One of the books that I had read over the summer was Dracula by Bram Stoker. Even though, it was not as intriguing and exciting as I had expected it to be, it had deep meaning. It occurs to me that maybe the book isn’t simply famous for its horrific concept of such a monster as Count Dracula— which captures those daring to read about the absurd. Several beliefs such as ridding the world of the unacceptable (in this case Dracula and the rest of his vampire companions), and placing one’s feelings aside in order to protect society and one’s self from something that is malignant to them is displayed in this science-fiction novel. Furthermore, this book suggests that as man becomes too powerful (and most likely deceived by his pride that he is invincible), he turns into a monster and is perceived as a threat to society. Count Dracula’s power and authority is apparent throughout the novel. He is very wealthy, owning a mansion isolated by a mountain in Transylvania, and he controls the wolves that linger around town. Moreover, he has power over the people of Transylvania; they fear him and yet do not mention any of the strange events that take place in the presence of Dracula. They carry out his commands without questioning his authority, and Dracula locks the gates on the protagonist, Jonathan Harker when Jonathan discovers that Dracula is an evil-being. Jonathan seeks to escape from the grasp of Dracula. Dracula has a confined set of rules for Jonathan to abide by while he stays at the mansion, and as Jonathan starts to associate his feelings to that of a prisoner in the castle, he attempts to leave the place. Dracula derives his power from those that are ignorant to and refuse to believe that vampires exist. Therefore, Dracula has fewer opponents to face than if others were aware of his existence and his gruesome acts. Still, Dracula remains partially blinded by his pride since he boasts of the long lasting power that his family has managed to maintain over centuries conquering other civilizations. This reveals his flaw of lack of realization of other possible outcomes.
One of the main characters, Van Helsing states:
…many a man who set forth to do such a task as mine, found at the last his heart fail him, and
then his nerve. So he delay, and delay, and delay, till the mere beauty and the fascination of the
wanton Un-dead have hypnotise him…Then the beautiful eyes of the fair woman open and look love, and the voluptuous mouth present to a kiss—and man is weak. And there remain one more victim in the Vampire fold; one more to swell the grim and grisly ranks of the Un-dead!...” (406)
This quote describes the difficult assignment the characters must take on throughout Stoker’s novel, Dracula. The tone of the quote is one in which Van Helsing is reflecting on the heaviness of an obligation he has to his friends and the rest of society. The quote makes the reader reflect about his own responsibilities and choices. Jonathan Harker, Arthur Holmwood, Van Helsing, Quincey Morris, and Johnathan Seward form a group to work together against the antagonist Dracula. As the men discover that Dracula is a vampire and try to defeat him, Dracula uses their women against them to prevent them from overpowering him. He bites Lucy Westenra, the wife of Arthur eventually killing her and turning her into a vampire. This causes much grief to Arthur and the rest of Lucy’s friends knowing that they have lost the one they love. In addition, they will have to kill her “Un-dead” body to prevent her from attacking other people and increasing Dracula’s army of vampires. They know that they must go through with this, in order to save the rest of mankind. At the beginning Arthur finds this hard to fathom, and he refuses to allow the annihilation of the only memory he has left of his wife—her deceased body. Moreover, it is decided that Arthur must be the one to kill the vampire that has consumed Lucy’s body and taken her form. Eventually, Arthur agrees to the heavy duty placed upon him, hoping that it would restore Lucy’s holiness, and allow her to finally rest in peace. He realizes that he doesn’t want any more monsters such as Dracula roaming the earth and dedicates himself to doing whatever it takes to conquer Count Dracula. Arthur must now think of Lucy’s “undead” body as a device being used by Dracula’s evil force, in order to prevent his feelings from interfering with the demolishing of Lucy’s remains. Arthur and Van Helsing whom are working with the others to defeat Dracula drive a stake through Lucy’s heart, and they fill her mouth with garlic after cutting off her head. They watch Lucy’s corpse disintegrate before their eyes, and even though they are sad about it, they gain a sense of hope for Lucy, and the rest of the human race. One day, the men discover that Dracula has bitten and sucked the blood of Harker’s wife, Mina as well. As they come face to face with three female vampires, they notice how lovely they look and their attraction to the women attempts to distract them. Although this scene serves as an insight to what they will have to do to Mina, they annihilate the female vampires. Again, the men are reminded of Mina’s soon to be fate when they try to put garlic on her forehead to guard her from Dracula’s visits. Instead of protecting her, the garlic burns her and leaves a scar on her head. In discussion, the men determine that Jonathan her husband, will kill Mina when she starts to worsen in appearance and action. Primarily Jonathan declines their notion, but he reluctantly accepts it.
