Dracula - Estimated Read Time = 7 hours
This Article - Estimated Read Time = 20 minutes
Time This Article Saves You = 6 hours and 40 minutes
*Most books need to be read twice before they can really be understood. This article saves you time & effort by helping you reach a solid understanding with just one read.
Dracula - Podcast Episode
It’s hard to overestimate the influence of Dracula, within literature itself, and beyond. Countless novels, short stories, TV shows, and movies have spawned all from this one lone novel.
As the authoritative work, it defined the nature of the vampire. And in doing so, it has captured imaginations, chilled spines, and inspired artists for over a century.
In terms of origins, it’s impressive that Dracula even exists.
Bram Stoker had a full life, even aside from his literary endeavors. He was the personal manager of the actor, Henry Irving, which involved enough tasks of its own, in addition to managing Irving’s London theatre. Plus, he was a family man. Yet somehow, he pieced together enough scraps of time across a few years to craft this manuscript. In the summer of 1897, Dracula was published.
Truth be told, while the novel was warmly received and praised in its own day, what really catapulted its status over the long haul was the 1931 cinematic adaptation, Dracula, starring the Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi. Since the release of that film to massive popularity and acclaim, Dracula has never ceased to see the broad, burning, glaring light of day.
But for all of the popularity and influence the question still remains, what to make of it?
My two cents are that several themes exist, that are all worthwhile studies—most prominent among them, however, is the novel’s suggestion that we reconsider our perspective concerning those we deem to be villains in our own lives, because if we only knew their whole story, we might think differently.
Story Recap - Spoiler Alert!
As an epistolary novel, Dracula has a unique literary construction—it’s told entirely from documents written by the characters, including diaries, letters and telegrams, and even a ship log. Stoker’s feat in design is impressive, crafting this novel like an architect, fashioning each document in its proper voice, and then organizing them perfectly, so that the narrative unfolds naturally for the reader.
This is a particularly inventive strategy for a horror story, because it enables the story to be relayed through multiple points of view that all have limited knowledge. There’s not one person narrating from a finished perspective. They’re all figuring things out as they go, and there are moments where the reader knows more than they do—because you have all the documents.
Furthermore, this strategy creates the ability to draw documents written earlier in the story, like Jonathan Harker’s diary, into the narrative later on. It’s a brilliant style that adds so much tension and nuance.
Now, onto the story itself.
Intro - Harker’s Diary - (chs. 1-4)
The first four chapters are Jonathan Harker’s entries into his diary, recording his journey to Dracula’s castle, and his experiences once inside.
Throughout Transylvania, he’s warned several times about going to Dracula’s castle, yet he persists on his business anyway. Once inside, he quickly learns that he’s trapped, and slowly begins to comprehend the nature of his captor.
This section bears an overwhelming sense of doom, and sets the tone for the entire novel. It ends with a cliffhanger, as Jonathan Harker struggles to know whether his sanity is still intact or not, and records his intentions to make one final attempt at escaping the castle. Then, the next chapter transfers our attention to England, without word or hint as to what happened to Harker.
The Fall of Lucy Westenra - (chs. 5-16)
At the close of Harker’s diary, we know one certain thing: Dracula is coming to England.
This new section opens by introducing new characters, and establishing the relational connections between them. For example, we meet Lucy Westenra, through her own diary, and read her exchange of letters with her friend, Mina, the fiancé of Jonathan Harker.
Early on, we learn that Lucy is the beloved of several men, since she receives three marriage proposals in quick succession from three different men.
Quincy Morris - the American, who is a man of few words.
Dr. John Seward - who studied under the renowned Dutch intellectual, Van Helsing, and who runs an insane asylum, and has been dealing with one particularly interesting patient named Renfield, who plays an important role later on.
Arthur Godalming - an English aristocrat, who gains the title of Lord throughout the novel.
The men are all friends, but all share the same love for Lucy. She turns down Morris and Seward, but accepts the proposal of Godalming.
Then, trouble strikes.
Mina visits Lucy Westenra in the seaside town of Whitby, which just so happens to host one of Dracula’s properties—Carfax Abbey.
One day, in a horrid, foggy storm, an unmanned ship, wobbling about, at the mercy of the wind with full sails arisen, wanders into the port. When the ship miraculously lands, a large dog bounds off and sprints across the countryside. When the ship is boarded, a ghastly tale is uncovered.
Only one man is on board, and he is dead. His lifeless body leans against the mast, because his wrists have been lashed to it. In the ship’s log, they find a mysterious account of what transpired.
One by one, the sailors slowly disappeared on the journey, without any explanation. Until every last one was gone, save the man at the mast. As the reader, you know what they don’t—Dracula has arrived in England.
