Dracula_in_Context-Essay

“Dracula” in Context The Romantic era of literature began in the second half of the 18th Century. It was an articulate, complex movement with its principal focus being a rebellion against the social views of the “age of enlightenment”. Romanticism revolted against the aristocratic social and political norms of the time, particularly those entrenched in Western Europe. It attempted to reject scientific rationalisation and the socially acceptable ‘elegant but artificial way’ of looking at the world. In essence, Romantic writers and artists sought to free their works from the constraints of reason and logic. Romantic works are characterized by individualism, a focus on the visionary and subjective aspects of being, as well as a stress on the power of emotion taking precedence over rationality. Romantic literature was not monolithic in nature and therefore it developed in various stages and movements. The Victorian romance movement of the mid to late 19th Century saw a fascination for the exotic and folklore. This developed into an increased celebration of nature in its wildest form. Romanticism in many ways gave birth to the Gothic novel. Both Gothic literature and Romantic works share similar characteristics. One can argue that Gothic literature is simply an extension of Romanticism for both movements challenge the precepts of order, balance, idealisation, logic and morality. Gothic literature rejects the notion that the world and its inhabitants could be understood on the basis of reason alone and the Gothic style also deals with the consequences of abandoning traditional beliefs, the dangers of female sexuality and explores the darker side of human nature. The close link between the two movements is most prevalent in the Gothic novels of the late 19th century; Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” being one example. Published in 1897, Dracula was written at the height of the British Empire, towards the end of the reign of Queen Victoria. The empire, of which Stoker, an Irishman, was part, had tremendous world standing both militarily and economically due to the spread of its colonies across the globe. The novel reflects the anxieties and fears which troubled the empire during the Victorian period; the fascination and fear of foreigners, the exotic east, the development of a “modern women”, increased interest into the supernatural, an exploration of human nature, the waning dependence on religion, the abandonment of traditional beliefs and the development of technology and science. These fascinations and fears are pinnacle to the popularity of the novel Dracula. In creating his masterpiece, Stoker incorporated many typically ‘dark’ Gothic elements including; the gloomy castle in foreign Transylvania in which the Count resides, the wild untamed mountainous landscape and the innocent maidens (Lucy and Mina) threatened by ineffable evil (the vampire Dracula). The structure of the novel is also typically Gothic, in that it has a displacing, evasive quality to it. The fragmented style of the novel leaves readers questioning the reality of the events as it refuses to tell the narrative from a reliable single point of view. Readers find themselves having to adjudicate various diagnostic accounts of the unfolding events and therefore are forced to have their own personal experience with the novel. Despite its typically Gothic roots, Stoker modernised his novel by having the characters journey from the conventional setting of Dracula’s ruined castle in mysterious Transylvania to the bustle of modern industrialised England. In this way, Stoker appealed to a broader cross section of the ‘modern’ population at the turn of the Century. As noted previously, the Victorian age of the late 19th Century witnessed a falling in the popularity of organised religion. The moral compass of the time was not clear, with many people experiencing a crisis in their religious faith. Stoker’s use of Christian elements, such as the power of the crucifix and the Eucharist wafer as weapons against evil, act as a reminder that religion is infused in all aspects of life. In a historical context, the end of the 19th Century saw the emergence of rival empires; the United States of America, the Austro- Hungarian Empire and a unified Germany, seeking to unseat Britain as the world’s most powerful nation. This may account for the sometimes violent reaction to, and fascination with, foreigners in real life and by extension Gothic literature. The xenophobic attitude of individuals is clearly apparent in Dracula, as the Count becomes a British immigrant whose roots are steeped in the largely folkloric eastern edge of Europe, “wildest and least known portions of Europe” pg.8, from a little known exotic region called Transylvania. Dracula is clearly the volatile threat who symbolises for many the feared invasion of the east through the increase of immigrants to Britain at the turn of the century. This fear of outsiders co-existed uncomfortably with the Victorian interest in folklore and exotica. During this period in history, Europeans travelled more