Postings for Bram Stoker’s work, with a focus on the early chapters of Dracula
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23 thoughts on “Stoker – early”
The first few chapters of Stoker’s “Dracula” focus mainly on two characters: Jonathan Harker (a solicitor) and Dracula (the count). In this short amount of material, the reader’s perspective of the relationship between Harker and Dracula changes drastically. It starts off as a friendly relationship; they spend a lot of time together, and chat all night. But Harker realizes he is being held hostage when he notices that Dracula is doing what Harker thought all along the servants were doing; making Harker’s bed, laying the table, making dinner, etc.
Why does Dracula pretend that there are servants in the castle? Why doesn’t he just tell Harker that he is living alone?
To answer this question, we need to examine Dracula’s motives. What are his motives? All we know is that he wants Harker to stay with him and he wants Harker’s boss and loved ones to think he is alive and leaving the castle, even going so far as to have him send letters stating when he is leaving the castle and arriving at the train station, and when he is leaving the train station for home.
Later on in the beginning chapters, Dracula steals Harker’s clothes and pretends to be him as he makes a “dinner-run” to the village. He comes back with a baby in a bag, and gives it to the three women that mysteriously appear in front of Jonathan. Thinking Jonathan is asleep, he tells the women that they are not allowed to touch Harker until he is “done with him.”
Which brings us back to the question: what are Dracula’s motives? I personally think that Dracula is going to take on Harker’s identity and go back to London to wreak vampire havoc. This would explain why he would steal Jonathan’s clothes, and why he would kill him and make sure his loved ones knew. This theory is solidified by the scene where Harker finds Dracula in a coffin, obviously having just eaten, looking perfectly youthful and alive as opposed to his old, haggard self that appeared before.
But why would he need to take on another man’s identity? Why wouldn’t he just appear as Dracula? Possibly because once he’s finished with whatever it is he’s planning on doing, he’ll go back to living alone (or rather, with three mysterious vampire women) in his castle and the only people who will suspect him are the local villagers.
But this still doesn’t answer the question of why Dracula would pretend to have servants, even going so far as to make his bed and cook him dinner. Dracula, in my opinion, is doing this to give Jonathan a false sense of security. Which is obviously completely unnecessary, because Dracula has complete control over everything that goes on in and around the castle (and even possibly in the nearby village). But Dracula is obviously not a mindless killer, he’s an evil with immense intelligence. So he could be studying Jonathan so as to better impersonate him (or to better impersonate an Englishman), or he could be, for lack of a better phrase, “playing with his food.”
An interesting aspect of these first few chapters of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is the way in which Dracula behaves. From the beginning, his behavior is questionable as Jonathan Harker notes in his journal entries and at times it seems almost as if the whole situation is a sort of elaborate game to Dracula. He began by giving Jonathan an overly enthusiastic welcome to his home while emphasizing Jonathan’s ability to “come freely” and “go safely” and giving Jonathan a vice-like handshake. Later on, Jonathan begins to suspect that he is the only living being in the mansion and this is confirmed when Dracula is seen making Jonathan’s bed and laying out the dinnerware at the table himself. This also suggests that Dracula himself cooks all of Jonathan’s meals and was the driver of the carriage which brought Jonathan to his mansion. However, Dracula never acknowledges this and continues to act as if he has a full set of staff waiting on him.
Dracula needs Jonathan in order to learn more about England and to get legal advice; this is why he acts very possessive of Jonathan when he argues with the female vampires and why he insists on Jonathan’s staying at his mansion so he can converse with him. Over the course of these chapters, Dracula’s odd habits cause Jonathan to become increasingly suspicious, but Dracula continues to behave in the same manner and never overtly threatens Jonathan. It’s as if Dracula is trying to convince Jonathan that he is safe and secure inside his castle. Even when Jonathan asks to leave immediately, Dracula’s reply seems gracious and overly courteous. At the same time, his actions make it clear that if Jonathan were to leave, he would be attacked by the wolves outside.
Clearly, Dracula is a secretive and manipulative monster. He could have forced Jonathan to bend to his will, but instead he pretends to welcome Jonathan as an esteemed guest while simultaneously imprisoning him inside his castle. He enticed Jonathan into his home with a façade of kindness and welcome, but if Dracula is supernaturally powerful, why does he need this act? Dracula has proven to be extremely intelligent so perhaps he simply finds it entertaining or enjoyable to play mind games on his victims. His actions certainly do have a pronounced effect on Jonathan and push him to take more risks; over time, his actions become more and more crazed as he struggles to find a way to freedom.
Hi Melissa! I’m sure Professor Hall has briefed you on why we’re responding to your blog so I’ll leave it at that. Nice to meet you (or at least your blog posting, lol.)
You bring up some excellent points Melissa. It does seem really strange that Dracula, who is after all, a monster, goes so out of his way to be “nice” to Jonathan. I don’t know how much you know about the Vampire myth outside of this book, but I have always heard that a Vampire cannot enter one’s home without being invited. I can’t pinpoint the origin of this detail, but it seems a common theme. With that said, my theory is that this in fact may be a variation on the original Dracula version – one of the first ‘legendary’ popular vampire novels – that version being, perhaps, that Dracula cannot pull the fly into the web, so to speak, unless he comes voluntarily. As far as the “playing with his food” aspect, I think this is more or less Dracula’s making the best of a bad situation; he’s a Vampire, he must suck blood to survive, and despite the presence of his ladies of the evening I would have to imagine this is a lonely existence. Drac intends to feed on Jonathan, that seems fairly clear, but he may be putting it off in a desperate attempt to continue this very hollow form of friendship.
Actually, now I think about it, there may be another connection: The part you refer to where Jonathan asks to leave may be connected to something that happens in later chapters (possible spoiler alert!). I mean when Drac comes to England on a boat run aground and Lucy begins to show symptoms of being attacked by a Vampire. Perhaps Jonathan’s wish to leave and Drac convincing him otherwise just tows the line a little too close to crossing it, so instead of feeding on Jonathan he has to take other measures to survive; meaning possibly impersonating John to seduce Lucy? And the pretending he has servants thing may be some attempt to make Jonathan feel secure, or it may just be a hollow attempt to safeguard his own pride.
Of course this is all very speculative, I have not finished the novel so I don’t know exactly what to think. I always find it interesting to compare ‘what one has heard’ about legendary stories and the actual content thereof. That’s one of the reasons I’m taking such diverse literature classes, to find out what they really mean, but sometimes we can never know. Anyway, I digress. I think yours was a very good post, Melissa, and I now have another question to consider in my own reading of the novel. Thank you, and good luck with the rest of your college experience.
One of the biggest questions a reader of Dracula could have is why did Jonathan Harker not heed any warnings given by the villagers? They gave him plenty of warnings and clues to point out that Dracula is no good. Well, in my opinion, Jonathan seemed to think that he knew better than all the other villagers that have lived by Dracula for generations, since he is English and went to college. Jonathan lived a very sheltered, typical English lifestyle. There were no abnormalities in his life. There may have been myths or stories, but none of them are based on true life experiences like the Transylvanians had. Jonathan was very quick to disregard the people even though they know what Dracula is, what he does, what his powers are, and what his wrath entails.
He is also lives and dies on facts. If there are no facts to back up what is said, Jonathan scoffs at it and moves on. When the inn keeper’s wife tries to give him a rosary, he accepts it more to avoid a scene than to use it as protection. However, as Harker realizes that he is a prisoner of Dracula’s, he begins to think back to what the people told him and how the things he thought were ridiculous, were actually true. It should be interesting to see how the villager’s knowledge comes in handy to defeat Dracula in the end.
