Dracula
Dracula Essay
Stereotypes of the Gothic involve diabolical monsters out of the dark, barbarian past of Europe. The nineteenth century became particularly enamoured of this sort of horror story, perhaps due to insecurity induced by the new industrial age and the Victorian love of morbidity. Confronting images of bloodshot eyes, a pale unhealthy complexion and a fresh fang wound became the hallmarks of the prince of darkness, the legendary Count Dracula. In Bram Stoker’s 1897 representation of Dracula, the familiar myth of menace is once again brought to life, “His eyes blazed with a sort of demonic fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat.” This time the master of the wolf pack reflects Victorian morals and values, for example, the reign of religion or fulfilling the importance of one’s gender role. For the most part, Stoker reveals the true character of Dracula through various language techniques which reinforce Gothic fiction in its position in nineteenth century popular culture.
Towards the late eighteenth century there was a renewed interest in the Gothic genre and by the near century it had taken on many hidden fears of Victorian British sexuality, together with attitudes to xenophobia. Not only was the Count of Vampires created, but wild, hair-raising fantasies with archetypal characters such as, the villain or heroine, and a sense of shock-horror were introduced. Highly plot driven, Gothic fiction exposed a fallen world with terrors dating back to the Middle Ages, filled with the sublime and the supernatural. It was a time when conformist society was ostensibly dominated by Christianity but yet enslaved by numerous superstitions. Most of all, there was a rigid class structure with differing and strictly enforced roles between men and women. Respectability and social etiquette shaped “good” society. This age also bore signs of forming an empire and the xenophobic fear of the “East” or the exotic. Stoker’s...
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