Benutzer:Cupkake4Yoshi/Count Dracula
Graf Dracula ist die Titelfigur von Bram Stokers Gothic-Horror-Roman Dracula aus dem Jahr 1897. Er gilt als der prototypische und archetypische Vampir in späteren Werken der Belletristik. Einige glauben, dass Aspekte der Figur von dem walachischen Fürsten Vlad dem Pfähler aus dem 15. Jahrhundert, der auch als Vlad Dracula bekannt war, und von Sir Henry Irving, einem Schauspieler, für den Stoker ein persönlicher Assistent war, inspiriert wurden.[1]
Stokers Schöpfung[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Bram Stokers Roman hat die Form eines Briefromans, in dem die Eigenschaften, Kräfte, Fähigkeiten und Schwächen des Grafen Dracula von mehreren Erzählern aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven geschildert werden.[2]
Graf Dracula ist ein untoter, jahrhundertealter Vampir und ein transsilvanischer Adliger, der behauptet, ein Székely zu sein, der von Attila dem Hunnen abstammt.[3] Er bewohnt ein verfallenes Schloss in den Karpaten in der Nähe des Borgo-Passes. Im Gegensatz zu den Vampiren der osteuropäischen Folklore, die als abstoßende, leichenähnliche Kreaturen dargestellt werden, ist Dracula gutaussehend und charismatisch, mit einem Anstrich von aristokratischem Charme. In seinen Gesprächen mit Jonathan Harker erweist er sich als sehr stolz auf sein bojarisches Erbe und sehnt sich nach der Vergangenheit, die, wie er zugibt, in der heutigen Zeit nur noch eine Erinnerung an Heldentum, Ehre und Tapferkeit ist.
Frühes Leben[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Einzelheiten über sein frühes Leben sind nicht bekannt, aber es wird erwähnt, dass
- er im Leben ein wunderbarer Mann war. Soldat, Staatsmann und Alchemist. Letzteres war die höchste Entwicklung des wissenschaftlichen Wissens seiner Zeit. Er hatte einen mächtigen Verstand, eine unvergleichliche Gelehrsamkeit und ein Herz, das keine Angst und keine Reue kannte... es gab keinen Wissenszweig seiner Zeit, den er nicht erforschte.
Dracula studierte die schwarzen Künste an der Akademie von Scholomance in den Karpaten, oberhalb der Stadt Sibiu (auch bekannt als Hermannstadt), und verfügt über fundierte Kenntnisse in Alchemie und Magie.[4] Er griff zu den Waffen, wie es seinem Rang und Status als Woiwode entsprach, und führte Truppen gegen die Türken über die Donau. Seinem Erzfeind Abraham Van Helsing zufolge "muss er in der Tat jener Woiwode Dracula gewesen sein, der seinen Namen gegen die Türken über den großen Fluss an der Grenze zum Türkenland gewonnen hat. Wenn dem so ist, dann war er kein gewöhnlicher Mann: denn zu jener Zeit und noch Jahrhunderte danach sprach man von ihm als dem klügsten und gerissensten sowie dem mutigsten der Söhne des Landes jenseits des Waldes."[5] Dracula, der tot und in einer großen Gruft in der Kapelle seines Schlosses begraben ist, kehrt als Vampir vom Tod zurück und lebt mehrere Jahrhunderte lang in seinem Schloss mit drei schrecklich schönen Vampirinnen an seiner Seite.[6]
Narrative[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Kurzgeschichte[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
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In "Draculas Gast" folgt die Erzählung einem namenlosen englischen Reisenden, der vor seiner Abreise nach Transsylvanien durch München irrt. Es ist Walpurgisnacht und der junge Engländer verlässt törichterweise sein Hotel, trotz der Warnungen des Kutschers, und wandert allein durch einen dichten Wald. Unterwegs hat er das Gefühl, von einem großen, dünnen Fremden beobachtet zu werden.
