Dracula: Analysis of Major Characters
"Dracula: Analysis of Major Characters" provides an in-depth exploration of key figures in Bram Stoker’s classic novel, focusing on the interactions and conflicts between them and the titular character, Count Dracula. Count Dracula is depicted as a centuries-old vampire who is both a predator and a victim, as he seeks to evade those pursuing him while simultaneously hunting his victims. Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, serves as a pivotal character whose journey to Castle Dracula leads to his entrapment and subsequent escape, revealing crucial information about Dracula’s activities in England. Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, plays an active role in the pursuit of Dracula and demonstrates a unique connection to him that transcends physical barriers.
Lucy Westenra, Mina’s close friend, becomes one of Dracula’s victims and undergoes a tragic transformation into a vampire herself, highlighting the novel's themes of seduction and loss. Dr. Van Helsing emerges as a knowledgeable protector, utilizing his expertise to combat Dracula and assist Lucy, while Dr. Seward and Arthur Holmwood contribute to the collective effort to save Lucy and confront the vampire menace. The dynamic between these characters encapsulates themes of fear, love, and the struggle between good and evil, making it a rich subject for analysis. This overview invites readers to delve deeper into these character relationships and their significance within the narrative.
Dracula: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Bram Stoker
First published: 1897
Genre: Novel
Locale: Transylvania and England
Plot: Horror
Time: Nineteenth century
Count Dracula, a vampire. A corpse during the day, he comes to life at night. He has lived for centuries by sucking blood from living people. He pursues his victims in many harrowing episodes, and is pursued in turn from England to Rumania. There his body, in transport home to his castle, is overtaken and a stake driven through the heart, making it permanently dead.
Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor. He goes to Castle Dracula to transact business with the count, whose nocturnal habits and total absence of servants puzzle Harker. Harker finds himself a prisoner in the castle, comes one day upon Dracula's corpse, and is occasionally victimized by the vampire. Then the coffin-like boxes are carried away, and Harker finds himself left alone, still a prisoner. Later, after he has escaped, he is able to throw light on certain strange happenings in England.
Mina Murray, Harker's fiancée. She joins in the pursuit of Dracula; in a trance, she is able to tell the others that Dracula is at sea, on his return voyage.
Lucy Westenra, a lovely friend whom Mina visits at the time of Harker's trip to Rumania. She is the repeated victim of Dracula, now in England, who appears sometimes in were-wolf guise. Finally she dies and becomes a vampire also.
Dr. Van Helsing, a specialist from Amsterdam called to aid the failing Lucy. His remedies are effective, but a fatal attack comes after he leaves; he then returns to England to still her corpse as well as to hunt Dracula.
Dr. Seward, Lucy's former suitor, who attends her during her illness. Until he makes a midnight visit to her empty tomb, he does not believe Van Helsing's advice that the dead girl's soul can be saved only if a stake is driven through her heart.
Arthur Holmwood, a young nobleman and Lucy's fiancée. As he kisses the dying Lucy, her teeth seem about to fasten on his throat. He goes with Seward and Van Helsing to the empty tomb and joins them in tracking down Dracula.