STUDY GUIDE: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Resource X-2
Overall Context:
Bram Stoker
• Irish, incapacitated as a child, interested in philosophy, history, mathematics.
• Wrote dramatic criticism, short stories, novels. Only true notable work was Dracula.
• Dracula made popular through its concerns with hypnotism and the occult.
• Structure of novel – epistolary, combination of journals/letters/newspaper (aping a historical reconstruction).
Chapter 1: In which the British solicitor Jonathan Harker writes of his approach towards and arrival at his client’s castle in
the remote Eastern Europe country of Transylvania.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Mem.”
Use of shorthand in
Shorthand was invented in 1837 as an innovative and
Jonathan Harker’s journals.
phonetic way of recording information quickly. The use of
shorthand here relates to Jonathan’s intended audience –
his fiancée Mina, who is later said to also understand
shorthand. What does Stoker’s referencing of shorthand
indicate in regards to these characters?
Mentions of the ‘West’ and
Concepts of the Orient and
Positioning of setting in relation to English audience.
‘East’ in describing
Occident.
Transylvania.
Fear of the ‘other’ – the foreigner as alien.
Mentions of superstitions
Accumulation of detail to
Stoker’s interest in history steeps this establishing chapter
(P.8)
establish setting – lots of
in the flavours of the region (later made more apparent by
“Wildest and least known
historically-relevant Easta preoccupation with the specific foods of the region)
portions of Europe” (P.8)
European peoples and
countries (Carpathians,
Buda-Pesth, Turkish). ‘Buda- How have the idea of the ‘Orient’ and accumulation of
Pesth’ is an anglicisation of a detail been used by Stoker to establish setting?
foreign place name.
“Imaginative whirlpool”
Simile.
Stoker uses a variety of simple similes to get the reader
inside of Harker’s head and to empathise with the culture
shock he experiences upon his arrival in the East.
“They are, however, I am
Condescending / Parochial
Harker’s tone alludes to the attitudes of the Victoriantold, very harmless and
tone
British towards the rest of the world; a fatherly but
rather wanting in natural
condescending attitude towards the ‘simpler’ peoples of
self-assertion” (P.9)
Eastern Europe fits into this paradigm.
Many references at the
beginning of the May 4
entry (P.10)
EG. “Looked at each other in
a frightened way”, “He and
his wife crossed
themselves”, “In a very
hysterical way”.
“The sun sank lower and
lower behind us, the
shadows of the evening
began to creep round us”
(P.14)
“For the dead travel fast”
(P.17)
Foreshadowing
Wolves, castle, superstitious
village people (P.18-19)
Stoker uses an array of
(now-familiar) horror tropes
to establish a sense of
foreboding.
Foreshadowing, metaphor,
personification.
Furthermore, Harker’s tone could also be seen as the
hubris (arrogance) that typically accompanies a tragic hero
at the start of their metaphorical descent to hell.
The title of ‘Count’ is not an accurate title used by
Romanian aristocracy at the time of the novel’s publication
(or ever). Stoker’s use of this title is, however, in keeping
with the Gothic genre, in which several fictional villains had
previously been styled as ‘counts’.
Activity: Find references in this chapter that foreshadow
Dracula’s true nature.
Stoker uses his description of setting to maintain a
suspenseful atmosphere that implies evil and discomfort.
Why does Stoker use a motif of darkness?
Intertextuality. Quote from
the poem Lenore by the
German gothic author
Gottfried August Burger.
This poem from 1774 features a character who returns
from the grave and, with themes of ‘beauty and terror’, has
been frequently cited as a common influence on vampire
literature. In your own words, how does this show
intertextuality?
The use of portents and omens links with the stereotypical
Eastern traditions of superstition that formed the basis for
Victorian England’s growing fascination with the occult in
the late 19th century.
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Chapter 2: Jonathan Harker meets his client, the strange Count Dracula, and comes to the realisation that he is now a
prisoner in the Count’s castle.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Then he took out my steel
Complex sentence with
Harker’s (IE. Stoker’s) style is highly descriptive and can
traps, and placed them on
many clauses – including an become longwinded at times, alluding to the form of the
the ground beside me as I
embedded clause.
journal as a log of activity for the protagonist.
stood close to a great door,
old and studded with large
An embedded clause is a section of a sentence that can be
iron nails, and set in a
removed without harming the sentence’s ability to make
projecting doorway of
sense. Embedded clauses add additional detail where the
massive stone” (P.21)
author wants to add more meaning. Identify the
embedded clause in the quote and explain why it has
been used.
Several references to steel,
Motif of near- indestructible The repetition of imagery and metaphors/similes explores
iron, stone (P.21)
substances.
ideas relating to strength, note also the description of
Dracula’s driver’s grip being like a vice.
Why has this motif been used?
Stoker manipulates the reader’s distance from the
protagonist through the use of tense – veering between
past tense to show Harker recalling daily events, and
present tense to remind the audience that Harker is
presently occupying the castle between journal entry; thus
making the entries seem more immediate.
Description of Dracula (P.22, Pointed teeth, pointed ears, Dracula is established as a strange-looking character, the
P.24)
hair growing in strange
description of the bushy eyebrows that ‘almost’ meet have
places, pale complexion,
certain connotations in Gothic 19th century literature. The
‘aquiline’ nose, ‘domed’
‘unibrow’ was viewed as a suspicious trait associated with
forehead.
werewolves and evil characters. The pointed teeth are
also, as far as the reader is concerned, more than enough
to allude to his status as a vampire. Harker’s seeming
ignorance of these things are examples of dramatic irony.
What is revealed about Dracula in this chapter? (Note P.32 in particular)
• He doesn’t like daylight.
• He doesn’t eat or drink in Harker’s presence.
• He has no reflection.
• He is upper class / well-educated
• What is being suggested by these details?
“For just before leaving
London I got word that my
examination was successful;
and I am now a full-blown
solicitor!”
Mixing past and present
tense.
Early editions of Dracula, with pre-film depictions of the Count
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Chapter 3: Dracula tells Harker that he’ll be staying at his castle for a month, which leads to an increasing sense of panic
and anxiety for the protagonist. In his exploration of the castle Harker is set upon by Dracula’s women, who attempt to
feed on him until Dracula saves him.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis Context / Further Ideas
Stoker conjures imagery of the region’s bloodthirsty history
“The Huns, whose warlike fury
Simile, mythologising,
had swept the earth like a living aggressive connotation with active and highly figurative language. The Huns were
nomadic, horse-riding warriors who raided across Eastern
flame” (P.36)
of words like ‘warlike’,
Europe and Central Asia from the 4th to 6th centuries and
‘fury’, ‘swept’, ‘flame’.
impacted on a lot of different cultures.
Note that the word ‘vampire’ hasn’t been used once yet. The
Mentions of blood (P.36, P.37)
The motif of blood
occurs throughout as a author constructs Dracula’s world through language choices and
form of foreshadowing foreshadowing. Page 36 features mentions of crucifixes, garlic
(some versions of the Old Testament say that garlic sprung up
that reinforces the
in the Devil’s place after he left the Garden of Eden), wild rose
themes of the novel.
(a Christian symbol associated with Christ), mountain ash; all
folkloric protections against vampires that function as a form of
dramatic irony in terms of the narrative and Harker’s ignorance
of Dracula’s true nature. How has symbolism been used to
suggest Dracula’s true nature?
“My heart grew cold at the
Harker uses a metaphor to The gothic literary tradition often employs sensory language
to position the reader from the perspective of the
thought” (P.39)
underscore his realisation
protagonist, experiencing the same terror or growing sense
that Dracula intends to
of dread.
keep him at the castle for
at least a month.
The words ‘should’, ‘by any chance’, ‘those’ are all in a key of
“Should you leave these rooms
Dracula warns Harker
low modality – Dracula’s threats are implicit rather than explicit,
you will not by any chance go to against leaving the
and allude to a psychological game of ‘cat and mouse’ between
sleep in any other part of the
room assigned to him.
himself and Harker, with neither explicitly acknowledging the
castle. It is old, and has many
The language used by
dynamic of jailer-and-captor that has arisen. How does the use
memories, and there are bad
the Count is subtle,
of low modality add to Dracula’s characterisation?
dreams for those who sleep
threatening, and has a
unwisely” (P.40)
tone of low modality.
The association of animals with evil is rooted in traditions that
“…my feelings changed to
Combined with the
depict Satan as ‘the beast’; a goat-legged, goat-headed demon.
repulsion and terror when I saw presence of wolves in
Beast-like qualities also fit into Elizabethan beliefs relating to
the whole man slowly emerge
Chapter 2 (and later
from the window and begin to
chapters), this imagery the Great Chain of Being, in which a lack of humanity is equated
crawl down the castle wall over of Dracula as a ‘lizard’- with a lack of godliness. The less human something is, the
the dreadful abyss, face down,
like creature alludes to further from Heaven.
with his cloak spreading around a bestial motif.
Perhaps with some additional research, explain what the
him like great wings (…) just as
Great Chain of Being is.
a lizard moves along a wall”
This is in stark contrast to Victorian values of repressed
Dracula’s women are described The women are
sexuality. The idea of women, in particular, being depicted in
with “Voluptuous lips” (P.45)
described in highly
this way is highly offensive within Stoker’s context. The concept
sexualised language.
of multiple women kept in a room within the East-European
Castle alludes to a harem, highlighting Dracula’s foreign and
alien nature. The desire/lust evident in Harker’s journal entry
has been elicited by the demonic forces of the vampire women.
In both the context of the narrative and Stoker’s meta-context
as an author exploring ideas, this allows for the expression of
lust in a situation where Victorian sexuality would normally not
be acknowledged (by both character and author).
This segment is highly suggestive, implicit, and understated –
“Are we to have nothing
Dracula feeds the
the leaving of details to the reader’s imagination makes the
tonight?” (P.47)
vampire women
something (most likely scene much more horrific than it otherwise would be. Author
Clive Leatherdale has argued that this scene shows that Dracula
a baby) to sate their
has been reduced to stealing babies in his own country due to
appetite for blood.
the locals being wise enough to protect themselves against
vampires, and that this is why he wants to move to England.
The final sentence describing the ‘horror’ overcoming Jonathan
has been interpreted by some, such as Lee Klinger, as his horror
at the prospect of a homoerotic encounter with the Count
(contrasted with his earlier desire at being kissed by the
women).
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Chapter 4: Dracula has Harker write letters home that indicate he is okay, and Harker attempts to escape the castle
before his time runs out. In these attempts he learns that Dracula is travelling to England.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
Harker thinks that the incident
Dramatic Irony. It takes
The reader knows that the incident happened even if
with the three vampire women
another page or so for
Harker is ready to discount it as a dream. This helps Stoker
may have been a dream (P.48)
Harker to accept the
heighten the growing tension in Harker’s situation.
reality of his situation.
What is dramatic irony and what is the example used
here?
“I know now the span of my
Harker’s journal entry is
This is also an example of parataxis – where the
life. God help me” (P.49)
structured into
protagonist’s thoughts become separated and
paragraphs up until the
unconnected, demonstrating his fear and the finality of his
point where he breaks it realisation. His appeal to God for help also reflects the
off in two short,
Christian context of the novel’s audience.
truncated sentences ‘I
know now the span of
my life’ and ‘God help
me’.