Die Kurzgeschichte findet ihren Höhepunkt auf einem alten Friedhof, wo der Engländer in einem Marmorgrab, in das ein großer Eisenpfahl getrieben wurde, auf eine schlafende Vampirin namens Gräfin Dolingen trifft. Diese bösartige, schöne Vampirin erwacht von ihrer Marmorbahre und beschwört einen Schneesturm herauf, bevor sie vom Blitz getroffen wird und in ihr ewiges Gefängnis zurückkehrt. Die Probleme des Engländers sind noch nicht ganz vorbei, denn er wird von einer unsichtbaren Kraft weggezerrt und bewusstlos gemacht. Als er erwacht, liegt ein riesiger Wolf auf seiner Brust und leckt ihm die Kehle. Er hält ihn warm und beschützt ihn, bis Hilfe eintrifft. Als der Engländer schließlich in sein Hotel zurückgebracht wird, erwartet ihn ein Telegramm seines erwartungsvollen Gastgebers Dracula mit einer Warnung vor "Gefahren durch Schnee und Wölfe und Nacht".
Roman[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
In Dracula hat der gleichnamige Vampir beschlossen, von Transsylvanien nach London zu ziehen. Er beauftragt Jonathan Harker, einen frischgebackenen englischen Anwalt, mit der juristischen Betreuung einer Immobilientransaktion, die von Harkers Arbeitgeber überwacht wird. Dracula bezaubert Harker zunächst mit seiner Herzlichkeit und seinem historischen Wissen und rettet ihn sogar aus den Klauen der drei Vampirinnen im Schloss. In Wahrheit will Dracula Harker so lange am Leben erhalten, bis er das Rechtsgeschäft abgeschlossen hat und so viel wie möglich über England erfahren hat.
Dracula verlässt sein Schloss und besteigt ein russisches Schiff, die Demeter, und nimmt 50 Kisten mit transsilvanischer Erde mit, die er braucht, um wieder zu Kräften zu kommen und sich bei Tageslicht auszuruhen. Während der Fahrt nach Whitby, einer Küstenstadt in Nordengland, ernährt er sich von den Besatzungsmitgliedern des Schiffes. Später wird nur eine Leiche gefunden, die des Kapitäns, der an das Steuerruder des Schiffes gefesselt ist. Das Logbuch des Kapitäns wird geborgen und berichtet von seltsamen Ereignissen, die sich während der Reise des Schiffes ereignet haben. Dracula verlässt das Schiff in Form eines Hundes und rennt die 199 Stufen zum Friedhof der St. Mary's Church im Schatten der Ruinen der Whitby Abbey hinauf.
Soon, the Count begins menacing Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. There is also a notable link between Dracula and Renfield, a patient in an insane asylum overseen by John Seward, who is compelled to consume spiders, birds, and other creatures—in ascending order of size—to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of sensor, reacting to Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly. Dracula visits Lucy's bed chamber on a nightly basis, draining her of blood while simultaneously infecting her with the curse of vampirism. Not knowing the cause for Lucy's deterioration, her three suitors – Seward, Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris – call upon Seward's mentor, the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing soon deduces her condition's supernatural origins, and tries to keep the vampire at bay with garlic. Nevertheless, Dracula attacks Lucy's house one final time, killing her mother and transforming Lucy herself into one of the undead after which Van Helsing and her suitors help lay Lucy's soul to rest by driving a stake through her heart.
Harker escapes Dracula's castle and returns to England, barely alive and deeply traumatized. On Seward's suggestion, Mina seeks Van Helsing's assistance in assessing Harker's health. She reads his journal and passes it along to Van Helsing. This unfolds the first clue to the identity of Lucy's assailant, which later prompts Mina to collect all of the events of Dracula's appearance in news articles, saved letters, newspaper clippings and the journals of each member of the group. This assists the group in investigating Dracula's movements and later discovering that Renfield's behaviour is directly influenced by Dracula. They then discover that Dracula has purchased a residence next door to Seward's. The group gathers intelligence to track down Dracula and destroy him.