Emily,
You’re on the right track with your thoughts here. Harker does, to a degree believe he knows better than the villagers who give him all these warnings because, as he stated in the opening chapters, he has been told that the Carpathian region is home to every kind of superstition. Just like you said, Jonathan lives his life based on facts and, furthermore, he’s an educated man — what educated man would believe such silly tales about blood-drinking monsters from these poor, unenlightened village folk?
But even if Jonathan had heeded some of the warnings given to him by the villagers, why then would he continue with his visit to Dracula? For the answer to that question we have to look at why Harker was in Transylvania in the first place: work. Harker is, more or less, a real estate agent and Dracula is a prospective client who has expressed interest in buying property in England. There’s money on the line so even if Jonathan believed all these warnings and wanted to avoid Dracula he couldn’t. After all, if your boss sends you away on a business trip and you come back without the job done, you can’t offer up the excuse of “the locals told me a scary story.”
The idea that Jonathon thinks he “knows better” is true as it relates to his culture, not his individual personality. In England at the time the novel takes place, Protestantism is extremely prevalent. Protestantism rejects the “idolatry” and ritualism of Catholicism; Protestantism rejects monasteries, the concept of the Eucharist (“eating” the literal transformed body and blood of Christ) and anything to be perceived as a false idol like rosaries, crucifixes, or religious statues. Jonathon is a product of this time and place in history, and I believe that contributes significantly to his reaction to the warnings of the villagers. I don’t see Jonathon as a character who sees himself as simply superior to others; he is merely following what his religious traditions have taught him when he is suspicious in accepting the crucifix (just as the villagers are following their religious beliefs in offering it).
In examining the historical background of the novel and the cultural norms of the time, I think a much greater understanding of the novel can be formed overall. Not only in regards to Jonathon’s relations to the villagers and Dracula, but also to why Mina and Lucy act the way they do (later in the story). Although Mina is a strong female character in many ways, her actions and portrayal are still driven by the gender norms of the time, and understanding those cultural expectations can heighten our understanding of the individual characters motives as well as the novel as a whole.
It is remarkable how nonchalant Jonathan Harker’s narration is in the opening chapter of Dracula. After all, most literature of the gothic fiction genre foreshadows the dark content which looms in the novel’s future with dark, ominous tones and hauntingly beautiful imagery.
Instead Jonathan Harker opens his diary entry with pleasant descriptions of the quaint towns he is coming into contact with and with mentions of the food he recently ate. This casual honesty immediately builds a sense of trust and intimacy between reader and narrator, because it is quite evident that the narrator is holding nothing back and that he is a regular guy—someone highly relatable. If anything, the beginning of the novel, Dracula, is written more in the style of realism than horror, and it is in that way that Stoker enchants the reader—not with the magic or mystical science gone wrong of many Gothic fiction stories, but with the simplicity of daily life.
As the story progresses, Jonathan is faced with many warnings from the villagers about the danger of the count in the castle, and Jonathan of course ignores them. Why? If you take yourself out of the novel for a moment and think, “This is not a story; this is real life,” then Jonathan’s actions make complete sense. Imagine reading an autobiography in which the writer talks about staying away from a castle because the superstitious people in the town told him or her that there was something very wrong about the place. In real life, you would expect the person to ignore that silly hearsay and continue on to satiate their curiosity as well as fulfill their business in that castle.
The situation is no different with poor Jonathan, who, as a lawyer’s assistant, is practical and undeterred by warnings that seem to have little basis in science or fact. The reader, knowing the grim outcome at the end of the story, may quickly use hindsight bias to condemn Jonathan’s actions as ignorant or naive. How could he possibly try to convince himself that the three vampire women appeared to him in a dream? How could he continue to make excuses for Dracula when so many signs pointed to the danger of his situation?
Perhaps because Stoker wanted Jonathan to seem to be a real human being who has only ever experienced the natural world and will of course do any kind of mental gymnastics to avoid facing the danger of an impossible situation. The reader is drawn into Jonathan’s innermost thoughts and of course forms a strong attachment to him based on his humanity, which makes his perilous situation that much more horrific and suspenseful.
And thus, in this way, Stoker manipulates the style of realism as his own device of horror.
One of the biggest questions that a reader will asking while reading through the first few chapters of “Dracula” will be why Jonathon didn’t pay attention to the warnings of the villagers. By saying prayers and giving him charms and crosses you would figure that he would at least be suspicious of his future. Jonathan pays no mind to it and continues on his travels. It could be because he is foreigner in this country and he doesn’t understand the costumes, he doesn’t believe he is in any real danger, or he is just so arrogant that he will be able to face any challenge that comes his way. Being a successful business man from the most powerful country in the world would probably make anyone rather confident in themselves, but Jonathon doesn’t seem too petty or self centered. I think he sees this trip as a chance to prove to his peers and Mina that he is a real man, a man that Mina would be happy to wed. From his narration we can tell his love for Mina is deep. The reader gets a sense that Jonathan is a good man so this should tell us that if he taking the time to write Mina nearly everyday about his every thought, that Mina is quite a women. His love for her is real and that is what makes his ignorance more confusing. If he has someone as special as Mina back at home for him, why is he ignoring all the signs that are right in front of him? From the villagers, the driver of the carriage, the blue fire, and the gigantic and empty castle of Dracula. Jonathan ignores all these signs that clearly point to trouble or death. Eventually he becomes Dracula’s prisoner after trying to figure out what is behind all the locked doors (another sign he should have saw) and he has nobody to blame but himself.
Joey, I think that you bring up a very good point about Mina being a strong influence on why Jonathan continued his journey to Dracula’s castle despite the many terrible warnings and signs. My class discussion focused mainly on how English culture of the time period viewed other cultures as less sophisticated and uneducated. Consequently, Jonathan probably viewed the worried villagers as somewhat quaint, but then again, as you say, Jonathan doesn’t seem very self-centered or pretentious. We also talked about how he was on a specific business mission, and it would have been devastating to his career if came back to England simply because he was scared. Jonathan seems ambitious in his job, and Mina is probably the main reason he is so determined to carry out his business trip to Count Dracula. As a husband he will be expected to provide for his wife and future children. As you say Jonathan seems to truly love Mina, and to be a real man in Victorian England he must be the breadwinner and provide for her a comfortable life. This motivation is probably what pushes Jonathan to continue his journey. When he finally realizes that his stay at Count Dracula’s may prevent him from ever seeing Mina again, it is too late to escape.
I find it astounding how oblivious Jonathan Harker is of the impending danger he will be encountering in the beginning chapters of the novel “Dracula”. While reading his journal entries during the journey to Dracula’s castle, I built up an urge to slap Jonathans wrists. The villagers from Transylvania, home of Count Dracula, gave Harker more than a handful of warnings as he took on his quest. Whether it be the old peasant woman bestowing upon him a crucifix for safety, or a crowd of Carpathian villagers whispering about “Satan” and “demons”, Jonathan never fully grasps the current predicament he is in. Personally I think he sees himself above the peasants due to his college education and cunningness, all aside from the infamous English mentality of “knowing everything”. As a result of this stubbornness, he embarks upon the journey to castle Dracula in carriage.
Along the way to the castle he, thankfully, begins to pick up on the strange interactions of the his fellow carriage mates as they looked stricken with fear during the ride. After switching carriages, he grows increasingly fearful of his new “carriage driver”, whom we later learn was most likely Dracula himself, as they encounter wolves upon the road and just by speaking to these animals is able to call them off. Many more suspicious and eerie occurrences come to Jonathan during his stay in the castle, while still telling himself that these events are only of his mind, until he encounters Dracula as the monster he truly is. I know, shocking. In the end, we find Jonathan fending for his life as he tries to escape the castle and wicked vampire sisters who are after him as well. I would say I feel bad for the guy, but in all honesty, he did this to himself.
I think Jonathan’s disregard for the warning of the peasants and the general eeriness of the Carpathians has less to do with his personal accomplishments (such as his education) and more to do with the cultural context of Victorian England.
