Category: Blog post: Dracula, ch. 1-4

In Chapters 1-4 we see Johnathan Harker making his way to Transylvania to meet Dracula for a Business meeting about the real estate property he, {Dracula} is interested in buying. while on the train he describes the scenery, he says, “Before us lay a green sloping land full of forests and woods, with here and there steep hills, crowned with clumps of trees or with farmhouses, the blank gable end to the road. There was everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit blossom—apple, plum, pear, cherry; and as we drove by I could see the green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petals.”(Stoker). Johnathan see his surroundings and it seems like a beautiful scenery to the readers. the reading then takes a turn within the chapters we see Johnathan expresses terror when he see the 3 women feeding on something in a sac that is moving he was in fear for his life that he passes out. Jonathan is torn between rationality and sanity. Ann Radcliff describes the sensation of horror and terror in her article, “The Fantastic”. “The Fantastic” is about the difference between terror and horror. she describes terror as, “Burke by his reasoning, anywhere looked to positive horror as a source of the sublime,
though they all agree that terror is a very high one; and where lies the great difference
between horror and terror, but in the uncertainty and obscurity, that accompany the
first, respecting the dreaded evil?” (Radcliff). terror is the Uncertainty that the person feel when the feel like they are going to encounter the worst feeling of terror, Obscurity.  While horror on the other hand is the actually encounter, for example, seeing a murderer pull out a knife, Immersion. This passage in Dracula connects to this definition of terror because Johnathan Harker’s character has encountered all of these literary definitions.

In chapter I of Dracula, Stoker makes several remarks through Harker’s account of his journey through the Eastern European Countryside that give a sense of English Superiority. On page 5(in the physical edition), Harker records that ” With some difficulty I got a fellow-passenger to tell me what they meant; he would not answer at first, but on learning that I was English, he explained that it was a charm or guard against the evil eye”. Harker describes the fact that being English made it easy for him to learn about the charm that the villagers were telling him about. This lead me to think why being English would suddenly change their attitude about speaking with Him. It took me to another passage about Harker’s judgements of the common folk he comes across on his journey. He ends up using two words to describe the majority of the people he meets in the first chapter, “Commoner” and “Peasants”. Now he says these words about several groups of villagers because of the way they are dressed and the way they act around his presence which leads me to believe he thinks of himself as higher than these people. Stoker might have written Harker’s dialogue like this as that was the viewpoint of Eastern Europeans at the time the novel was written. At that time, Britain had a more lavish lifestyle than that of other countries in Europe at the time. They made classy paintings, rich literature, and expensive clothing, so seeing people with home-made clothes, dirty and more rugged individuals was not the normal. With that said, seeing that image from Harker’s or even Stoker’s perspective did not inspire thoughts of the wealthy, more civilized culture that they were living in. Personally, I do not believe that Stoker consciously thought the English people were superior as he only really wrote comments about other countries’ people in an ignorant way given that he was never really exposed to other kinds of people before. With that said, I believe that Harker’s description of the villagers may be a form of English superiority, but Stoker’s inclusion of these comments makes the story all the more eerie and uncanny.   

Each of the prompts should be answered by at least 1 member of the blog group. Please confer amongst yourselves as to who will write which prompt. Responses should be at least 250 words and posted by 11 am the day of class. Please remember to select the appropriate Blog category before posting.

CLUE. Dracula was written at the height of Britain’s power as an empire. Imperialism created a strong sense of pride in national identity.

In ch. 1 of Dracula, Jonathan Harker describes his journey traveling from Munich to Transylvania. As he gets further East, he describes the landscape and the customs. Focus on one passage that offers a clue as to what Bram Stoker thinks of Britain’s sense of national superiority.

CONNECT. In “On the Supernatural in Poetry,” Anne Radcliffe uses a discussion of Shakespeare to define terror and horror. Her definition of terror emphasizes “obscurity”  and uncertainty.

In ch. 2-3, Harker’s observations about his strange host create a mounting sense of unease and suspense. Not only is he a prisoner, but his host seems to have many dark powers, and there are other inhabitants in the castle… Connect one passage from h. 2-3 to Radcliffe’s definition of terror. How does Stoker create a sense of terror that fits her definition?

CREATE. In ch. 4, Harker tries to send word out about his situation, only to have Dracula burn the letter. He realizes Dracula is terrorizing the peasants while posing as Harker. After wolves foil his attempt at leaving the castle, Harker finally makes a desperate rush for the window.

Create a paragraph, written from Harker’s point of view. Imagine and narrate what happens right after Harker tries to escape. (Spoiler: he doesn’t fall to his death!). Who or what does Harker encounter as he tries to get back to England? Base your paragraph on Harker’s style of narration. After your creative paragraph, include 1-2 sentences explaining its content.