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Count Dracula is the antagonist of Dracula. He is motivated by the need to feed on the blood of others, especially young women. He desires to spread his power beyond his Transylvanian castle by invading England and creating more vampires. He works to thwart Harker, Van Helsing, and the other characters by using his supernatural powers to resist being captured, and attempting to transform both Lucy and Mina into vampires. Dracula acts almost entirely independently, with the other characters being forced to react by trying to stop him. Dracula does not change in any meaningful way over the course of the plot, and he is never depicted reflecting on any actions. His appetite for blood is a kind of compulsion and while he is shown to be evil and monstrous, he is not presented as morally accountable in the same way a human might be. Even though she has been attacked by him, Mina points out that Dracula might deserve pity: “that poor soul who has wrought all this misery is the saddest case of all.”
