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Dracula

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Gothic Literature

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a la Shmoop

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We're gonna dive into some of the primary characteristics

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that separate Dracula from

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other characters of the era, other Gothic characters.

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So, can you frame for us just

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two or three or four other Gothic characters

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that might have existed contemporaneously in this era?

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So a good counterpoint to Dracula would be

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Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray,

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who's also an aristocrat,

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but is not a vampire.

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[ hiss ]

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He makes this bargain to stay young.

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He's a young, pretty lad.

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[ aww ]

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Someone draws a picture of him, paints a picture of him.

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He bemoans the fact that the picture

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will not age and he will.

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In this moment, he makes

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- Faustian... - He makes a Faustian bargain.

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No, he doesn't know. So Faustian.

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And he stays young forever.

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[ baby crying ]

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He's also -- So, Picture of Dorian Gray

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is a Gothic novella.

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He's a Gothic character.

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[ gasp ]

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He's not a vampire.

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He doesn't suck anyone's blood.

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And his vice is kept a little

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under wraps, whereas Dracula is pretty out in the open.

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Another interesting example sort of from the Victorian era

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would probably be something like

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in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre,

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another Gothic novel. Victorian Gothic novel.

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The character

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Bertha Mason Rochester, who is

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Mr. Rochester's first wife

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from the West Indies,

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who he keeps trapped in the attic because she goes mad.

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She's...

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Gothic in the sense that

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there's a suspense and mystery that surrounds her.

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But she's not a vampire.

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But it's one of the first instances in the Victorian novel

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where "vampire" is mentioned.

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Because Jane Eyre sort of comes upon her.

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The secret is revealed - who is kicking up a rumpus in the attic.

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And it's this imprisoned woman.

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And she likens her to

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the German vampire.

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[ hissing ]

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So when we think about the primary characteristics,

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we should focus on - as we're reading Dracula and studying it.

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It's that he's a vampire. He's supernatural.

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[ explosion ]

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And that he

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traverses across the European continent.

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- He's not based in one... - Certainly. He's not -- Yeah.

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He's not static at all.

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But he's one of the first European characters

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that sort of traverses the European system.

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He goes all the way from Carpathia

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to London and back again

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via transit.

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Via different transit modes.

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Okay.

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[ whoop ]

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What other Gothic characters were around at the same time as Dracula?

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[ ooh ]

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