Defining the Purpose in Bram Stocker's Dracula

The novel commences with Jonathan Harker an English solicitor embarking on a journey from England to Eastern Europe to attend to his client after certification on his professional role as a solicitor. On his journey he recounts his experiences on his diary from the first day to the last to share with his fiancée Mina upon his return to England. The purpose of his journey is to conclude a purchase of a real estate resident in England bought by Count Dracula a Transylvanian nobleman. This paper will analyze the manifestation of inert human desires through Count Dracula. This manifestation will touch on the parallels of untamed human desire characteristics found in the Dracula story. The boxes of dirt from his hometown that Dracula needed to stay healthy is a metaphor for a man’s affinity towards his birthplace. He had three female vampires living him this shows a man’s lust towards polygamy. Dracula made Mina Harker drink blood from his chest and also made an erotic image of his primal fetish.

In his journey Jonathan Harker provides a description of the picturesque country side of Eastern Europe including exotic food taste and recipe. He takes a rest at Roman town of Bistritz, checking in a hotel after the day’s journey upon recommendation by the Count and receives a letter from the Count from the hotel’s innkeeper (Stoker, 1-8). On his second day parker is set to commence his journey to Borgo Prund but receives several warnings from the innkeeper’s wife who forbids him to go but wait till the next day. Harker insist on going and the innkeeper wife gives him her crucifix (Stoker, 10-14). After a long Journey Harker arrives at the count’s Castle full of fear by the darkness, howling wolves as well as upon seeing the ruined castle. He waits for a long time before the Count appears and greats him from far welcoming and ushering him into his castle. The count gestures to Harker in an excellent as well perfect English although with strange intonation manifesting inert human desires (Stoker, 15-16)

According to Harker’s description the Count was a tall old man with a strong aquiline face high bridge, peculiar arched nostrils and thin nose. He is also a clean shaven with a long white moustache and hair growing scantily in his temples and abundantly everywhere even on his palm (Stoker, 17). Harker is impressed by the strength of his hand as well grip when they shake hands noting Dracula’s ice-cold hand as more like a dead man. Hacker states that the Count’s physical appearance revealing his pointed ears. Sharp teeth and exceptionally pale skin returning his fear and nervousness despite the great welcoming by the Count Dracula. The Count also attempts to smoke as he passes his Cigar to Harker which is an indication of inert human desire.

Harker takes super and is ushered to his bedroom take rest. The next day he finds a note from the Count who is excusing himself for the day like normal human beings do (Stoker, 18). He also realizes that the Count has no servants as he explores the castle seeing expensive furniture and rich fabric depicting his status as a noble mans. Dracula joins Hacker in the evening eager to learn Hacker’s English accent and perfect intonation during the night as this trait also depict his act like human being. At day break Dracula leaves Harker and vanishes and this strange human behavior leads to Hacker’s uneasiness (Stoker, 18-20). The third day at the Count’s castle Hacker cuts himself while shaving glancing at his shaving mirror. This event startles Harker upon notice that the Count has no reflection and his thirsty reaction towards sight of his blood. The Count lunges Harker’s throat and only stops upon touching the string of beads of the crucifix offered to Harker by innkeeper’s wife.

This fetish desire for human blood from the Count depicts that he is a vampire. In this respect, Dracula warns Harker against cutting himself in their country and throws the shaving mirror out of the window (Stoker, 24). This is an indication of the Count’s inert human desire and with no mirror not even a toilet glass since he does not want discloses his identity as vampire as he has no shadow (Stoker, 18). Harker also realizes that the Count never eats breakfast or drinks and in these occasions the Count is always makes excuse and goes out (Stoker, 25). Harker explores his suspicions discovering that the all the doors are within the castle are locked with only a few open like the library (Stoker, 19). Harker realizes that the all the doors to the castle are locked with and he is a prisoner in the castle.

Harker does not want to reveal his suspicion and involves Dracula in a conversation about Transylvania (Stoker, 27). The count provides description of his of people and battle while boasting of the glory of his family name while he does not have a family. This incidence also reflects the inert human desires of Count Dracula. In their conversation, Hacker shares about the English law and life after being questioned by the Count. After several days Harker is compelled to write letters to his employer Mr. Peter Hawkins and her fiancée Mina to inform them that he will be extending his stay (Stoker, 30). Submitting to the Count’s authority, Harker agrees to write the letters indicating an extension of his stay by a month. Similarly, Dracula warns Harker not to fall asleep anywhere in the castle other than his own room as while preparing to take his leave. (Stoker, 31) After Harker’s confirmation that Dracula has left. He peers through the window and observes Dracula emerge crawling as a lizard down the castle walls and his cloak spreading like wings while grasping the stone corners (Stoker, 32). This incidence indicates the parallel characteristic of the Count as human although being a vampire. Harker wonders what kind of creature that resembles humankind, confirming no escape route from the Castle (Stoker, 33).

