Literary Criticisms 

It isn’t widely known today how much Bram Stoker’s books, including the infamous Dracula, question Europe’s set societal norms of the Victorian era. Though, at the time of Dracula’s publishing, Stoker’s allusions to society sparked multiple heated controversies and debates among many. For example, Stoker dove into the occult in his 1903 novel, The Jewel of Seven Stars, which focuses mainly on resurrection through rituals.

Another one of the most prominent examples given of Stoker’s societal questioning is the symbolism and metaphors used in Dracula. Many simply look at the novel as a common horror story. However, Stoker’s portrayal of vampires (as seductive yet terrifying creatures) shows the deep-rooted fear that Victorian society had of sexuality, which was obviously taboo at the time. Furthermore, Stoker’s novels challenged scientific rationality alongside religion with his portrayal of the supernatural as something that can completely destroy both. 

Sexual Politics in General

Vampirism is already known to be a sexual concept. In fact, Count Dracula uses female vampires, or succubi, as a means of seduction towards the poor solicitor in order to kill him and feast on his blood. Furthermore, Lucy’s transformation into a vampire takes her from being a pure woman of the Victorian era to an "aggressive sexual predator" according to this article. The transformation is an excellent example of how much people feared women’s sexuality during the Victorian era, and how female empowerment can be something hellish, much like a vampire. 

Homosexuality 

Sexual politics depicted in Victorian novels is already taboo, but many first-time readers aren’t aware of how much Stoker’s works, especially Dracula, dive into the exceedingly controversial topic of homosexuality. It is rumored that Dracula is based off of Le Fanu’s Carmilla, which is a metaphor towards sapphic relationships. Though that hasn’t necessarily been proven, it may explain the extent to which Stoker explored the topic of homosexuality. A telling example of homoerotic tendencies used in Stoker’s novels is the concept of “husbands-killing-wives” used throughout Dracula when the women turn into vampires. However, the solicitor (Harker), ends up being the one to kill Count Dracula, who he had a close, or “homosocial” relationship with, according to this article. There are many other speculations about homoerotic tendencies within Dracula, but many are simply theories rather than proven ideas. 

Outside of his works, Bram Stoker had many close relationships with other male authors of this era. This includes Oscar Wilde, who was known to have homosexual affairs. Stoker still remained friends with Wilde, and it is rumored that he may have been one of his affairs, though this has never been proven. Another close relationship of Stoker’s was Sir Henry Irving. Stoker spent a lot of time with Irving throughout his writing career. In fact, Irving was one of his biggest inspirations. There is no proof of homosexual tendencies between Stoker and the two men, but upon close inspection of Stoker’s works, it is decently easy to speculate. 

The Victorian era brought on brand new technology that shifted the lives of many. The new technology includes the electric telegraph, the light bulb, flushing toilets, the gramophone, and much, much more. This era was a booming time for innovation that completely transformed lives for the better, including literature. 

In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this new technology was used in order to fight the Count, who is an ancient evil. According to this article, Dracula is comparable to “a Victorian version of ‘Ghost Hunters’.” In fact, the structure of the novel itself (using journal entries and newspaper articles) uses this brand new technology, such as the typewriter. The previously mentioned article states that Dracula is “technology versus tradition,” which is also a modern-used structure, and was very advanced for its time. 

Due to the controversies in Bram Stoker’s books including Dracula, Stoker faced many threats of book banning and censorship across the globe. Many people, both in Europe and the United States, believed that Stoker’s works, especially Dracula, were dangerous and a bad influence on young, impressionable minds. However, censorship and banning did not diminish its popularity in the slightest. In fact, it helped Dracula become much more popular, as it was a way that some readers could dive into the world of taboo and risque literature.

Though Bram Stoker influenced many with his works, there were many other authors in his life who inspired him. It is rumored that Le Fanu’s Carmilla heavily influenced his writing of Dracula, though that has never been proven. In fact, one of the most prominent books of this period that inspired Stoker was Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, published eleven years before Dracula. Another inspiration includes Vlad the Impaler, a fifteenth-century Romanian prince with a thirst for blood. Vlad’s means of murder included impaling, boiling victims alive, and other heinous acts that were included in Count Dracula’s backstory. Another individual who inspired the character of Count Dracula was, in fact, Sir Henry Irving, who was a very close friend of Stoker’s. Stoker heavily based the Count’s charming behavior on Irving’s. There are many further speculations on what could have inspired Bram Stoker’s novels, though only a few have been proven true.

Not only did Bram Stoker open a window for many authors and journalists to confront the controversial aspects of society, but he also brought on an incredible legacy that still lasts to this day. Believe it or not, we would not have had a majority of our popular media today if it wasn’t for the infamous Dracula. While much of the Count’s inspiration came from folk tales and old legends, Bram Stoker brought it all into the open. Vampiric ideas such as morphing into bats and no reflections would all be lost. In fact, there would be no Nosferatu, as the story was completely plagiarized from Bram Stoker’s original. Furthermore, Bela Lugosi would not have had a booming career in acting, which would therefore mean that the iconic band, Bauhaus, would not exist. That would also mean that the goth subculture would be almost completely erased! The list of popular media inspired by Bram Stoker goes on endlessly; Dracula and other works by Stoker caused a massive, rippling butterfly effect.