“This morning, as I was sitting
The embedded clause
The use of an embedded clause indicates how articulate
on the edge of my bed
features a visceral and
and intelligent Harker is; the adding of extraneous detail
cudgelling my brains, I heard
hyperbolic metaphor.
expands on Harker’s desperation. The author’s choice of
without a crackling…” (P.51)
words in ‘cudgelling’ has a violent connotation and
demonstrates the effect that Dracula’s hypnotic powers
have on the brain. Pages 52 and 53 develop this idea
further to reveal that Harker has, indeed, been hypnotised.
“There was a silence, a deep,
The repetition of
A diacope is the repetition of a phrase with additional
awful silence, which chilled me” ‘silence’ in this manner is words/adjectives to clarify the phrase further. Diacopes
(P.57)
an example of a diacope. are used to express strong emotion and draw attention to
a particular phrase – in this example Stoker is reinforcing
the atmosphere of horror.
“God help me in my task”
(P.54), “God helping me” (P.55),
“A smile that Judas in hell might
be proud of” (P.58), the
capitalisation of “Pit” (P.61)
“gorged with blood; he lay like a
filthy leech” (P.60)
Stoker repeatedly has his
protagonist refer to
‘God’ during this
chapter, and features
other Biblical references
such as Judas and ‘Pit’
(an example of
antonomasia: where a
Title is substituted for
the proper name of
something, in this case
‘Hell’).
Bestial imagery, simile
“blaze of basilisk horror” (P.60),
“brain on fire” (P.60)
Connotative language –
motif of fire,
mythological allusion.
“many feet dying away in some
passage” (P.61), “violent puff of
wind” (P.61), “hopelessly fast”
(P.61)
Stoker’s lexicon uses
intense, negative terms
to describe
commonplace verbs.
Create your own example of a diacope.
The countless entreaties to God sets up the relationships
of good vs. evil / God vs. Satan, with Dracula characterised
as the antithesis (opposite) of God. Stoker’s Christian
context was shared by his audience, who would have (by
this point of the narrative) easily identified Dracula as an
affiliate of the Devil. The Biblical allusion to ‘Judas’ (the
disciple who betrayed Jesus) further elaborates on Dracula
as a being of pure evil.
How has antonomasia been used to build atmosphere?
The bestial motif continues, this time with a comparison to
a parasite. How does this contrast with the more typical
depiction of vampires in popular culture today?
The ‘basilisk’ is a mythological, horrific creature (a cross
between a rooster and a lizard) that can turn people to
stone with its gaze. The figurative language here likens
Dracula’s powers of hypnotism to the basilisk’s terrifying
powers.
Note the use of the words ‘dying’, ‘violent’ and ‘hopelessly’
to describe actions. Stoker’s vocabulary is loaded with
negative lexical items to continue building the sense of
foreboding and desperation experienced by Jonathan
Harker.
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Chapter 5: Jonathan’s fiancée, Mina, writes to her friend Lucy. Both women talk about their suitors, with Lucy having to
choose between three men who know one another.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
Lots of italicised words are
Characterisation.
The idiosyncratic grammar used by Stoker in Lucy’s letters
used in Lucy’s letter to show
helps establish her as a bubbly and excitable character. The
emphasis (P.63)
repeated use of italics helps the reader ‘hear’ her rhythm
and way of speaking, and the use of polysyndeton
“We have slept together
Polysyndeton (the use of
continues this further by disallowing the reader to take a
and eaten together, and
lots of conjunctions in the
‘breath’ when reading this particular section of the text.
laughed and cried together,
one sentence)
The run-on sentence demonstrates Lucy’s apparent
and now, thought I have
inability to focus.
spoken, I would like to
speak more” (P.64)
What does ‘idiosyncratic’ mean?
“He had evidently been
Run-on sentence (a very
schooling himself (…) made
long sentence, often
me want to scream” (P.65)
without any real point).
“I sympathise with poor
Intertextuality (references
Lucy refers to Othello, in which the black titular character
Desdemona when she had
to other texts)
becomes dangerously jealous towards his white wife,
such a dangerous stream
Desdemona. Lucy’s reference to Othello as being of an
poured into her ear, even by
inferior race demonstrates the inherent racism of the
a black man”
Victorian era, in which scientific arguments at the time
(and the theory of Social Darwinism) led the British people
to believe the other races were ‘half-devil, half-child’ to be
looked after by the British Empire.
Lucy talks at great length
about using ‘slang’ language
(P.66)
“Why can’t they let a girl
marry three men, or as
many as want her (…) But
this is heresy, and I must not
say it”
Discussion of slang vs.
formal language.
This is pertinent to Lucy’s
characterisation and is a
generic convention of the
horror genre.
What does this use of intertextuality suggest about Stoker
and the text?
The
differentiation
between
two
modes
of
writing/speaking is relevant to Stoker’s language choices
throughout Dracula in that he uses a wide variety of text
types and first person protagonists to construct the overall
narrative (journal entries written in shorthand, letters
between friends, diary entries, newspaper articles). This
approach to structuring a novel is typical of the Gothic
genre.
What are some examples of different texts types used in
Dracula and by which characters?
Lucy’s flirtations with three separate suitors is a
transgression
of
straight-laced/sexually-repressed
Victorian morality. The idea of a ‘slutty’ young woman
meeting a tragic demise at the hands of a monster adheres
to now-familiar tropes associated with the horror genre
(think of the early victims in slasher films – they almost
always do things beforehand that are considered immoral
within the context of their times). Lucy kisses Morris
despite turning down his proposal, which is quite
scandalous within the context of the Victorian era. Later in
the novel, Lucy becomes one of Dracula’s victims.
What does ‘transgression’ mean?
Lucy Westenra and her
three suitors – Dr Seward,
Arthur Holmwood (later
Lord Godalming), and
Morris Quincey, by Eirina
Skoura
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Chapter 6: Mina befriends an old sailor, Mr Swales, who tells her stories about death. Meanwhile, Dr Seward (one of
Lucy’s suitors) describes the case of one of his asylum patients, the ‘zoophagous’ Renfield.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“I nodded, for I thought it
Mina does not
The observation from Mina may come as a relief to the reader,
better to assent, though I
understand the old
as it confirms that we are not necessarily meant to understand
did not quite understand his sailor’s dialect and her
everything that Swales says. The language espoused by the old
dialect” (P.74)
reflection here comes
sailor is difficult to follow in some parts as it is highly regional
after the reader has
and colloquial, however, hidden in his dialogue are some
experienced Mr Swales’
philosophical truths that link to the novel’s themes of
stories for quite a few
superstition and death.
lines.
On P.76, Swales uses his extensive knowledge of town lore to
reveal to Mina the ugly truth behind the pleasantries written
on gravestones. This highlights the differences between
historical record and truth but, within the context of a late 19th
century novel, it would also highlight to readers that nothing
is sacred in Bram Stoker’s Dracula – not even the seemingly
innocent epitaphs on gravestones.
“…when a horrid blowfly,
Renfield wants to feed
The bizarre and viscerally-described eating habits of Renfield
bloated with some carrion
animals and then eat
foreshadow, and link to, the relationship between Renfield
food, buzzed into the room, them, leading to Dr
and his ‘Master’, Count Dracula. The influence of Dracula has
he caught it, held it
Seward’s hypothesis that made Renfield beast-like, which symbolises the corrupting,
excruciatingly for a few
the patient is
Satanic influence of evil. The consumption of animals also
moments between his finger ‘zoophagous’.
mimics Dracula’s own consumption of human life. In what way
and the thumb, and before I
is Renfield representative of Dracula and the novel’s themes?
knew what he was going to
do, put it in his mouth and
Stoker subverts and twists the bodily function of eating into
ate it” (P.78)
something unpalatable (the consumption of insects, the
feeding of spiders) in order to evoke a visceral reaction from
the reader. Things that break the taboos of bodily functions
have a tendency to cause feelings of horror in audiences. What
do you think ‘visceral’ means?
“Everything is grey (…) grey
The motif of the colour
Mina hasn’t heard from Jonathan and is getting increasingly
earthy rock; grey clouds (…)
grey is a form of pathetic anxious about his whereabouts. Stoker reflects this mood in
grey sea…” (P.82)
fallacy – the technique in the setting by draining all the colour out of the environment.
which authors use the
The weather is also used here to foreshadow Dracula’s
“The horizon is lost in a grey weather to represent
approach to England, which will lead to death and tragedy for
mist”
emotions.
each of the characters. What is pathetic fallacy and what is
another way it can be used by an author?
Chapter 7: Newspaper clippings describe the arrival of a ship, The Demeter, which washes up ashore with a dead crew –
the only survivor a mysterious large dog which escapes into the countryside.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“One of the greatest and
Pathetic fallacy.
Stoker builds on the use of pathetic fallacy in the previous
suddenest storms on
chapter to show Dracula’s arrival via a calamitous storm. The
records has just been
Use of a newspaper
implication here is that Dracula actually causes the storm,
experienced here, with
article to forward the
which indicates the extent of his power and his alignment with
results both strange and
plot.
the Devil.
unique” (P.85)
The use of a newspaper article to bridge part of the narrative
is necessary here as Stoker lacked a logical way to include the
ship’s arrival in the diary entries of Seward, Harker, Lucy, or
Mina. The use of a newspaper article also maintains distance
between the reader and the events surrounding the ship’s
arrival, which assists in maintaining a sense of mystery around
Dracula and his movements.
“It had been fighting, and
manifestly had had a savage
opponent, for its throat was
torn away, and its belly was
slit open as if with a savage
claw”
The newspaper article
describes the mysterious
death of a dog following
the arrival of The
Demeter.
The entire chapter unfolds without any mention of Dracula
and it is left up to the reader to fill in the gaps on their own.
The use of the newspaper text type leaves a distance of time
and space between the reader and the characters featured,
and this ambiguity leads to a heightening of tension. The
reportage of the dog’s death in such brutal detail leaves clues
for the audience to construct their own image of what has
happened. What do you think happened?
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Chapter 8: Lucy, now prone to sleepwalking, is discovered by Mina in the arms of a mysterious beast under the
moonlight. Mina disturbs the beast and nurses Lucy after the ‘attack’, watching as her friend grows weaker over a period
of several days. Meanwhile, Dr Seward’s patient Renfield becomes more violent and gloats about the return of his
‘Master’. Mina also receives word that Jonathan Harker is alive and recovering in a hospital in Buda-Pesth.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
Mina writes about the ‘New Mina gently satirises the Through Mina, Stoker pokes fun at the idea of the ‘New
Woman’ (P.99-100)
idea of women gaining
Woman’. It is worth noting, however, that Mina herself fits the
more independence,
mould of the sort of woman that the author is describing – she
positing that women
is a schoolteacher and therefore financially independent, is
may one day be the ones intelligent enough to articulately write a journal, and doesn’t
to propose marriage
have any parents to ‘report’ to. The ‘New Women’ were
(instead of men).
championed by many writers and newly independent women
as a sign of the Victorian era’s strict moral codes loosening for
the better.
At the time of Stoker’s novel (1897) the suffrage movement
was also beginning to emerge in England. Some women were
asking questions about their role in society – could they work
in a wider range of jobs? Should they have the right to vote?
