Reading Response #4

Bram Stoker's Dracula-Setting/Historical context

It is very evident in the novel Dracula that the setting of this book is not like the world we live in today. In the first section, prior to the text becoming multi-viewpoints, the novel takes place in Transylvania. Upon learning of this setting I was quite confused as to whether this was an actual country. I had heard about this country through word of mouth and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but despite this I did not actually believe it was a real place. This sparked my interest and I set out in search to find my answer. What I found shocked me. Transylvania was actually a region at one point in time. Today it lies in central Romania, near the Carpathian mountains. Historically speaking this region got around. In the tenth century it was part of the Hungarian kingdom, then in medieval times was shared between Hungarians, Germans, Ottoman empire and the Szekelys. After WWI it became part of Romania but then during WWII there was much battle over its control but control was awarded back to Romania by its finish.

"Saxons in the south, and mixed with them the Wallacks, who are descendants of the Dacians; Magyars in the west, and Szekelys in the east and north." (5) Transylvania is described in the book as being a very rural area full of many different heritages. "Before us lay a green sloping land full of forests and woods, with here and there steep hills, crowned with clumps of trees or with farmhouses, the blank gable end to the road... Right left of us they towered, with the afternoon sun falling full upon them." (11)When comparing the description in the book and my head with present day Romania, it seems almost the same. It begins by taking place in a rustic rural village in Romania with rugged dirt roads and a very close knit feel. I am sure that this is what life would have been like for the people in Transylvania during the 1800's. Looking at pictures of what life is like today it seems almost as if they are frozen in time. As illustrated by the image it looks as if they still live a very simple way of life; choosing to ride horse and carriage with dirt roads, old homes and wearing traditional garb. Although I recognize that this would not be what it is like in the more suburban areas it appears to be what life is like in rural areas.

Transylvania is not the only location that Dracula takes place. After the stylist transformation of the novel, the setting shifts to Whitby, England. Although my research about Transylvania proved that it was an actual place, I still wanted to test Stoker to see if both of his settings were actual locations. It turns out that Whitby is a real place, located on the east coast North Yorkshire, England. Whitby is famous for its ruins specifically, Whitby Abbey.

In the novel Whitby is described as a small harbour town, with, in my mind, an old feel to it. "The houses of the old town the side away from us are all red-roofed, and seem to piled up over the other anyhow, like pictures we see of Nuremberg." (84) Unlike Transylvania Whitby appears to have become somewhat more industrialized looking than described in the novel. The church where Lucy is bitten is described in great detail. "It is the most noble ruin, of immense size, and full of one of the windows." (84) This description did not mean much to me prior to searching pictures of Whitby.  When looking up the Abbey I was amazed by what I found. The Abbey was exactly what I had pictured in my head, minus the fog and creepy spider webs that had always managed to become part of my image. This similarity I did not believe to be in my head, something about the description must have given me this image. That made me think that Stoker must have done extensive research about Whitby, maybe even visiting prior to writing the novel.

Dracula takes place in a significant time period. In the 1800's the world was just at its adolescence of technology. This is evident in the types of technology used in the novel. Mina's first journal entry talks about learning to type on a typewriter, a big technological advancement at this point in time. "if I can stenongraph well enough I can take down what he wants to say in this way and write it out for him on the typewriter at which also I am practising very hard." (72) Also many of the entries come from telegrams. "Telegram, Arthur Holmwood to Seward." (145) This was one of the first steps, at least in my mind that shows globalization. In this time period it is also evident that women hold a much different role than they do today. It becomes apparent that women are much below men and are there to serve, something that I already knew. Throughout the novel, most notably in the case of the three women's encounter with Harker, women appear to be viewed as evil if they become too sensual. From my understanding these women tried to seduce Harker, something Mina never would have done as it was shameful and society did not approve of this behaviour. In summary Dracula is based in a much different time period, but the settings seem to have stood still in time.