Dracula

> "*There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.*"
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**Dracula** is an 1897 Gothic novel by Bram Stoker. It tells the story of a Transylvanian vampire who moves to England in search of blood, and a group of Londoners gather together to stop him, as told in journal and newspaper entries.

Dracula was hailed as a macabre masterpiece as Stoker had invented a modern fantasy of vampires. It has also received numerous inspirations and adaptations and is a popular read in Gothic literature.

## Plot Summary

A young English lawyer and solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to Transylvania to meet with a client, Count Dracula, to assist with his real estate purchase at Carfax, a house in London. Along the way, several of the locals react with fear of his destination. They give him some charms against evil, and Jonathan translates some of the locals' strange words into "v*ampire."*

Despite being nervous, Jonathan continues his journey, and a strange coach takes him to an old castle home to Count Dracula. His host is welcoming and polite, but the lawyer soon notices something strange about the Count, such as being only active at night and hardly having any servants.

He later makes disturbing discoveries about his client, including seeing him crawl on the castle walls on all fours, and finds out he is being held prisoner by the Count. While Jonathan is asleep one night, he is nearly attacked by three vampire women, but the Count fends them off. Now fearing for his life, Jonathan climbs down the castle's walls to escape.

Meanwhile, in England, Jonathan's fiancée, Mina Murray, visits the seaside town of Whitby with her close friend Lucy Westenra, who is in love with three men: Arthur Holmwood, her fiancé, Dr. John Seward, a lunatic asylum owner, and Quincey Morris, an American. Lucy ends up rejecting her two suitors and accepting Holmwood's proposal. Mina becomes worried when she notices her friend sleepwalking and hasn't heard from Jonathan for a while.

After a violent storm, a strange ship arrives ashore, with its crew missing and the captain dead. The only survivor was a large dog that quickly disappeared, and the only cargo found aboard were 50 boxes of earth shipped from Dracula's Castle.

One night, Lucy sleepwalks, and Mina finds her in the local cemetery and thinks she saw a dark shadow with glowing red eyes bending over her friend. Lucy suddenly becomes pale and weak, with two tiny red marks on her neck. Mina or her friend's suitors can't understand the strange marks. After hearing that Jonathan is alive but suffering from brain fever in Budapest, Mina leaves England to be with him, and after he recovers, they marry.

Back in Whitby, Lucy is left with Dr. Seward. Unable to figure out her illness, Seward calls on his old mentor, Abraham Van Helsing, from Amsterdam, for help. Van Helsing arrives in Whitby and examines Lucy. She continues to grow paler from her condition, and the men have to give her blood transfusions to revive her, which only temporarily improves her suffering. Van Helsing gives Lucy some garlic-scented flowers to wear and has her room covered with garlic plants. For a while, Lucy seems safer, but after the flowers are removed by her mother, Mrs. Westenra, she becomes more vulnerable and helpless to further attacks.

Late one night, a wolf breaks into Lucy's room. Mrs. Westenra dies from a heart attack, and despite the men trying to save her, Lucy succumbs to her wounds. After she is laid to rest, Van Helsing convinces the others that Lucy has turned into the "Un-Dead" or transformed into a vampire. After reading news reports of her preying on young children in the area, they decide she must be destroyed for her soul to be free. While the undead Lucy is asleep, the men enter her tomb, where they plunge a stake through her heart and cut off her head.

Jonathan and Mina return to England. After Van Helsing reads Jonathan's journal entries when he is in Transylvania, he gathers everyone together. He tells them about Lucy turning into the Un-dead after being bit by Count Dracula. They must work together to destroy him and the 50 boxes of earth that maintain his existence. Mina helps Van Helsing arrange all of the entries written by the others that were pieced together in a narrative that would track down the Count.