Go to university?
“Something, long and black,
bending over the halfreclining white figure”
(P.100)
“anxiety about Lucy (…) for
her reputation in case the
story should get wind”
(P.103)
Ambiguity and
sexualised undertones as
Dracula ‘attacks’ Lucy.
There are no entries
from Lucy in this chapter
either, which helps to
maintain mystery and
ambiguity over what
happens while she grows
sicker.
“I don’t want to talk to you:
you don’t count now; the
Master is at hand” (P.111)
Antonomasia
“The real God taketh heed
lest a sparrow fall; but the
God created from human
vanity sees no difference
between an eagle and
sparrow. Oh, if man only
knew!” (P.111)
Allegory. With some
arrogance, Seward
draws comparison
between the God of the
Bible and the God
created in the egos of
men who seek to play
Him.
“Jack Sheppard himself
couldn’t get free” (P.113)
Historical allusion
“I shall be patient, Master. It
is coming – coming –
coming!” (P.113)
Epizeuxis (the repetition
of a word in immediate
succession)
What is a ‘New Woman’?
Stoker makes this passage deliberately unclear, perhaps for a
couple of reasons. Dracula may be raping Lucy here – either
through the use of hypnotism or force. It’s implied that Lucy’s
previous sleepwalking may have been Dracula luring her
outside so that he can feed on her. The use of language here
also implies the possibility of a sexual element to the attack,
though this is kept deliberately vague as Victorian audiences
would have been scandalised by any explicit
acknowledgement of this (note the second quote on P103).
Another reason why it’s kept unclear is that Mina is observing
the event from afar and is unsure as to what is happening,
which serves to heighten tension and mystery. What does this
section of the text reveal about Victorian values?
Renfield refers to a mysterious ‘Master’. If the audience has
figured out that this is Dracula then this is an example of
dramatic irony as Dr Seward doesn’t know what this refers to.
Note the tone of Renfield’s dialogue here; the rudeness in the
way he dismisses Seward is indicative of the influence that
Dracula exerts over the patient.
Stoker offers social commentary on the arrogance of humanity
in seeking to play God, that God does not differentiate
between a sparrow and an eagle. This quote reflects the
Christian values of Stoker’s Victorian context and is also ironic
through its reference to ‘sparrows’ (one of the animals preyed
upon by Renfield). The quote is also relevant in that Renfield
does not recognise God, instead pledging his allegiance to
Dracula, and that Seward’s classism means that he
metaphorically sees himself as the eagle rather than the
sparrow.
Jack Sheppard was a notorious criminal from 18th century
England who was famed for repeatedly breaking out of prison.
What is the point of this historical allusion?
Renfield’s repetition of ‘coming’ emphasises his excitement
over the arrival of his master, Dracula. The use of epizeuxis is
intended to appeal to an audience’s emotions, and Renfield
uses the rhetorical device as a symbol of his own enthusiasm
and inspiration. What is the effect of Stoker using epizeuxis
here?
29
Chapter 9: Mina travels to Buda-Pesth to be with Jonathan, who is described as a ‘wreck’ after his mysterious ordeal. Dr
Seward tends to Lucy, whose condition deteriorates, and sends for his former teacher, the formidable Dr Van Helsing, for
help. Renfield tries to escape.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Jonathan is waking – I must The use of the hyphen takes In her relating of Jonathan’s condition, Mina reveals the
attend to my husband”
the place of a semicolon
values of the era in regards to marriage and mental illness.
(P.116)
here. This physically and
The idea of the woman as a servile wife fits into Victorian
thematically joins the two
ideals regarding the roles of men and women within a
clauses together. Mina also
marriage. The concept of ‘madness’ is also dealt with
“poor brains” “poor dear”,
repeatedly uses the
throughout the novel in regards to Renfield’s disturbing
“poor weak hands” (P.114adjective ‘poor’ to describe
attitude towards animals and Jonathan’s nervous
116)
her fiancé.
disposition after staying at Dracula’s castle, with very little
understanding expressed towards the characters about
either condition. This reflects the ignorance towards
mental illness during the 19th century – Jonathan is clearly
suffering from PTSD, something that would 20 years later
come to be described as ‘shell-shock’ in WWI. How do you
think the Victorians treated something like PTSD (PostTraumatic Stress Disorder)?
“I caught the patient’s eye
Symbolism – the bat as
Some associations had been made between vampires and
and followed it, but could
vampire.
bats before Stoker wrote Dracula. Fifty years earlier, the
trace nothing as it looked
penny dreadful Varney the Vampire featured illustrations
into the moonlit sky except
of a vampire as bat-like, and an animal known as the
a big bat” (P.119)
Vampire Bat was already known about in the Americas. It
was Bram Stoker, however, that tied the bat to vampirism
in a way that would become iconic. In Dracula, the Count
can shape-shift into a bat, a wolf, and another unidentified
beast. Of these, it is the bat that has continued to endure
– perhaps due to the existence of the real life Vampire Bat
and memorable passages like the one quoted here. Think
about other vampires in popular fiction – what would
change if Stoker hadn’t created this piece of symbolism?
“Van Helsing (…) a
Characterisation. Dr Seward Van Helsing’s association with science could be seen as
philosopher and a
describes, with admiration,
representative of the rise of science throughout the 19th
metaphysician, and one of
his former teacher.
century as the most influential discipline. Van Helsing’s
the most advanced
introduction into the narrative as a man of science places
scientists of his day; and he
him as the antithesis of the supernatural forces of Dracula.
has, I believe, an absolutely
As a man of learning, Van Helsing exhibits flexibility in his
open mind” (P.122)
unorthodox methods – proving himself to be something of
a ‘renaissance man’ (a ‘polymath’ – a person of multiple
and highly different talents). The character is based on
three real life figures – a German professor of history, a
psychic investigator, and a detective. His first name
‘Abraham’ is also the same as the author’s. What values
and cultural ideas are related to the character of Van
Helsing? What is the impact of this character on popular
and contemporary fiction?
“…saw the red disk sink. As
Pathetic fallacy. Dr Seward
The tying of Renfield to the elements in this way reflects
it sank he became less and
describes Renfield’s reaction his allegiance to Dracula and his own animalistic nature.
less frenzied…” (P.127)
to the setting of the sun.
The affect that the setting sun has on Renfield calls to mind
imagery of disturbed caged animals, and dates back to
Roman ideas that the turning of day to night could affect
human behaviour. The concept of circadian rhythms (a 24
hour cycle) affecting plants and animals had been
theorised at several points prior to Stoker writing Dracula,
most recently through the observations of two scientists in
1896.
Note also the symbolism of the colour ‘red’ – a primal
connection to blood, evil, and anger.
30
Chapter 10: Van Helsing and Seward tend to Lucy as she continues to struggle with her mysterious illness.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“All men are mad in some
Simile, Motif, Metaphor.
Van Helsing characterises himself and Seward (and, by
way or other… as you deal
Van Helsing draws
extension, other scientists and doctors) as the keepers of
discreetly with your
comparisons to add depth
knowledge. Van Helsing alludes to the idea that knowledge
madmen, so deal with God’s to the abstract concept of
is a form of power, and that explanations need not be given
madmen, too – the rest of
‘knowledge’.
to those who are not disciplined in their use. He also speaks
the world. You tell not your
of knowledge being ‘stronger than memory’, highlighting
madmen what you do nor
the shifting values of the time towards science and fact as
why you do it (…) so you
irrefutable forces of problem-solving. Note the use of a
shall keep knowledge in its
blood transfusion on P.131, a new technology that would
place” (P.129)
have been highly unusual to 19th century readers.
“Knowledge is stronger than
A famous theorist later said “Knowledge is power”. What
memory, and we should not
does this mean?
trust the weaker” (P.130)
“Even death has some
Personification, Metaphor,
Dr Seward’s personification of death as an antidote to its
antidote to its own terrors”
Connotation
associated ‘terrors’ refers to the concept of some
(P.130)
experiences being worse than death. The later description
of Lucy’s white gums and sickly state provide further proof
Lucy fears sleep and calls it a
that she is in an extreme state of suffering.
“presage of horror” (P.135)
A ‘presage’ is an omen, or a sign of something that is about
to happen. The connotation here is that sleep is when Lucy
suffers most (foreshadowing the revelation that Dracula is
draining her blood each night). Intriguingly, throughout
Dracula, it is never completely clear what exactly happens
when the vampires attack the human characters – what
the reader can gather between what Stoker writes and
what his editors may have bowdlerised (censored) is that
it’s something between bloodsucking and sex. Why do you
think the nature of Dracula’s attacks is kept vague by
Stoker?
“If our young lover should
Van Helsing’s creation of the Van Helsing seems to equate the transfusion of blood (a
turn up unexpected, as
word ‘enjealous’ to refer to
bodily fluid) with sexual relations, and therefore a delicate
before, no word to him. It
Arthur’s potential reaction
matter that would make Lucy’s lover jealous.
would (…) enjealous him”
at discovering Lucy getting a
blood transfer reflects his
non-English speaking
background.
“Van Helsing, with his soft,
Foreshadowing,
The description of Van Helsing walking in a ‘cat-like’ (IE.
cat-like tread” (P.137)
characterisation.
Quietly predatory) manner foreshadows his later role in
the novel as a vampire hunter.
“It is well that we have no
sceptic here, or he would
say that you were working
some spell to keep out an
evil spirit” (P.141)
Irony. Van Helsing makes a
wreath of garlic for Lucy to
wear and rubs the herb
around the doorway.
What is the purpose of using foreshadowing in this way?
The irony here is that Van Helsing is doing exactly this,
using the folklore remedy of garlic to ward off potential
vampires. Van Helsing clearly suspects more than he is
letting on (see his earlier comment about not revealing
knowledge). What’s interesting here is that, even though
he is a man of science, his broad knowledge of the world
also extends to the supernatural.
Why has Stoker included this detail in the text?
31
Chapter 11: A wolf is reported escaping from the zoo, only to return later covered in glass and cuts. Meanwhile, Lucy’s
mother suffers a fatal heart attack after a wolf tries to get into Lucy’s room while she sleeps.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Lying like Ophelia in the
Intertextuality – this is a
Stoker’s reference to Hamlet refers to the death of the
play, with ‘virgin accents
reference to Hamlet.
innocent Ophelia, who went insane and drowned after
and maiden strewments’”
covering herself in a variety of flowers and herbs. Why
(P.143)
does this textual allusion draw a direct comparison
between Lucy and Ophelia?
“Is there fate amongst us
Personification of fate,
Paganism refers to the pre-Roman world of England; a term
still, sent down from the
cultural allusion to ‘pagan
used by the early Christians to refer to the ‘Godless’
pagan world of old…”
world’.
barbarians that inhabited the British Isles. By the 19th
(P.145)
century the phrase had become near-synonymous with
believing in the Devil. Van Helsing refers to paganism here
as a contrasting force to the good he is trying to do.
The newspaper interview
Symbolism of the wolf in
By this point in the novel the audience is already aware of
describes a wolf going
connection to Dracula.
Dracula’s connection to the wolves. Bram Stoker’s use of
beserk (P.147-151) from the Foreshadowing.
the newspaper interview here provides an explanation for
point of view of a
the appearance of the wolf that disturbs Lucy’s mother
zookeeper.
later in the chapter.
