Dracula and Modernity

Bram Stocker’s novel Dracula was written and became a sensation on the edge of the centuries, thus, it reflected the momentum of inevitable change which was occurring at the time. While the novel is a document of its time, which represents the cultural changes brought by the progress, and resistance against them, it also became a timeless portrayal of the conflict between old and new, tradition and modernity. Dracula himself is a representation of everything old and regressive and the impersonation of dark and bloody side of history. The centre of the book’s plot is him trying to infiltrate and to adjust to the ever-changing new times, ending with an inevitable failure. While this aspect of the book is often overshadowed by its gothic features and horror motifs, Dracula’s tale of something old trying to infiltrate and adjust to the new world since became iconic and timeless. This research focuses on the character of Dracula, as a representation of archaic, and how his conflict with the modernity influenced both worlds. Count Dracula in the novel is not just a character, and not just the mysterious supernatural horror crucial to the gothic novel. He is a quintessential representation of everything old, regressive, forgotten and hidden in the annals of the history. The essence of the character can be discovered in the way the Dracula’s character was constructed. Dracula is a mixture of history, mythology, and fiction. Stocker based his iconic character on a real historical personality of Vlad Tepes or Vlad The Impaler, an infamous Romanian Prince, who remained in the history of its country as a heroic figure of the defender. Since Dracula is treated in Romania as a national hero, his crimes are often downplayed and rationalized by the native historians. However, due to his violent ways, Dracula became an epitome of barbaric cruelty of the Middle Ages, a historical scarecrow, whose atrocities became a byword in both historical documents and legends. The Count in the novel is not intended to be the same character as his prototype; there are supposed blood ties and the direct visual resemblance between them. While Vlad The Impaler is a fascinating figure on his own, the choice of a real Eastern European nobleman as a prototype for his monster was an intentional decision by Bram Stocker. The historic rationalization of violence should be taken into consideration, as it provides characters like Dracula with a sense of self-righteousness, which they can use to commit more evils. The other side of Dracula’s character is vampirism. Stocker uses mythological creature present in one or the other form in most of the mythologies. At the same time, the author takes liberties with the vampire lore, combines different elements and invents new ones. In Stocker’s novel, the vampire is not just a bloodsucking immortal creature; it has other supernatural powers like telepathy and transformation into animals. Some traditional features of the vampire – like blood consumption, fear of garlic and inability to enter the house without permission - are present. Dracula becomes a powerful and influential creature, who can infiltrate modern Western society on different levels; however, his supernatural essence of a vampire was crucial to the novel’s gothic horror nature. At the same time, Dracula’s supernatural presence can be seen as a metaphor of invisible influences of dangerous forces he embodies. Overall, the character of Count Dracula and his influences in the novel represent what modern people fear most of the past: the superstitions of old beliefs, powerful political and economic influences of reactionary monarchies of old Europe and xenophobia present in the Western society which Britain represents in the novel. It is important to notice that Dracula as a character does not exist in a vacuum; he has a certain aura surrounding him. This invisible force or atmosphere embodies old and eastern, which threatens the modern Western world. The association of old and Eastern was culturally rooted in the minds of Western people in the period. Even without the character of Dracula physically present, the essence of what he represents in the novel can be seen nonetheless. This presence is described by Jonathan Harker in the earlier chapters of the novel, as he sees how civilization becomes less evident the further he travels to Transylvania, he remarks that even trains become less punctual the further from Britain he gets. At first, Harker is fascinated by the old culture; however, soon, he realizes that the powers of old present a real threat to what he calls “mere modernity.” Dracula himself is the personalization of this threat, and his journey to the West is the greatest fear of people like Harker and perhaps, for the author himself. In the world of “modernity,” the developing civilization of the West, there is no place for old influences, which can undermine the confidence of progressive people in the direction their civilization have chosen. One directly unanswered and debatable question of the novel is: why does Dracula tend to travel to the West so strongly? It is evident in the novel that the Count was preparing for this journey for a long time, studying Western culture from books and newspapers. The Count himself explains his desires: I long to go through the crowded streets of your mighty London, to be in the midst of the whirl and rush of humanity, to share its life, its change, its death, and all that makes it what it is. This explanation is obviously deceptive in its naivety, as the