Good Vs. Evil In Dracula By Bram Stoker

In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, The Count overtly represents the epitome of unadulterated evil, a monster incapable of remorse, and one who slaughters without discrepancy. His existence rests on his thirst to taint life, to terminate it or steal it away from the innocent. On the opposite end of the spectrum, his nemeses ardently struggle to preserve the souls of the unknowing. The roles the characters play in this narrative prove unyielding, with distinct boundaries between good and evil. If reality existed in such a simple state of black and white, of evil on one side and good on the other, we would all know easily on which side everyone stands. But, the grey comprises so much of life on Earth, it seems nothing can be defined so simply,

as black fades to white it goes through a thousand iterations in between. People who seem good one day, or even their whole life, suddenly do something abominable, so terrible everyone’s left saying, “But he was such a nice boy.” When thinking of Count Dracula, based on his actions alone, it seems the creature retains no semblance of his former self before his bloodlust was cast upon him -- he has simply become a monster and nothing more. But in the face of evil, however, readers garner sympathy for such a depraved creature, and begin to ponder the black and white, the salvation and condemnation of a dark heart.

The reader finds sympathy with Dracula, perhaps not even consciously at first, but in a similar fashion to his nightly stalking, we all succumb to the power that lies within his still chest, that lifeless void where the monster in all of us

resides.
Keeping one’s deepest desires and urges secret slowly breaks down the heart and mind from within and requires individuals to dwell in the shadows away from society’s expectations. During the Victorian Era, society brutalized those who did not fit the quota of the glorified Victorian citizen and these pariahs then began to live out their existence in the cloak of darkness, fearing that someone would discover them performing a proscribed act (Godfree). Gothic literature grew to be vastly admired throughout Victorian era, and also functioned as a reprieve from the abhorrence of behavior that impeded on the “barriers of normality”(Muskovitz). With the constant pressure to be perfectly moral, many began to think everything they wanted was immoral and wicked. It struck fear into the hearts of so many, that people were scared to be themselves, even around those whom which they shared their most intimate relationships. With the release of Stoker’s Dracula during this time of oppression, readers felt a certain kinship and sympathy with Dracula because he also was made to survive in the shadows in order to endure society’s restraints the same way they did. When reading Dracula, it is understood that each person has a certain darkness to them, and can either act on those urges or hide them away. But by spending so much of one’s existence in the darkness to avoid society it is easy to become the darkness. Dracula is alluring for exactly the same quality that he is loathed and hated; the Victorian decorum does not restrain him in the darkness. Dracula presents an image of irresistible liberty by living in the obscurity, his natural habitat. In the end, the token of Dracula's enticing character - his alluring dominion – also becomes his demise.
Dracula again brings light to the universal truth that each person has their own demons to wrestle with and must make the choice to coexist with them or let them dominate one’s existence. Even though the identical matters of desire, stifled reservations and individual identity are still as pertinent and problematic as they were in Dracula’s time it seems society, over time, has slowly lost its poles and began accepting and pardoning monsters, or monstrous acts. In short, we’ve become apologists for nearly everything. Society lets the blame fall on outside sources; a corrupt childhood, lackluster guidance from adults, government failure, a failing support system, nonetheless, these factors are to blame, not the individual’s actions. Dracula receives much of his sympathy because readers tend to blame outside reasons for his acts of monstrosity. It becomes easy to justify his need for killing because he could not survive any other way, he did not choose this way of life, etcetera. Some readers may rationalize his acts as a way to pardon one’s own wrongdoings. Therefore, the crux of Count Dracula's seductiveness rests upon Stoker’s ability to speak to perceptions, sentiments and societal concerns that were enduring, from Victorian Britain to current times, and would draw readers closer to The Count regardless of his damnation.
As a way of rationalization, it seems easier to attach human like qualities to a frightening thing, a monster like Dracula, to bring that thing in to the world of the known versus the unknown (White).

Mina says of Dracula, “I suppose anyone ought to pity anything so hunted as is the Count. That is just it: this Thing is not human—not even beast. To read Dr. Seward’s account of poor Lucy’s death, and what followed, is enough to dry up the springs of pity in one’s heart” (Stoker 186). Mina explains that someone must pity a creature so hated as Dracula, but in reality does his monstrousness makes him nothing more than an irrational beast incapable of remorse? To readers, that something, that beast, becomes a someone, -- someone who once had feelings, a heart, but now dwells in darkness. After realizing that, it seems that sympathy for the depraved creature is the first thing that comes to mind. By attaching human characteristics to Dracula, readers bring Dracula into the world of the known, rather than the frightening unknown, and by doing this, sympathy builds for something so pathetic and lifeless, whether it be evil or not. Even if Dracula is a life siphoning devil, he was still once a human being, a being capable of remorse, but now he is just an amalgamation of society’s worst qualities; a lustful, impulsive, unrepentant fiend that is represented as the proverbial double edged sword of hatred and pity. And who among us has not felt that retched thought of wrong

toward someone, a thought of dark and evil, though not acted upon it remains within us, growing the seeds of guilt and self-reproach that bind us in the dark to Dracula and his curse.
Part of the way that humans connect is through their experiences. It seems that uniting under a common goal, whether it be a hope, a cause, or an enemy tightens the stitches on intertwined relationships. In Dracula, The Count becomes the enemy upon which his hunters bond over, even if they had nothing in common but to kill Dracula, that enemy would be enough to unite them to the end. On the other extreme, instead of uniting under their hatred for him, readers can unite under their sympathy for Dracula. With the full presentation of his character, however humanlike he may or may not be, he can never experience the hope, unity and love that a normal person experiences every day of their lives. Dracula is made to survive an eternity without a soul, an existence anyone would pity. In effect, he must embrace the animal within him to survive. And like animals in the wild, we do not think harshly of the wolf that relentlessly pursues its prey, hunting the weak in order to survive. Rather, we see this as the circle of life. But as humans, we also feel that evolution has elevated us above that fray, hubristically believing that we have become the protector of the innocent and the champion of life, not dealers in death and cruelty.
The realization that Dracula endures analogous hardships to his beating heart counterparts in society assures readers that he can still face the animosity that most people similarly endure every day of their lives, even if he doesn’t have blood coursing through his veins.
As far as we know, sympathy only exists in the human species and no other. In evolutionary terms, it seems odd that sympathy, which can make us weak in terms of survival, would find root at the top of the food chain. But appropriately applied sympathy can also make us stronger. In the case of Dracula, feeling some kindred emotion, some sense of alliance with his plight, allows us to overcome the fear of the monstrous and take away the power of the dark and unknown.