After the undead Lucy attacks several children, Van Helsing, Seward, Holmwood and Morris enter her crypt and destroy her to save her soul. Later, Harker joins them, and the party works to discover Dracula's intentions. Harker aids the party in tracking down the locations of the boxes to the various residences of Dracula and discovers that Dracula purchased multiple real estate properties throughout London[7] under the alias 'Count De Ville'.[8] Dracula's main plan was to move each of his 50 boxes of earth to his various properties in order to arrange multiple lairs throughout and around the perimeter of London.[7]
The party pries open each of the graves, places sacramental wafers within each of them, and seals them shut. This deprives Dracula of his ability to seek safety in those boxes.[9] Dracula gains entry into Seward's residence by coercing an invitation out of Renfield. As he attempts to enter the room in which Harker and Mina are staying, Renfield tries to stop him; Dracula then mortally wounds him. With his dying breath, Renfield tells Seward and Van Helsing that Dracula is after Mina. Van Helsing and Seward discover Dracula biting Mina and forcing her to drink his blood. The group repels Dracula using crucifixes and sacramental bread, forcing him to flee by turning into a dark vapour. The party continues to hunt Dracula to search for his remaining lairs.[10] Although Dracula's 'baptism' of Mina grants him a telepathic link to her, it backfires when Van Helsing hypnotizes Mina and uses her supernatural link with Dracula to track him as he flees back to Transylvania.
The heroes follow Dracula back to Transylvania, and in a climactic battle with Dracula's Romani bodyguards, finally destroy him. Despite the popular image of Dracula having a stake driven through his heart to kill him, Mina's narrative describes his decapitation by Harker's kukri while Morris simultaneously pierces his heart with a Bowie knife (Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, Dracula Chapter 27). His body then turns into dust, but not before Mina sees an expression of peace on his face.
Characteristics[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Vorlage:Quote box Although early in the novel Dracula dons a mask of cordiality, he often flies into fits of rage when his plans are frustrated. When Dracula's brides attempt to seduce Jonathan Harker, Dracula physically assaults one and ferociously berates them for their insubordination.
Dracula has an appreciation for ancient architecture prefers purchasing old houses, saying "a new home would kill me" and that it takes a century to make one habitable.[11]
Dracula is very proud of his warrior heritage, proclaiming his pride to Harker on how the Székely people are infused with the blood of heroes. He also expresses an interest in the history of the British Empire, speaking admiringly of its people. He has a somewhat primal and predatory worldview, pities ordinary humans for their revulsion to their darker impulses, feels human emotions and often says that he can love.[12]
Though usually portrayed as having a strong Eastern European accent, the original novel only specifies that his spoken English is excellent, though strangely toned.
His appearance varies in age. He is described early in the novel as thin, with a long white moustache, pointed ears and sharp teeth.[13] It is also noted later in the novel (Chapter 11 subsection "The Escaped Wolf") by a zookeeper who sees him that he has a hooked nose and a pointed beard with a streak of white in it. He is dressed all in black and has hair on his palms. Harker describes him as an old man, "cruel looking" and giving an effect of "extraordinary pallor".[13]
As the novel progresses, Dracula is described as taking on a more and more youthful appearance. After Harker strikes him with a shovel, he is left with a scar on his forehead which he bears throughout the course of the novel.
Dracula also possesses great wealth, and has Romani people in his homeland who are loyal to him as servants and protectors.