The early entries of Jonathan’s journal betray the English tendency to patronize other cultures. You can see this in his comments about how quaint and picturesque the native populations are. This novel was written at the height of the British empire when England had control of colonies all around the globe, hence the phrase “the sun never sets on the English empire”. The English justified these takeovers by citing the “White Man’s Burden” of bringing God and civilization to the native heathens around the globe. It wouldn’t be uncommon for an Englishman to consider himself as a loving benefactor to whatever nation he may be travelling through, especially in Jonathan’s case, since he is facilitating the relocation foreign nobility to London.
His disregard of the local superstitions could also be rooted in the English disdain for Catholicism. The Anglican church had all the hallmarks of practical Protestantism and viewed many Catholic practices as sensational and idolatrous (transubstantiation and crucifixes were particularly loathsome). To enter a land described as an “imaginary whirlpool” and find Catholic imagery would immediately discredit any superstitions to a logical, Anglican Christian. So, again, Jonathan would not be apt to take much heed of the weird goings-on of the locals.
Finally, even when Jonathan did realize the danger of his mission, he pressed onward out of duty, not ignorance. Jonathan was only recently granted the position of solicitor after being a solicitor’s clerk (which he betrays by calling himself a clerk and then reprimanding himself, saying that Mina would criticize his underselling himself). This means that this was his first major assignment and it was vital that he didn’t fail. You will later find out that his boss (Hawkins) is also his father figure, so there is a sentimental need to please as well.
While you are correct that Jonathan’s disregard of the local fears is suspicious, the cultural views of foreigners and their religion cannot be ignored. Jonathan is an intelligent character, but he is also an Anglican Victorian solicitor and these modifiers must be taken into account.
Johnathan Harker has many red flags arise while on his trip to the counts mansion. Yet, he seems to not get the hint. The townspeople are showing signs of crosses towards him on the exact day that the dead souls are supposed to come back to earth. The driver of the carriage keeps stopping on the trail and wandering off, to eventually come back with no explanation. Harker explains how he feels kind of timid towards the whole situation but he never acts upon it.
The two, Dracula and Harker, haven’t met before, so them meeting at night was the first encounter with each other. At first, Harker thought nothing of this extremely pale man but as the story progresses he finally gains some awareness of the situation he’s in. Harker starts to notice that the count never eats, is always leaving at night, never is around during the day, and also he encounters vampire dreams of Dracula. All of these clues give Parker the common sense to escape as quickly as possible. The mansion resembles a prison, in which Harker is trapped with no way of getting out. He must outsmart the forceful powers of Dracula first before he can escape.
Gothic novels tend to have a supernatural factor within them, as well as similar settings, such as dark, dreary nights, Old, ruined castles, untold secrets, and the basic good vs. evil concept. We see these elements in this first chapter of Dracula, with the odd carriage rides during the night to Dracula’s castle and the fear the Jon felt while on those carriage rides, with the combination of confusion with the villagers superstitions.
When Jon finally comes upon the castle of Dracula, he states that his journey has been strange and uncanny that a dreadful fear comes upon him. This statement seems to display that Jon is naive to the situation, and simply could not understand nor heed the warnings of villagers, even if he really tried. Also since Jon is educated, that may also disable him from recognizing foreign traditions, such as “the evil eye.” Most of the strange things that Jon experiences, he associates with him dreaming, making it seem as though he is beginning to have a rough time telling the difference between a dream world and the real world, or it could possibly be that maybe he doesn’t want to admit to himself that what he is experiencing is true because once he does, it could cause him to go into a kind of panic. He could just want to stay calm and reasonable about things because it’s the only way he can keep his sanity.
Many people have stated that they thought it was absurd how oblivious Jonathan Harker was towards the subject of Count Dracula. The Villagers warned and begged him not to go to the castle, they gave him a rosary and held a crucifix to him. If this wasn’t warning enough that something strange was going on, the ride to the castle should have been another red flag. A driver who could stop wolves in their tracks and randomly stops his carriage simply to disappear. Not to mention the blue lights… How stupid can one get?
Well, I do believe he wasn’t acting too smart, but I do not believe that he was entirely oblivious. I think he simply did not WANT to believe that anything was out of the norm. He deluded himself into thinking that everything was fine and dandy so he would not have to deal with the danger he was sensing. For example, when he failed to see Dracula’s reflection in the mirror he didn’t freak out. Common sense says that that isn’t right. Most people would have had a heart-attack if they didn’t see someone’s reflection. I know I would have. Instead of freaking out though, it was like he chose to pretend that what he saw didn’t happen.
The shaving attack seemed to be the breaking point however. Jonathan went exploring and began feeling like a caged animal and realized he was trapped. That of course is never a good thing but the emotion of danger and mistrust finally came over him and finally began thinking rationally and realized that the Count was up to no good.
I agree that I think perhaps Jonathan did not want to face the truth somewhat. Maybe this is a little true. However, I also think his turning a blind eye to all these warnings have a little more to do with attitudes toward foreign cultures. At the time this book was written, “the sun never sets on the British Empire” was a very true statement as Imperialism not only allowed Britain to expand their economic resources, but to also “take culture to the uncivilized masses of the world.” The outlook on foreign cultures was of one of inferiority. Foreign cultures were considered something of being rustic and quaint; to be enjoyed and studied, but not tolerated. There was a certain arrogance in this. I think Jonathan has a bit of this attitude, even if only subconsciously. He makes a striking statement at the beginning of Chapter 1 in that all superstitions are gathered in the Carpathians. He’s already aware that he’s entering into a land that clings to their superstitions and legends, as he’s already read a lot about the area he’s visiting.
As for the rosary and crucifix, one must take into account the view of Roman Catholicism by Anglicans. There was still a stigma on Catholicism of it being a religion of idolators and superstitions. I think this view had mellowed quite a bit since the reign of Henry VIII, but there was still an undercurrent view in English society that Catholicism was inferior. So, regarding the text, I wouldn’t be surprised that Jonathan did not see the rosary and crucifix as symbols against imminent danger, but rather tools of the superstitious.
He was also on a business trip with the sole purpose to complete a business transaction. He couldn’t simply return to England and blame his failure to complete the transaction on these seemingly superstitious people. There was no good, logical reason for Jonathan to turn back at this point in the novel. We are aware of the Dracula story, and we’re reading this novel with the expectation of supernatural elements. Jonathan does not believe in the supernatural; it’s not anything that has entered his mind. I think for this reason, we should go a bit easy on him. Of course, we see these foreboding, foreshadowing elements, but they are not foreboding and foreshadowing to him. He just knows that he has to complete this business transaction. We also have to keep in mind how Peter Hawkins would react if Jonathan returned home not having completed the transaction. Jonathan is young, the junior partner, and is about to be married. How might his returning home affect his career and future prospects?
The narrative style in Stoker’s “Dracula” is the journal perspective, as opposed to the first person point of view, or even the third person point of view. This type of narrative gives readers more insight to what that person is feeling. For example, the readers know when Jonathan is fearful and when he feels calm in regards to Count Dracula. This emotion is typically not depicted so well within other narrative styles. The opening chapters of “Dracula” all revolve around Jonathan Harker’s adventure to see the count, and also his misadventures.
The journal style is a great technique because it can be presumed that all events are actually taking place without any added details. In “Carmilla”, the story was told as a flashback, which means that the narrator could have added details to the story to make it more interesting. Also, since the story is being told in flashback, important details could have been forgotten. The journal narrative provides readers with more accurate information regarding the events of the story. The narrator of “Carmilla” foreshadowed a lot within the story, creating an incredibly predictable story line. “Dracula” does have some foreshadowing, but not a lot because even the narrator does not know what is going to happen to him. I tend to enjoy these types of stories more because it keeps me more interested in the plot.
