In the story “Dracula”, composed by Bram Stoker, the literature of psychology is well presented. “Dracula” was composed in 1897, the time in which psychology was first being introduced. The novel “Dracula” was written into an epistolary formation known as a series of letters, newspaper clippings, and diary entries. Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer, travels to Transylvania to presume a real estate transaction with the Count Dracula. Amongst his arrival he suspects peculiar activities occurring. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” symbolizes the functions of the human mind and how paranoia affects characters, which marks the beginning of the psychological era.
A severe economic depression, as well as the beginning of psychology as a social science, marked the 1890’s. Paranoia is known to be a thought process, heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid beliefs can also be associated with the feelings of powerlessness and victimization. When Christian von Ehrenfels founded gestalt psychology, William James also published “Principles of Psychology”, which introduces readers to four methods of psychology: analysis, introspection, experiment, and statistical studies. This period experienced a tremendous amount of growth within the scientific studies of the psychological mind, and can be known as the experimental stage of social sciences.
The story begins as Jonathan Harker, a lawyer, goes to Castle Dracula in Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction with the great Count Dracula. During his travels he experiences newfound foods, sight seeing, and some unusual behaviors expressed by others. In the midst of his journey, an old lady approaches Harker in a very hysterical way asking, “Mu...
... middle of paper ...
...f danger in it, “for there was a sudden fierce, sidelong look which meant killing” (Stoker 208).
The study of mental disorders and psychology was well demonstrated throughout the text. As a psychologist, Dr. Seward also helped show references that supported the idea of mental disorders. As the mood of the story begins normally, it slowly advances into an insane story line filled with vampires, and tainted animals. As the mood progresses throughout the story, the characters also start displaying further extensive behaviors to help support the behavioral disorders. The idea of reality, and paranoia is well stated in this article when Jodar states, “Thus, the boundaries between reality, dream, fantasy and paranoia are blurred in a world in which the four of them combine to create a collective, delusive monster embodied in the figure of Dracula, the vampire” (Jodar 37).
own will, which embodies the fear of Stoker. The corruption of science can be view in many parts in the novel, such as the scene when Dracula forces Mina to drink his blood as an act of rape, “Her face was ghastly, with a pallor… eyes were mad of terror.”(Stoker 301). Nevertheless, one can view it as an act of technological creation and is a characteristic of a scientist. In this act Mina Harker is turned into a medium of connection for his sound and enables him to extend his manipulation. Stoker represents the corruption of science through human experimentation since it is seen as a taboo. One can say she was converted into a telephone, which is how Dr. Seward describes her functions, “same power that compels her silence may compel her speech”
The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker has plentiful examples of key concepts we have examined in class including: Purity and impurity, magical thinking, strong emotions such as disgust and shame, , formalization, and myth. In this essay I will summarize events that take place within the novel when the protagonists deal with Dracula and then relate these events to the key concepts to demonstrate why the characters view him as dangerous, and therefore something to be avoided completely.
The diary entries or notes used in ‘Dracula’ are fragmented and have an epistolary structure ‘Jonathon Harker’s Journal’. This emphasises each of the character’s feelings of isolation and loneliness, adding to the appeal of the reader. During the entries, Stok...
Bram Stoker’s Dracula includes themes of death, love, and sex. Stoker’s use of empiricism utilizes the idea that everything is happening “now”. The book offers clear insight into who is evil without explicitly saying it. Stoker’s interest in empiricism uses British womanhood as a way to distinguish between good and evil.
Birge, Barbara. "Bram Stoker's DRACULA: The Quest for Female Potency in Transgressive Relationships." Psychological Perspectives. 1994. 22-36.
In a world with ghosts, monsters, demons, and ghouls, there is one being that resonates in everyone’s mind. The idea of these creatures can be found in almost every culture on the planet in one form or another. They prey on the weak and they feast on the blood of their victims. They are compared to a fox for being quick and cunning, but also rather seductive in their nature. With their unholy existence one can only describe them as almost demonic. So what is this horrid creature? Well it is none other than the vampire, a creature as old as time itself. Throughout history there have been many different variations of the vampire, each with their own unique abilities. But one cannot help but mention
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.