The thread that connects Dracula to Lucy is her unfortunate weakness for sleepwalking, which makes her easy prey. Dracula finds her alone outside one night, and drinks from her veins. From that point forward, he continues to satisfy his thirst on her blood, and each time her health fails considerably.
Dr. John Seward learns of her struggling health, and tries to help. Eventually, he sends for Dr. Van Helsing, his old and beloved teacher, to come to his aid.
Van Helsing arrives, and conducts several transfusions of blood to help Lucy, drawing from the veins of Godalming, Seward, Morris, and himself to supply her with the resource she’d been drained of.
In the end, she dies. BUT—she doesn’t stay dead.
She becomes a vampire.
Van Helsing suspects this, and concocts a strategy to convince the others. Once they’re all on the same page, they perform the necessary deeds to set her soul free. This involves stabbing a wooden stake through her chest, stuffing her mouth full of garlic, and severing her head from her body. Pretty gruesome. But through this, her soul is set free, and her afterlife is restored.
So, at this point, a woman the characters all love has been lost forever. Count Dracula is still at large in England, and they all are finally convinced that he is a reality.
They vow to do rid the earth of this monster. However, before they can, unfortunately, the stakes are raised once more.
The Fall of Mina Harker - (chs. 17-21)
The men make a huge blunder. They decide the burden of their quest is too much for Mina to bear, and decide to keep her in the dark.
In doing so, they make her vulnerable. Dracula takes full advantage.
Throughout this time, Mina is staying in the home of Dr. John Seward. His home exists in the same building as his asylum, which hosts the patient Renfield. This is significant because vampires cannot enter a residence until they’ve been invited in. But one invitation is all it takes to be able to come and go as they please.
Renfield provides that invitation.
Dracula gains access and preys upon Mina. In fact, he even forces Mina to drink his own blood, something Van Helsing refers to as “The Vampire’s Baptism in Blood.” Following this, Mina begins to transform into a vampire, even prior to her death.
The men soon realize their error and learn of Mina’s fate. The stakes are all the higher now, because unless they are able to destroy Dracula, Mina too will be lost forever to vampirism.
Pursuing Dracula - (chs. 22-27)
A few important aspects of the vampire’s nature play into this final section.
Soil - in order to sleep, the vampire needs soil from its native land. Therefore, Dracula needs Transylvania soil in order to sleep. Without it, he’s hopeless.
Water - vampires have a limited ability to cross running water; they can only do so at low and high tides. Otherwise, they need to be carried across by someone else.
Because of these realities, Dracula’s plot to expand his territory involved shipping coffins filled with Transylvanian soil and dispersing them amongst several properties he’d purchased throughout England. Van Helsing and company locate these coffins and place holy wafers within them, effectively destroying them.
Because of the success of their efforts, Dracula is forced to flee with his one remaining coffin. He finds his way aboard a ship, and rests inside his coffin on board.
If not for Mina, they could’ve let him go. But for her sake, they must now follow him back to Transylvania, and destroy him there.
Through this section, there’s a connection between Mina and Dracula, formed because of Mina’s “baptism in blood.” Dracula is able to draw information from Mina, but she is also able to draw information from him too. This allows them to figure out Dracula’s plan, and trace his travels.
Using this information, they sail to Europe, and board the Orient Express train, in pursuit of his ship. Eventually, they separate into different parties, but then all gather again in the final encounter, just outside Dracula’s castle.
A group of peasants are attempting to deliver Dracula’s coffin back to the castle. They surround the peasants. The sun is mere seconds from setting, upon which Dracula would awaken to his full strength, and overpower them. They battle through the peasants, flip the lid from the coffin, and just as the sun dips beneath the horizon, they stab Dracula through the heart, and sever his head from his body—defeating centuries-old foe, once and for all. His body quickly fades, crumbling into dust.
Resolution (the final note of chapter 27)
One final note, added seven years later, provides a quick summary of what’s transpired since these awful events. New relationships and families have formed. Everyone is well.
A record is provided of how the manuscript was compiled as well, the characters themselves splicing the pieces together. With that, the narrative closes.
An Interpretation - On The Origins of Monsters
As I looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in them turned to triumph.
But, on the instant, came the sweep and flash of Jonathan’s great knife. I shrieked as I saw it shear through the throat; whilst at the same moment Mr. Morris’s bowie knife plunged into the heart.
It was like a miracle but before our very eyes, and almost in the drawing of a breath, the whole body crumbled into dust and passed from our sight.
I shall be glad as long as I live that even in that moment of final dissolution there was in the face a look of peace, such as I never could have imagined might have rested there.