The men destroy some of the earth boxes at Dracula's estate of Carfax and other locations in London, but one night, one of Seward's patients lets Dracula into the asylum, where the count breaks into Mina's room and preys on her. She slowly transforms into a vampire but makes a blood link with Dracula as she can sense the Count's whereabouts when hypnotized by Van Helsing.

With only one box of earth left, Dracula escapes to his native Transylvania for his safety, and Van Helsing's party pursues his route over land and by river. They arrive at the count's destination, where Van Helsing destroys the three vampire women in the castle, and the men confront a group of Gypsies carting Dracula's final box of earth to his home. Jonathan and Quincey finish the count by stabbing him with holy knives until his body is destroyed. Quincey is mortally wounded by the Gypsies and dies from his injuries, while Mina is turned back to normal.

Seven years later, Jonathan and Mina have a son named Quincey, Seward and Holmwood get married, and Van Helsing recounts their adventure of destroying Dracula.

## Characters

Count Dracula- A vampire and nobleman living in a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania. He is about 400 years old and is from a family of warriors who fought against the Turks during the Middle Ages. When he first meets Jonathan Harker, he appears polite and friendly to the London native and solicitor who does business with him. However, he is a blood-sucking monster who must feed on blood to survive. In addition, he has shape-shifting powers and can climb down walls, and when he arrives in London, he brings 50 boxes of earth from Transylvania that preserve his existence.

Abraham van Helsing- An eccentric, influential Dutch professor from Amsterdam who is an expert in science and philosophy. He was first summoned to England by his former student and friend Dr. John Seward to examine his ex-fiancée Lucy Westenra, who suffers from strange symptoms after being bitten on the neck. After learning she was preyed on by Dracula, as he also knows vampire folklore, he gathers Seward and his friends together, where he becomes Dracula’s arch-nemesis as they set out to destroy all the boxes of earth.

Jonathan Harker- A young solicitor or lawyer from London. He was the first to encounter Dracula when his firm sent him to Transylvania to deal with a house he bought in Carfax, where he is horrified by the shocking discoveries about his client. After falling ill with brain fever following his traumatic experience, he fully recovers after his beloved fiancée Mina comes to his rescue, and they later marry. He joins Van Helsing’s group to destroy Dracula but is more worried about Mina becoming a vampire and would share the same curse with her than let her suffer from it alone.

Mina Harker (née Murray)- A bright young woman who is Jonathan’s fiancée and later his wife. While Jonathan is away in Transylvania, Mina spends most of her time in Whitby with her close friend Lucy. But after finding out about her fiancé’s illness, she hurries to be at his side, and they later return home as husband and wife. She manages to help Van Helsing and his men hunt and destroy Dracula by gathering all their diary entries and arranging them into a single narrative. However, she is eventually preyed on by Dracula. Still, despite slowly turning into a vampire, she forms a blood link to the count and can sense his whereabouts when hypnotized by Van Helsing.

Dr. John Seward- A young doctor who owns an insane asylum and Van Helsing’s former protégée. He was also one of Lucy’s suitors, but despite his grief, she chose Arthur Holmwood over him; he still loves her and dedicates himself to protecting her when she suddenly falls ill. He would study and interview one of his patients, Renfield, and his asylum is close to Carfax, Dracula’s London house. He later joins Van Helsing’s group to destroy Dracula.

Quincey Morris- A young gentleman from Texas who is one of Lucy’s three suitors. He is a friendly and plainspoken man who devotes himself to being banded alongside Holmwood and Seward in the battle against Dracula. He sacrifices his own life to destroy and save the Count for g Mina’s life.

Arthur Holmwood- An aristocratic gentleman and Lucy’s chosen fiancé, who later becomes Lord Godalming after his father’s death. He is close friends with Seward and Morris and is nearly traumatized after he decides to kill the undead Lucy and free her soul. However, he dedicates his influence and wealth to avenging his beloved Lucy by destroying Dracula.

