Throughout the course of this novel, it can be seen that Dracula has a way of controlling the human natures of the people that he comes across. Using his power, he creates a perversion of human nature and religion that should frighten the average human. On page 98 paragraph 2 is a section that I have started to call the Servant’s Prayer. The title should bring up references to the Lord’s Prayer of the Bible. This is because on an inner level, all humans have the innate function to believe in something bigger than oneself. Often this is acted out in religious beliefs, faiths, and practices. In this instance, Dr. Seward’s patient, Reinfield, has somehow created Dracula as a sort of deity deserving of worship. The design of his prayer is modeled off of one that a Christian would recognize. This prayer also reflects the utter perverseness of Reinfield’s new nature. The word “slave” initially has the denotation of forced bondage, but when viewed through a biblical lens, it takes on a whole new connotation. In biblical terms, the word slave implies bondservant, serving not only because you have to, but because you want to; it is the willing submission to someone (or something) greater than yourself. In whatever way that Dracula originally forced himself on Reinfield, he has somehow managed to pervert the nature of man from detesting the unnatural, the ungodly to serving it willingly! Dracula has also managed to change Reinfield’s definition of good and evil. Near the end of the prayer, Reinfield prays that Dracula “will not pass me by…in Your distribution of good things.” Through the eyes of Dr. Seward we can see his strange progression of eating habits as he gradually progressed up the food chain from flies to, if he had been allowed, cats. To the average moral views of the reader, the consumption of these animals raw is revolting and unnatural. This is the kind of follower that Dracula creates: twisted versions of human nature desiring the drug that only he can provide.

Excerpt from the novel:

“I am here to do your bidding, Master. I am Your slave and You will reward me, for I shall be faithful. I have worshipped You long and afar off. Now that You are near I await Your commands, and You will not pass me by, dear Master, in Your distribution of good things?”

Themes of individuality: “Isolation into insanity;” “Boredom enhancing the simple;”  “dangerous cynicism;”

Themes of community: “common enemy/icon;” ”

Community theme: Common enemy/icon

This theme has jumped out at me for a variety of reasons. First, the words enemy and icon are fairly interchangeable. That one person that you and somebody else may hate with a passion (your shared enemy) represents something to you. The word evil itself implies something, or is symbolic of a trait individual to you and your group. An icon can be described as an object, or person, with a recognized symbolic meaning. One example of the sense of community created through a common icon (not necessarily an enemy) can be seen through the correspondence of Lucy Westenra’s three suitors on page 62. While all three of these men clearly loved Lucy (and proposed to her on the same day) their bond as friends may have only grown stronger, knowing that only of them could have the prize. This is clearly evidenced when Mr. Morris writes Mr. Holmwood saying, “…the noblest heart that God has made and the best worth winning.” Lucy was this community of suitors’ icon.

Another image of a common icon would be the bond of the town of Whitby over the terrible storm that swept through. “The men waited breathless (77),” yearning to see the fate of that strange foreign ship. Their strange connection to such a rare sight came at a risk to their very lives. On page 76, the reporter declares that “it was found necessary to clear the entire piers from the mass of onlookers, or else the fatalities of the night would have been increased manifold.” The townsfolk were observing a very common battle between Man and Nature. All eyes and hearts were fixed on that single ship, defying the odds, appearing to win when the battle should have been immediately lost. To them, this boat represented the hope for the human race, that nature did not have to win every time. They observed with nervous hearts and bated breath because they inwardly desired that that ship do what none of them could do: win. Both the weather and the ship were the icons of this community of townsfolk.

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Surprisingly, I have not had much interaction with characters such as Dracula, Mina, or Harker. Before this class, I hadn’t even heard of the two females! As far as Dracula is concerned, in the few vampire novels or movies I have read/seen, he existed more as an abstract origin, referenced with reverence and respect. This brings to mind the idea that Dracula is some old man who commands respect from deep in the forests of Transylvania. The context I have read from the book so far has not yet shattered my ideas of Dracula. I am surprised, however, to find out that Transylvania itself is a region steeped in superstition. To think that Bram Stoker merely drew from the already present superstitions of the time, and from the concept presented by past authors is astounding. Something that did surprise me was the idea that Stoker modeled part of Dracula off of the homosexual scandal created (or exemplified) by Oscar Wilde. It should be interesting to see how that connection plays out in the entire novel.