Dracula

In the 19th century, the book Dracula by Bram Stoker was written. During this time period it was a thrilling book for people to read. The best way to analyze Dracula is through the use of historical criticism. In the 1890s people were limited to their knowledge of cultural information.
The time period when Dracula was written the characters were not exposed to everyone and everything in the world. Back then information was spread through print, telegraphs, or spoken word. There was no Internet or Google, so unless someone experienced something for himself or herself they wouldn’t necessarily believe it.   This is why the people of London did not know about vampirism.   However, the people of Transylvania had been aware of the vampires for many years, so they knew the proper precautions on how to avoid them. In Transylvania, the people were able to ward off the vampires with the use of crucifixes and not go out at night since the vampires avoid sunlight. When Jonathon Harker went to Transylvania to meet Dracula, the lady in the inn gives him a crucifix from her neck to protect himself.   Being from England, Jonathan had never heard of such monsters, and he was skeptical of such things.   Harker says, “I did not know what to do, for, as an English Churchman.” (Pg.5) While the lady was talking to Harker she asked him all sorts of questions like, “Do you know that tonight when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?” (Pg.5).   This is what would ultimately lead Dracula to travel to London in search of “new blood” due to the fact that the Londoners were naïve, had not heard of vampirism, and remained skeptical. Mina tried to fix this issue to the best of her ability by spreading knowledge through Jonathon’s writing, but no one would listen due to the fact that a notion such as that was too hard to conceive.
Another lens through which the reader may view Dracula is through feminist criticism.   Women were lesser beings to men at...