Lucy Westenra- A beautiful, attractive young woman and Mina’s best friend. She was in love with Holmwood, Seward and Morris and had a hard time with whom she would end up, but she accepts Holmwood’s proposal. She was the first person to be victimized by Dracula, as she became weak from losing blood after being bitten. After she dies, she transforms into the Undead, and Van Helsing and his men have to drive a stake through her heart to free her soul.

Renfield- A patient at Dr. Seward’s insane asylum. He habitually eats flies and spiders, believing he is absorbing their “life force.” He later desires blood and is eager to be Dracula’s student, but he kills him after he lets him into the asylum and lets him prey on Mina.

Mrs. Westenra- Lucy’s mother. She is in fragile health and dies of a heart attack after a wolf breaks into Lucy’s room and attacks her.

Swales- An older man who lived in Whitby, where Lucy and Mina were visiting. He would tell the women stories about ghosts, death, and his uncertainty of evil when the mysterious ship arrived at the shore. He later dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

Sister Agatha- A nun who looks after Jonathan Harker while suffering from brain fever in Budapest. He writes to Mina describing his condition and wishes the couple well when they get married.

The Three Vampire Sisters- A trio of vampire sisters who are Dracula’s consorts. They are ravenous for blood and attempt to prey on Jonathan while he is at Dracula’s castle in Transylvania. Van Helsing later destroys them while hunting down Dracula and his final box of earth.

Peter Hawkins- Jonathan’s employer and the head solicitor of his firm. He is like a father figure to his young employee; Jonathan and Mina inherit his wealth after his death.

Quincy Harker- The son of Jonathan and Mina. He was born at the end of the story, on the 7th anniversary of Quincy Morris’ death and the destruction of Dracula. He is named after his American namesake, whose brave sacrifice saved his parents and the world from Dracula’s wrath.

## Writing History/Reception

Around the time when Stoker was developing the story for *Dracula*, he was working as a manager for the Lyceum Theatre in London, where famous Victorian actor Sir Henry Irving performed and was also Stoker’s close friend. Initially a drama critic, Stoker attempted to get his start in his literary career by publishing a book of children's tales titled *Under the Sun* in 1882. In 1890, Stoker published his first novel, *A Snake's Pass,* which was met with poor reception.

Stoker and Irving spent most of their time travelling for Irving's acting company and Stoker giving lectures. The same year he published *A Snake's Pass*, Stoker visited the seaside town of Whitby, England. He had been exhausted from his tour, and while in Scotland, Irving suggested he spent some time to recover in Whitby, and he took up lodgings at Royal 6 Crescent. Stoker would spend his time walking on Whitby's beaches and admiring the scenery before him that impacted other famous writers and poets who visited the town over the years. He had even spent some of his holidays in Whitby with his family and was writing a story in Styria, Austria, with a protagonist named Count Wampyr.

During his 1890 stay in Whitby, Stoker visited the local library and came upon a book that was published in 1820 that was called *The Accounts of Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia* by William Wilkinson. He then wrote it into his journal, which would be a later reference for *Dracula*. "*Dracula in the Wallachian language means Devil. The Wallachians at that time … used to give this as a surname to any person who rendered himself conspicuous either by courage, cruel actions, or cunning*." At the same time, Stoker also heard that five years ago, a Russian schooner from Narva called the Dmitri crashed onto the harbour of Tate Hill Pier below East Cliff. On board was some cargo of silver sand. This would inspire the schooner Demeter, whom Dracula boarded along with his 50 boxes of earth to gain access to England. He also walked up the 199 steps to Whitby Abbey, perched on a hill overlooking the town, and it was here that he received some inspiration from the abbey's Gothic ruins and ancient graves.

Stoker began work on *Dracula* shortly after his Whitby visit. He initially planned to call it *The Undead,* which was supposed to be a play until his publisher convinced him to change the title at the last minute. It took seven years to write his novel, and during those years, he struggled with writing, focusing on writing other books and researching the subject.