Powers and weaknesses[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Count Dracula is portrayed in the novel using many different supernatural abilities, and is believed to have gained his abilities through dealings with the devil. Chapter 18 of the novel describes many of the abilities, limitations and weaknesses of vampires and Dracula in particular. Dracula has superhuman strength which, according to Van Helsing, is equivalent to that of 20 strong men. He does not cast a shadow or have a reflection from mirrors. He is immune to conventional means of attack; a sailor tries to stab him in the back with a knife, but the blade goes through his body as though it is air.[14] He can defy gravity to a certain extent and possesses superhuman agility, able to climb vertical surfaces upside down in a reptilian manner. He can travel onto unhallowed ground, such as the graves of suicides and those of his victims. He has powerful hypnotic, telepathic and illusionary abilities. He also has the ability to "within limitations" vanish and reappear elsewhere at will. If he knows the path, he can come out from anything or into anything regardless of how close it is bound or even if it is soldered shut.[15]
Dracula has amassed cunning and wisdom throughout centuries and is unable to die of senescence.[15] He can command animals such as rats, owls, bats, moths, foxes and wolves. His control is limited, as seen when the party first enters his house in London. He summons thousands of rats to swarm and attack the group and Holmwood summons his trio of terriers to battle them. The dogs prove very efficient rat killers. Terrified by their onslaught, the rats flee of their own volition.[16]
Dracula can also manipulate the weather and, within his range, is able to direct the elements, such as storms, fog and mist.[15]
Shapeshifting[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Dracula can change form at will, able to grow and become small, his featured forms in the novel being that of a bat, a wolf, a large dog and a fog or mist. When the moonlight is shining, he can travel as elemental dust within its rays. He is able to pass through tiny cracks or crevices while retaining his human form or in the form of a vapour; described by Van Helsing as the ability to slip through a hairbreadth space of a tomb door or coffin. This is also an ability used by his victim Lucy as a vampire. When the party breaks into her tomb, they open the sealed coffin to find her corpse is no longer located within.[17]
Vampirism[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
One of Dracula's powers is the ability to turn others into vampires by biting them. According to Van Helsing: Vorlage:Blockquote
The vampire bite itself does not cause death. It is the method vampires use to drain blood of the victim and to increase their influence over them. This is described by Van Helsing: Vorlage:Blockquote
Victims who are bitten by a vampire and do not die, are hypnotically influenced by them: Vorlage:Blockquote
Van Helsing later describes the aftermath of a bitten victim when the vampire has been killed: Vorlage:Blockquote
As Dracula slowly drains Lucy's blood, she dies from acute blood loss and later transforms into a vampire, despite the efforts of Seward and Van Helsing to provide her with blood transfusions.[18]
He is aided by powers of necromancy and divination of the dead, that all who die by his hand may reanimate and do his bidding.[15]
Bloodletting[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Dracula requires no other sustenance but fresh human blood, which has the effect of rejuvenating him and allowing him to grow younger. His power is drawn from the blood of others, and he cannot survive without it.[15][19] Although drinking blood can rejuvenate his youth and strength, it does not give him the ability to regenerate; months after being struck on the head by a shovel, he still bears a scar from the impact.[20]
Dracula's preferred victims are women.[21] Harker states that he believes Dracula has a state of fasting as well as a state of feeding.[22] He tells Mina exerting his abilities raises a desire to feed.[23]
Vampire's Baptism of Blood[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Count Dracula is depicted as the "King Vampire", and can control other vampires. To punish Mina and the party for their efforts against him, Dracula bites her on at least three occasions. He also forces her to drink his blood; this act curses her with the effects of vampirism and gives him a telepathic link to her thoughts.[24] Hypnotism only work before dawn.[25] Van Helsing refers to the act of drinking blood by both the vampire and the victim "the Vampire's Baptism of Blood".[26]
The effects changes Mina physically and mentally over time. A few moments after Dracula attacks her, Van Helsing takes a wafer of sacramental bread and places it on her forehead to bless her; when the bread touches her skin, it burns her and leaves a scar on her forehead. Her teeth start growing longer but do not grow sharper. She begins to lose her appetite, feeling repulsed by normal food,[27] begins to sleep more and more during the day; cannot wake unless at sunset and stops writing in her diary. When Van Helsing later crumbles the same bread in a circle around her, she is unable to cross or leave the circle, discovering a new form of protection.[28]
Dracula's death would release the curse on any living transformed vampire. Van Helsing reveals that even were he to escape, his continued existence would ensure whether or not he victimized Mina further, she would become a vampire upon her eventual natural death.
Limitations of his powers[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Dracula is much less powerful in daylight and is only able to shift his form at dawn, noon, and dusk (he can shift his form freely at night or if he is at his grave). The sun is not fatal to him, as sunlight does not burn and destroy him upon contact, though most of his abilities cease. Vorlage:Blockquote Vorlage:Blockquote
Later interpretations of the character, and vampires in general, would amplify this trait into an outright fatal weakness, making it so that even the first rays of sunrise are capable of reducing a vampire to ash.Vorlage:Citation needed
He is also limited in his ability to travel, as he can only cross running water at low or high tide. Owing to this, he is unable to fly across a river in the form of a bat or mist or even by himself board a boat or step off a boat onto a dock unless he is physically carried over with assistance. He is also unable to enter a place unless invited to do so by someone of the household, even a visitor; once invited, he can enter and leave the premises at will.[15]
Weaknesses[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Thirst[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Dracula is commonly depicted with a bloodlust which he is seemingly unable to control. Adaptations sometimes call this uncontrollable state 'the thirst'.