-Dracula, Mina Harker’s record of Dracula’s death
Certain works lend themselves to thematic interpretation better than others. Literary fiction is the genre most well-suited to it, which many of the classics belong to.
But that doesn’t mean the approach can’t be applied beneficially to other genres as well, including those belonging to the realm of literature that could be titled: “Monster’s Lit.”
When it comes to Dracula, one important question to consider might be, have you ever had an enemy? Has there ever existed some person in your life who had so hurt you, that the sole stance of your heart towards them was hatred?
The primary theme of Dracula deals with just such a person.
Jonathan Harker's diary of Dracula’s castle is the hook that catches our attention, and introduces us to our monster. But following this, the next section of the book develops all of these relational connections, allowing us to meet and become attached to the characters.
Then, tragedy befalls one of them, at the hands of our monster. Lucy’s death and vampiric transformation teach us to hate Dracula, because of the loss suffered at his hands. However, we also see the suffering that Lucy endured in her transformation, and see her death as a vampire as an act of mercy, that sets her soul free for eternity.
The angles for mercy are present there, but they’ve not yet been considered. They killed Lucy out of pity and love. They seek to kill Dracula from hatred alone.
Then, Dracula preys upon Mina. Their hatred rises even further, as their passion to destroy him becomes desperate and all-consuming.
During this section of hunting Dracula, Mina first begins to consider a more merciful angle toward their enemy, and speaks it aloud. She recognizes that Dracula too was once a man. To that end, Van Helsing even gives his two cents as to who Dracula was before he became a vampire—Vlad the Impaler (a real historical person).
She begins to humanize her enemy, and to understand that vampirism has preyed upon him as well. For that reason, killing him, though the motivation might be hatred, is actually an act of mercy, love, and pity. Because it is the only action that would set his own soul free, and finally allow him to rest.
This theme is driven even further in the account of Dracula’s death. Seconds prior to his death, hatred alone fills his eyes. But at the moment he dies, just before he crumbles into dust, peace washes over his face.
The novel’s suggestion seems to be that if we have experienced monsters in our lives—people who have hurt us beyond reason—it’s likely because something monstrous happened to them first. Our interaction with them has led to hatred, or resentment, but if we only knew their whole story, we might think differently. Not that that removes any responsibility for their actions, but it does enable us to take a more grounded stance towards them.
At the very least, Dracula teaches us to insert a seed of doubt between our judgment concerning someone and the certainty of our understanding.
In the case of Dracula, whether hatred or loved was their motivation, they still would’ve sought the same end—the destruction of this monster. The case may often be so with us as well, that we still set the same boundaries. But what Dracula may alter, should we heed its message, is the emotional underpinning behind our actions.
This alone could have very significant consequences in shaping the role we play in the stories of others.
Otherwise, living from a place of hatred, because something monstrous happened to us, is one surefire way to become monsters ourselves, whether or not people understand the fullness of what occurred in our own lives. Whether or not they understand why we continue to pass the pain forward that others inflicted upon us. Choosing to hate our enemies is the fastest route to becoming exactly like them.
Because anytime a monster exists, we can know something monstrous happened to create it. Meaning if we wish to not become the villain in someone else’s story, the only way is by dealing well with the villains in our own.
Closing Thoughts - Reconsidering Villains
Matthew 5:43–45
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
-Jesus of Nazareth
Due to the nature of Monster’s Literature, Dracula doesn’t offer us many tips in the way of practicing charity towards our enemies. Garlic in the mouth and stakes to heart aren’t the most helpful ideas.
One avenue I’ve found particularly helpful is prayer.
You may not subscribe to a belief system that affords a place for prayer, but there’s still something to be gleaned from the idea that one concrete way to seek the benefit of someone who’s harmed you is by praying for them.
Whether prayer is actually effective or not, doing so on somebody's behalf can only be for their good—and can never harm them. So, there’s no real risk. Personally, I’ve found the greatest effect it often produces, in these kinds of situations, is healing the heart of the one offering the prayers.
Prayer, more than anything else, has helped me to let go of anger, bitterness, and resentment that I’ve held onto toward others. Because it gave me a way to seek their benefit, while still holding necessary boundaries. And slowly, over time, to release what I had gripped so tightly.
In that regard, perhaps the most significant way to free yourself from the clutches of some real villain, whose influence continues to hold sway in your life even if they were removed from it long ago, is by praying for them.
That’s why my recommendation for making use of what Dracula teaches is prayer—in particular, prayer for the villains who’ve haunted your own life.
Great recap Trev, I actually read along with you on this one. This article was super insightful! Ready for next month, miss you guys!