5.1.5

Madness, Illness & Confinement

Test yourself on Madness, Illness & Confinement

Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Madness, Illness and Confinement

Common Gothic tropes and closely associated with Gothic ‘terror’, Dracula presents these three concepts as interrelational.

Confinement

Confinement

  • Typically for the 19th century, the ‘treatment’ for what the characters consider 'madness' and illness in Dracula often takes the form of confinement.
Jonathan's insanity

Jonathan's insanity

  • Jonathan, when confined within Dracula’s castle, believes he’s going insane.
  • He has visions of Dracula turning into a bat and isn’t quite sure what’s real or imagined when he sees the three vampire women.
  • Jonathan escapes but falls ill “with a violent brain fever” and is nursed by nuns, who are able to contact Mina back in England.
Lucy's somnambulism

Lucy's somnambulism

  • Lucy suffers from somnambulism (sleepwalking) which leads to Dracula attacking her and her contraction of a mysterious ‘illness’.
  • Lucy is confined to her room by Dr Seward who eventually calls in Van Helsing to help with her case.
Mina's hypnotic visions

Mina's hypnotic visions

  • Mina’s blood connection to Dracula causes her to have hypnotic visions of the Count’s whereabouts.
  • Van Helsing wants her confined during this ‘illness’ at first, but later she’s brought along on the mission to Transylvania to track down the Count.
Arthur's fit

Arthur's fit

  • Arthur is so horrified at Lucy death that he collapses in Mina’s arms in a fit of hysterics approaching madness.
  • “Sad and broken”, he is imprisoned by his own grief, only finding release once he has saved Lucy’s soul.
Questioning sanity

Questioning sanity

  • Van Helsing and Seward question their own sanity at times as they are ‘men of science’ tracking down Dracula according to the ‘laws’ of superstition.
Jump to other topics
1

Context - Gothic Literature

1.1

Origins & Conventions of Gothic Literature

1.1.1Origins of Gothic Literature1.1.2Key Ideas in Gothic Literature1.1.3Gothic Genre Conventions in Dracula
1.2

Vampires in Gothic Literature

1.2.1Vampires
1.3

'Terror' & 'Horror'

1.3.1Ann Radcliffe & Lewis' The Monk1.3.2'Terror' & 'Horror' in Dracula
1.4

Narrative Features

1.4.1First-Person Narration & Epistolary Format
2

Context - The Victorian Era

2.1

The Victorian Era

2.1.1Fin de Siecle2.1.2The 'New Woman'2.1.3The Contagious Diseases Act
3

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1.1Chapters 1-23.1.2Chapters 3-43.1.3Chapters 5-73.1.4Chapters 8-103.1.5Chapters 11-123.1.6Chapters 13-143.1.7Chapters 15-163.1.8Chapters 17-183.1.9Chapters 19-203.1.10Chapters 21-233.1.11Chapters 24-253.1.12Chapters 26-27
4

Character Profiles

4.1

Archetypal Gothic Characters

4.1.1Stock & Proppian Gothic Characters
4.2

Count Dracula

4.2.1Count Dracula: Character Profile4.2.2Count Dracula: Different Literary Perspectives
4.3

Other Main Characters

4.3.1Jonathan Harker4.3.2Dr Abraham Van Helsing4.3.3Dr Jack Seward4.3.4Mina Harker4.3.5Lucy Westenra
4.4

Minor Characters

4.4.1Arthur Holmwood & Quincey Morris4.4.2Renfield
5

Key Ideas

5.1

Key Ideas

5.1.1Transgression of Boundaries5.1.2The Supernatural & Un-dead5.1.3Masculinity & Femininity5.1.4Science, Modernity & Superstition5.1.5Madness, Illness & Confinement
6

Writing Techniques

6.1

Writing Techniques

6.1.1Epistolary Form & Narrative Voice6.1.2Intertextuality & Cultural References6.1.3Structure
7

Critical Debates & Interpretations

7.1

Initial Reception of Dracula

7.1.1Initial Reception of Dracula
7.2

Modern Reception of Dracula

7.2.1Modern Reception of Dracula

Practice questions on Madness, Illness & Confinement

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What illness does Jonathan suffer from after his stay at Castle Dracula? Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Who sleepwalks in _Dracula_?Multiple choice
Answer all questions on Madness, Illness & Confinement

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium

Science, Modernity & Superstition

Epistolary Form & Narrative Voice