Bram Stokers Dracula: An Analysis of Historical Meaning through the Lens of Empire - Essay Example

Section/# Bram Stoker’s Dracula: An Analysis of Historical Meaning through the Lens of Empire Although at face value it might be easy to accept Bram Stoker’s seminal work Dracula as little more than a horror classic which helped to re-engage the reader’s imagination with the age-old folklore of vampiric legend, the fact of the matter is that the novel itself was highly more nuanced that might at first be realized. Like many great works of literature, the novel provided the reader with an understanding of certain current events, understandings of fear and xenophobia, as well as a greater appreciation for and understanding of just how insular and removed the home islands of Great Britain were from the vast empire that they ultimately ruled over.

As a function of this understanding, this brief essay will seek to underscore and highlight the following questions: how does the novel contribute to an understanding of British history, how does empire factor into the novel, how are social divisions represented, and what limitations there may be towards utilizing the novel as a potential source. The first of these questions regards how the novel contributes to a greater understanding of British history. In order to answer such a question, the reader must be aware of the fact that for several hundred years prior to the publication of Dracula, the British Empire had been in a nearly continual process of expansion; such that when Dracula was published in 1897, the British Empire spanned the entire globe and came to rule over nearly 1/5 of the world’s population.

As a function of this, the overall wealth and power of the British Empire was second to none and Great Britain and her holdings came to be the most dominant force within the world. However, one of “disadvantages” that the British soon began to realize with relation to Empire was the fact that although it brought with it great wealth, it also brought an “invasion” of immigrants from the far recesses of the Empire seeking a better life within the confines of the home islands. As a function of this mass migration that began to take place within the 1800s, many within British society began to become rather violently xenophobic and ultimately fearful of the way in which these many immigrants would ultimately spell the destruction of the cultural and racial heritage that existed.

As a function of this level of fear and loathing of the new immigrants, both the question of how the novel contributes to an understanding of British history and how the empire figures into this understanding can readily be realized. Moreover, as a function of explaining social division, one can quickly pick out the Victorian mores of society as exhibited through the stereotypical representation of the female characters within the novel. However, rather than trying to reinforce these typical gender roles that had been so entirely accepted throughout most of British society during the time, Stoker led what many readers have noted to be a subtle rebuke of these gender norms.

Says Stoker at one point in the novel, “The fair girl went on her knees and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck, she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white, sharp, teeth” (Stoker 50). Ultimately, this passage reflects the fear that traditional society had with regards to the ability of a female to be sexually assertive and provocative; however, rather than casting a judgment upon it, Stoker allows the character to comment upon its overall appeal and at the same time its incongruent nature with regards to what he knew of life and morality.

However, rather than outright dismissing the cultural norms that existed at his time, Stoker chose instead to point out the curious nature that such culturally accepted norms and mores espoused. Similarly, one most hearken back to the first question that this brief analysis sought to answer with regards to the innate fear that British society had with regards to the immigrant “other” to infer the overall level to which social division is tacitly exemplified within the novel. Rather than coming out and saying it, Stoker instead utilizes the medium of a horrifying undead creature from beyond the grave to exemplify some of the fear, loathing, and innate societal xenophobia, racism, and hatred that existed within the society of that time.

Finally, as a way of giving an even further level of credence to such an understanding, it is necessary for the reader ot appreciate the fact that Bram Stoker himself was Irish; an ethnicity that had long faced the brutal and repressive arm of British Empire. As such, it is likely and understandable that he would intimately understand and be able to describe the key issues that empire exhibited upon the subjugated as well as the ruling class. With regards to utilizing the text as a source, it should be understood that Stoker himself never intended the book to be anywhere near the cultural hit that it has become; nor did he ever envision a time in which society would be so enamored with vampires, as he described them, that they would spawn a series of multi-million dollar films.

Ultimately, although the book contains valuable references to period issues of the time, Stoker wrote it as a means of generating some extra money. With such an understanding, the individual should approach drawing too high a level of inference from the novel with great caution as it was never intended to be social commentary or politically motivated to one degree or another. As with most novels, the ultimate intent was to sell copies and provide a high quality of life for the author. Work Cited Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Tor, 1997. Print.