“The blood is the life! the
Renfield’s crazed repetition
Stoker uses this phrase to represent Renfield’s zealous
blood is the life!” (P.152)
of this phrase calls to mind
following of Dracula as akin to a religious belief, and in this
the sort of dictums (or
case Renfield is twisting a Biblical passage that warns
proverbs/slogans/maxims)
against consuming blood so that it sounds like this quote
espoused by cults.
supports the opposite. Note also the re-appearance of the
novel’s blood motif, and the phrase’s explanation of
Dracula’s source of energy. What is the reason for Stoker
having Renfield quote this part of the Bible?
“Surely there is some
Seward renders their ‘bad
More dramatic irony in Seward’s lack of knowledge
horrible doom hanging over luck’ in the abstract as a
regarding Dracula. By this point it is becoming clear that
us that every possible
‘horrible doom’, though
something is interfering with Lucy’s recovery; something
accident should thwart us in unbeknownst to him, it is
that Van Helsing is most likely aware of but not explaining.
all we try to do” (P.152)
the unseen hand of Dracula
The reader will know by this point that Dracula is probably
that continues to cause
behind these events, however, the absence of his name
them so many issues.
throughout the chapter adds a degree of ambiguity and
assists Stoker in continuing to maintain tension. How is this
dramatic irony?
The 1922 silent film Nosferatu is the earliest surviving film of Dracula. In an attempt to avoid being sued by the Stoker family
for using the storyline without authorisation, the film changed the name of the monster to ‘Count Orlok’. The film also
invented the idea that exposure to sunlight would kill the Count.
32
Chapter 12: Lucy’s illness continues and she dies before her fiancé’s eyes after the doctors observe a giant bat hovering
outside the window. Meanwhile, Mina marries Jonathan and he inherits the responsibility of running a solicitor business
after his boss dies.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
Seward says “It was a stand- Personification of death as a Van Helsing is suggesting here that a fate worse than death
up fight with death”,
force the doctors are losing
awaits Lucy if they are not able to prevent her demise. This
followed by Van Helsing
their fight against. Van
refers to the possibility that she may enter an undead state
clarifying, “If that were all, I
Helsing also uses figurative
and turn into a vampire. In accordance with the Christian
would stop here where we
language to allude to secret values of the time, any such fate would prevent Lucy from
are now, and let her fade
knowledge.
entering Heaven as her mortal soul would be forfeit. As a
away into peace, for I see no
creature of Hell, Lucy would face eternal damnation and
light in life over her horizon”
neverending suffering. In what way does this reveal
(P.159)
Victorian values?
“The devil may work against Antithesis (when two
The forces that make Lucy sick are seen as being the work
us for all he’s worth, but
opposites are contrasted
of the Devil, especially after Van Helsing has noted the
God sends us men when we against one another) – the
mangling of her neck from repeated nocturnal attacks. A
want them” (P.160)
doctors characterise their
‘ghast’ is a supernatural creature like a ghoul / ghost.
“Once again we went
battle as one between good
through that ghastly
and evil. The use of the
One of the novel’s key contrasts is also being reinforced
operation” (P.160)
adjective ‘ghastly’ has
here: science vs. supernatural. What are some other ways
supernatural connotations.
that the novel explores the idea of science vs. the
supernatural?
“One of those bats that they The Texan suitor, Morris,
This is the only reference to the ‘V’ word in the entire first
call vampires…” (P.162)
tells an anecdote about a
200 pages of the novel. The use of the anecdote here is
vampire bat killing his horse used to connect the wounds suffered by Lucy to a real
back in America.
world scenario, helping the audience to continue
suspending their disbelief in relation to the novel’s more
fantastical elements.
“He spoke in a fierce halfMorris, on noticing that it
The re-appearance of Morris at this point of the novel
whisper; ‘What took it
has taken the blood of 4
allows for a new perspective to enter the narrative, and
out?’” (P.163)
adult men to keep Lucy
thus allows Stoker to articulate one of the mysteries of the
alive. He wonders how she
text so far, in case the audience hasn’t put it together yet.
could be so weak after all
Morris, in his horrified ‘half-whisper’, has worked out that
this blood going in…
something is draining Lucy’s blood each night (note his
Vampire anecdote above).
Lucy speaks in a “soft,
Connotative language.
Lucy finally succumbs to death and her transformation into
voluptuous voice” shortly
Foreshadowing.
a state of being undead is near-complete. Van Helsing’s
before dying. After she dies,
ominous warning, “It is only the beginning” foreshadows
Van Helsing remarks, “It is
the revelation that she is becoming a vampire. The use of
only the beginning” (P.172the sensuous adjective ‘voluptuous’ harkens back to
173)
Dracula’s vampire women in Chapter 4, connecting Lucy to
the ‘weird sisters’. It also highlights the sexualised nature
of the vampire in using its mouth to draw life from its
victims, with Lucy’s attempted attack on her husband
representing a perversion / inversion of the kind of kiss
they would normally enjoy. In what way is Stoker using
his text to explore taboos in Victorian society?
33
Chapter 13: Lots happens in this chapter! Lucy is buried after her death and Van Helsing places garlic and a crucifix in her
coffin, telling Seward they must quietly return later to cut off her head and stake her through the heart. Meanwhile,
Jonathan Harker passes Dracula in the street, though the count now looks like a young man. The garlic and crucifix
disappear from Lucy’s grave, and reports begin to emerge of children being attacked in the vicinity by someone known
only as the ‘bloofer lady’.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“She makes a very beautiful Juxtaposition, paradox.
The collision of ‘beautiful’ and ‘corpse’ in the one sentence
corpse, sir” (P.174)
is representative of the intersection of romance and horror
that characterises Dracula, a novel that was released at the
turn of the 19th century into the 20th – a period of great
change. In what way could this quote could be interpreted
as a representation of the way this text hybridises genres?
“After death faces became
Connotative language,
The description of Lucy regaining her beauty in death
softened and even resolved
paradoxical adjective
alludes to her new status as undead and immortal; she now
into their youthful beauty”
‘youthful’ used to describe a has everlasting youth. The juxtaposition of imagery
(P.180)
dead body
between ‘death’ and ‘softened’ highlights the unnatural
state she has now entered.
“We (…) will have to pass
Van Helsing speaks of the
The ‘duty’ that Van Helsing refers to is the idea that each
through the bitter water
difficult journey ahead in
man has their duty to God, above all else. It was completely
before we reach the sweet.
metaphorical terms.
unheard of for anyone in the Victorian era to not adhere to
But we must be brave of
Christian values, and Van Helsing knows what terrible
heart and unselfish, and do
things lie ahead if he is to ensure that duty to God is
our duty” (P.182)
fulfilled. What is Van Helsing readying Lucy’s husband for?
“…he gave way to a regular
Connotation of Seward’s
Seward’s ‘stern’ reaction towards Arthur betrays the
fit of hysteria. He has denied description of Arthur’s
attitudes of the Victorian age towards men who don’t
to me since that it was
emotional reaction to Lucy’s conform to the expectations relating to gender. ‘Hysteria’
hysterics (…) He laughed till
death.
was a specific term used by doctors to refer to women with
he cried, and I had to draw
uncontrollable emotions.
down the blinds lest anyone
should see us and misjudge
Why is it an issue for Arthur to behave in this way? How
(…) I tried to be as stern as
have times changed since this novel?
one should” (185)
The news article describing
Cultural allusion to current
The ‘Kensington Horror’ was an attack in which two women
the ‘Bloofer Lady’ also
events in Victorian-era
had their faces slashed by a mysterious ‘woman in black’
makes mention of the
London.
shortly after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders had
‘Kensington Horror’, ‘The
ceased. London newspapers around this time often
Stabbing Woman’ and ‘The
featured headlines such as ‘The Stabbing Woman’. In this
Woman in Black’ (P.188case, Lucy’s transformation into a bloodthirsty creature of
189)
the night (that feasts on wayward children!) is emphasised
by her new urban legend-esque name. ‘Bloofer’ is a child’s
corruption/slang term for ‘Beautiful’.
34
Chapter 14: Mina learns the full extent of Jonathan’s suffering in Castle Dracula while transcribing his journal and
informs Van Helsing. In examining the case of the ‘bloofer lady’, Van Helsing realises that Lucy is feeding on the
neighbourhood’s children.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“a man of medium height,
Description of Van Helsing
Particular focus is paid on the head, perhaps in
strongly built, with his
upon his entrance, from the
relation to the 19th century pseudoscience of
shoulders set back over a broad point of view of Mina Harker.
phrenology – in which skull size and lumpiness was
deep chest and a neck well
Accumulation of details used
used to deduce a person’s intelligence and potential
balanced on the trunk as the
to build an image in the
for criminal action. The size of Van Helsing’s head is
head is on the neck. The poise
reader’s head.
intended here to indicate his great intelligence and
of the head strikes one at once
cunning.
as indicative of thought and
power; the head is noble, wellIn what way is Van Helsing’s description an
sized, broad, and large behind
indication of Victorian values?
the ears…” (P.194)
“There are darknesses in life,
Extended metaphor. Van
This quote could be interpreted as a form of
and there are lights; you are
Helsing identifies Mina as a
foreshadowing in that Mina eventually becomes one
one of the lights” (P.196)
force of goodness – an action
of Dracula’s victims and finds herself turning into a
that shows his charm.
vampire – the opposite of ‘good’.
“I suppose I was hysterical”
Mina reflects on her emotions Mina, despite her independence and potential as a
(P.197)
as a sign of hysteria. First
‘New Woman’, wholly subscribes to gendered notions
person perspective.
relating to hysteria. Paradoxically, her ability to
reflect on hysteria could be seen as proof that she is
not hysterical, or (in the context of Stoker’s times)
male-like enough to recognise this feminine
deficiency. The real life French scientist Charcot (also
mentioned in this chapter) made his career out of
studying hysteria and used hypnosis as a remedy
against it. What is meant here by the term ‘gendered
notions relating to hysteria’?
“I am dazzle – dazzle more than Poor syntax / grammar in Van Throughout the novel the reader will perhaps notice
ever” (P.199)
Helsing’s dialogue.
that Van Helsing’s speech can sometimes lose
consistency in regards to tense, subject-verb
agreements, and sentence construction. This reflects
the fact that English is not his first language and that
he is Dutch.
“It was the doubt as to the
Figurative language –
Jonathan prefaces this quote with “It seems to have
reality of the whole thing that
Jonathan describes how he
made a new man of me” – indicating that his level of
knocked me over. I felt
felt after leaving Transylvania, self-confidence and sense of masculinity are closely
impotent and in the dark, and
the way he began to doubt
tied together. The use of the word ‘impotent’ further
distrustful” (P.200)
what had happened to him.
reinforces this gender-related weakness.
“Do you not think that there are Van Helsing rebukes Dr
Van Helsing uses historical allusion (EG. ‘Old Parr’ – a
things which you cannot
Seward’s belief in science as
British man who supposedly lived to 152), Biblical
understand? (…) it is the fault of something that can answer all allusion (EG. Methuselah – a 900 year old man from
our science that it wants to
questions, and uses logos via
the Old Testament), and examples of unexplained
explain it all” (P.204)
a range of examples to
occult phenomena such as corporal transference,
support his argument.
materialisation, astral bodies, reading of thought, and
hypnotism. What comment is Stoker making through
Van Helsing here?
