Gothic elements and atmosphere in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula as gothic fiction

Dracula and the Gothic genre

The Gothic elements in Dracula by Bram Stoker are intensified by the realism that is created in the writing technique. By using the device of diary writing the author intensifies the actuality of the horror, which makes this novel such an effective example of the Gothic genre. "Stoker creates a sense of intimacy with his reader. We feel as if we are reading the story as it happens and share in the horror of the various characters." (Dracula and gothic literature: A discussion

While this novel is often referred to a horror story is it in fact Gothic and is commonly viewed as a precursor to the modern horror genre. It will be argued in this paper that Stoker's Dracula falls into the Gothic genre in terms of the various characteristics of this genre and its peculiar combination of atmosphere, romance and horror.

The Gothic genre has a number of specific characteristics that we find clearly evident in Bram Stoker's vampire novel. The characteristics of the Gothic in fiction are commonly understood to be the following: they are "Poetry, short stories, or novels designed to thrill readers by providing mystery and blood-curdling accounts of villainy, murder, and the supernatural." (What is gothic genre?) However this definition is somewhat simplistic and an understanding of the Gothic includes aspects such as atmosphere, setting and romance.

The Gothic novel often takes place in a desolate landscape or in a dungeon or castle. The macabre and mysterious aspects of the context of the story or the environment are emphasized. The genre cultivates a certain sense of atmosphere, which involves a mood of dread, wonder and mystery. We see this clearly in the setting of Dracula's castle. When Jonathan Harker approaches the castle the mood of incipient terror and dread is invoked in the text through the use of metaphor and imagery.

Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road -- a long, agonized wailing, as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, and then another and another, till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the Pass, a wild howling began, which seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the gloom of the night.

(Stoker 11)

The actual castle is described in a way that makes use of selected imagery to suggest terror and foreboding. The description is of a "… vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky." ( Stoker 14) The use of phrases like "tall black windows" and the strange and unsettling absence of any light all fall squarely into the generic mood of Gothic romance. The purpose is to instill a sense of terrible awe and suspense in the reader. "Gothic fiction places heavy emphasis on atmosphere, using setting and diction to build suspense and a sense of unease in the reader." (What Characterizes Gothic Fiction?)

This creation of atmosphere in the Gothic genre is also characterized by a sense of mystery, combined with terror -- a combination which is a hallmark of the genre. As one critic notes; the Gothic emphasizes the portrayal of the terrifying as well as "…a common insistence on archaic settings, a prominent use of the supernatural, the presence of highly stereotyped characters, barbarism as opposed to elegance, and the attempt to deploy and perfect techniques of literary suspense." (What Constitutes Horror In Victorian Gothic) All of these aspects are evident in the tale of Dracula.

The above also relate to another of the central characteristics or defining features of the Gothic genre in literature. This refers to the dominance in the tale of some powerful secret or unknown element. (Gothic Novels) This is an element that is clearly evident and central to Dracula and refers to the secret of Dracula and his vampires that lie hidden in the bowels of the castle. This is the horrifying secret that is the main focus of the entire novel and is enhanced by descriptions of coffins in which lie the "undead." This is the horrific mystery that is the central area of focus in then novel.

3. Conclusion

In conclusion, Dracula is a novel that cannot only be understood as representative of the horror genre in literature. The novel displays many if not all of the classic characteristics of the Gothic novel and genre. In its atmosphere and subject matter, as well as in the imagery and evocation of terror, the novel displays the hallmarks of the Gothic.

Possibly the most Gothic aspect of the novel is the peculiar mixture of death and life combined with a sense of wonder and awe that we find in the main character of Count Dracula. The character of Dracula is both evil and corrupt in the extreme but he is also a source of sympathy to a certain extent. This apparent contradiction is due to the fact that his longings and desires are perverted in comparison to the normal, but they are still recognizable as human qualities even in their distortion and corruption. In the final analysis, it is possibly this strange mixture of the abnormal and the normal that makes this novel and the Gothic genre so interesting.