*Dracula* was finally published on May 26th, 1897, by Archibald Constable and Company. It was met with critical acclaim and frightened many readers with its allure of Gothic elements, suspense and vampirism references. However, the novel was only moderately successful after publication. It wasn't years after Stoker's death in 1912 that it would become one of the most influential novels in Gothic literature and has never been out of print. It would be adapted numerous times in film, TV, stage and other media, and its titular antagonist would also become one of the most iconic characters in literary pop culture.

Lore and stories of vampires that inspired *Dracula* have existed in many parts of the world for centuries. Before *Dracula*, vampires were widely believed to be blood-sucking monsters who rose from the dead to feast on the living, a legend popularized during the Middle Ages and even into the 20th century. Stoker didn't write the first vampire story, as several authors in the past have written stories about vampires before *Dracula's* publication. John Polidori's 1819 novel *The Vampyre* featured a vampire protagonist who preyed on young women. Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's 1872 novella *Carmella* features a female vampire as the protagonist who makes her female victims become her lovers.

Stoker may have gathered ideas of *Dracula* from travel books, vampire mythology lore and historical texts, such as Emily Gerard's travel novel about Transylvania and the customs of the people who live there.But the biggest possible inspiration for Stoker's *Dracula* was the historical accounts of a 15th-century Romanian Prince named Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler, who was born in Transylvania. During his lifetime, Vlad was the ruler of Wallachia (which is now modern-day Romania), and he took the name Dracula, which means "*son of Dracul*" in Romanian or "*son of the dragon*" in English. However, some historians believe the name "*Dracul*" is the Romanian name for "*Devil*." Despite being considered a national hero in Romania for his patriotism against the Ottoman Empire, Vlad was known to be a cruel, vicious leader. He would ruthlessly use brutal tactics against his enemies, such as mass murder, torture, rape and mutilation. His most notable method of torture and murder was impalement, in which the victim had a long, wooden stake driven through their bodies and would then be left to die of exposure. He had as many as 20,000 people impaled, and he even enjoyed a meal surrounded by his impaled victims. It's estimated that 80,000 people died under his reign, and his name and cruelty are what Stoker had found in Wilkinson's book that inspired his Gothic masterpiece.

## Themes

### Modern Technology

By the late Victorian era, modern technology was booming and being effective in everyday lives and industries in the future. Count Dracula was a monster who existed for centuries, but it’s clear he is no match for the modernized technology that was common in 1897, the year Stoker published his book. Stoker had been fascinated by the newest technology during his lifetime and used it to create a contrast between the old and the new. For example, when Jonathan takes the train to Transylvania, he thinks he is travelling back in time.

Since Van Helsing is the wisest character in the book, and maybe even the story’s hero, he has experience in modern technology to hunt vampires, such as using blood transfusions to revive Lucy after Dracula attacks her. Dr. Seward recorded his notes on a phonograph. The characters also frequently travel by train, and Van Helsing and his party even pursue Dracula’s route to Transylvania by a steam-powered locomotive. However, the technologies invented by the end of the 19th century were questionable by Victorian society. They were indifferent to their beliefs and if they were meant to shape the future of science, politics and technology. Van Helsing may know how to use modern technology, but he also knows the ancient traditions and beliefs of vampirism that were not heard of in the Western world. Despite Van Helsing’s efforts with technology, he realizes they cannot be used to defeat Dracula alone, and they end up using holy weapons to finally destroy Dracula.

Stoker perfectly combined ancient Gothic castles and old vampirism values to the modernity of Victorian England, and the new changes society was going through at the time were nothing Dracula had been used to when he had been alive for over 400 years.