“They were made by Miss Lucy” Cliffhanger. High modality
Stoker utilises the genre of the serial in his structuring
(P.206)
(language with a high degree
of chapters around cliffhangers. At the end of Chapter
of certainty)
14 it is revealed that the bite marks on children
attacked by the ‘bloofer lady’ are from Lucy, who is
now a vampire. The use of a single, blunt sentence
designed to shock the other characters (and reader)
leaves the audience wanting to read more.
What is a cliffhanger? Does this generic convention
of the ‘serial’ genre still get used today?
35
Chapter 15: Van Helsing outlines his plan to destroy Lucy’s vampiric Un-Dead state, and enlists the assistance of Lucy’s
husband, Arthur, and her former suitor, Morris Quincey, to put his plan into action.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
Seward is describing his own feelings regarding Lucy’s
“And prove the very truth he
Textual allusion. A quote
transformation into a vampire, using the words of the
most abhorred” (P.207)
from Byron is used by
famous poet to describe that which he cannot (in the poet’s
Seward here.
case it was adultery).
The motif of bats assists the reader in suspending their
“He was inclined to think it was Further clues are given to
disbelief in relation to Dracula’s vampiric nature, with
one of the bats which are so
the reader and
Quincy Morris’s previous anecdotes about vampire bats
numerous in the northern
protagonists in regards to
used to introduce the audience to the idea as a plausible
heights of London” (P.208)
the links between Lucy
one. Bats have long since become a generic convention of
and Dracula.
the horror genre for this and other reasons (such as their
nocturnal nature, size, the sound they make, the disease
they carry, etc.) What other generic conventions related to
vampires do you recognise from Dracula?
Most likely without knowing about it, Stoker is alluding to
“The tomb in the day-time, and Imagery, motif of death.
the scientific theory of ‘entropy’, a principle of
when wreathed with fresh
The entire passage
thermodynamics that theorises that everything in the
flowers, had looked grim and
between the (…) explains
universe eventually moves from a state of order to disorder.
gruesome enough; but now,
the effect of time and
In short: all things must die. In the case of Lucy’s tomb, the
some days afterwards, when
darkness on all things.
imagery described here represents Death’s influence, which
the flowers hung lank and dead,
is one and the same as Dracula’s.
their whites turning to rust and
their greens to browns (…) It
There is also mention on P.211 of ‘body-snatching’, a
conveyed irresistibly the idea
disturbing trend in Victorian times, in which dead bodies
that life – animal life – was not
were illegally stolen from cemeteries and sold to early
the only thig which could pass
doctors for medical research. What does this detail
away”. (P.210)
contribute to the novel and its themes?
“More radiantly beautiful than
ever (…) the lips were red, nay
redder than before” (P.213)
Contrast / Juxtaposition
when comparing Lucy’s
appearance to her
decrepit surroundings.
“she was bitten by the vampire
when she was in a trance (…) In
time she died, and in trance she
is Un-Dead, too” (P.214)
Van Helsing finally offers
an explanation for Lucy’s
transformation with the
portmanteau of ‘UnDead’.
“he must have one hour that
will make the very face of
heaven turn black to him”
(P.216)
Biblical allusion,
metaphor. Van Helsing
explains why Arthur must
see his Un-Dead wife in
this state.
“If it be anything in which my
honour as a gentleman or my
faith as a Christian is
concerned, I cannot make such
a promise” (P.218)
“This is too much (…) this
desecration of the grave” (219)
Arthur expresses his
adherence to Christian
theology as defence
against going into Lucy’s
tomb.
“But this night our feet must
tread in thorny paths; or later,
and for ever, the feet you love
must walk in paths of flame!”
(219)
Metaphor, Biblical
allusion. Van Helsing
figuratively explains to
Arthur what Lucy’s fate
will be.
Paradoxically, despite all the decay around her, Lucy looks
‘more beautiful than ever’ – the unnaturalness of this links
her to Dracula’s supernatural powers, her defiance of the
normal laws of the universe reveals her ‘Un-Dead’ state. The
emphasis of the redness of her lips symbolises her thirst for
blood.
A portmanteau is a new word created from the combination
of two previously known words, in this case the attachment
of the prefix ‘un’ to ‘dead’ to describe a new state of
existence that is neither dead nor living. The use of this
portmanteau helps the reader understand the unfamiliar by
using their prior knowledge of each part of the new term.
Can you think of any other examples of portmanteau?
The use of Biblical allusions increase as the novel moves
forward, revealing the full dimensions of the battle between
Van Helsing and Dracula as one representative of the
greater battle between good and evil; IE. Heaven and Hell.
In this quote, Van Helsing demonstrates how he intends to
bring Lucy’s husband onside before they destroy her body in
order to free her soul. What does this reveal about the
values and culture of the Victorian era?
These quotes very much reflect the values of the Victorian
era – the concept of being a ‘gentleman’ was constructed
around honourable and polite conduct, and Christianity in
this society was homogenous and conformed to by all.
Stoker uses Arthur’s refusal and his Victorian audience’s
agreement with these values to heighten the tension… the
audience knows that Lucy is a vampire but they would also
sympathise with Arthur. How does this lead to internal
conflict and dramatic irony in the novel?
The ‘paths of flame’ refer to the Hell that Lucy’s soul will
eternally dwell in if they are able to vanquish the vampire
from her body. Van Helsing makes his argument stronger
through his use of extended metaphor – likening their
ethically-difficult mission to ‘thorny paths’ that pale in
comparison to Lucy’s paths of flame.
36
Chapter 16: While scouting Lucy’s tomb, the four men witness her feeding on a child nearby. Arthur is now convinced
that they must stake and behead Lucy on their next visit, and the men return to the tomb to dispatch her once and for
all.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“The Host (…) I have an
Capitalisation of
The ‘Indulgence’ here may be taken to imply that Van
Indulgence” (P.224)
‘Indulgence’ implies
Helsing has been given permission to use the holy wafer in
Christian authority,
this way by the Church. An ‘indulgence’ in the Catholic
especially as its
context is when the punishment for one’s sins is lessened
preceded by ‘the Host’,
by the Church. This indicates that Van Helsing is acting on
which refers to the holy
behalf of the Church in his dealing with Dracula – note that
wafer used by the
at various points, early on in the novel, he keeps returning
Catholic church to
to Amsterdam on ‘business’. These may be conferences
symbolically represent
with the Catholic Church for purposes of research and
Christ’s body.
receiving of instructions. As Dracula is, in all but name, a
disciple of the Devil, it makes sense for the Church to be
supportive of Van Helsing’s efforts to vanquish vampirism
from England. Note: The mention of an ‘Indulgence’ may
have been added in by an editor as this sentence does not
appear in the manuscript that Stoker submitted to his
publisher. Why do you think this is?
“The sweetness was turned to
Description of Lucy,
Stoker uses antithesis to draw out the horrifying
adamantine, heartless cruelty,
more juxtaposition contradictions between Lucy’s previous and current self.
and the purity to voluptuous
between her evil Un‘Sweetness’ is contrasted against ‘adamantine, heartless
wantonness” (P.225)
Dead state and her
cruelty’ (adamantine is an adjective that describes
previous living state.
something that cannot be broken), and ‘purity’ (a trait
associated with virginal young women) is contrasted with
‘voluptuous wantonness’ (wanton has two equally
applicable meanings here – unprovoked violence, and
sexually promiscuous). Stoker is characterising the vampire
version of Lucy as everything that would have been
scandalous and horrifying to the Victorian audience when
considering a lady. In what way has antithesis been used
here by Stoker?
“Arthur (…) seemed under a
Literal and figurative use The power of hypnotism becomes associated with Dracula
spell; moving his hands from his of the term ‘spell’;
throughout the novel (though Van Helsing also reveals that
face, he opened wide his arms” Arthur seems to be
he is able to use this power). The power of Lucy over her
(P.266)
hypnotised by Lucy here. former lover demonstrates the vampire’s seductive power.
“If ever a face meant death – if
Lucy’s reaction is
This famous phrase can be traced to Bram Stoker’s use of
looks could kill – we saw it at
described through the
it here to denote how fierce and aggressive Lucy has
that moment” (P.226)
hyperbolic hypothesis ‘if become. It has been debated that this could be an allusion
looks could kill’; also a
to the monstrous Medusa of ancient Greek mythology – a
mythological allusion.
snake-haired gorgon who could turn people to stone with
her look.
“You are now in the bitter
Van Helsing revisits his
waters, my child” (P.227)
earlier metaphor.
Van Helsing’s instruments for
The doctoral background The inversion of the doctor’s surgical instruments from
destroying vampires are
of Seward and Van
items used to save lives to a collection of weapons is noted
described by Seward in great
Helsing renders the
by Seward as strange yet intellectually-stimulating, an
detail (P.228-229)
description as ironic and observation made more ironic by Arthur and Quincey’s
subversive.
contrasting disturbance. How has irony been used here?
“strike in God’s name” (P.230)
Van Helsing reads a
The power of Catholicism cited here confirms that Van
prayer while Arthur
Helsing and his allies are acting in God’s name against the
stakes Lucy through the
Devil through their destruction of the vampire-Lucy. In
heart.
terms of the novel’s narrative and its Victorian audience,
how would this excuse the gory actions visited upon her
body in this chapter?
There is also mention here of ‘nosferatu’, an archaic (out of
date) Hungarian word for ‘vampire’ which has become
associated with Dracula since the creation of the film
Nosferatu in 1922.
37
Chapter 17: Mina begins to build a narrative using each character’s recording of events. Meanwhile, Jonathan researches
the boxes of dirt that came to England alongside Dracula and discovers that there are fifty of them in total, and that they
were delivered to a chapel next door to Seward’s asylum.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Why, this beats even
Mina, on realising that
The phonograph was a recording device invented in
shorthand!” (P.235)
Seward’s diary is kept on a
1877, in which sound could be recorded onto a wax
phonograph.
cylinder. As a man of science, Dr Seward’s use of the
phonograph indicates his modern outlook and
technological-knowhow. This sequence also serves as
a reminder to the audience that the information
presented in Dracula has been drawn from a variety
of text types – diaries, newspapers, shorthand,
phonograph recordings.
“In this matter dates are
Mina’s idea here explains the novel’s structure as a
everything, and I think that if
stitched-together narrative of multiple first person
we get all our material ready,
accounts. There is even mention of using newspapers
and have every item put in
to fill in the gaps between each person’s journal, thus
chronological order, we shall
providing an ‘in-universe’ explanation for the novel’s
have done much” (P.239)
structure and style.
“By dinnertime they will be able
to show a whole connected
In what way is form indicative of genre here?
narrative” (P.240)
“I distrust these quiet moods of Seward reflects on Renfield’s
The strait-waistcoat (or straitjacket) was used in the
his (…) have a strait-waistcoat
erratic disposition.
