Introduction
Bram Stoker’s *Dracula* (1897) stands as a seminal Gothic novel, encapsulating the anxieties of late Victorian society through its exploration of monstrosity. While the titular character, Count Dracula, is overtly presented as a monstrous figure—both physically and morally—this essay argues that his monstrosity serves as a complex metaphor for deeper societal fears surrounding xenophobia and communal identity. Specifically, Dracula embodies the dread of foreign invasion and the erosion of British cultural purity, reflecting anxieties about imperialism and the ‘other’ in a rapidly globalising world. This argument moves beyond a surface-level reading of monstrosity as mere horror to examine how Stoker uses Dracula’s vampiric nature to critique and mirror the insecurities of Victorian England. The essay will explore this through an analysis of Dracula’s foreignness, the threat he poses to British bodies and identity, and the communal response to his presence, ultimately revealing how monstrosity in the novel acts as a lens for understanding social unease.
Dracula’s Foreignness as Monstrous Otherness
From the outset, Dracula is marked as an outsider, a foreign entity whose origins in Transylvania—a remote and mysterious Eastern European region—immediately position him as alien to the rational, modern British sensibility. Stoker describes Dracula’s castle as a place of “strange night existence” and “grim fancies,” situating him within a realm of archaic superstition that contrasts sharply with the progressive, scientific mindset of characters like Dr. Seward (Stoker, 1897, p. 25). This cultural dislocation underscores his monstrosity; he is not merely a supernatural being but a representation of the feared ‘other’ encroaching on British soil. In the late 19th century, Britain’s imperial dominance was accompanied by a growing paranoia about reverse colonisation, where the colonised might infiltrate and corrupt the imperialist centre. Dracula’s journey to England, therefore, can be read as an embodiment of this fear, his monstrous nature symbolising the perceived threat of foreign influence. His Eastern origins and predatory behaviour further amplify Victorian anxieties about racial and cultural purity, positioning him as a pollutant to the homogenised British identity.
The Threat to British Bodies and Identity
Dracula’s monstrosity is further articulated through his violation of British bodies, particularly through the act of vampirism, which serves as a metaphor for the corruption of national purity. When Lucy Westenra transforms into a vampire, she becomes a monstrous figure herself, preying on children and embodying a perverse distortion of her former innocence. Stoker writes, “The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness” (Stoker, 1897, p. 225). This transformation reflects a profound anxiety about the integrity of British womanhood—a symbol of national virtue—being tainted by foreign influence. Dracula’s bite, then, is not merely a physical assault but a symbolic contamination, an invasion of the British body politic by an external force. Moreover, the repeated need for blood transfusions to save Lucy highlights a desperate attempt to restore purity, yet each transfusion fails, suggesting the irreversible nature of this corruption. Thus, Dracula’s monstrosity operates as a narrative device to explore Victorian fears of losing communal identity to foreign elements, with the body acting as a battleground for cultural preservation.
Communal Response and the Rejection of the Other
The response of the novel’s British characters to Dracula further illuminates how his monstrosity mirrors societal xenophobia. The formation of the group led by Van Helsing—a coalition of predominantly British men—represents a unified communal effort to exorcise the foreign threat. Their mission to hunt and destroy Dracula is laden with militaristic overtones, as seen in Van Helsing’s assertion that they must “fight him all the same as if he were right on the track of us” (Stoker, 1897, p. 341). This language evokes the imagery of a crusade or colonial campaign, positioning Dracula as an enemy to be subdued in the name of protecting British identity. Indeed, their ultimate success in staking Dracula and restoring order can be read as a reassertion of British dominance over the foreign ‘other.’ However, this resolution is not entirely triumphant; the lingering trauma and the sacrifices made—most notably Mina’s temporary contamination—suggest that the threat of the ‘other’ cannot be wholly eradicated. Stoker thus uses the communal response to Dracula’s monstrosity to critique the fragility of British identity, revealing an underlying insecurity despite the outward projection of imperial confidence.
Monstrosity Beyond the Supernatural
Importantly, Dracula’s monstrosity transcends his supernatural traits to reflect a broader commentary on Victorian social anxieties. His ability to blend into London society initially, passing as a gentleman, underscores the fear of the unseen enemy within—a foreign presence that can mimic and infiltrate British culture without immediate detection. Stoker notes Dracula’s fluency in English and his study of British customs, describing how he seeks to “know the English world” to better navigate it (Stoker, 1897, p. 27). This adaptability renders him a particularly insidious threat, mirroring Victorian paranoia about immigration and cultural assimilation at a time when Britain’s imperial reach brought increasing contact with diverse populations. Therefore, Dracula’s monstrosity is not solely about his vampiric nature but also about what he represents: the destabilising potential of the foreign ‘other’ to unravel communal cohesion. This nuanced portrayal invites a reconsideration of monstrosity as not just horror but as a cultural critique, urging readers to see Dracula as a reflection of societal fears rather than a mere villain.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Bram Stoker’s *Dracula* employs the concept of monstrosity to articulate late Victorian anxieties about xenophobia and communal identity. Through Dracula’s foreign origins, his threat to British bodies and purity, and the communal efforts to eliminate him, Stoker crafts a narrative that mirrors societal fears of invasion and cultural erosion. Far from being a simple tale of horror, the novel uses Dracula’s monstrosity as a metaphor for the ‘other,’ reflecting Britain’s imperial insecurities and the fragility of its national identity in an era of global expansion. This reading not only deepens our understanding of the text but also situates it within the broader cultural context of its time, revealing how literature can encode the deepest fears of a society. Ultimately, Dracula’s monstrous figure challenges readers to confront the boundaries of identity and the anxieties that arise when those boundaries are breached, offering a poignant critique of Victorian attitudes towards the foreign and the unfamiliar.
References
- Stoker, B. (1897) Dracula. Archibald Constable and Company.