Religious symbolism[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
There are items which afflict him to the point he has no power and can even calm him from his insatiable appetite for blood. He is repulsed by garlic, as well as sacred items and symbols such as crucifixes, and sacramental bread.
Vorlage:Blockquote
Placing the branch of a wild rose upon the top of his coffin will render him unable to escape it; a sacred bullet fired into the coffin could kill him so that he remain true-dead.[15]
Mountain-ash is also described as a form of protection from a vampire, although the effects are unknown.[29] This was believed to be used as protection against evil spirits and witches during the Victorian era.
Death-sleep[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
The state of rest to which vampires are prone during the day is described in the novel as a deathlike sleep in which the vampire sleeps open-eyed, is unable to awaken or move, and also may be unaware of any presence of individuals who may be trespassing. Dracula is portrayed as being active in daylight at least once to pursue a victim. Dracula also purchases many properties throughout London 'over the counter' which shows that he does have the ability to have some type of presence in daylight. Vorlage:Cquote
He requires Transylvanian soil to be nearby to him in a foreign land or to be entombed within his coffin within Transylvania in order to successfully rest; otherwise, he will be unable to recover his strength. This has forced him to transport many boxes of Transylvanian earth to each of his residences in London. He is most powerful when he is within his Earth-Home, Coffin-Home, Hell-Home, or any place unhallowed.[15][30]
Further, if Dracula or any vampire has had their fill in blood upon feeding, they will be caused to rest in this dead state even longer than usual.[31]
Other abilities[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
While universally feared by the local people of Transylvania and even beyond, Dracula commands the loyalty of Gypsies and a band of Slovaks who transport his boxes on their way to London and to serve as an armed convoy bringing his coffin back to his castle. The Slovaks and Gypsies appear to know his true nature, for they laugh at Harker when he tries to communicate his plight, and betray Harker's attempt to send a letter through them by giving it to the Count.
Dracula seems to be able to hold influence over people with mental disorders, such as Renfield, who is never bitten but who worships Dracula, referring to him over the course of the novel as "Master" and "Lord". Dracula also afflicts Lucy with chronic sleepwalking, putting her into a trance-like state that allows them not only to submit to his will but also seek him and satisfy his need to feed.
Dracula's powers and weaknesses vary greatly in the many adaptations. Previous and subsequent vampires from different legends have had similar vampire characteristics.
Character development subsequent to the novel[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Dracula has been portrayed by more actors in more visual media adaptations of the novel than any other horror character.[34] Actors who have played him include Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr., Christopher Lee, Francis Lederer, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Louis Jourdan, Rudolf Martin, Frank Langella, Klaus Kinski, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, George Hamilton, David Niven, Charles Macaulay, Keith-Lee Castle, Gerard Butler, Duncan Regehr, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Billington, Thomas Kretschmann, Dominic Purcell, Luke Evans, Claes Bang and Javier Botet. In 2003, Count Dracula, as portrayed by Lugosi in the 1931 film, was named as the 33rd greatest movie villain by the AFI.[35] In 2013, Empire magazine ranked Lee's portrayal as Dracula the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.[36]
The character is closely associated with the western cultural archetype of the vampire, and remains a popular Halloween costume.
- Count Dracula appears in Mad Monster Party? voiced by Allen Swift. This version is shown to be wearing a monocle. Count Dracula is among the monsters that Baron Boris von Frankenstein invites to the Isle of Evil to show off the secret of total destruction and announce his retirement from the Worldwide Organization of Monsters.
- Sesame Street character Count von Count is based on Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula and Jack Davis' design for Dracula from Mad Monster Party?.
- Count Dracula appears in Mad Mad Mad Monsters (a "prequel of sorts" to Mad Monster Party?) voiced again by Allen Swift. He and his son are invited by Baron Henry von Frankenstein to attend the wedding of Frankenstein's monster and its mate at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel.
