Dracula

(1897)

There are too many similar stories/movies based on vampires but Dracula is one of the oldest and most popular ones. Reading a book with such a familiar theme was an interesting experience (I haven't watched the movie based on it). I had certain expectations before starting the book but I was glad to discover that the book had more merits than being yet another vampire story.

I like the story line; the way Count Dracula is introduced and also the fact that it is told through diary entries, newspaper articles and personal letter excerpts, which makes it all more plausible. I also like the fact that the characters are not presented as pure evil ones with the mere aim of spilling blood or ultimate, infallible heroes, who would save the world no matter what. The whole story and characters have a human touch, which makes it an almost touching story.

Having said all this, boy, is Stoker's style verbose! Some hundred pages of the book would have been taken out and nobody would have noticed a thing! I am not sure if this was an attempt on the author's behalf to write a sensational story and still be considered a recognised literary figure but it did not work for me.--Submitted by .

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Recent Forum Posts on Dracula

Isolation in Dracula

Im writting an exam on the portrayal of isolation in the novel and already im looking at locational isolation ie the castle being secluded also i looked at Harker being isolated within the castle. finally im looking at Dracula being isolated from the rest of the world as he differs from everyone any other things im missing?

Posted By Wordsmiths at Sun 4 May 2008, 7:35 AM in Dracula || 0 Replies

NEbody??

i cant find any thing thah any1 has said on here...where people did not like the book....so did any 1 not like the book at all???.....hey lookits a kewl smiley:crash:

Posted By lapromiscuame at Tue 26 Feb 2008, 8:26 AM in Dracula || 0 Replies

Help me please!!

Hey!! I just read Dracula and totally loved it!! Lasy night I watched teh origonal movie that was made in the thirties and I got confused. In the book, Did Renfield really go to Castle Dracula before Jonathan and that's why he's crazy?

Posted By LittleMermaid at Sat 29 Dec 2007, 5:44 PM in Dracula || 1 Reply

Sexual Fantasy in Dracula Films any ideas

Hello everyone IS BRAM STOKERS DRACULA BASED ON A SEXUAL fANTASY??????????????????? HELP I need a bit of help an trying to find out why, were and what kind of sexual fantasy are in dracula films. i want to find out why women are dominated in all horror films connected to dracula films. if this is possiable for anyone to give some pointers or even a bit od advice to start me of in the right direction would be nice P.S im a A level student studying film and this is to help me with my project THANKS

Posted By cartsay at Tue 13 Nov 2007, 3:44 PM in Dracula || 7 Replies

Two Interpretations of a Vampire.

My coursework title is: ‘Explore the presentation of the Vampire in Dracula and Interview With The Vampire. In your answer you should consider different interpretations and contextual influences.’ If anyone could help me make a start on this, i would greatly appreciate it. Im really stuck! If anyone could help me on Interview with the Vampire as well you'd be a legend in my books! :D X oh, and also, i dont really know how to work this so sorry if it takes me a long time to reply!

Posted By faye at Mon 10 Sep 2007, 8:18 AM in Dracula || 4 Replies

Dracula and Judaism?

Urm, okay, where to start?! I'm doing a Dissertation for Advanced Higher English and have chose to study numerous novels, including Abraham Stoker's, Dracula. I've delved into various aspects of the novel, including the generics - sexuality, post colonialism, the use of epistolary, analysis of insanity and the human psyche. However, there is one thing that I have noticed when analysing the text in a different light: race relations. Call me crazy, but is it possible that Count Dracula fits into the Jewish role in fin-de-siécle Britain? The jewish community became an easy scapegoat in the 19th centuary when Stoker wrote Dracula. The Jewish community in Britain began to be portrayed as "shady" characters involved with gambling, money-lending and "despicable dealings", and, as a result, the most frequent terms thrown at them was "Vampires", "Bloodsuckers" and "Vultures". Count Dracula fits into the idea about prominent fin-de-siécle anxieties - syphilis, homosexuality, proto-feminism, monopoly capitalism and imperial race declines. (Could Stoker have been influenced by, "The Wandering Jew"?) Racial decline was a huge anxiety in late 19th-century Britain. British Anglos were concerned with the introduction of non-Anglo, non-Christian blood in their society. Count Dracula, quite obviously, embodies this notion. He comes in from far eastern Europe – an area that many Jews immigrated from in the late 19th-century – and attempts to expand his race using the bodies of Christian Brits; author Davison likens this to Dracula being a parasite from a racially alien nation, vigorously feeding off Britain, his Christian host nation. This, keeping with the anti-Semitic stereotypes, demonstrates that Dracula is guilty of the Blood Libel, desecrating the Host (British citizens), and endangering the national body politic. Going along with this idea is the fact that Dracula is often accompanied by rats, which symbolize the plague. It was believed from the Middle Ages that Jews spread the plague and other infections, remaining immune due to pacts with the devil. In the Dracula text Van Helsing notes that Dracula also has this quality: ‘… can smile at death, as we know him; who can flourish in the midst of diseases that kill off whole peoples’ (321). Dracula is ultimately defeated, however, which theoretically nullifies the concern for racial decline. Dracula’s hoards of gold are also reflective of a Jewish nature. There was a long-established stereotype of the Jew being emblematic of exploitation and cosmopolitan wealth. The cultural variety of the gold suggests the extent of the Count’s travels. Dracula’s financial stinginess is thought to be a reflection of Jewish money managing. He only leaves his money stash in England after he invests in London properties, which ensures him some wealth to return to should any of the gold be lost. In one London scene Dracula confronts the group and tells them they will be his to do his bidding; Harker slashes Dracula’s jacket, and both coins and bills fall out of Dracula’s torn pocket. He attempts to retrieve some of the money before escaping. The stereotypically Jewish capitalist practices – self-interest, egoism, monopolism – that Dracula displays compete against the Christian capitalist practices of Van Helsing and his group. The fact that Van Helsing ultimately wins out symbolizes Christian defeat of Jewish capitalism, which, were it actually the case, would soothe the anxiety of monopoly capitalism. Does any of this make sense at all? Or, perhaps, im delving way too far into things that arn't there.

Posted By CrazyDiamond at Wed 15 Aug 2007, 5:35 PM in Dracula || 3 Replies

Mina vs. Lucy

One of my students asked why there was such a difference in the period of time that it takes for the two women in Dracula's life to become undead. I said I'd ask here. What do you think?

Posted By Robinflamingo at Sat 2 Jun 2007, 6:13 AM in Dracula || 3 Replies

Dracula

Hi, I was wondering if you guys knew about Dracula's 'sub meanings'. Or if some situation Stoker has made in the book are drawn from history of the UK, Ireland or his life?

Posted By onthemove at Wed 2 May 2007, 9:21 PM in Dracula || 5 Replies

I don't understand...

I'm trying to write an essay on Dracula, and we have to analyze different passages of the book... I chose, for one of them, Mina's recollection of the echange of blood between her and Dracula... And as I was going through it, I came to one part that makes no sense to me... What does Dracula mean by, "And you, their best beloved one, are now to me... my bountiful wine-press for a while." What does he mean by "bountiful wine-press"??

Posted By Hyacinth42 at Wed 18 Apr 2007, 7:36 PM in Dracula || 2 Replies

Dracula....

I love vampires, dont get me wrong, and I understand Bram stoker opened the door to vampire fiction, but I thought the book itself was rather dull.

Posted By aprildutcher at Fri 30 Mar 2007, 2:52 PM in Dracula || 9 Replies

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Dracula

(1897)

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