Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Dracula Part One

It is obvious that most of the modern conceptions of vampires come from Dracula. With his pale skin and cold hands, he describes my idea of what a vampire is.
Now that we have read a number of these vampire novels, I am starting to gain a further grasp on what a vampire actually is. From the get go, I found that vampires have a a need for interaction (often with humans). This strikes me as interesting because in most situations in the novels we've read, the vampire starts an actual relationship with it's prey. This is no different in Dracula... This proves that not only do vampires have a thirst for blood, but they also have a thirst for connection. Thus proving their humanity, albeit a small amount at times.
Dracula also gives way to the idea that vampires don't eat. This contradicts what i just said about vampires having humanistic tendencies...humans need food and water to survive. Authors display the vampire's uniqueness from humans in that they do not (need food and water to survive). They do have a need though, blood. This can be seen as their "food" however, and that would give even more value to the fact that they DO in fact have aat least a shred of humanity.
Also common among the vampires we've read about and Dracula, is their (seemingly) charming personality. In every account of a vampire, the human prey has noted how engaging and interesting their vampire is. I believe that this is also meant to show their human side. Dracula shows this in how refined he seems.

7 comments:

  1. All vampires seem charming, but I often wonder if it's that they really are charming or if it's something akin to a glamour. In most vampire novels you only hear about the vampire from the perspective of other people and not from the vampire. It makes me wonder if the vampires are really that refined and charming. It seems odd that they'd all be so high-class. Where are all the rude, abrasive vampires?

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  2. I think you brought up some very important points. The main point of what I grasped from your comment is that the vampire, in most vampire novels, is not all that different from humans. The want a connection, the must eat, and they are attracted to humans on more than just a "I want to drink your blood" level.

    I think that the main reason people are so frightened and fascinated with vampires is because they are so like humans. There seems to be this fascination (these days anyway) of vampires and humans falling in love; there's just that one frightening aspect of humans being the food in that relationship too. That is the main reason I appreciate Twilight so much. Drinking Bella's blood is never and option for Edward because he would kill her.

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  3. If you think about vampires throughout literature, they always have that refined personality. Humans are compelled to come closer, but also at the same time a part of them is repulsed. This is showed when Jonathan encounters the brides. He notes how beautiful they all are but he also senses something was off about them and was repulsed by it.

    Vampires today are portrayed as more human (at least to me) than the older vampires. They have more human like feelings and tendencies, instead of only caring about blood.

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  4. I completely agree with you when you say, “modern conceptions of vampires come from Dracula.” I talked a lot about this in my blog. I went through and highlighted all the places in which I saw common Vampire attributes. I think it is interesting how you talk about vampires need human interaction. I wonder why this is? I really like how you answer this. You said, “This proves that not only do vampires have a thirst for blood, but they also have a thirst for connection.” And I also agree with the fact that this proves there humanity. I think that most vampire stories, especially modern ones, try to show how humane vampires can be. For example, in True Blood the vampires can drink synthetic blood which shows that they can live among humans without hurting them. Also in the Vampire Diaries series has the vampires being able to walk in daylight if they wear a special ring.

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  5. I agree with what you are talking about in respect to a vampire's need for human connection. I think part of this desire for connection is innately human. Because vampire's, for me, represent a bridge between the living and the dead, they still have many of the same desires that humans do. Thus, their need for connection is very strong. This theme appears over and over again in novels we have read from Ruthven, to Carmilla, and now Dracula.

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  6. I agree , i think vampires want some kind of a connection with people. Even though they're dead they've got to get lonely from time to time. But they could also be trying to gain the trust of others. At first Dracula had to make it seem like he was somewhat normal. Otherwise how would anyone do business with him? But him not being normal to the town is probably why he had to get someone from far away, someone that didn't know anything about him.

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  7. Since vampires don't actually exist (as far as I know!), we have to think of them as symbolic of some aspect of ourselves, or at least an extension of some aspect of the *human* experience. They are fictional creatures, and thus a part of a larger story of humanity. The kinds of stories we tell and the kinds of stories we are drawn to *say* something about who we are and what we are going through as a culture. Could the desire for human connection be a reflection of our own modern alienation? Does the rise of the vampire in literature reflect the movement from smaller, close-knit agrarian societies to the isolation of the city and thus a collapse of human connection? Let us not just consider what the vampire says about vampires, but what it says about its human creators.

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