Bram Stoker’s Dracula

How Bram Stoker Uses Gothic Conventions to Create an Atmosphere of Suspense and Fear for the Reader Dracula is one of the most well-know novels, it was written by Abraham Stoker. At the time Dracula was released in 1897, people regarded it as being a romantic horror, with some elements of fantasy and also it was especially famous for it's gothic conventions. In modern times the term 'gothic' can be regarded as being barbarous, offensive and uncouth. Although many people may not regard it as being scary it is still associated with the 'unknown'. In the late 18th and early 19th century, gothic ways of living were very common in the Eastern part of Europe, especially in the medieval times.

Even though Dracula was published many years late , it brought a whole other type of literature to the board. In this century there was a fascination with Gothic horror and these two novels fit in perfectly. All throughout the Dracula, a feeling of failure and doom prevails because of his supernatural powers. Dracula ... ... middle of paper ... ...n. As you can see, the evil features are in both Dracula and Frankenstein, but the presentation of this evil is different in both novels. Rarely has another novel been able to come close to the dismay that the witness experiences in Dracula.

However, at present, the true horror literature in its written form mostly aims to entertain. Its forerunner, the Gothic novel, rose in the eighteenth century and was extremely popular until the nineteenth century in England. The meaning of ‘gothic’ varies exceedingly. The word initially refers to German tribes that took part in overthrowing Rome. This word can be perceived as a synonymous for barbarous and dreadful.

But what does Dracula really represent? In the novel " Dracula" by Bram Stoker, Dracula represents the main fear of the rest of the additional sums me of the characters and the trauma of Jonathan Harker In this novel from Bram Stoker's Dracula is the main point of the story simply because he is the evil vampire trying to take the lives of innoc... ... middle of paper ... ...ecome a very important role. As we continued reading because the life of Mina Harker was threatened by the count. Also as we learn by reading the novel, we all. Can see that Dracula represents blood because blood is the life and Dracula lives off about blood Bram Stoker gives us the impression of fear coming from Count Dracula but we know that when he was alive he was a very caring man.

One of the genre were supernatural features are most common is Gothic novel and vampire stories. Vampire lives are full of supernatural events and characteristics. They themselves are supernatural. By reading vampire fiction, people recklessly drop into the abyss of darkness and magic that cannot be explained and understood in natural or scientific way. This supernatural atmosphere attracts the readers and makes them to wish to see it by their own eyes even if it frightens.

Gothic novels were a type of fiction that became popular in England during the 1700’s and early 1800’s (Dunn 279). Gothic novels were mysteries that often involved the supernatural and heavily filled with horror (?). Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein was one of the most prominent Gothic novels in the time of the Romantics (?). According to Frank J. Dunn, “In the 1800’s, elements of the Gothic novel appeared in other forms of fiction that shared its interest in the terrible and the exotic (279).” Gothic novels follow a set of many characteristics and aspects that help define what it truly is. Gothic novels have many different characteristics: they evoke terror both physical and psychological, they have character that keep themselves isolated in time or space from contemporary l... ... middle of paper ... ... Shelley’s Frankenstein truly displays the true essence of what a Gothic novel should represent through the many different characteristics of a Gothic novel.

Things such as sexual deviance or being improper was seen as a threat to proper Victorian society. Dracula and his mini... ... middle of paper ... ... had vowed revenge upon was dead the creature was overwhelmed with sadness for he had been the only person that he shared any type of relation with. This ending leaving us with the underlying theme of the importance of relationships and the fact that revenge doesn’t always leave us satisfied. Through the close reading and analyzing of literature we can find underlying meaning and symbols to fully understand the text better. Dracula and Frankenstein are two excellent examples of horror stories with famous monsters that, through themes and symbolism can really come to mean much more.

Many people are familiar with the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker. It is typically referred to as a horror story sure to give a good scare. However, Bram Stoker was not merely out to give his Victorian audience a thrill ride. Many symbols and themes, particularly those of the main antagonist Dracula, were brought into the novel to teach a lesson. Oddly enough, Dracula resembles other forces of evil in other religions as well.

It encompasses all aspects that are vital to Gothicism and executes all perfectly. Stoker adds the element of darkness which clearly intensifies the foreboding ambience and he reflects it on every aspect of the book. The theme of superstition and the supernatural that centres on the villain creates an air of ambiguity and uncertainty concerning Dracula. This uncertainty causes a fear in the reader which enhances the gothic genre of the novel. Finally, the same uncertainty that clouds the supernatural elements of the novel drift into the characters understanding of what is real and what is not.

The existence of vampires is significant to occultism as it is the element of the supernatural. There are also references to religion from the start as the first few chapters of the text explains that there are religious symbols such as crucifixes and the church are also mentioned numerous times. The setting of Dracula’s home is described as a mansion which is an archetypal scene for a gothic novel. In both of the novels, it appears that the want to be young and immortal is always linked with evil, for example with Dorian Grey he starts with being a good character and once he becomes obsessed with his youth, he turns evil. With Dracula he is a vampire and is immortal and seeks other people to also become vampires, which shows that the people are being controlled against their own will and shows Dracula to also be evil.