Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. How does Count
Dracula pervert elements of Christian tradition? What is the significance
of this perversion?
2. Discuss the
role of sexuality in
Dracula. What
does the novel suggest about sexual behavior in Victorian England?
3. Discuss Stoker's
decision to recount the story of Dracula through journal entries,
letters, and newspaper clippings. What are the strengths and drawbacks
of this approach?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Discuss the appearances Dracula
makes throughout the novel. What does Stoker achieve by keeping
his title character in the shadows for so much of the novel?
2. Discuss Van Helsing's role
as Dracula's antagonist. Why is the old Dutch professor the most
threatening adversary to the count?
3. Discuss the roles of Mina
Harker and Lucy Westenra. How are the women similar? How are they
different? Why, in your opinion, is Lucy the first to fall under
Dracula's spell?
4. Discuss Dracula in
relation to modernity. What, for instance, are the novel's attitudes
toward scientific advancements?
5. What is the role of geography
in the novel? How do Stoker's choices of setting conform to the
principles of Gothic fiction? How do they depart from these principles?
