Abstract
This article focuses on Bram Stoker’s landmark novel Dracula (1897), in order to better assess how the phenomenology of the monstrous emerges as inextricably interfused with a late-Victorian socio-cultural background. Attention is drawn to a discursive framework pivoting on scientific discoveries and medical research, as well as degeneration theories and the motif of atavistic regression. Taking its cue from recent trends in literary criticism, this paper also examines how the resort to a cutting-edge technological equipment, such as Mina’s portable typewriter and Dr Seward’s phonograph, can be instrumental in abating Dracula’s vampiric threat.
Highlights
Laura Giovannelli “Things that Make One Doubt if They be Mad or Sane”Originallyrated as a late-Victorian potboiler in the stock genres of Gothic horror and the supernatural adventure story, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) has long been accorded the iconic status of a literary landmark from a variety of perspectives
Over and above its popular appeal, this monumental shocker can be read as a cult classic, a vampire-literature Urtext, as well as an impressively stratified work
That is why letting Count Dracula fall into the category of the bloated, enervated, and bloodthirsty predator of folkloric tradition and popular mythology would be misleading, from the point of view of both the 1890s’ backdrop and the character’s overflowing afterlife in literature and the arts, let alone his teeming progeny within the film industry and the media
Summary
(under)rated as a late-Victorian potboiler in the stock genres of Gothic horror and the supernatural adventure story, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) has long been accorded the iconic status of a literary landmark from a variety of perspectives. By treading a mimetically-orientated path, this article aims to investigate such a pivotal intermingling in Stoker’s novel between the dreadful manifestations of the preternatural and a historical, sociocultural background that greatly contributed to the text’s reception and long-lasting dissemination. This porous overlapping enhanced the impact of a vampire narrative that acted like a magnet for a reading public who lived on the cusp of a new century, but was in many ways attuned to the inheritance and axiology of the previous age. Vampirism is the ultimate ‘sexually-transmitted’ degenerative disease” (Davison 1997, 27)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: 7 | 2020 The Representation of the Wonderful and the Preternatural between the Gothic Novel and <i>Fin-de-Siècle</i> Literature
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