- Dracula is the primary antagonist of the Castlevania video game series, the first two seasons of the Castlevania Netflix series, and the main protagonist of the Lords of Shadow reboot series.
- Count Dracula appears in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes episode "Spatula, Prinze of Dorkness", voiced by S. Scott Bullock. He relates a tale of how he once gave Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen a serum to transform tomatoes into vampire tomatoes. Though the doctor refused, Zoltan overheard their conversation and, mistaking the word serum for syrup, ingests the serum himself and renaming himself "Spatula, Prinze of Dorkness" who can turn people into vampires by kissing them in the neck (a stipulation that the Censor Lady put into place in fear of showing the biting and bloodshed associated with vampires on a Saturday morning cartoon). This spread to the other tomatoes and the entire town. When the Sun came up and disabled the vampires, Count Dracula in sunblock appears and deemed that the town is not worthy to be vampires. He then gives Chad Finletter the antidote to the vampirism and advises that the tomatoes be squashed immediately.
- Dracula appears as the lead character of Dracula the Un-dead, a novel by Stoker's great-grand nephew Dacre presented as a sequel to the original.
- In the Supernatural episode "Monster Movie", a shapeshifter that Sam and Dean Winchester fight considers his form of Count Dracula (portrayed by Todd Stashwick) his favourite form. It is in this form that Jamie killed him with Sam's gun loaded with silver bullets.
- Count Dracula is the main character of the Hotel Transylvania franchise, voiced by Adam Sandler in the first three movies and by Brian Hull in the fourth movie.
- Dracula, going by an inversion of his name, "Alucard", serves as the main character of the anime and manga series Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate, where he serves Integra Hellsing, Abraham's great-granddaughter, as an anti-vampire warrior devoted to the British Crown.
- Dracula is the primary antagonist of the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, portrayed by Christian Camargo. This version of the character is the brother of Lucifer and, thus, a fallen angel.
Modern and postmodern analyses of the character[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Already in 1958, Cecil Kirtly proposed that Count Dracula shared his personal past with the historical Transylvanian-born Voivode Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Țepeș. Following the publication of In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally in 1972, this supposed connection attracted much popular attention. This work argued that Bram Stoker based his Dracula on Vlad the Impaler.[37]
Historically, the name "Dracula" is the family name of Vlad Țepeș' family, a name derived from a fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks and was dubbed Dracul (dragon or devil), thus his son became Dracula (son of the dragon). From 1431 onward, Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.[38]
Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history, and chose this to replace the name (Count Wampyr) that he had originally intended to use for his villain. Some Dracula scholars, led by Elizabeth Miller, have questioned the depth of this connection as early as 1998. They argue that Stoker in fact knew little of the historic Vlad III, Vlad the Impaler, and that he used only the name "Dracula" and some miscellaneous scraps of Romanian history.[39] Also, there are no comments about Vlad III in the author's working notes.[40]
While having a conversation with Jonathan Harker in Chapter 3, Dracula refers to his own background, and these speeches show elements which Stoker directly copied from An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia: With Various Political Observations Relating to Them by William Wilkinson.[41] Stoker mentions the Voivode of the Dracula race who fought against the Turks after the defeat in the Battle of Kosovo, and was later betrayed by his brother, historical facts which unequivocally point to Vlad III, described as "Voïvode Dracula" by Wilkinson:
The Count's intended identity is later commented by Professor Van Helsing, referring to a letter from his friend Arminius:
This indeed encourages the reader to identify the Count with the Voivode Dracula first mentioned by him in Chapter 3, the one betrayed by his brother: Vlad III Dracula, betrayed by his brother Radu the Handsome, who had chosen the side of the Turks. But as noted by the Dutch author Hans Corneel de Roos, in Chapter 25, Van Helsing and Mina drop this rudimentary connection to Vlad III and instead describe the Count's personal past as that of "that other of his race" who lived "in a later age". By smoothly exchanging Vlad III for a nameless double, Stoker avoided his main character being unambiguously linked to a historical person traceable in any history book.
