Dracula (Oxford Playscripts)

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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. One of the major themes in Stoker’s book ‘Dracula‘ is the tangibility of the soul. The soul is a potent, active force that represents the essence of the individual but can be contaminated. For Stoker, our souls start from a pure state but can then get contaminated by external influences or actors. In the book, vampirism is like a soul-altering plague that either corrupts or shoves aside the pure soul of the individual in other to replace it with a new, much more evil life force. The fictional book ‘Dracula’by Bram Stoker contains a number of important themes that reflects Stoker’s philosophies and attitudes and, by extension the sensibilities of the period he lived in. Within the narrative, these themes are revealed in the manner in which the characters in ‘Dracula’ interact, as well as in the outcomes of certain events. Mina Murray is the ultimate Victorian woman. Van Helsing’s praise of Mina testifies to the fact that she is indeed the embodiment of the virtues of the age. She is “one of God’s women, fashioned by His own hand to show us men and other women that there is a heaven where we can enter, and that its light can be here on earth. So true, so sweet, so noble. . . .” Mina stands as the model of domestic propriety, an assistant schoolmistress who dutifully studies newfangled machines like the typewriter so as to be useful to her husband. Unlike Lucy, she is not most noteworthy for her physical beauty, which spares Mina her friend’s fate of being transformed into a voluptuous she-devil. Sarah Midnight Trilogy by Daniela Sacerdoti is set in Scotland and Poland, with a teenage girl struggling to accept her gift for hunting demons. Library copies available.

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. Renfield quotes a poem by William Blake called Auguries of Innocence. You can read the whole poem here. Numeracy Through the Woods by Emily Carroll is a graphic novel of creepy short stories. Library copy available. 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 Outsiderstranscribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Dracula. If you have any corrections, feel free to Dracula, practically as old as religion itself, stands as a satanic figure, most obviously in his appearance—pointed ears, fangs, and flaming eyes—but also in his consumption of blood. Dracula’s bloodthirstiness is a perversion of Christian ritual, as it extends his physical life but cuts him off from any form of spiritual existence. Those who fall under the count’s spell, including Lucy Westenra and the three “weird sisters,” find themselves cursed with physical life that is eternal but soulless. Stoker takes pains to emphasize the consequences of these women’s destruction. After Lucy’s death, Van Helsing leads Holmwood, Seward, and Quincey Morris to her tomb. Van Helsing convinces the other men that Lucy belongs to the “Un-Dead”—in other words, she has been transformed into a vampire like Dracula. The men remain unconvinced until they see Lucy preying on a defenseless child, which convinces them that she must be destroyed. They agree to follow the ritual of vampire slaying to ensure that Lucy’s soul will return to eternal rest. While the undead Lucy sleeps, Holmwood plunges a stake through her heart. The men then cut off her head and stuff her mouth with garlic. After this deed is done, they pledge to destroy Dracula himself.

urn:lcp:draculavampirepl0000dean:epub:5f616ddc-b786-4c72-8e47-f21867038484 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier draculavampirepl0000dean Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t41s9cc5f Invoice 1652 Isbn 0573608229 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. Good and evil, love, modern vs traditional, religion, role of women, strangers, science vs superstition. More to explore – motifs, symbols, context, settingCharacters mention peace of mind in the script a few times. What does that mean to you? Do you think the characters ever had real peace of mind again? Count Dracula is equipped with many supernatural powers that make him a formidable enemy. However, Stoker is also quite pragmatic about the fact that part of what makes Dracula dangerous is his wealth, and his ability to engage in systems of economic exchange. Dracula buys his new home in England through a perfectly legal and commonplace financial transaction, and he pays for his voyages to and from England, rather than using any sort of magical ability to travel. When Harker is imprisoned in the castle, he observes finding “a great heap of gold in one corner,” evidence of Dracula having the money he needs to carry out his plans. While Dracula’s ancient origins and supernatural powers seem to make him a figure from the past, he is able to seamlessly navigate the modern cash economy and use it to his advantage. So long as he has the money to pay, many characters, including Harker himself, are willing to overlook his eccentric and menacing behavior.

Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis and the structure of playscripts, acting as a springboard for personal writing. Related products One day he may look like a man but then the next he could change. Sometimes he may be a wolf-like dog and at other times he may be a bat that is hiding his presence from humankind. Riverkeepby Martin Stewart. Wull’s father has been possessed by an evil spirit. It’s up to Wull to hunt down a potential cure. Library copies available.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-identifier When Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania, he is going to a real place. Transylvania is an area of Romania in eastern Europe. The town mentioned by Harker, Bistritz, is now called Bistrița. 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.