Victorian era as both an instrument of torture and
ready in case of need”
medical treatment. The idea was that the jacket
would physically restrain the patient in such as way as
to prevent injury to others and self. As it was an era
of little understanding towards mental illness, the
straitjacket was used to ‘pacify’ patients. How have
attitudes towards mental illness changed since
Victorian times?
“I suppose one ought to pity
Motif of water – Mina makes
Mina’s language explicitly seeks to dehumanise
anything so hunted as is the
mention of ‘springs’, think
Dracula, the use of ‘the Thing’ and ‘the Count’ are
Count. That is just it: this Thing
back to the ‘bitter waters’
examples of antonomasia that indicate Mina’s
is not human – not even beast.
that Van Helsing previously
unwillingness to even name Dracula at this point;
To read Dr Seward’s account of
mentioned.
such is her horror at what happened to Lucy.
poor Lucy’s death, and what
followed, is enough to dry up
What is antonomasia?
the springs of pity in one’s
heart” (P.243)
“I suppose there is something in Mina reinforces
The context of the times in relation to gender saw
woman’s nature that makes a
heteronormative values
men and women sorted into a binary opposition –
man free to break down before relating to gender in her
men were practical and stoic, women lacked sense
her and express his feelings on
reflection on consoling
and were emotional. The idea of a man being tender
the tender or emotional side
Arthur.
is identified by Stoker here as ‘derogatory’, though he
without feeling it derogatory to
also goes some way towards acknowledging that such
his manhood” (P.244)
feelings are sometimes unavoidable in the company
“We women have something of
of women.
the mother in us” (P.245)
“He had been unable to speak
Mina is characterised as a mother-like figure in her
with anyone (…) there was no
consolation of Arthur. The subtext of the third quote
woman whose sympathy could
is interesting in that it suggests that men are not
be given to him” (P.245)
capable of giving sympathy, only women are.
What do these quotes reveal about Victorian
attitudes towards gender?
38
Chapter 18: The other characters all meet Renfield, who tries to convince them that he is sane in the hope that Seward
will release him. Van Helsing finally explains in full detail that Dracula is a vampire, and outlines his plan.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“My own pet lunatic”
Seward describes
The term ‘lunatic’ originated in French as a description of someone who
(P.249)
Renfield by the nowbecame insane due to changes of the moon throughout the month.
derogatory term
Seward may be using this term here partially in reference to Renfield’s
‘lunatic’.
otherwise inexplicable changing moods. Note also the use of the
personal pronoun ‘my’ which denotes ownership – this demonstrates
Seward’s parochial attitude towards his patient. In the original
manuscript, Renfield is referred to by the even more derogatory
name of ‘Flyman’. Why do you think this was changed?
“She has a man’s brain – a Van Helsing
Possibly, by modern standards, one of the most salient examples of
brain that a man should
compliments Mina.
Victorian sexism in the whole novel. Whilst Van Helsing is personally
have were he much gifted
complimenting Mina, he is also revealing the attitudes of the era
– and a woman’s heart”
towards women in general – that they are seen as inferior to men in
(P.252)
intellect. The fact that these lines are delivered in completely unironic
terms also indicates that the author mostly likely doesn’t disagree with
this view. In what way is this quote sexist when viewed from a modern
context?
“We have (…) a power denied
Van Helsing
Here Stoker reinforces the opposition between the powers of the
to the vampire kind; we have
contrasts his
occult and the powers of science, with Van Helsing highlighting
resources of science (…) and an advantages over
science’s potential allegiance to God rather than the Devil. Being as
end to achieve which is not a
Dracula.
vampirism is rooted in the supernatural and superstition, it makes
selfish one” (P.254)
sense (at least in Van Helsing and Stoker’s minds) that science – in its
“Our scientific, matter-of-fact
quest for facts and reason – would be the opposite force. Why is
19th century” (P.254)
science seen as ‘good’ in the context of this novel?
“In old Greece, old Rome
Van Helsing makes a
Stoker illustrates the universalism of the vampire myth as a superstition
(…) France, in India (…) in
series of cultural
evident in many, many cultures all around the world. In terms of the
China” (P.254)
allusions regarding the
narrative, this serves as a form of logos to persuade the reader to
existence of vampires all suspend their disbelief in regards to the possible reality of vampires.
over the world.
What is logos and how is it used here?
“Voivode Dracula (…) who Historical allusion,
Voivode is a Hungarian term that translates as ‘Prince’, and here Van
won his name against the
antonomasia. Van
Helsing theorises that Dracula is either this medieval prince, now
Turk (…) a great and noble Helsing explains
hundreds of years old, or at least descended from him. This sequence
race (…) to have had
Dracula’s origins.
from the novel has led to some concluding that Stoker based Dracula
dealings with the Evil
on the real life tyrant, Vlad Dracul III (AKA ‘Vlad Tepes’, which translates
One” (P.256)
as ‘Vlad the Impaler’). Vlad was a member of the House of Draculesti,
and he fought against the Turks. He was famous for torturing little
animals while imprisoned in his youth (sounds like Renfield, right?) and
became feared across Europe for his tendency to impale men, women
and children on large spikes.
“We must (…) sterilise the Medical jargon /
The use of the term ‘sterilise’ has medical connotations relating to
earth, so that no more he
connotation of word
making something clean again, highlighting the belief that Dracula’s
can seek safety in it” (P.257) ‘sterilise’.
earth-laden coffins have been defiled with the essence of evil.
“Manlike, they have told me to
Mina reflects on
More gender politics courtesy of Bram Stoker via his female
go to bed and sleep; as if a
the nature of men
protagonist. General Note: Compare Mina’s sexlessness to Lucy and
woman can sleep when those
and women.
the role these two characters play in the narrative.
she loves are in danger!” (P.258)
Renfield meets with the
Historical/political
Renfield, in his attempt to escape his cell, is attempting to convince Dr
other characters for the
allusion
Seward, Van Helsing and the others that he is sane. He speaks
first time and mentions
eloquently and charmingly to each person, indicating his intelligence
the Monroe Doctrine as a
though each of his comments – which are tailor-made to appeal to each
‘political fable’ (P.259)
person. His mention of the ‘Monroe Doctrine’, an anti-European policy
in America, is designed to impress Quincey.
“Time presses, and in our
Renfield becomes
The ‘scytheman’ is a reference to Death, and Renfield’s belief that he
implied agreement with the old increasingly
will die if he isn’t let out – the ‘contract’ is a metaphor for the
scytheman, it is the essence of
desperate and
relationship between humanity and God/the Devil. In light of later
the contract” (P.260)
attempts to
events in the novel, it is possible that Renfield is being perfectly honest
Renfield also says he is a “sane
convince the other when he says he is fighting for his soul – which lends a tragic air to this
man fighting for his soul”
characters that he
scene.
(P.263)
should be let out.
Renfield’s warning serves as an ominous cliffhanger, indicating that awful
“You will, I trust, Dr Seward, do
Foreshadowing.
things are to come. In what way does this serve as a form of
me the justice to bear in mind,
foreshadowing?
later on, that I did what I could to
convince you tonight” (P.263)
39
Chapter 19: The protagonists investigate the chapel at Carfax and find 29 of Dracula’s dirt-boxes. They use a pack of dogs
to chase off a pack of rats and return to the asylum so Van Helsing can interview Renfield as to the whereabouts of the
other 21 coffins, but Renfield is unco-operative. When Mina goes to bed she notices a strange mist travelling towards the
asylum, and dreams of the mist pouring into her room.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“He seems so mixed up
‘Indexy’ is an example of antimeria
Van Helsing describes Renfield’s actions as ‘indexy’,
with the Count in an
(the use of an existing word in a
meaning that they could plot Dracula’s comingsindexy kind of way”
different way, EG. A noun as a verb, or and-goings by referring to records of the asylum
(P.264)
an adjective)
patient’s behaviour in much the same way as one
would an index. Give an example of what Van
Helsing means.
“In manus tuas,
Latin, Biblical allusion. Van Helsing
Traditionally, Latin has been the language of the
Domine!” (P.266)
says this as he crosses into a room
Catholic Church. This particular phrase translates as
previously inhabited by Dracula.
part of a prayer that says “Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit” – indicating that Van Helsing is
asking for protection from God before he steps into
the room. In what way is Stoker using this phrase,
in the Victorian context, to strengthen
characterisation of Van Helsing?
“pungent, acrid smell of
Olfactory imagery in Jonathan’s
The sense of smell is invoked through Stoker’s
blood”
journal to describe Dracula’s lair in
language to give the reader a visceral feeling relating
“air stagnant and foul”
Carfax.
to disgust, emphasising Dracula’s beast-like nature.
“every breath exhaled by
The bad breath of vampires is well-noted in the
that monster seemed to
horror genre, representing the consumption of
have clung to the place
blood as well as the more metaphorical corruption
and intensified its
they symbolise. Has this generic convention
loathsomeness”
continued in the contemporary context of modern
“nauseous whiff” (P.267)
vampire texts?
“It is too great a strain
Jonathan worries about his wife.
More Victorian sexism… perhaps unintentionally
for a woman to bear”
ironic here since it is Jonathan who is the concerned
(P.270)
one; and he is arguably the character who seems to
be put under the most strain prior to this part of the
novel (his hair even turns white later on). Is Mina
actually tougher than her husband, despite what
Stoker and Jonathan tell us?
“Last night I went to bed This quote from Mina is followed and
Mina demonstrates that she is a good, dutiful
when the men had gone, preceded by several mentions that she Victorian woman who obeys the men
simply because they told can’t stop crying.
unquestioningly. Her sudden bouts of crying seem
me to” (P.274)
uncharacteristic in comparison to earlier parts of the
novel.
“Some leaden lethargy
Alliteration, metaphor,
It’s probable that this is foreshadowing Dracula’s
seemed to chain my
foreshadowing. Mina describes her
attack on Mina in two chapter’s time, with her
limbs” (P.275)
inability to move.
paralysis linking to his power to hypnotise his
victims. It’s ambiguous as to whether this is a dream
or whether Dracula enters the room as mist. What
do you think?
“I asked Dr Seward to
Mina recounts her need for drugs.
An opiate is a drug used for pain relief, EG.
give me a little opiate of
Morphine. The plant that it comes from, the Poppy,
some kind, as I had not
is also responsible for the narcotic drugs opium,
slept well the night
laudanum and heroin. In Victorian times, opiates
before” (P.277)
such as laudanum and morphine were used as a
prescription-styled drug to calm nerves. By today’s
standards, these drugs can be highly dangerous.
Some readings of Dracula (and, indeed, the 1992
film version) have interpreted the novel in a way
that theorises Dr Seward as addicted to morphine
(due to a few small references such as this). The
Victorians had a casual attitude towards these sort
of drugs. How have values changed in regards to
these particular drugs?
40
Chapter 20: Jonathan Harker tracks down the locations of Dracula’s other dirt-boxes. Meanwhile, Renfield begins to act
out of character, and is later found in a pool of blood in his cell.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“well, guv’nor, you’ve treated
Dialect / colloquialism used by Stoker represents the gulf between the social classes
me very ’an’some” (P.279)
supporting character denotes that made up Britain’s class system. With the
“phonetic spelling had again
working class status, and
exceptions of Count Dracula and Arthur (members of
misled me” (P.280)
Jonathan later remarks on his the aristocracy), most of the main characters are
“I act on the part of Lord
own inability to read this
middle class (or bourgeoisie). Stoker’s use of nearGoldaming (…) These words put character’s writing.
indecipherable phonetic dialogue for the working
a different complexion on
class characters (such as the carter, the zookeeper in
affairs” (P.284)
the news article, and the sailor that Mina befriends at
the beginning of the novel) reveals the prejudices of
the era. One such working class character in this
chapter, Thomas Snelling, is too drunk to even speak
to Jonathan.
