Dracula the Development of Renfield

DRACULA

THE DEVELOPMENT of RENFIELD in BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA

As perhaps the greatest and most suspenseful Gothic novel of all time, Bram Stoker's Dracula, first published in May of 1897 and originally entitled the Undead, continues to thrill readers all over the world and is responsible for introducing one of the most enduring Gothic/horror characters ever created -- the infamous and bloodthirsty vampire known as Count Dracula, the King of the Undead and the Prince of Darkness. Compared to Count Dracula, most of the other characters in Stoker's novel are rather ordinary and proper Englishmen and women brought up under the strict tenets of Victorian England and possessing a number of qualities which Stoker used to his great advantage in crafting a true masterpiece of English Gothic literature. For example, we have Dr. Van Helsing, the fearless vampire hunter, Dr. Seward, the head of an insane asylum and Miss Lucy Westenra who falls victim to Dracula's thirst for human blood.

And then there is Renfield who can best be described as a raving lunatic occupying one of those cold, padded cells in Dr. Seward's sanitarium for the mentally deranged. Although somewhat incidental and secondary to the plot of the novel, the character of Renfield is nonetheless quite fascinating and as a literary character follows a distinct line of development, beginning in Chapter 5 with the 25th of April entry in Dr. Seward's diary.

For Dr. Seward, Renfield is a patient "of much interest," due to being "unlike the normal lunatic" and suffering from some type of undiagnosed hallucination. Dr. Seward describes Renfield as having a "sanguine temperament" and "great physical strength;" he is also "morbidly excitable," suffers from "periods of gloom ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out" and is possibly a "dangerous man" (Stoker, 73-74). From this, we can surmise that Renfield is being held in Dr. Seward's sanitarium because of some kind of mental derangement related to Seward's "fixed idea" which at this point in the novel remains unknown and unexplained. Clearly, Renfield greatly appeals to Dr. Seward's scientific and psychological curiosity, for he states in his diary entry that he is "determined to understand (Renfield) as well as I can" and desires to "get nearer than ever before to the heart of his mystery" (Stoker, 73), one which will ultimately lead Dr. Seward to the terrible source of Renfield's "gloom," namely, Count Dracula himself.

It should be mentioned that the fascination of readers linked to the character of Renfield is due to several unique character traits. First, he is extremely secretive, so much so that Dr. Seward has a difficult time trying to reach him psychologically and second, Renfield's "sanguine temperament" stands as a symbol for a blood fetish, meaning that he craves blood much like Count Dracula but on an entirely different level. As Dr. Seward writes in his diary for June 5th, Renfield's current hobby is catching flies which soon progresses to spiders which he keeps in a box and nourishes from his fly collection. Dr. Seward also mentions that Renfield delights in eating flies -- "when a horrid blow-fly... buzzed into the room, (Renfield) caught it, held it exultingly for a few moments... put it in his mouth and ate it" (Stoker, 82).

After being scolded by Dr. Seward for this weird act, Renfield "argued quietly that it was very good... that it was life... And gave him life" (Stoker, 82). This indicates that Renfield enjoys the "sanguinary" taste of blood which is made even more distinct when Dr. Seward notices a drop of blood on Renfield's pillow which turns out to be from a bird. According to an attendant, Renfield "has been very sick and has disgorged a whole lot of feathers" and then declares "he has eaten his birds... he just took and ate them raw!" (Stoker, 84).

In his diary entry for August 19th, Dr. Seward notes that Renfield has undergone a "strange and sudden change," for he is now acting like a dog, "sniffing about" his room in search of some unknown new prey to satisfy his unnatural appetite for blood. When Dr. Seward attempts to talk sensibly to Renfield, he becomes "quite haughty" and says "I don't want to talk to you; you don't count now; the Master is at hand." At this point in the novel, we can see that Renfield's character is developing along a very specific line, one which begins with eating flies and moves into what seems to be "homicidal and religious mania," due to his reference to "the Master." As times passes, Renfield becomes excited "in greater and greater degrees" but soon quiets down and simply "stares into space with lackluster eyes" (Stoker, 116).

Renfield then manages to escape from his cell by pulling the window straight from the wall. Dr. Seward and his men quickly pursue him through the grounds of the sanitarium and find him "pressed close against the old iron-bound oak door of the chapel... talking apparently to someone." Dr. Seward then hears Renfield say "I am here to do your bidding, Master. I am your slave... I await your commands... " This "Master" is none other than Count Dracula, Stoker's archfiend of the night who has a psychological hold on Renfield comparable to a hypnotist and his patient. "You will reward me," he says of Dracula, "You will not pass me by, will you, dear Master, in your distribution of good things?" (Stoker, 118), meaning that in return for his services to the Count, Renfield will receive "good things" in the form of insects, rats and vermin to satisfy his maniacal thirst for blood.

However, Renfield is not a vampire in the sense like his "Master," for he only craves the blood of animals; in fact, Renfield is an animal, for when Dr. Seward and his men captured him, he "fought like a tiger... like a wild beast (rather) than a man" (Stoker, 118). This hypnotic hold on Renfield develops even further in Chapter Nine when he is allowed to escape from his padded cell so that Dr. Seward can follow him to his mysterious destination. Once again, while "pressed against the old chapel door," Renfield looks "into the moonlit sky" and sees "a big bat... flapping its silent and ghostly way to the west" (Stoker, 124).

This bat which Dr. Seward observes acts as though it intentionally knows where it is heading is Count Dracula, for according to European/Transylvanian tradition (and of course Hollywood), a vampire can transform itself into many things, such as a wisp of smoke, a wolf or in this case a bat. For Renfield, the presence of Count Dracula in the guise of a black bat serves to calm his nerves, much like a drug used to sedate a violent patient. Also, Renfield's emotional state is beginning to fluctuate, for he progresses from being calm and resigned to great violence, falling into "a paroxysm which exhausted him so that he swooned into a sort of coma" (Stoker, 123).

Thus, it is quite evident that Renfield's development as a literary character is highly dependent on Count Dracula's influence. For instance, in his diary entry for September 4th, Dr. Seward relates that during one of his visits to Renfield's padded cell, he saw the sun's "red disc" sinking through the cell window which caused Renfield to become "less and less frenzied" and then suddenly fall to the stone floor. Moments later, after the sun had entirely disappeared from view, Renfield "stood up quite calmly and looked around him," then emptied his box of dead flies outside, "threw away the box... shut the window (and) sat down on his bed." This greatly puzzles Dr. Seward and he begins to ponder exactly what is happening to Renfield. He then discovers a clue and asks "Can it be that there is a malign influence of the sun...which affects certain natures, as at times the moon does others?" (Stoker, 133). Here we have a clear reference to the power of the sun over Count Dracula who sleeps in his coffin during the day and rises after sunset. Thus, Renfield's reaction to the setting of the sun is to be expected, due to being under the control and domination of Dracula.