Gothic Elements In Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula will forever stand as one of the masterpieces of Gothic literature. The despicable villain Count Dracula and and his Transylvanian castle have become synonymous with horror and vampires, to the point that the modern image of the vampire is almost entirely derived from Dracula. However, one of this story’s most effective elements is Stoker’s masterful control over the mood of the novel. Stoker primarily influences the mood of Dracula by his use of spooky or wild settings, spiritual conflict, and the dreadful atmosphere inspired by the vampires. Through the combination of these elements, Stoker crafts a chilling tale of fear, darkness, and devilry. Macabre One of the primary elements Stoker uses to influence the
Above all else, this atmosphere is what has made Dracula the quintessential vampire story. First and foremost is the vampires’ practice of drinking the blood of living human beings. Though the dreadfulness of this image has been somewhat dulled by numerous silly film adaptions, Stoker’s unsettling descriptions of Dracula feasting cannot help but make the reader shudder. Stoker vividly describes how he sets his “reeking lips” on Mina’s throat and becomes so gorged with blood that “Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh” (759, 135). In one especially gruesome instance, Van Helsing and the others enter the Harker’s bedroom to see Dracula, bloody and bare chested, forcing Mina Harker to drink the blood from his own dead veins (634). This mutual transfer of blood also links to the sexual elements of the vampires’ atmosphere. Thru-out the novel, the vampires, especially the females, have a sensual aura that surrounds them. Often described with “voluptuous lips” and an animal sensuality, the three vampire sisters have such an effect on Jonathan Harker that he waits “in an agony of delightful anticipation” for them to drink his blood (98). Count Dracula has a similar effect on Mina Harker so that she “did not want to hinder him” in drinking her blood (758). However, the attraction is always combined with a sense of horror, and the gruesome blood-drinking combines with the sexual attraction to make the vampires’ appetites truly weird. This strange sexual perversion combined with the dreadful act of drinking human blood inspires an attitude of loathing in the reader, which is so complete that one loses all sense of remorse for Dracula and the other vampires. The horrific atmosphere inspired by the vampires is the primary reason that Dracula has emerged as the definitive vampire