Note also the power carried by Arthur’s formal title.
Which part of the class system do you think Stoker
came from and why do you think this?
“lairs arranged by Dracula”
Connotation, metaphor, motif A ‘lair’ is place where a wild animal lives. The choice
(P.282)
of the word ‘lair’ in this fashion continues the bestial
motif relating to Dracula, and encourages the reader
to make animal-like associations with Dracula. The
word has since become synonymous with the
hideouts or bases of villains in a variety of genres.
Renfield compares himself to
Analogy, Biblical Allusion
Renfield’s uses the Old Testament figure of Enoch as
Enoch, “he walked with God”
an analogy for his relationship with Dracula. Enoch is
(P.287)
one of only two figures in the Bible who are said to
enter Heaven alive rather than dying beforehand, a
special privilege bestowed on them by God. This
reference may indicate Renfield’s arrogance or his
belief that Dracula will give him special treatment for
being his follower.
Renfield’s Syndrome is the name now sometimes given to ‘clinical vampirism’ in the real world – an obsession with the
drinking of human blood.
What do you think of Renfield? What is the influence of this character on the vampire genre?
Depictions of Renfield from the 1992
film, the 1930s film, and the stage
production (clockwise bottom left to
right)
41
Chapter 21: Renfield, dying, admits that Dracula visited him often. He rebelled against Dracula when he realised the
Count was taking blood from Mina, hence why he has now been killed by his Master. Van Helsing and the others rush to
Mina and Jonathan’s room, and interrupt Dracula while he feeds on Mina. The Count turns into a bat and escapes.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“The minutes in which we
Slow motion writing – at Stoker ‘explodes the moment’ by slowing time down and
waited passed with fearful
this point in the
showing everything in lots of detail. This builds suspense
slowness…” (P.295)
narrative there is a lot
and subverts the reader’s expectation that they will shortly
happening very quickly.
find out what will happen next.
“he used to send in the flies (…) Symbolism. Renfeild is
The Death’s Head Hawkmoth is named after its unusual
and big moths, in the night,
describing the ‘Death’s
markings, which are said to resemble a human skull. Due
with skull and cross-bones on
Head Moth’.
to this, this insect has symbolic connection to death, evil,
their bodies” (P.297)
and the supernatural. In Britain it was superstitiously
believed that the moth first arrived in the country when
King Charles I was executed at the end of the English Civil
War. Across Europe the moth is seen as a bad omen, and it
has been recorded that in Romania the moth was thought
to hold the souls of reincarnated vampires and should be
impaled when caught. Can you think of moth symbolism
in any other texts?
“All these lives I will give you, ay Biblical allusion, one
The action of ‘falling down’ implies a complete surrender
(…) if you will fall down and
clause is dependent on
of the body to Dracula’s power; the idea of Renfield
worship me!” (P.298)
the other clause (Dracula worshipping the Count emphasises the Biblical dimensions
says he will give Renfield of their relationship as god-and-disciple. Unlike the
the lives if he will
Christian God, however, Dracula appeals to Renfield with
“I saw His eyes. They burned
worship him.
the materialistic offering of the lives of animals. In
into me, and my strength
Renfield’s remembrance of Dracula’s offer, the Count is
became like water. He slipped
Capitalisation, simile.
surrounded by rats.
through it, and when I tried to
cling to Him, He raised me up
The capitalisation of pronouns when referring to Dracula
and flung me down” (P.299)
echoes the conventions used when referring to God, and
Renfield’s figurative references to water make the Count
seem like a force of nature – such is his power. How do you
think Victorian audiences would have reacted to this
sequence of the novel?
“The Count had held his wife in
Sexual connotation
Even in the repressed context of the Victorian age, Stoker’s
that terrible and horrid
language in describing Dracula’s attack on Mina is more like
position, with her mouth to the
a twisted parody of a sexual relationship rather than a
open wound in his breast”
physical altercation. Jonathan also seems involved, “his
(P.303)
face flushed and breathing heavily”, and Dracula’s torn
clothes imply the possibility of rape in regards to both
characters. Why do you think Stoker constructed this
sequence in this way?
“And ah, my God, my God, pity
Juxtaposition of imagery The contrast between the sensory adjective ‘reeking’ and
me! He placed his reeking lips
the idea of someone placing their lips on someone
upon my throat!” (P.306)
highlights the perversion of the action as an evil mockery
of kissing.
“Me (…) who commanded
Hyperbole? Dracula
The idea that Dracula once ruled over multiple countries
nations” (P.306)
boasts of his past.
may or may not be a form of hyperbole. It, at the very least,
reinforces his characterisation as an arrogant figure. It also
goes some way towards supporting the suggestion that he
is the same Dracula who once led his people against the
Turks hundreds of years ago. What do you think in regards
to Dracula’s claim?
“Harker was still and quiet; but
Symbolism, pathetic
Jonathan Harker’s hair turns white as a result of Dracula’s
over his face, as the awful
fallacy, diacope
attack on Mina – a symbol of the trauma he has
narrative went on, came a grey
experienced. The phrase ‘deepened and deepened’ is an
look which deepened and
example of a diacope, and demonstrates the depth of
deepened in the morning light,
Jonathan’s trauma. The ‘red streak’ of morning light
till when the first red streak of
sounds anything but gentle, and can be seen as an example
the coming dawn shot up, the
of pathetic fallacy in this instance. In what way is the quote
flesh stood clearly out against
an example of a diacope?
the whitening hair” (P.307)
42
Chapter 22: Dracula visits Renfield once more and breaks his neck to ensure he is dead. Jonathan and the others go to
the chapel and sterilise each of Dracula’s coffins using the holy wafers. Van Helsing places a Holy Wafer on Mina’s head
to protect her but such is her infection from Dracula that it burns her skin.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Poor Mina told me just now,
Alliteration, Hendiadys
Hendiadys is a technique in which two words that
with tears running down her
(doubling – “trouble and
essentially mean the same thing are used together. It
dear cheeks, that it is in trouble trial”)
can represent a lack of clarity, or a character’s
and trial that our faith is tested”
anxiousness, and in this case Stoker is using it to show
(P.308)
the lack of surety experienced by Jonathan and Mina
in facing the terrible power of Dracula.
“Her eyes shone with the
Biblical allusion, metaphor
Jonathan describes Mina’s eyes as ‘shining’ to
devotion of a martyr” (P.309)
demonstrate her strong faith. A ‘martyr’ is someone
who dies for their beliefs (usually in a religious
context), which A) Shows how strongly Mina believes
that they will retain their faith, and B) Reminds the
reader that Mina may ‘die’ as a result of her
encounter with Dracula. Can you think of any other
examples of martyrdom in vampire-related or
supernatural fiction?
“We run down our old fox”
Motif, Metaphor
Stoker refers to earlier references of the characters
(P.311)
hunting Dracula down, and the bestial motif
associated with him. Fox-hunting, in the British
context, is also associated with the aristocracy – in
what way is this ironic?
Van Helsing places the Holy
Symbolism, simile
The incompatibility of the Holy Wafer with Mina’s
Wafer on Mina’s forehead and
Dracula-infected body demonstrates the evil that
it “had burned into the flesh as
now lives in her. Stoker uses the visceral simile of
though it had been a piece of
‘white-hot metal’ to show how serious it is.
white-hot metal” (P.316)
“Unclean! Unclean! Even the
Epizeuxis (“Unclean!
Mina’s reaction, heavily loaded with Biblical
Almighty shuns my polluted
Unclean!”), Antonomasia
dimension and persuasive rhetoric, shows the
flesh! I must bear the mark of
(“the Almighty”), Biblical
extremity of her reaction. In what way is this extreme
shame upon my forehead until
Allusion (“Judgment Day”)
reaction is perfectly in keeping with the Victorian
the Judgment Day” (P.316)
context of Christian belief?
Dracula was reinvented in 1972 as Blacula, a film in the blaxploitation genre. Blaxploitation (a portmanteau of
the words ‘black’ and ‘exploitation’) was a genre of films initially marketed towards black audiences in America.
They became popular with mainstream audiences due to their use of stereotypes and soul/funk music. They
were also among the first films to feature African-American actors as leading characters.
43
Chapter 23: The protagonists hunt down Dracula’s other boxes and sterilise them. In this process they realise that one
box is still missing, and Van Helsing hypnotises Mina so that he can access her link to Dracula, discovering that the Count
has left England and is travelling by sea.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“the monster has been creeping Metaphor used to describe
Van Helsing repeatedly refers to Dracula as having a
into knowledge experimentally” Dracula learning – contrast
‘big child-brain’ in this section of the novel. The
(P.322)
between verb ‘creeping’ and
Victorians believed that the brains of children were
abstract concept of
highly suggestible and lacking in logic. How does this,
knowledge.
along with the quoted example, dehumanises the
Count and reminds the reader that the novel’s villain
is not a human character?
“I came for nothing (…) except
Connotation, Biblical Allusion
‘Creation’ is a Biblical word for the Earth (IE.
to wipe this brute from the face
Everything God ‘created’). The words used in this
of creation” (P.323)
sentence have violent connotations – ‘wipe’, ‘brute’,
‘face’ – and show the depth of feeling now against
Dracula.
“With your pale faces all in a
Simile
Why does Dracula use this simile?
row, like sheep in a butcher’s”
(P.326)
“Oh God let these poor white
Characterisation
Through Mina, Stoker reminds the reader that
hairs go in evidence of what he
Jonathan’s hair has gone white and why
has suffered” (P.329)
Mina hears someone outside
Red Herring
After Dracula’s previous visits and the attack on Mina,
her room at night and fears that
the expectation from the reader (and Mina) is that
it’s Dracula, though it instead
the disturbances in the night may be the Count
turns out to be Quincey keeping
making another attack. The revelation that the
watch.
‘someone’ is Quincey serves a form of false of
foreshadowing, otherwise known as a ‘red herring’,
which continues the novel’s suspenseful nature.
What is a ‘red herring’?
“A pack of men following like
Motif, Simile
More of the hunting / bestial motif in relation to the
dogs after a fox” (P.334)
characters hunting down Dracula.
“he can live for centuries, and
Cliffhanger, personification as The dramatic piece of dialogue from Van Helsing
you are but mortal woman.
time as an enemy.
about the heightening stakes in regards to Mina being
Time is now to be dreaded –
Dracula’s victim is followed by a single, simple
since once he put that mark
sentence describing Mina’s equally dramatic
upon your throat.
reaction. This serves as another strong example of the
structural technique known as the ‘cliffhanger’, a
I was just in time to catch her as
convention of the serial genre.
she fell forward in a faint.”
(P.334)
Fox-hunting was popular in
England in the 18th and 19th
centuries. Note the presence of
dogs, which were often used to
seek out the foxes. In Chapter 19
the protagonists use a whistle to
call some dogs to assist them in
clearing Dracula’s rats out of the
chapel at Carfax.
