Transgression of Boundaries

Duality is a frequent theme in Gothic literature, and Dracula is no exception. Stoker presents the reader with a number of conflicting and contrasting ideas and the tension emanating from these helps drive his narrative.

Boundary: life and death

The vampire is neither truly dead nor fully alive.
It is a creature that exists in a permanently liminal state between the two, transgressing the fixed-boundary between life and death: when Seward naively states of Lucy’s death “Ah well, poor girl, there is peace for her at last. It is the end!” Van Helsing, with an air of foreboding, replies “Not so; alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!”

Fear of death

The vampire is a physical embodiment of the human fear of death.
To deny death or to cheat it, in the form of the parasitic-vampire is unnatural; to exist as a vampire is to do so in a constant state of purgatory.
Perhaps this explains the look of peace on Count Dracula’s face before he crumbles into dust - at last, he is free from centuries of living in limbo.

Geographical boundaries

At the novel’s opening, Jonathan Harker must cross the frontier between Western, Civilised Europe and journey into its less-refined, wilder Eastern counterpart.
Maps of Romania are incomparable to the Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain (first drawn in 1841) - conveying another boundary in the novel between tradition and modernity.

Science vs traditional weaponry

Whilst Van Helsing tells the others they are able to call on the advances of science and technology to aid them in the fight against Dracula, ultimately it is traditional weaponry (the knife) and religious faith, represented by the Holy Circle Van Helsing draws to protect Mina from the three ‘weird sisters’ - the female vampires - that ensure their victory over the Count and the forces of evil.

Transgression of Boundaries (Cont.)

Role of bribery

The victory over the Count comes at a cost - not just the death of Quincey Morris, but through forcing the band of heroes to transgress numerous virtuous boundaries, both legal and spiritual, in their quest.
Bribes can help them access Dracula’s other properties in London and acquire private documentation.

Religious boundaries

Jonathan feels uneasy, as “an English Churchman” accepting the Romanian Catholic crucifix from the landlady of the Golden Krone Hotel.
In Castle Dracula, the item becomes his talisman, providing him with both solace and protection, despite the two branches of the Christian faith being at odds with each other (as depicted in this image).

Transgressing femininity

When Mina, who with her “man’s brain” and her “brave and gallant” personality (Van Helsing) already transgresses traditional views of femininity and womanhood, begins to show signs of changing into a vampire, both she and Jonathan are considering taking actions that would have severe consequences, affecting their immortal soul.

Suicide - escape?

Mina wonders if suicide (considered as self-murder, just as sinful as any other murder in the doctrines of the Protestant Church) may offer her an escape, only for Van Helsing to tell her “You must not die by any hand; but least of all your own. Until the other, who has fouled your sweet life, is true dead you must not die”.
Such is Jonathan’s desperation for revenge on the Count that he claims, brashly, that he would sell his soul “to wipe out this brute from the face of creation”.

1Context - Gothic Literature

1.1Origins & Conventions of Gothic Literature

1.1.1Origins of Gothic Literature

1.1.2Key Ideas in Gothic Literature

1.1.3Gothic Genre Conventions in Dracula

1.2Vampires in Gothic Literature

1.2.1Vampires

1.3'Terror' & 'Horror'

1.3.1Ann Radcliffe & Lewis' The Monk

1.3.2'Terror' & 'Horror' in Dracula

1.4Narrative Features

1.4.1First-Person Narration & Epistolary Format

2Context - The Victorian Era

2.1The Victorian Era

2.1.1Fin de Siecle

2.1.2The 'New Woman'

2.1.3The Contagious Diseases Act

3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1.1Chapters 1-2

3.1.2Chapters 3-4

3.1.3Chapters 5-7

3.1.4Chapters 8-10

3.1.5Chapters 11-12

3.1.6Chapters 13-14

3.1.7Chapters 15-16

3.1.8Chapters 17-18

3.1.9Chapters 19-20

3.1.10Chapters 21-23

3.1.11Chapters 24-25

3.1.12Chapters 26-27

4Character Profiles

4.1Archetypal Gothic Characters

4.1.1Stock & Proppian Gothic Characters

4.2Count Dracula

4.2.1Count Dracula: Character Profile

4.2.2Count Dracula: Different Literary Perspectives

4.3Other Main Characters

4.3.1Jonathan Harker

4.3.2Dr Abraham Van Helsing

4.3.3Dr Jack Seward

4.3.4Mina Harker

4.3.5Lucy Westenra

4.4Minor Characters

4.4.1Arthur Holmwood & Quincey Morris

4.4.2Renfield

5Key Ideas

5.1Key Ideas

5.1.1Transgression of Boundaries

5.1.2The Supernatural & Un-dead

5.1.3Masculinity & Femininity

5.1.4Science, Modernity & Superstition

5.1.5Madness, Illness & Confinement

6Writing Techniques

6.1Writing Techniques

6.1.1Epistolary Form & Narrative Voice

6.1.2Intertextuality & Cultural References

6.1.3Structure

7Critical Debates & Interpretations

7.1Initial Reception of Dracula

7.1.1Initial Reception of Dracula

7.2Modern Reception of Dracula

7.2.1Modern Reception of Dracula

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