Book of Dream Interpretations - Part II - Essay Example

willing to cooperate with men, something which can be regarded as an unusual occurrence particularly in the late 1800s when women were still considered as lower class citizens. Mina was a modern woman, and it was a good thing she was married with a man who gave her liberty. (Stoker 147-204) Vampires are often portrayed as beautiful people with supernatural powers. They can fly, have supernatural strength, hear conversations from a distance, and smell blood. Perhaps their greatest characteristic is that they are immortal.

Man’s historic search for the “elixir of life” comes from man’s fear of the aging and death. While somebody is beautiful in his/her young age, such beauty can wither away with age. Whatever riches a man gathers, he will lose them all in death. Man wants to retain whatever he has achieved in his lifetime, and in order to do so he must become immortal. He must have uncanny powers in order to protect himself and his possessions. This is the reason why vampires are so attractive for many people – because they have everything that man covets.

No one would risk the ire of a vampire for fear of retribution. Vampires do not follow conventions – they eat blood from whomever they want without fear of getting caught. They take whatever they want without worrying of opposition (Stoker 204-273). While man can handle terror more gracefully, I believe that terror does not age gracefully. It does not lessen with time, but only through the realization that one can do something about it. Terror is there for all time, if one does not realize what is causing it, or how to deal with it.

Count Dracula flees simply to protect himself, like any other man would do. He has no other option but to leave because not doing so will be detrimental. Though he has greater strength than his enemies, “he is finite”, like Van Helsing said; he knows that he is not God and he can be killed. Again, I feel that this is the balance of nature at work. Even the most