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Dracula: The Fight for a Cure
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the title character is a very old, very powerful supernatural
being. Due to this, one might assume that Dracula would be the superior being in any situation
he was in. However, the passage on pages 283 to 284, narrated by Dr. Seward, suggests
otherwise. This passage demonstrates Dracula’s inferiority to the men of the hunting party by
portraying Dracula as an ‘other’, as a being who is insecure in his power and control, and as part
of a disease that needs to be cured.
Seward reminds the reader many times throughout the passage that Dracula is an ‘other’,
and moreover, that Dracula is a monster. He is described as both “panther-like” and “lion-like”,
as well as “un-human”, and “the monster” (Stoker, 284). If someone was to only read this
passage, and none of the rest of the novel, they would have a perfect understanding of how
Seward regards Dracula. Seward sees the Count as inferior, and as less than human. As in earlier
sections of the novel, Dracula is described in an animalistic way. However, he is previously
described by Jonathan in reptilian terms: “Once more I have seen the Count go out in his lizard
fashion” (35). Though he is still being equated with animals, Dracula is no longer reptilian- he is
instead being compared with large felines. While he continues to be viewed as inferior to
humans, Dracula has actually risen on the evolutionary scale from reptile to large mammal. It
could be posited that being in England, which is portrayed as far more civilized and advanced
than Transylvania, has affected Dracula and forced him to become more civilized with his
change of environment.
Dracula enters the room as though he is in control of the situation, not the men who have
gathered there to ambush him: “he leaped into the room, winning a way past us before any of us
could raise a hand to stay him” (283). However, once he is in the room, Dracula is outnumbered,
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and his foes are more prepared than he is. As such, he quickly loses control of the situation. His
loss of power is symbolized by the loss of his money, as Jonathan cuts Dracula’s coat and money
falls out of it to the ground. In many ways, wealth is seen as reflective of an individual’s power.
Dracula loses that money, and so his power is lessened. He himself must view the money as
important, as he paused his escape to take some of the money off the floor, putting himself at risk
by doing so. When Jonathan missed injuring Dracula and instead caused the money to fall, he
diminished not only Dracula’s power in that particular situation, but in society in general,
because the Count has lost that portion of his wealth.
Dracula can be interpreted as an allegory of a disease within society that needs to be
cured. In this passage, the hunting party is testing a prototype cure that they have developed for
the disease that is Dracula. They are trying to kill him. When they fail to do so, it reflects the
research process where a researcher may develop many unsuccessful treatments before
succeeding in creating a cure. The men can learn from what seemed to affect Dracula, and what
allowed him to escape, so that the next time they try to kill him, they may be more successful.
Treatments for major diseases are not developed on the first try, and so it is expected that it
would take more than one attempt to kill Dracula.
Dr. Seward presents the reader with a clear picture of how atavistic and animalistic Count
Dracula is, as well as demonstrating his inferiority and lack of power towards the end of the
novel. Additionally, this passage describes the relationship between the hunt for Dracula and the
process of curing a major disease, such as Syphilis or AIDS. Seward narrates a demonstration
that England is protected against evil in any guise- be it a disease or a monster named Dracula.
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Works Cited
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.