Similarly, the novelist did not want to disclose the precise site of the Count's residence, Castle Dracula. As confirmed by Stoker's own handwritten research notes, the novelist had a specific location for the Castle in mind while writing the narrative: an empty mountain top in the Transylvanian Kelemen alps near the former border with Moldavia.[42] Efforts to promote the Poenari Castle (ca. 200 km away from the novel's place of action near the Borgo Pass) as the "real Castle Dracula" have no basis in Stoker's writing; although it bears much similarity to the fictional Castle Dracula, no written evidence shows Stoker to have heard of it. Regarding the Bran Castle near Brașov, Stoker possibly saw an illustration of Castle Bran (Törzburg) in Charles Boner's 1865 book on Transylvania, Transylvania: Its Products and Its People.[43][44] Although Stoker may have been inspired by its romantic appearance, neither Boner, nor Mazuchelli nor Crosse (who also mention Terzburg or Törzburg) associate it with Vlad III; for the site of his fictitious Castle Dracula, Stoker preferred an empty mountain top.
Stoker's detailed notes reveal he was well aware of the ethnic and geopolitical differences between the Roumanians/Wallachs/Wallachians, descendants of the Dacians, and the Székelys/Szeklers, allies of the Magyars or Hungarians, whose interests were opposed to that of the Wallachians. In the novel's original typewritten manuscript, the Count speaks of throwing off the "Austrian yoke", which corresponds to the Szekler political point of view. This expression is crossed out and replaced by "Hungarian yoke" (as appearing in the printed version), which matches the historical perspective of the Wallachians. Some take this to mean that Stoker opted for the Wallachian, not the Szekler interpretation, thus lending more consistency to his count's Romanian identity. Although not identical to Vlad III, the vampire is portrayed as one of the "Dracula race".[45]
Screen portrayals[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
See also[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
- Elizabeth Báthory
- Carmilla
- Clinical vampirism
- List of fictional vampires
- List of horror film antagonists
References[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Bibliography[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
- Clive Leatherdale (1985) Dracula: the Novel and the Legend. Desert Island Books.
- Bram Stoker (1897) Dracula. Norton Critical Edition (1997) edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal.
- Senf, Carol. Dracula: Between Tradition and Modernism (Twayne, 1998).
- Senf, Carol A. Bram Stoker. University of Wales Press, 2010.
External links[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
- Vorlage:Commons category-inline
- Vorlage:Wikivoyage inline
- Bram Stoker Online – full text, PDF and audio versions of Dracula.
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- ↑ Louis S. Warren: Buffalo Bill Meets Dracula: William F. Cody, Bram Stoker, and the Frontiers of Racial Decay. In: The American Historical Review. 107. Jahrgang, Nr. 4. American Historical Association, 2002, ISSN 0002-8762, S. 1124–57, doi:10.1086/ahr/107.4.1124.
- ↑ Carol N. Senf: Dracula: The Unseen Face in the Mirror. In: Journal of Narrative Technique. 9. Jahrgang, Nr. 3. Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, S. 160–70.
- ↑ The Cambridge Companion to 'Dracula'. Cambridge University Press, 2018, ISBN 978-1-107-15317-2, S. 101 (google.com).
- ↑ Dracula Chapter 18 and Chapter 23
- ↑ Mina Harker's Journal, 30 September, Dracula, Chapter 18
- ↑ Dracula Chapter 27
- ↑ a b Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 20, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 373, 374 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 20, Jonathan Harker's Journal, Letter, Mitchell, Sons, and Candy to Lord Godalming, S. 329 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 18, Dr. Seward's Diary, S. 346 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 21, Dr. Seward's Diary, S. 404,405,406 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 2, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 35 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 3, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 57 (planetebook.com [PDF]): 'Yes, I too can love. You yourselves can tell it from the past. Is it not so?
- ↑ a b Dracula, Chapter 2
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 7, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 123 (planetebook.com [PDF]): 'knife went through It, empty as the air
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Dracula, Chapter 18
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 19, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 360–361 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 15, Dr Seward's Diary, S. 281, 282 (planetebook.com [PDF]): "Taking the edge of the loose flange, he bent it back towards the foot of the coffin, and holding up the candle into the aperture, motioned to me to look. I drew near and looked. The coffin was empty. It was certainly a surprise to me, and gave me a considerable shock"
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 10, Dr. Seward's Diary, S. 174.
