Context

This line is spoken by Van Helsing in the book Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897).

Today, you can't throw a toothpick without impaling a vampire and turning them to dust. But in 1897, vampires were a little on the rare side. Dr. Van Helsing (what's his doctorate in, Vampirology?) is investigating the mysterious illness of Lucy Westenra. So he asks her friend, Miss Mina Murray, for details.

Mina, being an excellent heroine, transcribed all of Lucy's diary entries using a typewriter, so she hands the neat pages to the good doctor. Van Helsing is so delighted that he offers her a glowing, if slightly melodramatic compliment, "There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights."

Who needs Buffy the Vampire Slayer when you have Mina and her lightning-fast typing skills?

Where you've heard it

You've heard this if you're talking about how melodramatic and emo Twilight is, and someone whips out this quote to prove to you that vampire novels have always been that way.

Buzzfeed also pegged this as #36 on a list of the 51 most beautiful sentences in lit. Not too shabby.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This quote makes us want to drive a stake through our own hearts. (JK.) But seriously, he should lay off the schmoozing a little.