Bram Stoker wrote many novels in his life time; he was a brilliant author and could have in fact possibly imagined how significant an impact his novels could have effected literature throughout the ages and more importantly today. Considering Stoker focused on how the past could affect the present and incorporated that ideology into many of his novels including Dracula. Dracula has come to be one of the most well-known pieces of literature in the world. Vampires are everywhere, in many fiction novels and all over TV, which garnered their inspiration from Stoker’s novel Dracula. Although this novel was controversial at the time it was published during the Victorian era, it has accumulated success and has continued to survive and thrive throughout the nearly century and a half since it has been published. It has attributed much to the literary world. This epistolary novel put a spot light on the mysterious, sexuality and mystery that readers today adore.
None of this could have been possible without Stoker himself, he “was born on November 8, 1847, in Dublin Ireland. He was one of seven children, he was ill as a child early on, but that never held him back. In 1864, Stoker enrolled at the University of Dublin, or Trinity College surprisingly to study mathematics” (Merriman 2). “Despite his adolescent illness he became involved in athletics. He graduated from Trinity College with honors in 1890” (Merriman 2). “After ten years of civil service at Dublin Castle”, he left with his passion for the arts to write theatre reviews and “soon established a friendly relationship with Henry Irving. Irving offered Stoker a management position at his Lyceum Theatre in London. Soon thereafter Stoker began to write novels” (Bram Stoker Biography...
... middle of paper ...
... Dundurn, 1997. Print.
C. D. Merriman." Bram Stoker." - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 OcDUPDt. 2013.
"Bram Stoker’s Dracula." Bram Stoker’s Dracula. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
"In 1847, Bram Stoker, the Author of Dracula Was Born." Readwritethink.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
"Bram Stoker Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Amanda, M Ponosky. "Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Reflection and Rebuke of Victorian Society." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Bohn, Michelle L. “Shadow of the Vampire: Understanding the Transformations of an Icon in Pop Culture”. Texas State University College; Mitte Honors Program. 2007.
Shear, Matthew. “Bram Stoker Books: How ‘Dracula’ Created the Modern Vampire”. The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 08 Nov. 2012. Web. 11. Nov. 2013
This fictional character was soon to be famous, and modified for years to come into movie characters or even into cereal commercials. But the original will never be forgotten: a story of a group of friends all with the same mission, to destroy Dracula. The Count has scared many people, from critics to mere children, but if one reads between the lines, Stoker’s true message can be revealed. His personal experiences and the time period in which he lived, influenced him to write Dracula in which he communicated the universal truth that good always prevails over evil. Religion was a big part of people’s lives back in Stoker’s time.
In 1897, Bram Stoker had Dracula published for the first time. Dracula is considered, by many, Stoker’s best work. It is an exemplary example of Gothic literature. In Dracula, three essential motifs of Gothic literature are revenants, cemeteries, and shapeshifting.
Bram Stoker was born into a lower-class Irish family in late 1847. He grew up with six siblings, at least four of which were brothers. Throughout his childhood, Stoker was an invalid, sickened with an unknown disease. Many days were spent listening to his mother tell stories of Ireland. It is thought that her stories played a large role in his writing (Stoker 5). Perhaps due to Stoker’s childhood illness and relationship with his brothers, his writing in Dracula exhibited a great deal of homosociality, the idea of same-sex relationships on a social level, rather than romantically. In the novel, Stoker introduces the idea of homosociality by creating a friendship and camaraderie between the main male characters.
The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different Dracula was. As the story unfolded, Jonathan realized he is not just a guest, but a prisoner as well. The horror in the novel not only focuses on the “vampiric nature” (Soyokaze), but also on the fear and threat of female sexual expression and aggression in such a conservative Victorian society.
Stevenson, John Allen. A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula. 2nd ed. Vol. 103. N.p.: Modern Language Association, 1988. JSTOR. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .
Vampires have been viewed with fear and fascination for centuries. Of all the vampires in literature, Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula is probably the most prominent vampire. Recently, there has been an upsurge of public interest in socially acceptable vampires, like the Cullens in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. This essay will contrast Stoker’s Dracula with Carlisle Cullen, one of the newer vampires from the Twilight series. They will be examined in terms of their origins and how they dealt with immortality.
Bram Stoker’s Gothic novel, Dracula, intrigues us in a well plotted story and reveals to us the power in Dracula and how that very forbidden power takes control of both men and women.
...cula: The Vampire and the Critics. Ed. Margaret L. Carter. Studies in Speculative Fiction 19. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1988. 231-45.
Since the 19th Century, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has entertained its readers taking them to heights of excitement in the climax
The story of Dracula started long before Brahm Stoker wrote his famous novel. Vampires have been in the minds of people since the early ninth century and, perhaps, even before that. The fact that the stories are still common after all these years brings out the question of, why? What makes these vampire stories so popular? The answer may be in the material itself. Taking a wide selection of vampire stories, including Brahm Stoker's classic, reveals a long list of similarities. Of course, not all stories mirror the others in all aspects of images but the images that do repeat are the ones most people readily associate with vampires. I propose that the reason Dracula and other stories of vampires are still so widely known is because they have those steady characteristics that make them easily recognizable. A picture of one culture's vampire will be very similar to another vampire of another culture, thus making it a popular character.
The Victorian England setting and culture of “Dracula” by: Bram Stoker attributes to many stylistic components and character behaviours in the novel. One of which is the behaviour and actions characters express that are a result of sexual repression. In Dracula, sexual repression is best expressed by the character’s desire to create. This desire is exemplified by the way Dracula creates other vampires, Lucy’s sexual desires, and the men’s expression of aggression. The creation of other Vampires is evident through events including Dracula’s aggressive encounters with Lucy and Mina, and the fact the Dracula is building up a Vampire army. Lucy’s sexual desires are exemplified through her longing to have sex with multiple men and how she compares
Since the book, Dracula has been published, it has excited so many of its readers. Due to the combination of its symbolism, themes and characters. In order for anyone to comprehend what is beyond the story, readers must have a knowledge or the plot of the book itself as well as Bram Stoker's own life. When they have fully understood him and the story, it becomes fairly easy for the audience to break down the characters, as well as the themes and symbolism that lie within. Although many people see Dracula as a big gothic story about vampires, the author uses his symbols,his characters and his variety of themes to show that Dracula can bee seen through a brand new historical standpoint as well as a biblical standpoint.
There is much criticism of Dracula. There is so much symbolism depicted in the novel that many argue as to what exactly Bram Stoker was trying to get across to his audience. Some believe that his suppressed feelings of homosexuality were shows in the novel, as well as other things such as the fear of the anti-Victorian beliefs of that time. Broker did not survive to see how popular his novel became, so no one will ever truly know what bottled up feelings Stoker had while writing Dracula.
Dixon, S. “Dracula and the New Woman: the Underlying Threat in Bram Stoker’s Classic.” Cross-Sections 1.2 (2006): 47-56.
The author’s op-ed piece was published in 2009, the very peak of the vampire contagion, where one could find these creatures wherever they looked. This pandemonium that arose from vampires is what drove del Toro and Hogan to pen “Why Vampires Never Die.” Furthermore, the purpose behind this essay is to give an abridged description of the past of vampires for the people who had become fanatics of the creatures. Also, this essay showed how vampires have persisted in pop culture. They suggest that vampires have been remade by diverse cultures at different times, and this change echoes that society's angst and concerns. The novelist’s imply that Stroker’s Dracula may mirror an exaggerated human on a prim...