Mr. Morris driving their knives into Dracula, who subsequently “crumbles” away (Stoker 401). Perhaps most significant to this scene is Mina’s narration, which reveals that Dracula had a “look of peace” upon his “face,” one which she “never could have imagined might have rested there” as he dissolved into the air (401). In considering Dracula as a foreign influence to be vanquished, one may interpret Stoker’s protagonists as crusaders. But the notion that Dracula needed to be at peace runs contrary to that theme and fits with the higher ethical standards of Victorian society. Stoker’s juxtaposition of these chaotic and serene depictions demonstrates the dual themes running through the novel.  

As Stephen Arata highlights, fears of reverse colonization were salient in the minds of Victorians. What had once been the pride of the “white man’s burden” to “civilize” the rest of the world had now turned into fears related to “being colonized by ‘primitive’ forces;” fears which Arata highlights as stemming from “cultural guilt” (Arata 623). The protagonists of Stoker’s novel justify their actions by claiming that all of their efforts to “sterilize” Dracula’s ties to Transylvania and rid society from his vampire-like tendencies were for the good of the moral order and cultural progress – an idea which seems to parallel the justifications made by the Victorians for their colonization efforts (Stoker 317). A final “look of peace” on Dracula’s face perhaps demonstrates the remorse that these Eurocentric characters felt and may have been Stoker’s attempt to call attention to the cultural feelings of guilt around their previous influence over and eradication of the foreign.

The poem “The World” by Christina Rosetti, compares the world, as seen by the poetic voice, to a woman of a seemingly polarized nature. The woman is described as a being of beauty and light during the hours of the day, but a gruesome and devilish creature once the sun has set. The poet illustrates the paradoxical seduction of life in its tendency towards beauty seen in the light of day and its true malevolence that is revealed in the darkness of night through vivid imagery and personification.  

At the heart of the sonnet, the poet spends time describing the physical differences of the personification of the world that she has created to shed light on the juxtapositions of life itself. She says “by day she stands a lie: by night she stands in all of the naked horror and truth with pushing horns and clawed and clutching hands.” The “she” being referred to is the woman that represents the world and it’s interesting that the poet views the world as seen during the day to “stand a lie” when most would assume that it is the light of day which typically reveals the truths of the world. This perception is one that the poet goes against with her belief that the true essence of life is that which is shrouded in the darkness of night and “pushing horns and clawed and clutching hands”. The binary of light and dark provides its own connotations of evil being in the dark which would imply that this poet believes the truth of the world is its immorality. This point is driven home through the depiction of the horns and claws of the woman that create a monstrous image of the world in its true form giving the audience a visual aid to better understand the world’s evil through “her” outwards appearance rather than simply providing examples of why the world is so bad. Through these conjured images, I believe that the poet is able to better communicate her perspective.  

After finishing Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I’ve come to the conclusion that Stoker incorporates reverse colonization into the plot as a result of Victorian era politics inducing feelings of guilt and pride.  As the excellence and superiority of Britain begins to come under question, many Victorian authors turn their colonizer characters (white British people) into the victims.  In Stoker’s book, Jonathan and Mina Harker, Dr Seward, and other protagonists are under attack by a foreign entity, or Dracula.  Dracula is portrayed with many of the imperialistic traits associated with Britain at the time.  For example, when Jonathan hears about the vampire’s family history, Dracula describes his people as a “conquering race” as he lists their bloody victories (Stoker 36).  He and his bloodline are written to be imperialists, and Dracula’s plan to move to England and feed on its people makes him the conqueror of the story.  The choice to make such a character the antagonist reveals that many Victorians feel guilt over defeating other countries to grow their empire.  Hence, the traits Britain possesses are seen in evil characters.  However, rather than admit to this fault, I believe Victorians manifest this guilt as fantasizing about being the victim.  And so, in the world of fiction, where anything is possible, Stoker makes his British characters the “good guys” who are justified in defeating their enemy because he deserves it.  He gives them an excuse to be the conqueror once again.  In this way, Stoker and other Victorian era authors smother their guilt by desperately justifying the actions of British characters as a result of their pride.  According to Stoker, Britain may be imperialistic, but only because they are superior and others deserve it.

Because of the nature of the antagonist, it seems as though Britain views imperialism as a negative and evil trait, however, it does not hide the fact that in the end, the white British characters come out on top.  Stoker’s pride far outweighs his guilt.  At the end of the novel, the British protagonists are the ones who “shear through the throat” of Dracula, birth a baby and are each “happily married” (Stoker 400) (Stoker 402).  Of course, with the one non-British character dying an honorable death.  Although Stoker allows some of the Victorian’s cultural guilt to seep into the book via Dracula’s characteristics and family history, when Victorian era Britain’s superiority is waning, Stoker’s pride inflates, as if to compensate for it.  Consequently, he cannot bring himself to suggest that British people could possibly be the bad guys, much less the losers.  He wants Britain to retain its image of grandeur, and uses this novel to reach that goal.

The presence of religion in “Dracula” is very evident and plays a significant part in the book as characters use it as a way to protect themselves from the vampires.

The idea of religion can be noticed even from the beginning of the book, on Chapter 1 and page 11, when Jonathan Harker arrives in a hotel and is being warned by an old lady about “evil things” that are going to occur during that night. Later on, the old lady provides him with a crucifix to protect him from supernatural events. Even though in the beginning, characters such as Jonathan underestimated the idea of the supernatural, in the progress of the plot they seem to be using supernatural ways such as garlic rings and crucifixes to deal with Count Dracula.

Also, in Chapter 23 and page 136, Van Helsing uses the crucifix as a way of protecting himself and also as a way of power and control over the Count. Even though, Count Dracula has super strength, immortality, extreme speed, and many more supernatural features the power of religion is emphasized through the crucifixes and religious practices, which tend to make him weaker or at least distracted. The use of religion, however, is depicted more through objects such as the crucifixes rather than the actual faith in God.

 

 

When I sit back and think about vampires, specifically how they are portrayed in film and literature, a few characteristics stick out to me. Besides copious amounts of blood, large sharp fangs, and pale skin, I also think about how there always seems to be some sort of storm or fog going on when the vampires are present. Whether it’s the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker or the Twilight series, there always seems to be a mysterious fog or a dangerous storm when the vampires are present. When Dracula firsts arrives in England via ship, the port where Dracula enters suffers from a sudden but violent storm as the ship sails into the port. Before the start of the storm, there is an eeriness to the atmosphere. The newspaper reports that before the storm, “the stillness of the air grew quite oppressive, and the silence was so marked that the bleating of a sheep inland or the barking of a dog in the town was distinctly heard” (Stoker, 86). While the newspaper said that the storm came on without warning, I see this foreboding weather as an omen of the grave events that will result from Dracula’s arrival. Even before Dracula arrived in England, the ship that unknowingly transported him experienced strange events and bad weather before Dracula landed on English soil. In the log of the Demeter, the ship that Dracula used to get to England, it was written that “there seems some doom over this ship. Already a hand short and entering the Bay of Biscay with wild weather” and “four days in hell, knocking about in a sort of maelstrom, and the wind a tempest” (Stoker, 93). Prior to Dracula’s appearance on the ship, things were running smoothly, but, after Dracula decided to stow away on the ship, strange events happen to the crew. Crew members start to disappear, and the ship seems to be constantly sailing through bad storms and fog. I believe that even before people are aware of Dracula’s presence, bad weather is used as a physical way of warning people about Dracula’s presence. It could even be used to show the danger to others that Dracula brings with him. Even with strange events happening, the weather solidifies the fact that something is wrong, as the weather often suddenly turns violent when Dracula is present.