extensively and more often than ever before, to examine first hand the distant lands of which they had read in books. Thus, Romantic and Gothic works channelled the longing of people for distant places. The fascination male travellers, in particular, had with these ‘far off’ lands, are conveyed in Stoker’s opening chapter. One of the main protagonists of the novel, Jonathan Harker is eagerly embarking on his journey to Eastern Europe for business purposes; “to a country which was full of beauty of every kind.” pg 9. We are provided with a meticulous recount of all he encountered, of the customs and landscape. Also, at the turn of the century, foreign women were often seen as being more sexually desirable and available than their counterparts at home in Britain. This fascination with exotic women is also reflected in Stoker’s novel by Chapter 3, where the reader is faced with Harker awakening in the presence of three gorgeous provocative foreign women. Not once do Harker’s thoughts wander back to his beloved Mina at home in England. Rather the character is caught up in his desire for their “ruby voluptuous lips”. pg 45 . Alongside this interest in the foreigner, is the backdrop of social values in flux. The old ways of the British Empire, of moral Victorian England, were crumbling. One of the dominant challenges was the terrifying notion of an independent, confident, desirable “modern woman”. The 19th Century had no room for this new feminist creature that blurred boundaries between the well respected traditional gender roles of the domestic docile female and the active assertive man. This anxiety is keenly felt in Dracula through the struggle to have clearly defined aspects of virginity visible in the characters as opposed to clearly defined whore characteristics. The transformation of well bred women into assertive sexual beings (particularly Lucy and Mina) was frightening for the rational characters of the novel. Particularly the way in which Stoker suggests that the women in the novel were so easily infected by the Count with the qualities of independence and lust. Stoker successfully ensures that the reader come face to face with the notion pervading that historical era; the acknowledgment of women as being dangerous and weak. The Victorian society was also fascinated with the notion of immortality and many forms of entertainment were concerned with an exploration of the supernatural world. Séances and stories of the “un-dead” achieved wide spread credence. In fact, the novel Dracula was initially titled “The Un-Dead”. Thus, dealings with the supernatural are a common convention in Gothic novels. The vampire character is the stock figure of Gothic literature and vampires have been a popular part of folklore since ancient times. Supernatural dealings almost always result in uncontrollable emotional eruptions, typical of both Romantic and Gothic works. This is visible in Dracula when Harker, a zealous rationalist, is faced with a howling circle of wolves in the dark of night. “They were closing round on us from every side. I grew dreadfully afraid.....I did not know what to do....I felt a sort of paralysis of fear” pg 19. The anxiety and trepidation associated with facing outsiders, also lead to a great deal of research into the exploration of emotions and into unlocking of the secrets of the human mind, towards the end of the Victorian era. The industrial revolution gave birth to psychology and psychiatry which suggested the human mind was a much darker and mysterious place than was previously thought. Stoker has incorporated these developments in his novel through his character choice. Both Dr Seward and Van Helsing are practitioners of this new “science of the mind”. It is appropriate that the location of the headquarters of the hunting parties that plan to destroy Dracula is a lunatic asylum; a place for “tidily contained but disordered minds”.pg xxxiii. In summary, it can be seen from the above, that the novel Dracula clearly has its origins in Romanticism, a movement that focussed on rebellion against the social norms of the “age of enlightenment”. Stoker’s characters challenge the enlightened precept that logic and reason can account for all the actions of human beings. His characters dwell on emotions and a meeting with supernatural forces at work in the world. Thus, Dracula can also be classified as a piece of Gothic literature because it explores the darker side of our humanity and the supernatural world, particularly the world of vampires and the un-dead. It is clear that this genre of writing arose in the context of a crumbling British empire, where many were fearful of the impact of foreigners on traditional belief systems. Coupled with the rapid progress of industrialisation, advances in scientific research, a waning in traditional religious power and feminism, this genre of writing gained widespread appeal in a society in a state of flux. Romantic Gothic literature provided the society with an avenue to deal with the their fears of what might happen, of what could go wrong and of what could be lost in this historical period of great change.