### Christianity and Salvation

One of the main methods Van Helsing and his party use to defeat Dracula is Christianity. Their objects include crucifixes and communion wafers that vampires are vulnerable against. One of the most famous traditions that Dracula is weak against is Holy Communion. During this process, Catholics would drink wine that symbolizes the blood of Christ. By drinking it, they hope they will receive eternal salvation, be forgiven of their sins, and be granted a spiritual life with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, Count Dracula only craves actual human blood as it would make him live forever and become more powerful. Critics often view *Dracula* as a Christian allegory since it features different elements and values depicted in Catholic lore. For example, when Jonathan prepares to travel to Transylvania, one of the local women gives him a crucifix since she is a superstitious woman and hopes that the power of Christ will protect him from Count Dracula’s wrath. As an English churchman, Jonathan has been taught to regard crucifixes as idolatrous and is relieved when the crucifix prevents Dracula from preying on him when he sees him bleed.

Since Stoker was raised in a Protestant family, the Christian beliefs and values he had been surrounded with influenced him to use them as a theme in his novel. Count Dracula is seen as a demonic Antichrist who strikes fear in humans and manipulates them to become his followers, such as Renfield and Lucy. As Dracula’s followers turn into the Undead, they are cursed with an eternal life of soullessness, and they lose their faith in God and worship Dracula as their spiritual leader. Unlike Jesus, who treats his followers like equals and has them atone for their sins so they can live forever in Heaven, Dracula treats them more like servants than equals. He makes his followers live eternal life on earth by preying on humans and turning them more into their kind.

Another theme Stoker used is salvation. According to the Christian faith, people are offered salvation when God saves them from the consequences of their wrongdoing; it’s also worth noting that Jesus died to save his people from sins and suffering. Van Helsing displays his holy beliefs by using a crucifix to ward off Lucy after she has transformed into the Undead and seals her tomb door with holy wafers to prevent her from reentering. By destroying the Undead Lucy, they would free her soul so she could have salvation and rest in peace as a beautiful woman. Van Helsing is a devout Christian who keeps his loyalty to his religion by warding off Dracula's evil that is plaguing his world. When Dracula is destroyed at the novel’s end, he is offered salvation and can rest in peace rather than live an immortal life as a soulless being.

### Female Sexuality

In Victorian society, women were seen as pure until they married or fell into the wrong boundaries, such as prostitution. Most married women are meant to be passive and pure and take the role of the "Angel in the House," in which she would reserve her sexuality and is expected to carry out her womanly roles as a wife and mother. However, there was a feminist ideal in the 19th century called "The New Woman" when women protested against their feminine stereotypes and demanded rights, freedom, self-determination and higher education. The only female characters in the novel, Mina, Lucy and the Three Vampire Sisters, have different feminine sexuality that determines what kind of women they are and whether they fit the role of passive or rebellious.

The Three Vampire Sisters first appeared when they attempted to prey on Jonathan when he was at Dracula's Castle. Although not human, the Vampire Sisters have the power of seduction and sexuality to prey on male humans. In this case, Jonathan is a passive man who is afraid of the vampire women, who are beautiful but deadly. However, they are also known as "fallen women." In Victorian society, these women were treated as outcasts in society, whether it resulted in a scandalous marriage or an illegitimate pregnancy. The vampire sisters were treated as outcasts in Dracula's castle, where they had once been the Count's victims and now "live" with him. As such, they have all the freedom in their sexual urge that cannot be attributed to humans, and Dracula makes it clear his "vampire women" would never lay their hands on Jonathan.