Grave and somewhat solid in his tone, he is overflowing with purpose. The danger he takes in disclosing his contention's potential defects and testing the readers judgments will yield the uneasiness that penetrates his exposition, as well as additionally individuals' personalities. His dialect and tone, withdrawing from the scholastic investigation of monsters, exhibits a genuine yet energetically inciting demeanor to the group of onlookers. We see the modest, unexpected comical inclination that he has well covered up under the earnestness and details of a
Dracula: a name that inspires thoughts of intrigue, fear, romance and in some a life style that is all its own. Yet one thing that is not always known is that there is a true story hidden behind the legend of Dracula. More than one actually, one in which a man is a demon who executes a hundred thousand men, impaling them, and dinning on their blood. Then there is the story of a patriot who cares for his people and is only doing what he must to protect them from the invading armies. The latter of which is less known, yet in the most famous book about Dracula, Bram Stoker brings forth many of the true facts about Vlad Țepeș also known as Vlad the Impaler. The tricky thing comes when we look at why Bram Stoker chose what he did for the book, and later what Coppola chose to leave out or modify from the novel when he directed the movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992. Stoker wrote his based more on a German view of Vlad while Coppola modified his based on a more educated modern understanding of the times in which Vlad Țepeș lived, one of which Vlad was seen as a hero to the people of Hungary not initially the savage he is made out to be in many of the earlier studies.
Stoker chooses to lay some clues out for the readers in order to help them interpret Dracula. The distinct warning presented on the page before the introduction saying the narrators wrote to the best of their knowledge the facts that they witnessed. Next is the chapter where Jonathan Harker openly questions the group’s interpretations of the unsettling events that occur from meeting Dracula, and the sanity of the whole. Several characters could be considered emotionally unstable. Senf suggests that Stoker made the central normal characters hunting Dracula ill-equipped to judge the extraordinary events with which they were faced. The central characters were made two dimensional and had no distinguishing characteristics other then the...
From Transylvania to Hollywood, vampires have transformed from unfamiliar, mysterious personalities to one of the most dominant monsters in the horror genre today. Vampires are one of the oldest and most noted creatures in mythology, with many variations of them around the world. Although the most famous version is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, many variants have come before and after telling of the same legend with their own added ideas and modifications to relate to their cultures. Today, there is a multitude of literary and film works that convey and resurface peoples’ fear of vampires. As gothic works like Dracula, by Bram Stoker and Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire directed by Scott Jeralds share certain traits reflective of the genre;
Since the 19th Century, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has entertained its readers taking them to heights of excitement in the climax
From the whispers of townsfolk spreading legends and tales of what goes bump in the night to the successful novels, plays and film adaptations, the story of the vampire has remained timeless and admired. One of the main writers responsible for this fame and glory is Bram Stoker with his rendition Dracula, written in 1897. Dracula follows the accounts of Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr. John Seward, Lucy Westenra, and Dr. Van Helsing, through their journal entries and letters, newspaper articles, and memos. Bram’s vision for Dracula is both terrifying and captivating as the reader follows a small group of men and women led by Dr. Van Helsing through their attempt to retaliate against Count Dracula’s efforts to spread his undead chaos and blood
The use of hypnotism is extensive throughout the last few chapters of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Van Helsing places Mina in a hypnotic state or trance numerous times in order to locate Dracula and to learn about his premeditated actions. Stoker’s great use of hypnotism is what leads to Dracula’s destruction in the end. However, what influences Stoker to use hypnotherapy in order to kill off the most important character in his book? Taking a New Historical approach can help a reader understand how Stoker was influenced by his culture to incorporate hypnosis into Dracula and why he chose it as a method for destroying Dracula, while healing Mina.
Maher, B. A., & Maher, W. B. (1985). Psychopathology: II. From the eighteenth century to modern times. In G. A. Kimble & K. Schlesinger (Eds.), Topics in the history of psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 295-329). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.