I believe that the journal narrative is much better than the first person point of view, or any other type of narrative. I think that the narrative is more reliable, and also gives great insight to the mind of the character. In this type of story, the story is told from different perspectives, making it interesting. A story can tend to get boring, and even repetitive in some cases, when it is told strictly from the same point of view. This also does not allow readers to understand the feelings of the other characters. I definitely would choose a journal narrative over any other kind of narrative, but I’m sure there are many people who would disagree.
Why did Stoker choose to use a journal-style narrative rather than first-person POV?
I believe Stoker chose to use journal entries simply because neither Jonathan nor the reader know what is going to happen. This allows for the reader to experience and feel what Jon is feeling at that moment. The journal presents everything as fact as well and makes one believe that everything within this journal has happened or is happening. This style of writing also welcomes suspense and the feeling of not knowing what is happening and what is going to happen. This is definitely better than the typical first-person because with first-person it would set up foreshadowing and the narrator would know what is going to happen.
It does seem odd that Harker didn’t acknowledge any of the warnings of the townspeople. We are made aware of the fact that there is something about dracula that seems to draw people towards him, even though people may be repulsed by him. Maybe its not that Jon was ignoring them in the beginning, but that he was somewhat interested in the fact that such a creature existed and he in a way wanted to test his own reality by going on. As discussed in class, he is really focused on reality and facts and what he can see and feel, so maybe entering on was a chance for him to test this. When he is received in the castle and he starts to recognize that some of the oddities discussed by the the townspeople were actually true, this seems to be when he almost enters into a state of denial and viewing the situation in a way that would fit is previous outlook. Its not until he realizes that he may really be in danger that he begins to see things as they are, and when he tries to leave, the Count uses his manipulative ways to force him to stay without making it look like he did so, further questing his motives for coming in the first place.
I found it very strange as well as to why Jonathon decided to continue his journey to the castle. However, we talked about it in my class and have picked up some very plausible ideas.
Jonathon is a young man who is near the beginning of his career as a solicitor. His employer and father figure, Mr. Peter Hawkins, is evidently someone Jonathon very much looks up to and would like to impress during this important transaction. This can explain why he seemingly ignored all of the warnings of the townspeople. He was much too focused on work and completing his transaction that he found the locals ideas of the castle and the Count interesting but evidently not frightening and did not let it impede his goal.
Also, Jonathon is a guest in a foreign land where he has little to no experience with the locals. Who’s to say Jonathon trusts their insight and doesn’t just look at their ideas as illogical superstition? He seems to be playing the role of an excited tourist in a land where he is learning new customs (and even recipes as he writes them down on his way to the castle) that he is unused to at home. Jonathon has no close acquaintance or friend that warns him of Dracula’s castle whom he can really trust.
Nearly all vampires are distinguishable by their brilliance, elegance, sexiness, and mystery. These qualities which we find so alluring make them great predators. This image of seduction and temptation is thrown out the window so to speak when it comes to Jonathan and Dracula. Dracula does not charm Jonathan at all. Seduction is rather the opposite of the two character’s relationship. Instead, Harker and the Count have a professional relationship.
Although Dracula commits vile crimes which include murdering children and innocent women and terrorizing towns, he maintains a somewhat honest ethic. We can see in his actions towards Harker that Dracula plays his powerful role with politeness and vague honesty. If Dracula merely wanted Jonathan as a prisoner, he could have gone to England himself and kidnapped him. Dracula choses to initiate the hunting game by personally and hospitably inviting Harker to his home. Harker comes with his own free will. When Harker arrives, Dracula does not force him inside, but he gives Jonathan the choice to enter. Harker is solely responsible for being in the castle.
Dracula always has the power to persuade Harker, but he chooses not to. The count never tells out-right lies. What he does to is tell Jonathan “half-truths” which lead Jonathan to think in in the wrong direction. In addition, the count protects Harker from the other creatures, and he tries to warn him of avoidable dangers.
As a vampire, Dracula is condemned to a sinful violent life. I think he tries to justify his inevitable evils by playing the cat-mouse game fairly. He might think what he is doing is, comparatively, not that bad because he gave Harker the decision to enter and leave. He thinks since he has not lied to Harker, he has done nothing wrong yet. By not seducing and entrapping Jonathan, Dracula tries to humanize himself. When he argues with the women saying that he has once before loved, we are instantly aware that he has some value in love. In defending a man and an emotion, Dracula clings to a part of humanity that is not in his nature.
I really enjoy Stokers, Dracula because of its unique writing style of the time period. Most horror novels in this time have been written from a narrative perspective or first person perspective recalling on past events. The journal style of writing makes this story very suspenseful.
In today’s film and novels, this writing technique is used to create suspense to the audience because the victim of the story is not aware of what will happen next, and neither is the audience. For example, the Paranormal Activity movies are filmed this way, where the audience has as much knowledge as the main characters in the movie. These movies film the day-to-day lives of this family and catches the paranormal happenings in their house. This scared a lot of people because of how suspenseful it was to not be able to predict what happens next. The writing style of Dracula does the same thing. It is really interesting to read journal entries instead of reading what happened in the past. For example, in Dracula, the reader gets to read the first hand experience of Jonathon’s encounter with the Count. When the writing style is someone’s recollection of past events, the reader isn’t getting the full emotion from that character. In Dracula, we get to see Jonathon at his weakest and his most fearful moments. I really love the writing style because it makes this novel so much creepier and more interesting than other Gothic novels we’ve read.
In the beginning of Dracula it is obvious that Jonathan is very well educated because of his lack of belief in the supernatural and superstitious. However, it also brings forth his naive character and inability to accept the things that go bump in the night as being anything more than a bedtime tale. As Jonathan goes on in his journals about his experience he begins to realize just how lightly he had taken all the people’s warnings about Count Dracula.
I think that Jonathan is still innocence crumbles once he finds out what Dracula is, a “monster”. His perception about the supernatural is converted into terror and curiosity once he meets the three women who seduced him to submitting his blood to them. That part of the novel seems to almost have an sexual aspect to it because of his descriptions. ‘All three had brilliant white teeth, that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips.’ Once Dracula saves him from being sucked dry he is temporarily relieved.
The theme I am recognizing so far as I read on is that Jonathan’s perspectives change. I think they will continue to change throughout the story until his death, which I am positive is sometime soon, since Dracula as already given an expiration date on his life. The more Harker knows about Dracula’s intentions the more he seems to defy him, like he is trying to preserve his own life for as long as he is able. This novel seems to continue down the paths of twists and turn, but one thing that amazes me is that it is more in depth about the characters than other gothic stories we’ve read and analyzed.
In the first few chapters of Dracula, Johnathan uses his diary entries to convey his personal experiences as well as give detailed descriptions about Dracula’s personal actions especially towards him as well as the other vampire women that are seen through his castle. Despite the fact that he is a mortal and can be killed at any time by vampires, they keep him alive and Dracula goes as far to show compassion and caring toward Johnathan.
In a twisted sense, Dracula in this situation could be seen dominate father figure towards Johnathan. It may seem absurd that a creature with so much negative denotation towards him could in anyway be seen as a gentle “soul”. However, there is evidence to this claim of symbolism. First off he shows compassion and caring towards Johnathan. He is noted for showing signs of affection by making his bed and setting a place at the table for him, nothing that a man of malice and hate would do for someone who could simply prey on him and discard him at any time. However he still shows his dominance by his interaction towards the other vampires as well as other creatures. For example, he has control over the wolves, having them ready to attack at any time in which an intruder or just simply someone of dislike or distrust invades the castle property. Furthermore, he becomes enraged when the vampire women of the house go near Johnathan. He scolds them heavily but then even goes on further to say they may have Johnathan when he himself is done with Johnathan overall. Though Dracula is considered a monster, he still has emotion, or at least personal experience with emotion, resulting in how he is seen though the household.