reader later discovers that Counts true intentions are more sinister. Still, disregarding the true motifs, this is a risky venture for a strange being like an ancient vampire, who is destined to become a stranger in a strange land. It is impossible to imagine that such a being does not understand the dangers he can face. There are several explanations for the Count’s journey. Firstly, his desire is to remain relevant in the changing world. At the same time, he brings his world, his methods and ways along with him. He wants to know a new world, but as soon as he gets there, he starts to change it. Secondly, Dracula sees the world of modernity as something vulnerable to his mysterious powers, as the modern world is so absorbed with its new knowledge and technologies to resist ancient evil. Thirdly, as a direct descendant of medieval monarchs he desires to widen his influences and to create a new empire, by infiltrating the centre of the modern world. As the novel’s narrative is presented through journals and letters of the main characters with the exception of Dracula himself, his original motivation remains unclear. As Stoker does not provide Dracula with a personal narrative, unlike the opposing side, his views remain open for interpretation and speculation. The researcher Maud Ellman draws a connection between one of the forms Dracula takes in the novel - rats - and medieval feudalism: “Stocker’s Count Dracula is a feudal tyrant who creates connections with vassals through blood. Yet he also yearns for the liquidity of modern capital…” . The researcher elaborates that Dracula used different means of infiltrating the modern society: supernatural – through his personal evil presence, telepathic – through direct influence on other people and economic, by purchasing real estate in England. The researcher Huston takes the idea of Dracula not as a single entity, but as an embodiment of an entire group even further. According to her, Dracula is also a side in a symbolic economic conflict. Huston writes: Indeed, Dracula is not only the name of an individual shareholder but also the designation of his corporation, as it were. The term ‘‘Dracula’’ is itself an amalgamation, naming an individual person; an amalgamated corporation of vampires of which he is the brain. Thus, the conflict between Dracula – representing the Old Europe, and the group of heroes from England and America – representing quickly developing West, can mirror the political processes going on in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, which eventually led to the World War I. Whether the reasoning, Dracula’s intentions are far from harmless, thus, a conflict between Dracula, as a symbol of the old power, and the developing world, represented by his opposition, is inevitable. For the team of reluctant “vampire hunters” fighting against Dracula is inevitable. As researchers Elbert and Marshall put it: Dracula is an atavism, a call from dark European past, which needs to be dealt with in rapidly modernizing late Victorian era… Dracula combines ancient superstitions with a thirst for new knowledge… to blend into London’s society. Thus, to “deal with” the enemy who threatens their order of things, the heroes have to resort to the measures that are not so civilized. While the book gives a definitive answer to the question of which side wins in this conflict, its true results are more divisive and are open to interpretation. When faced with the horror, which Dracula brings with himself, the characters which represent civilization, modernity of the West find themselves unprepared and defenceless. Their knowledge does not provide them with an instrument to fight an ancient evil, thus, they are forced to resort to old, regressive, and barbaric means. The character of Professor Van Helsing is the connection between old and new, which helps the powers of modernity to overcome Dracula, as he is also the bearer of traditional knowledge. The obvious conclusion that suggests itself is that remembering the past and honouring the traditions is important to evade the destructive powers from the past. However, there is a downside to the way Van Helsing and his companions defeat Dracula. To destroy an ancient evil, they use violent methods, thus acknowledging their helplessness and sinking to the moral level of their foes. Such violent outcome of the story only confirms Harker’s early thoughts on the helplessness of modernity against “powers of old.” It is not new knowledge, not technology that defeats Dracula at the end, its violence and superstition, conquering equally barbaric horror of the past. In conclusion, Bram Stoker’s novel is an important literary and cultural document of its time, as it captures not only the inevitable flow of the progress during the turn of ages, but also dark historic roots that can easily drag the society back to barbarism. Dracula as a character and the way the “civilized” people of the West react to his presence, show how easily the combination of superstition, fear and prejudice can reverse the social progress. At the same time, this character is an embodiment of the old world, trying to catch up with the changes and not to get lost in the flow of time. The old world which desires to remain relevant without changing, and the new world trying to continue its movement, fearing to be set back by its roots, will always clash in a conflict, which Stocker’s novel brilliantly depicts. The essay was written by the professional writer from https://essaysempire.com/ custom essays empire service - Jenna Hetry.