Lucy and Mina represent the Victorian ideal of female virtue. They are pure and innocent and follow common female duties at the time, such as Mina being a schoolmistress and Lucy being a socialite. Lucy is more sexual than Mina because she is in love with three different men and has a hard time choosing who she will marry. She even expressed why she couldn't marry three men at once. But after Count Dracula preys on her and she becomes a vampire, Lucy turns into a sexual, dangerous female predator who then preys on men, especially those she loves. Ultimately, she loses her sexual desires when her fiancé, Arthur Holmwood, drives a stake through her heart to end her suffering and turn her back into a pure woman so she can rest in peace. Mina, on the other hand, is different from her friend. She has always stayed loyal to Jonathan and is pure at heart. Unlike Lucy, after Dracula preyed on her, Mina slowly transforms into a vampire, but she becomes a "New Woman." She insists she accompanies the men on their pursuit of Dracula and even asks Jonathan to finish her off if she is fully transformed; therefore, she has become an independent, brave woman who would accept any risks to save herself and her husband from Dracula's wrath. In addition, she also has expert typing skills, as she would often write out journal entries on a typewriter, which is something she kept secret from Jonathan, but it shows she has defied her female stereotypes and is determined to be more independent.

### Good vs Evil

*Dracula* explores the conflict of good versus evil involving a vampire and humans. It is a holy war where Van Helsing and his allies use holy objects and Christian references to prove that faith can conquer evil. But the battle starts with some characters' naivety and how they are led into a trap that would invoke the battle between good and evil. For example, when Jonathan arrives in Transylvania, the innkeeper's wife gives him a crucifix for his protection when she hears the Count's name, and she even brings up that on the eve of St. George's Day, goodness triumphs over evil, but Jonathan doesn't take her seriously until later on. The crucifix saved Jonathan from Dracula attempting to prey on him while at his Castle. In Whitby, England, Lucy suffers from sleepwalking, and Mina tries to keep her safe. But after Dracula arrives in Whitby, Lucy unknowingly sleepwalks into the wrong place, and Dracula is given the chance to make her evil like him. The first battle against evil happens when Van Helsing and his men confront Lucy and bury a stake in her heart to restore her soul from Dracula's wrath over her; as such, they are forced to kill the Undead Lucy because she has turned evil and it's the only way she can be stopped.

Not everyone is always virtuously good, as seen with Renfield, who is depicted as neutral. He was a mentally unstable patient at Dr. Seward's asylum and exhibited bizarre behaviour, such as eating flies and spiders. He becomes somewhat evil when he worships Dracula and becomes his servant, but he has a good side when conversing with Mina and is polite toward her. He tries to protect her from the Count, but his devoted master betrays and kills him to take advantage of Mina. She becomes "bad" when Dracula manipulates her by reading her mind and making him his next victim. Despite Mina about to turn evil, she still has her good side when she shares a link with the Count by sensing his whereabouts and assists the men when they chase Dracula back to Transylvania and finish him off. When Dracula is finally defeated, goodness has conquered evil. Van Helsing even recalls to Jonathan and Mina's son that his mother is a heroic, pure woman who has helped Van Helsing save the world from evil.

## Symbols

### Blood

Blood is the essence of life that Dracula must feed on to live forever, but it symbolizes many different things. Firstly, it is a life force in humans and vampires, as humans need blood to live, but vampires crave their blood so that they can live forever. Secondly, it symbolizes sexual desires and unity. After Lucy loses so much blood from Dracula, the men have to offer blood transfusions to revive her, and when Holmwood transfuses his blood to hers, he feels like he is "married" to her in his blood. Another example is Dracula forcing Mina to drink his blood so he can solidify his influence over her and position himself as a sexual competitor against Jonathan. Lastly, it symbolizes the blood of Christ, as it grants people spiritual union and eternal life and remembers his sacrifice on the cross. Christ's blood may grant humans spirituality and eternal life, but for vampires, blood gives them immortality in a demonic sense.

### Holy Objects

Van Helsing and his party use holy objects such as crucifixes and holy wafers in the battle against Count Dracula. The crucifix symbolizes Christ's sacrifice to humankind when he was crucified, and it is a common object to ward off evil. The wafers symbolize Christ's body and his love, and it has a powerful effect on vampires. When Van Helsing tries to place a wafer on Mina's forehead, it burns her skin until it leaves a mark that disappears after Dracula is killed.