GothQuest 
The first few chapters of Stoker’s “Dracula” focus mainly on two characters: Jonathan Harker (a solicitor) and Dracula (the count). In this short amount of material, the reader’s perspective of the relationship between Harker and Dracula changes drastically. It starts off as a friendly relationship; they spend a lot of time together, and chat all night. But Harker realizes he is being held hostage when he notices that Dracula is doing what Harker thought all along the servants were doing; making Harker’s bed, laying the table, making dinner, etc.
Why does Dracula pretend that there are servants in the castle? Why doesn’t he just tell Harker that he is living alone?
To answer this question, we need to examine Dracula’s motives. What are his motives? All we know is that he wants Harker to stay with him and he wants Harker’s boss and loved ones to think he is alive and leaving the castle, even going so far as to have him send letters stating when he is leaving the castle and arriving at the train station, and when he is leaving the train station for home.
Later on in the beginning chapters, Dracula steals Harker’s clothes and pretends to be him as he makes a “dinner-run” to the village. He comes back with a baby in a bag, and gives it to the three women that mysteriously appear in front of Jonathan. Thinking Jonathan is asleep, he tells the women that they are not allowed to touch Harker until he is “done with him.”
Which brings us back to the question: what are Dracula’s motives? I personally think that Dracula is going to take on Harker’s identity and go back to London to wreak vampire havoc. This would explain why he would steal Jonathan’s clothes, and why he would kill him and make sure his loved ones knew. This theory is solidified by the scene where Harker finds Dracula in a coffin, obviously having just eaten, looking perfectly youthful and alive as opposed to his old, haggard self that appeared before.
But why would he need to take on another man’s identity? Why wouldn’t he just appear as Dracula? Possibly because once he’s finished with whatever it is he’s planning on doing, he’ll go back to living alone (or rather, with three mysterious vampire women) in his castle and the only people who will suspect him are the local villagers.
But this still doesn’t answer the question of why Dracula would pretend to have servants, even going so far as to make his bed and cook him dinner. Dracula, in my opinion, is doing this to give Jonathan a false sense of security. Which is obviously completely unnecessary, because Dracula has complete control over everything that goes on in and around the castle (and even possibly in the nearby village). But Dracula is obviously not a mindless killer, he’s an evil with immense intelligence. So he could be studying Jonathan so as to better impersonate him (or to better impersonate an Englishman), or he could be, for lack of a better phrase, “playing with his food.”
An interesting aspect of these first few chapters of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is the way in which Dracula behaves. From the beginning, his behavior is questionable as Jonathan Harker notes in his journal entries and at times it seems almost as if the whole situation is a sort of elaborate game to Dracula. He began by giving Jonathan an overly enthusiastic welcome to his home while emphasizing Jonathan’s ability to “come freely” and “go safely” and giving Jonathan a vice-like handshake. Later on, Jonathan begins to suspect that he is the only living being in the mansion and this is confirmed when Dracula is seen making Jonathan’s bed and laying out the dinnerware at the table himself. This also suggests that Dracula himself cooks all of Jonathan’s meals and was the driver of the carriage which brought Jonathan to his mansion. However, Dracula never acknowledges this and continues to act as if he has a full set of staff waiting on him.
Dracula needs Jonathan in order to learn more about England and to get legal advice; this is why he acts very possessive of Jonathan when he argues with the female vampires and why he insists on Jonathan’s staying at his mansion so he can converse with him. Over the course of these chapters, Dracula’s odd habits cause Jonathan to become increasingly suspicious, but Dracula continues to behave in the same manner and never overtly threatens Jonathan. It’s as if Dracula is trying to convince Jonathan that he is safe and secure inside his castle. Even when Jonathan asks to leave immediately, Dracula’s reply seems gracious and overly courteous. At the same time, his actions make it clear that if Jonathan were to leave, he would be attacked by the wolves outside.
Clearly, Dracula is a secretive and manipulative monster. He could have forced Jonathan to bend to his will, but instead he pretends to welcome Jonathan as an esteemed guest while simultaneously imprisoning him inside his castle. He enticed Jonathan into his home with a façade of kindness and welcome, but if Dracula is supernaturally powerful, why does he need this act? Dracula has proven to be extremely intelligent so perhaps he simply finds it entertaining or enjoyable to play mind games on his victims. His actions certainly do have a pronounced effect on Jonathan and push him to take more risks; over time, his actions become more and more crazed as he struggles to find a way to freedom.
Hi Melissa! I’m sure Professor Hall has briefed you on why we’re responding to your blog so I’ll leave it at that. Nice to meet you (or at least your blog posting, lol.)
You bring up some excellent points Melissa. It does seem really strange that Dracula, who is after all, a monster, goes so out of his way to be “nice” to Jonathan. I don’t know how much you know about the Vampire myth outside of this book, but I have always heard that a Vampire cannot enter one’s home without being invited. I can’t pinpoint the origin of this detail, but it seems a common theme. With that said, my theory is that this in fact may be a variation on the original Dracula version – one of the first ‘legendary’ popular vampire novels – that version being, perhaps, that Dracula cannot pull the fly into the web, so to speak, unless he comes voluntarily. As far as the “playing with his food” aspect, I think this is more or less Dracula’s making the best of a bad situation; he’s a Vampire, he must suck blood to survive, and despite the presence of his ladies of the evening I would have to imagine this is a lonely existence. Drac intends to feed on Jonathan, that seems fairly clear, but he may be putting it off in a desperate attempt to continue this very hollow form of friendship.
Actually, now I think about it, there may be another connection: The part you refer to where Jonathan asks to leave may be connected to something that happens in later chapters (possible spoiler alert!). I mean when Drac comes to England on a boat run aground and Lucy begins to show symptoms of being attacked by a Vampire. Perhaps Jonathan’s wish to leave and Drac convincing him otherwise just tows the line a little too close to crossing it, so instead of feeding on Jonathan he has to take other measures to survive; meaning possibly impersonating John to seduce Lucy? And the pretending he has servants thing may be some attempt to make Jonathan feel secure, or it may just be a hollow attempt to safeguard his own pride.
Of course this is all very speculative, I have not finished the novel so I don’t know exactly what to think. I always find it interesting to compare ‘what one has heard’ about legendary stories and the actual content thereof. That’s one of the reasons I’m taking such diverse literature classes, to find out what they really mean, but sometimes we can never know. Anyway, I digress. I think yours was a very good post, Melissa, and I now have another question to consider in my own reading of the novel. Thank you, and good luck with the rest of your college experience.
One of the biggest questions a reader of Dracula could have is why did Jonathan Harker not heed any warnings given by the villagers? They gave him plenty of warnings and clues to point out that Dracula is no good. Well, in my opinion, Jonathan seemed to think that he knew better than all the other villagers that have lived by Dracula for generations, since he is English and went to college. Jonathan lived a very sheltered, typical English lifestyle. There were no abnormalities in his life. There may have been myths or stories, but none of them are based on true life experiences like the Transylvanians had. Jonathan was very quick to disregard the people even though they know what Dracula is, what he does, what his powers are, and what his wrath entails.
He is also lives and dies on facts. If there are no facts to back up what is said, Jonathan scoffs at it and moves on. When the inn keeper’s wife tries to give him a rosary, he accepts it more to avoid a scene than to use it as protection. However, as Harker realizes that he is a prisoner of Dracula’s, he begins to think back to what the people told him and how the things he thought were ridiculous, were actually true. It should be interesting to see how the villager’s knowledge comes in handy to defeat Dracula in the end.
Emily,
You’re on the right track with your thoughts here. Harker does, to a degree believe he knows better than the villagers who give him all these warnings because, as he stated in the opening chapters, he has been told that the Carpathian region is home to every kind of superstition. Just like you said, Jonathan lives his life based on facts and, furthermore, he’s an educated man — what educated man would believe such silly tales about blood-drinking monsters from these poor, unenlightened village folk?
