full title Dracula
author Bram Stoker
type of work Novel
genre Gothic, horror
language English
time and place written 1891–1897;
London, England
date of first publication 1897
publisher Constable
narrator Dracula is told primarily through
a collection of journal entries, letters, and telegrams written
or recorded by its main characters: Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray,
Dr. John Seward, Lucy Westenra, and Dr. Van Helsing.
point of view Shifts among the first-person perspectives of several
characters
tone Gothic, dark, melodramatic, righteous
tense Though some of the entries record the thoughts and
observations of the characters in the present tense, most incidents
in the novel are recounted in the past tense.
setting (time) End of the nineteenth century
setting (place) England and Eastern Europe
protagonist The members of Van Helsing’s gang—Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker,
John Seward, Arthur Holmwood, Mina Murray, and Quincey Morris —might
be considered the novel’s collective protagonist.
major conflict A vampire with diabolical ambitions preys upon a group
of English and American do-gooders, threatening the foundations of
their society until they dedicate themselves to ridding the Earth
of his evil.
rising action Jonathan Harker learns of Dracula’s evil while visiting
his castle to complete a real estate transaction; Lucy Westenra
becomes increasingly ill under Dracula’s spell
climax Lucy is transformed into a vampire; Van Helsing and
his comrades mercifully destroy her
falling action Van Helsing and company chase Dracula across Eastern
Europe, where they eventually destroy him.
themes The promise of Christian salvation; the consequences
of modernity; the dangers of female sexual expression
motifs Blood; Christian iconography; science and superstition
symbols The “weird sisters”; the stake driven through Lucy’s
heart; the Czarina Catherine
foreshadowing The initially unidentifiable wounds on Lucy’s neck
foreshadow her fall to the dark side by confirming Dracula’s presence
in England.