### The Three Vampire Sisters

Although they only appear twice, in Chapter 3 and the climax, where Van Helsing's party hunts Dracula at his castle, they still play a significant role. The vampire sisters symbolize sexual fulfillment and dangerous beauty. With these characteristics, they could easily dominate men by compromising the way they reason and control them, and it is something men like Jonathan fear the most.

## Foreshadowing

* Jonathan notices the landlady and her husband cross themselves in fear when they hear Dracula's name, and he later hears the locals mutter words that he translates into "vampire" and "werewolf." Foreshadows the idea that Dracula is a vampire, and it's as if the locals know him and try to warn Jonathan about him.
* On his way to Dracula's Castle, Jonathan is surrounded by wolves. This Foreshadows Dracula's reliance on wolves later on, such as a wolf breaking into Lucy's room that causes her mother to die of a heart attack, unintentionally pulling her protective garlic necklace off of her, making her more vulnerable.
* A terrible storm arrives in Whitby that involves lightning and roaring waves. Foreshadows Dracula's upcoming arrival in Whitby, as the ship carrying him and his 50 boxes of earth appears at the harbour.
* Mina and Lucy meet Swales, a local elderly man in Whitby who senses death is coming the same day Dracula arrives in Whitby. Foreshadows his untimely death and later Lucy's.
* Lucy is constantly sleepwalking, and her habit would sometimes put her in danger. Foreshadows Lucy becoming Dracula's victim as she wanders outside alone, allowing him to take advantage of her and make her a vampire.
* As Lucy's health hails, Van Helsing and his men must give her blood transfusions to keep her alive. Foreshadows Lucy's fate in becoming a vampire, and the men who love her are unwillingly giving their blood to live.

## Adaptations

A film adaptation was released in 1931. Directed by Hamilton Deane (who adapted a 1924 play the film was based on), it features Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, Helen Chandler as Mina Harker, David Manners as Jonathan Harker, Edward Van Sloan as Abraham van Helsing, Herbert Bunston as Dr. Seward, and Frances Dare as Lucy Weston. The film was a critical and commercial success and has become a famous film in pop culture, with Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula becoming a cultural icon. In addition, it was many of the classic monster movies produced by Carl Laemmle's Universal Pictures during the 1930s and is even considered the most famous adaptation of Stoker's novel.

A film adaptation was released in 1958. Directed by Terence Fisher, it features Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, Melissa Stribling as Mina Harker, John Van Eyssen as Jonathan Harker, and Carol Marsh as Lucy Holmwood. Like the 1931 film, the 1958 adaptation was also successful, with Lee's portrayal of Dracula creating the fixed image of a vampire in pop culture. Additionally, Lee also portrayed Dracula's brooding, dark sexuality to his character, and it is one of Lee's most famous movies.

A film adaptation was released in 1979. Directed by John Badham, it features Frank Langella as Count Dracula, Sir Laurence Olivier as Abraham Van Helsing, Jan Francis as Mina Harker, Trevor Eve as Jonathan Harker, Donald Pleasence as Dr. Seward, and Kate Nelligan as Lucy. The film was moderately successful and won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.

A film adaptation, titled *Bram Stoker's Dracula*, was released in 1992. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, it features Gary Oldman as Count Dracula, Winona Ryder as Mina Harker, Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, Anthony Hopkins as Abraham van Helsing, and Sadie Frost as Lucy Westenra. The film mostly received positive reviews, although Reeves' performance and English accent were criticized. It was nominated for 4 Oscars, winning 3 for Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup.

A TV adaptation was released on BBC in 2006. Directed by Bill Eagles, it features Marc Warren as Count Dracula, Stephanie Leonidas as Mina Harker, Race Spall as Jonathan Harker, Sophia Myles as Lucy Westenra, Dan Stevens as Lord Holmwood, and David Suchet as Abraham van Helsing.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whitby-abbey/history-and-stories/dracula/
2. ↑ Coursehero: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Dracula/context/