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 18, Dr. Seward's Diary, S. 341 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „on the blood of the living. Even more, we have seen amongst us that he can even grow younger, that his vital faculties grow strenuous, and seem as though they refresh themselves when his special pabulum is plenty.“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 21, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 411–412 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „I knew him at once from the description of the others. ...I knew, too, the red scar on his forehead where Jonathan had struck him.“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 15, Westminster Gazette, S. 252–254 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 19, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 358 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „and when I had seen him he was either in the fasting stage of his existence in his rooms or, when he was bloated with fresh blood,“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 21, Dr. Seward's Diary, 3 October, S. 412 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions.“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 23, Dr. Seward's Diary, S. 448 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch 20, Jonathan Harker's Journal, S. 376 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „hypnotize before dawn“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. S. 462, 492, 523 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Ch. 27, Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, S. 533 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „But I could not eat, to even try to do so was repulsive to me, and much as I would have liked to please him, I could not bring myself to the attempt.“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 27, Memorandum by Abraham Van Helsing, 4 November, S. 519–527 (planetebook.com [PDF]).
- ↑ Dracula, Chapter 3, second page
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 18, Doctor Seward's Diary, S. 343 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „Thus, whereas he can do as he will within his limit, when he have his earth-home, his coffin-home, his hell-home, the place unhallowed, as we saw when he went to the grave of the suicide at Whitby, still at other time he can only change when the time come.“
- ↑ Bram Stoker: Dracula. Chapter 22, Jonathan Harker's Journal, 23 October, S. 424 (planetebook.com [PDF]): „The Count may come to Piccadilly earlier than we think.' 'Not so!’ said Van Helsing, holding up his hand. 'But why?’ I asked. 'Do you forget,’ he said, with actually a smile, 'that last night he banqueted heavily, and will sleep late?“
- ↑ Fangs for the memories: The A-Z of vampires In: The Independent
- ↑ J. Gordon Melton: The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Visible Ink Press, Detroit, Michigan 1994, ISBN 978-1-57859-281-4, 247 (archive.org).
- ↑ Guinness World Records Experience
- ↑ AFI's 100 Greatest Heroes & Villains, AFI, 19 October 2017
- ↑ "The 100 best horror movie characters". Empire. Retrieved 11 March 2019
- ↑ Lizzie Dearden: Radu Florescu dead: Legacy of the Romanian 'Dracula professor' remembered In: The Independent, 20 May 2014. Abgerufen im 14 September 2017
- ↑ Vlad III. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., abgerufen am 13. April 2019.
- ↑ Lauren Davis: No, Bram Stoker Did Not Model Dracula on Vlad The Impaler. In: Gizmodo. Univision Communications, 21. Oktober 2014, abgerufen am 13. April 2019.
- ↑ Jimmie E. Cain: Bram Stoker and Russophobia: Evidence of the British Fear of Russia in Dracula and The Lady of the Shroud. McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina 2006, ISBN 0-7864-2407-9, Notes – Chapter Four, S. 182 (google.com).
- ↑ Matei Cazacu: Dracula. Hrsg.: Stephen W. Reinert. Brill Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands 2017, ISBN 978-90-04-34921-6, Dracula and Bram Stoker, S. 248 (brill.com).
- ↑ Hans Corneel de Roos: The Ultimate Dracula. Moonlake Editions, Munich, Germany 2012, ISBN 978-3-943559-00-2, The Dracula Maps.
- ↑ Charles Boner: Transylvania: Its Products and Its People. Longmans, London, England 1865, ISBN 978-1-146-49033-7 (archive.org).
- ↑ Marius Crişan: The Models for Castle Dracula in Stoker's Sources on Transylvania. In: Journal of Dracula Studies. Nr. 10. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, Pennsylvania 2008.
- ↑ Hans Corneel de Roos: Stoker's Vampire Trap: Vlad the Impaler and his Nameless Double. In: Linkoeping Electronic Articles in Computer and Information Science. 15. Jahrgang, Nr. 2. Linkoeping University Electronic Press, Linkoeping, Sweden 2012, S. 7.