But even if Jonathan had heeded some of the warnings given to him by the villagers, why then would he continue with his visit to Dracula? For the answer to that question we have to look at why Harker was in Transylvania in the first place: work. Harker is, more or less, a real estate agent and Dracula is a prospective client who has expressed interest in buying property in England. There’s money on the line so even if Jonathan believed all these warnings and wanted to avoid Dracula he couldn’t. After all, if your boss sends you away on a business trip and you come back without the job done, you can’t offer up the excuse of “the locals told me a scary story.”
Emily,
The idea that Jonathon thinks he “knows better” is true as it relates to his culture, not his individual personality. In England at the time the novel takes place, Protestantism is extremely prevalent. Protestantism rejects the “idolatry” and ritualism of Catholicism; Protestantism rejects monasteries, the concept of the Eucharist (“eating” the literal transformed body and blood of Christ) and anything to be perceived as a false idol like rosaries, crucifixes, or religious statues. Jonathon is a product of this time and place in history, and I believe that contributes significantly to his reaction to the warnings of the villagers. I don’t see Jonathon as a character who sees himself as simply superior to others; he is merely following what his religious traditions have taught him when he is suspicious in accepting the crucifix (just as the villagers are following their religious beliefs in offering it).
In examining the historical background of the novel and the cultural norms of the time, I think a much greater understanding of the novel can be formed overall. Not only in regards to Jonathon’s relations to the villagers and Dracula, but also to why Mina and Lucy act the way they do (later in the story). Although Mina is a strong female character in many ways, her actions and portrayal are still driven by the gender norms of the time, and understanding those cultural expectations can heighten our understanding of the individual characters motives as well as the novel as a whole.
It is remarkable how nonchalant Jonathan Harker’s narration is in the opening chapter of Dracula. After all, most literature of the gothic fiction genre foreshadows the dark content which looms in the novel’s future with dark, ominous tones and hauntingly beautiful imagery.
Instead Jonathan Harker opens his diary entry with pleasant descriptions of the quaint towns he is coming into contact with and with mentions of the food he recently ate. This casual honesty immediately builds a sense of trust and intimacy between reader and narrator, because it is quite evident that the narrator is holding nothing back and that he is a regular guy—someone highly relatable. If anything, the beginning of the novel, Dracula, is written more in the style of realism than horror, and it is in that way that Stoker enchants the reader—not with the magic or mystical science gone wrong of many Gothic fiction stories, but with the simplicity of daily life.
As the story progresses, Jonathan is faced with many warnings from the villagers about the danger of the count in the castle, and Jonathan of course ignores them. Why? If you take yourself out of the novel for a moment and think, “This is not a story; this is real life,” then Jonathan’s actions make complete sense. Imagine reading an autobiography in which the writer talks about staying away from a castle because the superstitious people in the town told him or her that there was something very wrong about the place. In real life, you would expect the person to ignore that silly hearsay and continue on to satiate their curiosity as well as fulfill their business in that castle.
The situation is no different with poor Jonathan, who, as a lawyer’s assistant, is practical and undeterred by warnings that seem to have little basis in science or fact. The reader, knowing the grim outcome at the end of the story, may quickly use hindsight bias to condemn Jonathan’s actions as ignorant or naive. How could he possibly try to convince himself that the three vampire women appeared to him in a dream? How could he continue to make excuses for Dracula when so many signs pointed to the danger of his situation?
Perhaps because Stoker wanted Jonathan to seem to be a real human being who has only ever experienced the natural world and will of course do any kind of mental gymnastics to avoid facing the danger of an impossible situation. The reader is drawn into Jonathan’s innermost thoughts and of course forms a strong attachment to him based on his humanity, which makes his perilous situation that much more horrific and suspenseful.
And thus, in this way, Stoker manipulates the style of realism as his own device of horror.
One of the biggest questions that a reader will asking while reading through the first few chapters of “Dracula” will be why Jonathon didn’t pay attention to the warnings of the villagers. By saying prayers and giving him charms and crosses you would figure that he would at least be suspicious of his future. Jonathan pays no mind to it and continues on his travels. It could be because he is foreigner in this country and he doesn’t understand the costumes, he doesn’t believe he is in any real danger, or he is just so arrogant that he will be able to face any challenge that comes his way. Being a successful business man from the most powerful country in the world would probably make anyone rather confident in themselves, but Jonathon doesn’t seem too petty or self centered. I think he sees this trip as a chance to prove to his peers and Mina that he is a real man, a man that Mina would be happy to wed. From his narration we can tell his love for Mina is deep. The reader gets a sense that Jonathan is a good man so this should tell us that if he taking the time to write Mina nearly everyday about his every thought, that Mina is quite a women. His love for her is real and that is what makes his ignorance more confusing. If he has someone as special as Mina back at home for him, why is he ignoring all the signs that are right in front of him? From the villagers, the driver of the carriage, the blue fire, and the gigantic and empty castle of Dracula. Jonathan ignores all these signs that clearly point to trouble or death. Eventually he becomes Dracula’s prisoner after trying to figure out what is behind all the locked doors (another sign he should have saw) and he has nobody to blame but himself.
Joey, I think that you bring up a very good point about Mina being a strong influence on why Jonathan continued his journey to Dracula’s castle despite the many terrible warnings and signs. My class discussion focused mainly on how English culture of the time period viewed other cultures as less sophisticated and uneducated. Consequently, Jonathan probably viewed the worried villagers as somewhat quaint, but then again, as you say, Jonathan doesn’t seem very self-centered or pretentious. We also talked about how he was on a specific business mission, and it would have been devastating to his career if came back to England simply because he was scared. Jonathan seems ambitious in his job, and Mina is probably the main reason he is so determined to carry out his business trip to Count Dracula. As a husband he will be expected to provide for his wife and future children. As you say Jonathan seems to truly love Mina, and to be a real man in Victorian England he must be the breadwinner and provide for her a comfortable life. This motivation is probably what pushes Jonathan to continue his journey. When he finally realizes that his stay at Count Dracula’s may prevent him from ever seeing Mina again, it is too late to escape.
I find it astounding how oblivious Jonathan Harker is of the impending danger he will be encountering in the beginning chapters of the novel “Dracula”. While reading his journal entries during the journey to Dracula’s castle, I built up an urge to slap Jonathans wrists. The villagers from Transylvania, home of Count Dracula, gave Harker more than a handful of warnings as he took on his quest. Whether it be the old peasant woman bestowing upon him a crucifix for safety, or a crowd of Carpathian villagers whispering about “Satan” and “demons”, Jonathan never fully grasps the current predicament he is in. Personally I think he sees himself above the peasants due to his college education and cunningness, all aside from the infamous English mentality of “knowing everything”. As a result of this stubbornness, he embarks upon the journey to castle Dracula in carriage.
Along the way to the castle he, thankfully, begins to pick up on the strange interactions of the his fellow carriage mates as they looked stricken with fear during the ride. After switching carriages, he grows increasingly fearful of his new “carriage driver”, whom we later learn was most likely Dracula himself, as they encounter wolves upon the road and just by speaking to these animals is able to call them off. Many more suspicious and eerie occurrences come to Jonathan during his stay in the castle, while still telling himself that these events are only of his mind, until he encounters Dracula as the monster he truly is. I know, shocking. In the end, we find Jonathan fending for his life as he tries to escape the castle and wicked vampire sisters who are after him as well. I would say I feel bad for the guy, but in all honesty, he did this to himself.
I think Jonathan’s disregard for the warning of the peasants and the general eeriness of the Carpathians has less to do with his personal accomplishments (such as his education) and more to do with the cultural context of Victorian England.