In another incidence Dracula is seen as a polygamist and has three women whom he has allocated one room within his castle depicting his inert human desire to have a family. This assertion is depicted as Harker manages to unlock one of the rooms within the castle and falls asleep in despite the count’s warning not to sleep in any of the room. During his sleep Harker is visited by three beautiful women with aquiline face, sharp brilliant white teeth and red voluptuous lips. Hacker considers this event as a dream and experiences a wicked burning sexual desire as the women approach him (Stocker, 35). The most beautiful of the women bends towards Harker leaking her lips like an animal against his neck. Just in time, Dracula sets in drawing the fair woman with his giant power ordering the women to leave his guest alone (Stoker,36). Dracula promises the three women that they will have their chance to kiss him when he finishes with his guest (Stoker 37). In return, Dracula also tries to appease the women by offering a gasping low wailing young half smothered child as the women as they fade out of the room while Harker is falls into unconscious. This gesture also depicts Count Dracula’s inert human characters to love and have a family. Hacker realizes that he is locked within the castle and he has few days left before he falls victim of Dracula upon hearing the cries of the mother whose child had been offered to the three women by Dracula (Stoker, 43). He plans an attack on Dracula so as to free himself but Dracula luckily escapes. After this incident Dracula leaves Harker trapped in his castle and departs to England in a sheep with 50 boxes of dirt. The box of dirt depicts Dracula affinity to his tradition and origin and does not want to lose his identity even in after moving from Transylvania to England.

Upon reaching England Mina, Hacker’s fiancée and Mr. Swales sees the ship that Dracula boarded offshore at Whitby after a terrific storm. The ship’s crew was not found and its captain found dead holding a crucifix (Stoker, 82). The Count purchases the boxes since they contain the 50 boxes of dirt he was carrying along that are to be delivered at the house of Dracula. After entry in England, Lucy Westenra, Mina’s friend becomes the first victim of Dracula’s vampire bite. Lucy realizes that her friend is missing in her bed because of her tendency to sleepwalk (Stoker, 85). Mina finds Lucy at St Mary’s Church yard sleeping on a bench. Mina sees a dark figure with pale face and gleaming red eyes bending over Lucy. As Mina reaches to her friend Lucy who is still asleep but breathing heavily. The figure disappears and Mina wraps Lucy with a warm shawl leading her back to her house (Wasson). After Lucy regains consciousness Mina realizes the shawls safety pin pricks on Lucy’s neck and claims that she pricked Lucy while fastening the shawl on her throat. After a while Lucy moans of pain in her neck not knowing its Dracula’s bite (Stoker, 85).

Mina takes Lucy for treatment and care of both Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing applying several blood transfusions which does not help Lucy’s treatment. Later doctors try to drape Lucy with a garlic in order protect Lucy from the vampire bite but unfortunately Lucy succumbs to the death a few days later. Mina attends to his fiancé Harker after she receives news that Jonathan is in a Hungarian Hospital in Budapest (Stoker, 93). In the letter Mina receives information of Jonathan memory loss as well as brain fever and she take leave to see his fiancée. Upon reuniting the two return back to England as married couple with Jonathan’s diary having the information necessary to cure his memory loss (Stoker, 105). Harker’s diary also has information on how they can kill the vampire and also Lucy who has acquired vampirism as it regenerates among individual who have fallen prey of Dracula’s bite.

Harker, Mina, Dr. Van Heisling and Dr. Seward track the Dracula and his 50 boxes of dirt in order to destroy them. Dracula’s health is dependent on his home country dirt thus, the Dracula hunters decide to destroy the boxes to stop Dracula’s means of regeneration (Berni). During the hunt Mina becomes another woman prey of Dracula’s attack as she is found drinking blood from a gash in Dracula’s chest making erotic image of his primal fetish (Stoker, 312). Dracula vanishes and is then followed by the Harker and his group later killing Dracula as they destroy the last box that Dracula was burying himself at Transylvania cutting his throat and stabbing him through the heart.