Dracula Exposed In Bram Stoker's Dracula

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When thinking about the first vampires that make in an appearance, Dracula will always come to mind first. Although he is first, that does not mean Dracula has not been influenced by a historical figure, Vlad the Impaler, and evolved from ancient thoughts on vampires. The setting, Victorian England, heavily influences Dracula because it describes a time period where there were very strict rules and ideas of how everyone in society should behave. Sexuality, religion, and abnormality were three major concerns for the society of that period and Dracula embodies those fears thus making him scary. Not only does Dracula symbolize these fears but he also shown to have many different qualities from past vampires. Throughout history, vampires have been …show more content…

Some of the scariest monsters are known to be vampires yet there is an increasing amount of that image being changed. Through the use of romanticism, the idea of vampires has transitioned from monstrous beast to a tempting seducer. The movie manipulates Dracula to showcase this idea by being overly sexualized including the way he behaves especially around Mina and Lucy. Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula embodies characteristics of older prototypes making the character a cultural artifact and a representation of society’s biggest fears during the Victorian time period. The movie shows through Dracula that the idea of vampires in literature and media is changing due to the increasing use of romanticism. With this in mind, looking back to the inspiration behind Dracula and the idea behind vampires is extremely helpful before trying to analyze the character. The character Dracula is rumored to be based off Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was a Romanian warrior and ruler that defended against the Ottomans. He followed in the same footsteps as his father named “Vlad II, who had pledged to defend Christianity in Eastern …show more content…

Dracula represented the outsider’s thoughts on sexuality which is that it is not something that needs to hidden away. Throughout the movie, Dracula has never hidden his sexual prowess or his attractive qualities. When Dracula is around Mina, he speaks to her in a way that is meant to have an underlying sexual meaning and he even uses his good looks to seduce her. This scares Victorians and is even shown in that time period’s literature where “attraction gets to be manifested and rejected by describing it and then casting it out as demonic on the extant model of Keat’s poem” (Najarian 130). Keats being a Victorian poet is able to show the kind of ideas that Victorians held especially since he liked to write with a sexual undertone. He also liked to show through his writing how sex was not acceptable as well as many other things involved with eroticism during that time period. Purposefully trying to be luring or attractive was seen as inappropriate, distasteful, and even goes so far as satanic. They believe it goes against society’s rules and even their religious beliefs which mad them fearful of anything that was outside of society. If anyone was seen as different or outside the realm of the normal society, then they were seen as someone to be feared. Dracula

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