Early in the novel, as Harker becomes uncomfortable with his lodgings and his host at Castle Dracula, he notes that “unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere ‘modernity’ cannot kill.” Here, Harker voices one of the central concerns of the Victorian era. The end of the nineteenth century brought drastic developments that forced English society to question the systems of belief that had governed it for centuries. Darwin’s theory of evolution, for instance, called the validity of long-held sacred religious doctrines into question. Likewise, the Industrial Revolution brought profound economic and social change to the previously agrarian England. The original story is not written like a normal novel, but through diaries, letters, telegrams and reports. This allows several narrators to tell the story from their own point of view.

Most critics agree that Dracula is, as much as anything else, a novel that indulges the Victorian male imagination, particularly regarding the topic of female sexuality. In Victorian England, women’s sexual behavior was dictated by society’s extremely rigid expectations. A Victorian woman effectively had only two options: she was either a virgin—a model of purity and innocence—or else she was a wife and mother. If she was neither of these, she was considered a whore, and thus of no consequence to society. The individuals who united to destroy Dracula were not friends from the start- three of them had competed for the hands of one woman, and two had been saddened by her rejection. Yet there was no feeling of jealousy or resentment at the individual Lucy chose or on Lucy herself. Although they all came as competitors, Arthur, Quincy, and Seward ended up forging an undying bond with themselves, as well as with Harker, Mina, and Van Helsing. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll is a graphic novel of creepy short stories. Library copy available. The Saga of Darren Shan follows the adventures of a human teenager forced to work for a vampire. Library copies available.The Vampire Handbook by Robert Curran is a non-fiction book explaining the myths about vampires from around the world, and a guide to protecting yourself, just in case. Library copy available. Though Stoker begins his novel in a ruined castle—a traditional Gothic setting—he soon moves the action to Victorian London, where the advancements of modernity are largely responsible for the ease with which the count preys upon English society. When Lucy falls victim to Dracula’s spell, neither Mina nor Dr. Seward—both devotees of modern advancements—are equipped even to guess at the cause of Lucy’s predicament. Only Van Helsing, whose facility with modern medical techniques is tempered with open-mindedness about ancient legends and non-Western folk remedies, comes close to understanding Lucy’s affliction. Because of the many strange and supernatural events which take place in the novel, characters often question whether they might be going mad and imagining things. When Harker reunites with Mina after escaping from Dracula’s Castle, he does not know whether or not he can trust his memories: “I do not know if it was all real or the dreaming of a madman.” The character of Renfield, an inmate in Dr. Seward’s asylum, further reinforces how madness can make it difficult to see Dracula’s evil schemes at play. When Seward overhears Renfield saying “I shall be patient, Master. It is coming—coming—coming,” Seward assumes the man is raving mad, when Renfield is actually speaking with Dracula and foreshadowing the dangers to come. Seward even doubts his own ability to think logically, wondering “if my long habit of life amongst the insane is beginning to tell upon my own brain.” Confronted with an evil that seems impossible to understand, characters find it easier to believe they might be going insane and that their problems are entirely internal. Fear of Outsiders New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a

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Jonathan Harker has travelled to Romania to help an aristocrat with some legal work. Once there, he is imprisoned in Count Dracula’s castle and soon realises the Count is actually some sort of monster. Meanwhile Dracula arrives in England, and starts to prey on fresh victims, including Jonathan’s fiancée, Mina, and her friend, Lucy. Authors – Bram Stoker and David Calcutt Bram Stoker’s ‘ Dracula‘ was written during the Victorian period, at a time when Charles Darwin’s theory of revolution, as well as recent technological advancements, were leading to less religiosity among people. This sentiment is exemplified in the attitudes of Mina and Dr. Seward who could not solve the mystery of Lucy’s ailments because of a dependence on cold rationalism at the expense of superstitions and spirituality. We might expect that Mina, who sympathizes with the boldly progressive “New Women” of England, would be doomed to suffer Lucy’s fate as punishment for her progressiveness. But Stoker instead fashions Mina into a goddess of conservative male fantasy. Though resourceful and intelligent enough to conduct the research that leads Van Helsing’s crew to the count, Mina is far from a “New Woman” herself. Rather, she is a dutiful wife and mother, and her successes are always in the service of men. Mina’s moral perfection remains as stainless, in the end, as her forehead. Meanwhile, in England, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, corresponds with her friend Lucy Westenra. Lucy has received marriage proposals from three men—Dr. John Seward, Arthur Holmwood, and an American named Quincey Morris. Though saddened by the fact that she must reject two of these suitors, Lucy accepts Holmwood’s proposal. The protagonists in Dracula are fighting a supernatural monster, and they are successful in their plans eventually, but at a cost.

This allows you to record one of your live performances for your internal archives only. This cannot be streamed. urn:lcp:draculavampirepl0000dean:epub:5f616ddc-b786-4c72-8e47-f21867038484 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier draculavampirepl0000dean Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t41s9cc5f Invoice 1652 Isbn 0573608229 Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-10-09 14:06:35 Associated-names Balderston, John L. (John Lloyd), 1889-1954; Stoker, Bram, 1847-1912. Dracula Boxid IA40257410 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifierIt took the arrival of Van Helsing to expand the field of observation and therefore countenance the possibility of a spiritual or supernatural origin to Lucy’s deterioration healthwise. Stoker seems to be advocating an open-mindedness to knowledge that would not dismiss certain areas as being too ridiculous. It is crosses, wafers, and garlic that are able to ward off the vampire, rather than guns or bombs. The horror builds up from the increasing eccentricities of the natives, the horror of his hosts at the hotel he stays in at Borgo Pass, and climbs up when he is transferred to the mysterious coach driver with strange features. It reaches a fever pitch as Jonathan gets deeper into the forest in the dead of the night, in the midst of the terrifying howling of Wolves. This careful ascendance of the horror constitutes a neat plot device that creates tension and suspense. Mina’s sexuality remains enigmatic throughout the whole of Dracula. Though she marries, she never gives voice to anything resembling a sexual desire or impulse, which enables her to retain her purity. Indeed, the entire second half of the novel concerns the issue of Mina’s purity. Stoker creates suspense about whether Mina, like Lucy, will be lost. Given that Dracula means to use women to access the men of England, Mina’s loss could have terrifying repercussions.