Dracula

Gothic novel written by Bram Stoker. It is also the name of one of the main characters in the novel, Count Dracula, who is a vampire. Stoker began writing Dracula in 1890 and published it in 1897.

The novel is one of the most well-known and influential gothic novels in literary history. It is undoubtedly the most famous vampire story up to this day. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, neither as a mythological being nor as a literary character, it was his Count Dracula who influenced the stereotype of the vampire in popular culture to such an extent, that the images of "Dracula" and "Vampire" are almost synonymous today.

Plot

The narrative is told in the form of letters and journal entries by the novel`s characters. It begins with Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, travelling to Count Dracula's castle in the Carpathian Mountains in order to assist him with a real estate transaction in England. On his way he is warned about his destination by locals. After his arrival he is pleased by Dracula's aristocratic manners at first, but he is soon disturbed by some of Dracula's features (cold skin, sharp teeth, no image in mirrors), his strange threatening behaviour (bloodlust) and his supernatural powers. Harker realizes that he is in fact the Count's prisoner. After some horrific experiences (he almost gets killed by three seductive female vampires, "the Sisters"), he finally manages to escape from the castle.

Dracula travels to England in a box filled with Transylvanian soil (along with 49 more) on a Russian ship called Demeter, which eventually runs aground on the shore of Whitby. All of the ship's crew are missing except the captain who is found dead. A large black dog is seen jumping off the ship and disappearing.

Harker's fiancée, Mina Murray, who is not aware that she is being tracked down by Dracula, travels to Whitby in order to visit her friend Lucy Westenra. Lucy had been suited by three men, John Seward, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood (later Lord Godalming), but finally got engaged with Holmwood. Shortly after, Lucy gets ill and starts to sleepwalk. One night, Mina finds her on a graveyard with a dark shadow with glowing eyes bending over her. Lucy's condition worsens and she bears two red marks on her throat. Holmwood asks Seward, who is a psychiatrist and director of a mental asylum near Carfax Abbey in London (Count Dracula's new estate), to take care of her. Unable to diagnose the illness, Dr. Seward sends for Professor Abraham Van Helsing from Amsterdam, his former mentor.

Meanwhile, Mina visits Harker in Budapest, where he had to stay in a hospital after his escape from the castle, and marries him.

Van Helsing arrives in Whitby and examines Lucy. Knowing of vampires, he orders her room to be covered with garlic and to give her blood transfusions. However, he does not disclose his suspicion to the others because he fears they will not believe him (which leads to Lucy's mother removing the garlic because of the bad smell). Shortly after, a wolf breaks into the Westenra's house, attacking Lucy and leaving her and her mother dead.

Lucy is buried, but soon after the funeral some local children are reported to have been attacked in the night by a beautiful woman. Van Helsing finally discloses his suspicion to her fiancé Lord Godalming, Seward and Morris. They track her down and after a disturbing confrontation eventually stake her heart, cut off her head and fill her mouth with garlic, so her soul can find eternal rest.

Mina and Jonathan Harker return from Budapest and join the four men. After consulting all of their notes and observations, they make a plan to find and kill Count Dracula. While the men search for the fifty boxes, which Dracula has distributed around London in order to use them as sanctuaries during daytime, Mina stays at Seward's asylum. They are able to sanitize the boxes one by one, but Dracula retaliates by attacking Mina. He is able to enter the asylum with the help of R.N. Renfield, one of Seward's patients (an insane man who eats animals alive in order to absorb their energy), whom he had met before. After feeding on Mina's blood he forces her to drink his own blood, creating a spiritual bond between them, that makes him able to control her mind. Renfield tries to stop him and is killed by Dracula.

The men manage to destroy all of Dracula's sanctuaries, forcing him to return to his castle. While he has himself carried home in his last box, Mina is struggling with the vampire blood. By telepathic connection she is sometimes able to reveal Dracula's current location, enabling the group to follow Dracula's track. The group splits. Mina and Van Helsing go to the castle, where he kills the three vampire-sisters, while the others confront a group of gypsies carrying the Count's box. They successfully fight the carriers and Harker cuts Dracula's throat. Morris, though seriously injured by the gypsies, manages to give him the last blow by stabbing his heart. Dracula crumbles to dust and Mina's spell is broken, but Morris dies from his wounds.

The story ends with Mina and Jonathan having a son, whom they call Quincey in remembrance of Morris.

Adaptations

The story of Dracula has been adapted by many plays and countless movies. The most influential impersonation of Count Dracula was probably done by Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi, who played the role first on stage in a Broadway version of the novel (1924) and later in a movie (1931). His interpretation of the Count's style and expression became the archetypical features of Dracula in popular culture.

Sources

Melton, J. Gordon (1994): The Vampire Book. The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Detroit, MI: Gale Research.

Stoker, Bram; Auerbach, Nina; Skal, David J. (1997): Dracula. Authoritative Text, Contexts, Reviews and Reactions, Dramatic and Film Variations, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton.