İNGİLİZ/AMERİKAN EDEBİYATI I

Bram Stoker interviewed Winston Churchill and published articles on the censorship of fiction. He favored the censorship of the immoral sexual content in fiction in his ‘The Censorship of Fiction’  published in Nineteenth Century and After in 1908

It is quite obvious in the novel that Stoker read much on the Eastern European folklore related to the vampires. However, his vampires differ from those of others as Count Dracula was not depicted like a zombie just sucking blood.

The 19th century witnessed an interest in modern psychology and psychiatry. Freud and others used techniques like hypnosis and trance and investigated the unconscious mind of the human. All these concerns about the human mind are reflected in the novel. It was also the era that embraced scientific and rational thoughts against the religious beliefs. Darwin’s ideas dominated the era and are reflected especially in Jonathan Harker and Dr. Seward’s characters,

One important point about Dracula is the depiction of women sexuality. The characters like Lucy (before she became a vampire) and Mina are depicted as pure and moral whereas the three weird sisters at Dracula’s castle are depicted as sexually immoral creatures.

The novel starts with the records of Jonathan Harker’s journal. The whole novel is based on letters, diaries, notes, telegrams and newspaper articles.

Mina Murray has a friend called Lucy Westenra. Lucy and Mina write each other and from the letters, we learn that Lucy is proposed by three men on the same day: Dr. John Seward who runs a mental institution, Mr. Quincey Morris who is an American adventurer, and Mr. Arthur Holmwood who is a noble English man.

The Gothic fiction involves supernatural elements such as ghosts, demons, monsters, goblins and vampires. The settings in Gothic fiction are generally dark and deserted castles, ancient remnants and haunted houses. However, epistolary narration does not mean that it has to be a Gothic fiction.

Although the settings change according to the narration, the common point among all settings
is the dominating gloomy tone.

Professor Van Helsing is not blinded with scientific point of view. He is an open-minded old fellow who finds out how to destroy Dracula based on his knowledge of the Eastern folklore and superstitions. He is the only character who possesses a mind open enough to contemplate and address Dracula’s dark powers.

Mina is clever and has an extraordinary brain that is unusual for a woman. She knows the train tables by heart, she is good at organization and she is the one who brings the pieces together in order to understand and destroy the Count. Moreover, she uses technology well as she is speedy in typewriting and curious about using Dr. Seward’s phonograph. However, she uses all these to help her husband, which shows that she is dutiful and domestic.

Count Dracula considers himself coming from noble blood. He even connects his bloodline to Attila the Hun. All these records make it quite clear why Count has aristocratic manners and knows a lot about history.

Bram (Abraham) Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1847. His father was a civil servant and his mother was a charity worker and a writer. He studied math at Trinity College and after graduation became a civil servant just like his father. In the meantime, he worked as a journalist and a drama critic. He joined the drama circuits and met actor Henry Irving who later became his lifelong friend. Stoker published his first novel The Snake’s Pass in 1890, which was inspired much by the Irish tales and legends.

The reason why Dracula has aristocratic manners and knows a lot about history is that he considers himself coming from noble blood and connects his bloodline to Attila the Hun.

Dracula is an example of Gothic fiction which was very popular especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Gothic fiction involves supernatural elements such as ghosts, demons, monsters, goblins and vampires. The Gothic atmosphere created through the Count Dracula’s castle continues throughout the novel.

Telegram and phonograph are the sources of narration in the novel.  The telegrams are received in a very fast way and even the phonograph is used so effectively in short instances even though the machine is heavy and difficult to manage for long recordings.

Although the settings change according to the narration in Dracula, the common point among all settings is the dominating gloomy tone. When the setting is the Castle Dracula, the tone is gloomy and dark since Jonathan is a prisoner in the castle and the events are told from his point of view.

Mina Murray is the representative of a Victorian woman. She is loyal and submissive and she is ready to do anything for her beloved ones. As a typical behavior of Victorian people, she observes everything around and records detailed diaries.

Count Dracula is the evil character against whom all other main characters fight. He is of a noble family who led battles against the Turks and many others.

Dracula owns an estate called Carfax and when the main characters search for Dracula the setting shifts to Carfax. After the crew of light follows Dracula, the settings change hastily.

Professor Van Helsing comes from Amsterdam to solve the mystery on Lucy’s illness. He is Dr. Seward’s mentor and is a trustable man. Unlike the others like Dr. Seward and Jonathan Harker, he is not blinded with scientific point of view. He is an open-minded old fellow who finds out how to destroy Dracula based on his knowledge of the Eastern folklore and superstitions.