The early entries of Jonathan’s journal betray the English tendency to patronize other cultures. You can see this in his comments about how quaint and picturesque the native populations are. This novel was written at the height of the British empire when England had control of colonies all around the globe, hence the phrase “the sun never sets on the English empire”. The English justified these takeovers by citing the “White Man’s Burden” of bringing God and civilization to the native heathens around the globe. It wouldn’t be uncommon for an Englishman to consider himself as a loving benefactor to whatever nation he may be travelling through, especially in Jonathan’s case, since he is facilitating the relocation foreign nobility to London.
His disregard of the local superstitions could also be rooted in the English disdain for Catholicism. The Anglican church had all the hallmarks of practical Protestantism and viewed many Catholic practices as sensational and idolatrous (transubstantiation and crucifixes were particularly loathsome). To enter a land described as an “imaginary whirlpool” and find Catholic imagery would immediately discredit any superstitions to a logical, Anglican Christian. So, again, Jonathan would not be apt to take much heed of the weird goings-on of the locals.
Finally, even when Jonathan did realize the danger of his mission, he pressed onward out of duty, not ignorance. Jonathan was only recently granted the position of solicitor after being a solicitor’s clerk (which he betrays by calling himself a clerk and then reprimanding himself, saying that Mina would criticize his underselling himself). This means that this was his first major assignment and it was vital that he didn’t fail. You will later find out that his boss (Hawkins) is also his father figure, so there is a sentimental need to please as well.
While you are correct that Jonathan’s disregard of the local fears is suspicious, the cultural views of foreigners and their religion cannot be ignored. Jonathan is an intelligent character, but he is also an Anglican Victorian solicitor and these modifiers must be taken into account.
Johnathan Harker has many red flags arise while on his trip to the counts mansion. Yet, he seems to not get the hint. The townspeople are showing signs of crosses towards him on the exact day that the dead souls are supposed to come back to earth. The driver of the carriage keeps stopping on the trail and wandering off, to eventually come back with no explanation. Harker explains how he feels kind of timid towards the whole situation but he never acts upon it.
The two, Dracula and Harker, haven’t met before, so them meeting at night was the first encounter with each other. At first, Harker thought nothing of this extremely pale man but as the story progresses he finally gains some awareness of the situation he’s in. Harker starts to notice that the count never eats, is always leaving at night, never is around during the day, and also he encounters vampire dreams of Dracula. All of these clues give Parker the common sense to escape as quickly as possible. The mansion resembles a prison, in which Harker is trapped with no way of getting out. He must outsmart the forceful powers of Dracula first before he can escape.
Gothic novels tend to have a supernatural factor within them, as well as similar settings, such as dark, dreary nights, Old, ruined castles, untold secrets, and the basic good vs. evil concept. We see these elements in this first chapter of Dracula, with the odd carriage rides during the night to Dracula’s castle and the fear the Jon felt while on those carriage rides, with the combination of confusion with the villagers superstitions.
When Jon finally comes upon the castle of Dracula, he states that his journey has been strange and uncanny that a dreadful fear comes upon him. This statement seems to display that Jon is naive to the situation, and simply could not understand nor heed the warnings of villagers, even if he really tried. Also since Jon is educated, that may also disable him from recognizing foreign traditions, such as “the evil eye.” Most of the strange things that Jon experiences, he associates with him dreaming, making it seem as though he is beginning to have a rough time telling the difference between a dream world and the real world, or it could possibly be that maybe he doesn’t want to admit to himself that what he is experiencing is true because once he does, it could cause him to go into a kind of panic. He could just want to stay calm and reasonable about things because it’s the only way he can keep his sanity.
Many people have stated that they thought it was absurd how oblivious Jonathan Harker was towards the subject of Count Dracula. The Villagers warned and begged him not to go to the castle, they gave him a rosary and held a crucifix to him. If this wasn’t warning enough that something strange was going on, the ride to the castle should have been another red flag. A driver who could stop wolves in their tracks and randomly stops his carriage simply to disappear. Not to mention the blue lights… How stupid can one get?
Well, I do believe he wasn’t acting too smart, but I do not believe that he was entirely oblivious. I think he simply did not WANT to believe that anything was out of the norm. He deluded himself into thinking that everything was fine and dandy so he would not have to deal with the danger he was sensing. For example, when he failed to see Dracula’s reflection in the mirror he didn’t freak out. Common sense says that that isn’t right. Most people would have had a heart-attack if they didn’t see someone’s reflection. I know I would have. Instead of freaking out though, it was like he chose to pretend that what he saw didn’t happen.
The shaving attack seemed to be the breaking point however. Jonathan went exploring and began feeling like a caged animal and realized he was trapped. That of course is never a good thing but the emotion of danger and mistrust finally came over him and finally began thinking rationally and realized that the Count was up to no good.
I agree that I think perhaps Jonathan did not want to face the truth somewhat. Maybe this is a little true. However, I also think his turning a blind eye to all these warnings have a little more to do with attitudes toward foreign cultures. At the time this book was written, “the sun never sets on the British Empire” was a very true statement as Imperialism not only allowed Britain to expand their economic resources, but to also “take culture to the uncivilized masses of the world.” The outlook on foreign cultures was of one of inferiority. Foreign cultures were considered something of being rustic and quaint; to be enjoyed and studied, but not tolerated. There was a certain arrogance in this. I think Jonathan has a bit of this attitude, even if only subconsciously. He makes a striking statement at the beginning of Chapter 1 in that all superstitions are gathered in the Carpathians. He’s already aware that he’s entering into a land that clings to their superstitions and legends, as he’s already read a lot about the area he’s visiting.
As for the rosary and crucifix, one must take into account the view of Roman Catholicism by Anglicans. There was still a stigma on Catholicism of it being a religion of idolators and superstitions. I think this view had mellowed quite a bit since the reign of Henry VIII, but there was still an undercurrent view in English society that Catholicism was inferior. So, regarding the text, I wouldn’t be surprised that Jonathan did not see the rosary and crucifix as symbols against imminent danger, but rather tools of the superstitious.
He was also on a business trip with the sole purpose to complete a business transaction. He couldn’t simply return to England and blame his failure to complete the transaction on these seemingly superstitious people. There was no good, logical reason for Jonathan to turn back at this point in the novel. We are aware of the Dracula story, and we’re reading this novel with the expectation of supernatural elements. Jonathan does not believe in the supernatural; it’s not anything that has entered his mind. I think for this reason, we should go a bit easy on him. Of course, we see these foreboding, foreshadowing elements, but they are not foreboding and foreshadowing to him. He just knows that he has to complete this business transaction. We also have to keep in mind how Peter Hawkins would react if Jonathan returned home not having completed the transaction. Jonathan is young, the junior partner, and is about to be married. How might his returning home affect his career and future prospects?
The narrative style in Stoker’s “Dracula” is the journal perspective, as opposed to the first person point of view, or even the third person point of view. This type of narrative gives readers more insight to what that person is feeling. For example, the readers know when Jonathan is fearful and when he feels calm in regards to Count Dracula. This emotion is typically not depicted so well within other narrative styles. The opening chapters of “Dracula” all revolve around Jonathan Harker’s adventure to see the count, and also his misadventures.
The journal style is a great technique because it can be presumed that all events are actually taking place without any added details. In “Carmilla”, the story was told as a flashback, which means that the narrator could have added details to the story to make it more interesting. Also, since the story is being told in flashback, important details could have been forgotten. The journal narrative provides readers with more accurate information regarding the events of the story. The narrator of “Carmilla” foreshadowed a lot within the story, creating an incredibly predictable story line. “Dracula” does have some foreshadowing, but not a lot because even the narrator does not know what is going to happen to him. I tend to enjoy these types of stories more because it keeps me more interested in the plot.