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Chapter 24: The protagonists discover that Dracula is onboard a ship heading back to where he came from. Van Helsing
declares that they should hunt down the Count and destroy him for the benefit of everyone, and Mina convinces the
others to let her accompany them so they can use her psychic link to Dracula to continue tracking him.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“The very place, where he have Allusions to the occult
During the 19th Century, the Victorians developed a
been alive, Un-Dead for all
keen interest in the occult – perhaps to help explain
these centuries, is full of
many new phenomena that had been discovered in
strangeness of the geologic and
then-recent times (electricity, magnetism, chemical
chemical world (…) Doubtless,
reactions, geological concepts like ‘deep time’). The
there is something magnetic or
inability to explain all of these things can be linked to
electric in some of the
the increase of interest in magic and Satanic forces,
combinations of occult forces”
such as those commanded by Dracula (hypnotism,
(P.340)
materialisation, transformation, etc). In a general
sense, how could the novel Dracula be seen as an
exploration of Victorian interests and concerns?
“in an age when the existence
Dr Seward reflects on how
‘Ptomaines’ are the chemical components that cause
of ptomaines is a mystery we
‘the Vampire’s baptism of
unpleasant tastes and odours associated with the
should not wonder at anything” blood’ is affecting Mina.
putrefaction of plant and animals after they die. In
(P.343)
this case, the existence of ptomaines could be
interpreted as a byproduct of death’s evil – hence
their relevance in the broader sense of the novel.
“I grasped his hand instinctively Simile describing Quincey’s
Van Helsing’s assertion that Quincey is “all man”
and found it as firm as a piece
strength
reinforces the gender expectations of the era, as
of steel” (Jonathan, describing
does Jonathan’s description of the man’s strength.
Quincey, P.349)
Quincey’s characterisation throughout the novel as
“Quincey is all man, God bless
the token American firmly leans on conventions
him for it” – Van Helsing (P.349)
associated with cowboys and the wild west (note:
Quincey suggests that they all carry Winchesters, a
brand of gun associated with the wild west) and
firmly fits with the Victorian stereotype of manhood.
How have modern vampire texts subverted or
played against gender values of the Victorian era?
Wolves were extinct in England by the 1500s, and, by the 1800s, only really survived in Europe
in the East (in places like Transylvania). Wolves feature in the mythologies of many European
cultures, and superstition was so widespread in the 16th century nearly 30 000 people were
accused of being werewolves in France alone .
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Chapter 25: Mina makes the others promise her that, if the times come, that they will dispose of her the same way that
they did Lucy. They travel to Varna, the port where Dracula’s ship is expected, but learn that his ship is headed to
another port instead – leading Van Helsing to deduce that Dracula is able to use Mina to spy on them.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Think dear, that there have
Historical allusion, pathos
Mina calls upon previous historical examples of men
been times when brave men
killing the women they love in order to protect them
have killed their wives and their
from worse fates (an allusion to rape and torture by
womenkind, to keep them from
enemy soldiers) to appeal to Jonathan’s emotions.
falling into the hands of the
What does this reveal about the Victorian era’s
enemy (…) It is man’s duty
values in regards to men and women?
towards those whom they love”
(P.352)
“How I miss my phonograph! To Humour
Why would this be considered quite humourous by
write my diary with pen is
Victorian standards?
irksome to me” (P.356)
“We do not mention our
Euphemism (using gentler
Dr Seward expresses how thankful he is to have a
thoughts (…) awful though it be terms for harsh ideas)
clinical, and less emotional, term for the act of mercyto contemplate. ‘Euthanasia’ is
killing someone (in this case the euphemistic term of
an excellent and comforting
‘euthanasia’). In the classist atmosphere of the
word! I am grateful to whoever
Victorian era, euthanasia was suggested by one
invented it” (P.357)
journalist in 1881 to be a potential solution to
London’s ‘homeless’ problem, which demonstrates
that the ethical dimensions of the concept may have
been significantly different in the 19th century. What
does this reveal about the Victorian era in
comparison to the modern day?
“Transcendentalism is a beacon Biblical allusion, folkloric
Dr Seward is referring to Kant’s philosophical concept
to the angels, even if it be a
allusion
of transcendent idealism – the idea that each
will-o’-the-wisp to man” (P.359)
person’s store of knowledge is based on their own
sense of self. This curious sentence refers to each
person interpreting their arrival in the port of Varna
differently. In order to illustrate these differences in
perception, Seward is contrasting the mightiness of
angels against the will-o-the-wisp (a ghostly light
observed over swamps).
“There is a peculiarity in
Code-switching (Van Helsing
In his explanation, Van Helsing is attempting to
criminals (…) This criminal has
switches modes of language
illustrate how Dracula thinks. He is profiling the
not full man-brain (…) he be of
in order to explain scientific
Count, something that is also assisted by literally
child-brain in much (…) he learn concepts to the other
getting into Dracula’s mind via Van Helsing’s regular
not by principle, but
characters)
hypnotising of Mina. The last part of the quote alludes
empirically” (P.362)
to the idea that Van Helsing believes Dracula can only
learn by experiencing things, he is unable to think in
abstract or philosophical terms – once again
demonstrating the villain’s lack of humanity.
The Italian criminologist, Lombroso, is mentioned in
this chapter as well. Lombroso believed that some
people partook in criminal behaviour because they
were less ‘evolved’ than other humans. How does
this fit in with our modern perspective of such ideas?
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Chapter 26: Van Helsing’s hypnotism of Mina begins to yield less results, which makes it difficult for the protagonists to
track Dracula. Mina works out three different routes to Castle Dracula, so the group splits up across all three in order to
continue hunting the Count.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“Would none of you like a cup
Bathos (an anticlimactic sense Stoker diffuses the tension of Mina’s vampirism by
of tea?” (P.366-367)
given by switching from the
having her unexpectedly ask if anyone would like a
serious to the trivial)
cup of tea. Whilst the scene is problematic from a
modern standpoint due to its inherent Victorian
sexism, it’s primarily intended as a humourous twist –
especially coming at a point where the other
characters think she is losing her internal battle with
Dracula.
Captain Donelson (P.370)
Scottish dialect
“A Hebrew (…) with a nose like
a sheep, and a fez (…) and with
little bargaining he told us what
he knew” (P.371)
Anti-Semitic simile used by
Jonathan to describe the
Jewish character
“Our dear Madam Mina is once
more our teacher” (P.373-376)
Mina analytically analyses the
issues faced by the characters
in tracking Dracula across the
Eastern Europe countryside.
Motif
Jonathan and Dr Seward both
describe the weather –
reinforcing setting.
“the old fox is tied in his box”
“The morning is bitterly cold”
(P.379)
“I wish it wasn’t so cold. There
are signs of snow coming; and if
it falls heavy it will stop us”
(P.382)
“If Jonathan and I were driving
through it alone what a
pleasure it would be” (P.382)
In a callback to an earlier
scene in the novel, Mina
ironically reflects on her wish
to travel through Transylvania
with her husband in better
circumstances.
What is bathos and how has it been used here?
Bram Stoker phonetically represents the Scottish
dialect of the Captain. This could be interpreted as
classism on the part of the author, in similar fashion
to his depiction of Swales and other working class
characters.
The subtext to this brief description is that the
audience would expect this character to ‘bargain’.
What does this description reveal about Victorian
attitudes towards Jewish people?
Once more, Mina demonstrates her ‘man-like’
capacity for logic, which is signposted by Van Helsing
complimenting Mina’s teacherly qualities.
Hunting the fox again!
The mention of the cold serves two purposes for
Stoker. The first purpose is that he is reminding the
reader of the setting; using detail to establish the
environment. The second purpose is that the danger
posed by heavy snowfall helps to heighten the stakes
as the novel moves towards its climax. What
technique is this?
Stoker subverts Mina’s earlier wish to see Eastern
Europe by bringing her to this location in dire, horrible
circumstances. It can be interpreted as a form of
situational irony and a recurring theme.
Bran Castle in Romania is one
of several real life castles
linked to Dracula / Vlad the
Impaler.
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Chapter 27: Van Helsing approaches Castle Dracula and is visited by the three vampire women. He tracks them to their
tomb and destroys them, and then seals the castle using Holy Wafers so that the Count cannot enter it. The other parties
arrive, chasing after Dracula, who is being escorted by some Gypsies. They fight, and Quincey stakes Dracula through the
heart before he himself is killed.
Quotes and Examples
Explanation / Analysis
Context / Further Ideas
“The great spurs of the
Imagery, Mina describes their Stoker’s description and mention of the Carpathians
Carpathians (…) now seem to
surroundings
helps to establish setting. What examples of
gather round us and tower in
intimidating language are used to convey the
front” (P.385)
formidable nature of the mountains?
“God grant that we may be
Biblical allusion
The talk of ‘His wrath’ alludes to the God of the Old
guided aright (…) I am not
Testament, who was not above ‘smiting’ (destroying)
worthy in His sight. Alas! I am
his enemies and punishing people directly for their
unclean to His eyes, and shall
sins. Mina’s encounter with Dracula is an encounter
be until He may deign to let me
with an ancient evil, the full dimensions of which are
stand forth in His sight as one of
alluded to in Mina’s invoking of the older, angrier, and
those who have not incurred
less forgiving version of God.
His wrath” (P.385)
“Swaying round forms (…) the
Connotation, sexualised
Stoker frequently revisits ‘voluptuous’ as a kind of
ruddy colour, the voluptuous
language used to describe the shorthand for the sexually alluring nature of women
lips (…) sweet tingling tones…”
‘weird sisters’ (the female
once they’ve turned to vampires. Each of the words
(P.390-391)
vampires that live in Dracula’s utilised here are used to demonstrate the appeal and
castle)
hypnotic power of these women, and the helpless,
“the beautiful eyes of the fair
corruptible nature of men who have been driven to
woman open and look love, and
lust. How does this reflect the values of the Victorian
the voluptuous mouth present
era? In what way has sexuality in the vampire genre
to a kiss – and man is weak”
changed?
(P.393)
“They are racing for the sunset. Truncated sentences
The author employs fast, brief sentences to depict the
We may be too late” (P.397)
quickening pace of the scene. The setting sun
heightens the stakes further, drawing tension out of
the scene as the reader is led to wonder if Dracula will
be able to rise in all his power after the sun sets
(before the protagonists are able to stop him).
“A gallant gentleman” (P.401)
Positive adjective used to
The word ‘gallant’ implies heroism, in this case
describe Quincey
illustrating Quincey’s brave self-sacrifice in fighting
Dracula. The pairing of ‘gallant’ and ‘gentleman’
evokes notions relating to masculine behaviour in the
Victorian era, with Quincey’s death characterised as
the ‘right’ way for a man to die.
Mina and Jonathan travel to
Coda, Reflection
This scene continues the idea of Mina getting to see
Transylvania 7 years after the
Eastern Europe as a tourist rather than a potential
novel’s events.
vampire, and calls back to two earlier moments in the
novel. This style of ending is sometimes referred to as
a ‘coda’, a passage of writing that brings a story to an
end. Mina also reflects on events, a common
convention in ending horror stories.
48