Similarly in life, one must make decisions that are complex and tend to draw in his emotions. Sometimes, one might fear doing something absolutely necessary that will greatly affect him, and in doing so he delays the mission. However, this piece suggests that if one allows something that he is emotionally attached to manifest, though it be not good for him, it can become overwhelming and end up being destructive. The quote proposes that one learn to overcome his fears for a worthy cause. In the mist of uncertainty, one should not be discouraged by change but instead, view it as an opportunity for growth and maturity and establishing one’s self as an individual.
-I would not recommend this book to anyone to read, but I would recommend that if one read any part of this book, it would be the citation that I have listed above. It is significant not only to the theme of the book, but to life’s circumstances as well.
I totally agree with Bram Stoker’s message about life’s pressures and believe it can be applied to more than hunting vampires. We all have had responsibilities and obligations in life that felt more like burdens. For example, when playing a sport or participate in any other competitive activity, there are always moments of tension where the efforts of the team, rest on one person’s shoulders. I chose this example specifically because in soccer I can never shoot a goal during a game, no matter how hard I try. Each attempt at a goal I can remember has been accompanied with a feeling of anxiety and heaviness; as if missing would automatically isolate me from my teammates. That same anxiety is what prevents me from scoring. To this day I have never scored a goal during a game, nor have I been abandoned by the girls I play with, but each time I play a game I think about how I have never scored.
ReplyDelete“…many a man who set forth to do such a task as mine, found at the last his heart fail him, and
then his nerve. So he delay, and delay, and delay, till the mere beauty and the fascination of the
wanton Un-dead have hypnotise him”
So let me start out by saying i agree with everything you said. I read this novel last year and i agree, the middle was so dry. But after you get past the whole 'Lucy and Mina writing back and forth to eachother', the novel becomes exciting and mysterious. I loved how you said that Dracula represented a wealthy and influential man who has become obsessed with his superiority. I never made the correlation while reading this and im glad you shared your insight. Dracula isnt just this scary monster, but a lesson to those who read it. People obeyed him not out of respect but out of fear. Maybe Mr. Stoker was warning the world about his fears of one man holding too much power, just like what Orwell did with 1984.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, you said "Similarly in life, one must make decisions that are complex and tend to draw in his emotions." I got this too when i read this novel. Slaying a vampire is clearly not an easy task, but Van Helsing and John and Mina had to do it to save the world. In everyday life, we are all presented with tasks that we do not want to do, and sometimes it feels as if that one task is as complicated as saving the world, but in reality, we have to do it. We cannot sit around while people are either getting hurt because of ones lack of responsibility, or someone else is burdened with your undone task. All in all, life is hard, but if we dont perservere, then what's the point in it all? We have to do the things that we dont want to do. It's what makes us all who we are.
I really liked the passage you chose from Dracula. I feel it conveyed a message that was very obvious, but again hidden if not read thoroughly. It was a very hard challenge, eradicating Dracula, for those men to do especially Arthur because in the process he had to destroy his beloved Lucy. To be honest, I don’t know if I would ever be able to eliminate my true love, but he had to do what he had to do. The part I really wanted to comment on was your interpretation of the passage. I totally agree with Van Helsing because when a person is so emotionally attached to something, it can be nearly impossible to let it go. As I stated before, I don’t think I would be able to really let go of my true love. It is a lot harder than it seems. However, letting go of that fear does allow a person to grow. It not only shows courage, but a lot of strength. Sometimes it takes a lot more strength to walk away from something, than to keep it at hand.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this book over the summer, I never really realized this message of facing your fears. It is a very powerful piece of advice. I am glad you were able to enlighten me and teach me a little something new about this novel.
Thank you :)