I believe that the journal narrative is much better than the first person point of view, or any other type of narrative. I think that the narrative is more reliable, and also gives great insight to the mind of the character. In this type of story, the story is told from different perspectives, making it interesting. A story can tend to get boring, and even repetitive in some cases, when it is told strictly from the same point of view. This also does not allow readers to understand the feelings of the other characters. I definitely would choose a journal narrative over any other kind of narrative, but I’m sure there are many people who would disagree.
Why did Stoker choose to use a journal-style narrative rather than first-person POV?
I believe Stoker chose to use journal entries simply because neither Jonathan nor the reader know what is going to happen. This allows for the reader to experience and feel what Jon is feeling at that moment. The journal presents everything as fact as well and makes one believe that everything within this journal has happened or is happening. This style of writing also welcomes suspense and the feeling of not knowing what is happening and what is going to happen. This is definitely better than the typical first-person because with first-person it would set up foreshadowing and the narrator would know what is going to happen.
It does seem odd that Harker didn’t acknowledge any of the warnings of the townspeople. We are made aware of the fact that there is something about dracula that seems to draw people towards him, even though people may be repulsed by him. Maybe its not that Jon was ignoring them in the beginning, but that he was somewhat interested in the fact that such a creature existed and he in a way wanted to test his own reality by going on. As discussed in class, he is really focused on reality and facts and what he can see and feel, so maybe entering on was a chance for him to test this. When he is received in the castle and he starts to recognize that some of the oddities discussed by the the townspeople were actually true, this seems to be when he almost enters into a state of denial and viewing the situation in a way that would fit is previous outlook. Its not until he realizes that he may really be in danger that he begins to see things as they are, and when he tries to leave, the Count uses his manipulative ways to force him to stay without making it look like he did so, further questing his motives for coming in the first place.
I found it very strange as well as to why Jonathon decided to continue his journey to the castle. However, we talked about it in my class and have picked up some very plausible ideas.
Jonathon is a young man who is near the beginning of his career as a solicitor. His employer and father figure, Mr. Peter Hawkins, is evidently someone Jonathon very much looks up to and would like to impress during this important transaction. This can explain why he seemingly ignored all of the warnings of the townspeople. He was much too focused on work and completing his transaction that he found the locals ideas of the castle and the Count interesting but evidently not frightening and did not let it impede his goal.
Also, Jonathon is a guest in a foreign land where he has little to no experience with the locals. Who’s to say Jonathon trusts their insight and doesn’t just look at their ideas as illogical superstition? He seems to be playing the role of an excited tourist in a land where he is learning new customs (and even recipes as he writes them down on his way to the castle) that he is unused to at home. Jonathon has no close acquaintance or friend that warns him of Dracula’s castle whom he can really trust.
Nearly all vampires are distinguishable by their brilliance, elegance, sexiness, and mystery. These qualities which we find so alluring make them great predators. This image of seduction and temptation is thrown out the window so to speak when it comes to Jonathan and Dracula. Dracula does not charm Jonathan at all. Seduction is rather the opposite of the two character’s relationship. Instead, Harker and the Count have a professional relationship.
Although Dracula commits vile crimes which include murdering children and innocent women and terrorizing towns, he maintains a somewhat honest ethic. We can see in his actions towards Harker that Dracula plays his powerful role with politeness and vague honesty. If Dracula merely wanted Jonathan as a prisoner, he could have gone to England himself and kidnapped him. Dracula choses to initiate the hunting game by personally and hospitably inviting Harker to his home. Harker comes with his own free will. When Harker arrives, Dracula does not force him inside, but he gives Jonathan the choice to enter. Harker is solely responsible for being in the castle.
Dracula always has the power to persuade Harker, but he chooses not to. The count never tells out-right lies. What he does to is tell Jonathan “half-truths” which lead Jonathan to think in in the wrong direction. In addition, the count protects Harker from the other creatures, and he tries to warn him of avoidable dangers.
As a vampire, Dracula is condemned to a sinful violent life. I think he tries to justify his inevitable evils by playing the cat-mouse game fairly. He might think what he is doing is, comparatively, not that bad because he gave Harker the decision to enter and leave. He thinks since he has not lied to Harker, he has done nothing wrong yet. By not seducing and entrapping Jonathan, Dracula tries to humanize himself. When he argues with the women saying that he has once before loved, we are instantly aware that he has some value in love. In defending a man and an emotion, Dracula clings to a part of humanity that is not in his nature.
I really enjoy Stokers, Dracula because of its unique writing style of the time period. Most horror novels in this time have been written from a narrative perspective or first person perspective recalling on past events. The journal style of writing makes this story very suspenseful.
In today’s film and novels, this writing technique is used to create suspense to the audience because the victim of the story is not aware of what will happen next, and neither is the audience. For example, the Paranormal Activity movies are filmed this way, where the audience has as much knowledge as the main characters in the movie. These movies film the day-to-day lives of this family and catches the paranormal happenings in their house. This scared a lot of people because of how suspenseful it was to not be able to predict what happens next. The writing style of Dracula does the same thing. It is really interesting to read journal entries instead of reading what happened in the past. For example, in Dracula, the reader gets to read the first hand experience of Jonathon’s encounter with the Count. When the writing style is someone’s recollection of past events, the reader isn’t getting the full emotion from that character. In Dracula, we get to see Jonathon at his weakest and his most fearful moments. I really love the writing style because it makes this novel so much creepier and more interesting than other Gothic novels we’ve read.
In the beginning of Dracula it is obvious that Jonathan is very well educated because of his lack of belief in the supernatural and superstitious. However, it also brings forth his naive character and inability to accept the things that go bump in the night as being anything more than a bedtime tale. As Jonathan goes on in his journals about his experience he begins to realize just how lightly he had taken all the people’s warnings about Count Dracula.
I think that Jonathan is still innocence crumbles once he finds out what Dracula is, a “monster”. His perception about the supernatural is converted into terror and curiosity once he meets the three women who seduced him to submitting his blood to them. That part of the novel seems to almost have an sexual aspect to it because of his descriptions. ‘All three had brilliant white teeth, that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips.’ Once Dracula saves him from being sucked dry he is temporarily relieved.
The theme I am recognizing so far as I read on is that Jonathan’s perspectives change. I think they will continue to change throughout the story until his death, which I am positive is sometime soon, since Dracula as already given an expiration date on his life. The more Harker knows about Dracula’s intentions the more he seems to defy him, like he is trying to preserve his own life for as long as he is able. This novel seems to continue down the paths of twists and turn, but one thing that amazes me is that it is more in depth about the characters than other gothic stories we’ve read and analyzed.
In the first few chapters of Dracula, Johnathan uses his diary entries to convey his personal experiences as well as give detailed descriptions about Dracula’s personal actions especially towards him as well as the other vampire women that are seen through his castle. Despite the fact that he is a mortal and can be killed at any time by vampires, they keep him alive and Dracula goes as far to show compassion and caring toward Johnathan.
In a twisted sense, Dracula in this situation could be seen dominate father figure towards Johnathan. It may seem absurd that a creature with so much negative denotation towards him could in anyway be seen as a gentle “soul”. However, there is evidence to this claim of symbolism. First off he shows compassion and caring towards Johnathan. He is noted for showing signs of affection by making his bed and setting a place at the table for him, nothing that a man of malice and hate would do for someone who could simply prey on him and discard him at any time. However he still shows his dominance by his interaction towards the other vampires as well as other creatures. For example, he has control over the wolves, having them ready to attack at any time in which an intruder or just simply someone of dislike or distrust invades the castle property. Furthermore, he becomes enraged when the vampire women of the house go near Johnathan. He scolds them heavily but then even goes on further to say they may have Johnathan when he himself is done with Johnathan overall. Though Dracula is considered a monster, he still has emotion, or at least personal experience with emotion, resulting in how he is seen though the household.