Heroic Van Helsing in Stoker\'s

Heroic Van Helsing in Stoker's Dracula

We cannot think of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, without thinking about the hero and his fight for good over evil. The story is set up to need a hero -- but not just any hero -- he must have the special knowledge needed to fight the unusual force of the vampire. The hero and his antagonist are unique characters in their knowledge and skills and Stoker uses these differences to construct the novel around the fight of good and evil. Evil is frightening and threatens the good of the community. Evil also emerges in different forms and through different characters, forcing Van Helsing to stay on his toes, so to speak. Stoker equips Van Helsing with conventional motifs such as a crucifix and cross to combat evil, reinforcing the idea that he is a hero fighting evil forces for the good of man.

Van Helsing is no doubt fighting against the proverbial evil and he is relentless in his pursuits. Leonard Wolf notes that Van Helsing is determined to "repress, restrain, and contain the chaos" (Wolf xii) and he resonates with readers because of his "powerful opposition" (xii) to Dracula. Van Helsing employs the scientific method to fight forces of evil. He is well educated and very aware that the vampire cannot be killed with traditional methods. His unique knowledge about the folklore of the creature allows him great insight and undoubtedly, life-saving skills. This knowledge is extremely important to the success of the fight and while Van Helsing is a notable scientist, he realizes "science is powerless against Dracula and for help turns to his deeply held Catholic faith and to white magic. Dracula, by contrast, employs black magic" (Varnado). The fact that Van Helsing is such a unique combination of knowledge makes his an even more significant hero. He is seemingly "arbitrary man, but this is because he knows what he is talking about better than anyone else. He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day" (Stoker 122). The man is a philosopher and metaphysician and he will need all his skills to succeed.

To offset the good and evil forces at work in the novel, Stoker utilizes conventional motifs to reflect Victorian and Christian beliefs. Good and evil are represented with men and women. Dracula seduces the weaker female to make his/her own. It should also be noted that even within the female characters, we sense some clashes with conventional beliefs and modern thinking. Mina, for example, represents a different, threatening ways of thinking. Her modern, strong sexuality is one that must be restored I to its pure state. The crucifix is perhaps one of the most prevalent in the story. It will destroy the vampire and the scene in which Lisa recoils from Van Helsing's crucifix represents Van Helsing's status as hero. As he holds the crucifix between Arthur and Lucy, we read, "if looks could kill -- we saw it at that moment" (218). The hero must fight evil Lisa, in her current state, represents that evil. The cross is another motif Stoker uses in the novel. Again, it is linked with Christian values and it is associated with good as our hero embarks on his journey to combat evil.

Dracula is presented as nothing but an evil force. Physically, he looks frightening and his habits, such as drinking blood, are startling, not to mention deadly. He is a mystery to most of those around him and he cannot be killed in conventional ways. He curses his victims with immortality and "must go on age after age adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world" (220). Van Helsing, in true heroic fashion realizes the danger in this situation and wastes no time working out a plan to stop the evil before it spreads. Troy Boone writes Van Helsing "affirms a utilitarian view of the vampire-fighter, whose role is to minimize human suffering by combating evil" (Boone). He goes on to explain how Stoker explores this notion by adding to his summation that Van Helsing realizes the different forces at work. Dracula is "finite, though he is powerful to do much harm" (Stoker 320-1) and he cannot be avoided or ignored, he must be stopped. Such a character leaves Van Helsing as a kind of "monster of righteousness" (Bloom), writes Harold Bloom. Van Helsing is the vampire's enemy and opposite and Stoke has situated him in the novel as the only person qualified to fight this evil.

Another way in which Stoker presents Van Helsing as a hero is through the different characters he must face when fighting evil. He is not simply after stopping Dracula. Dracula's women pose the same great threat Dracula does. Once they belong to him, they are loosed from their repressive, traditional roles. They are not bound by Victorian sensibilities and are instead, driven by powerful sexual urges. They are aware of no restraints and live accordingly. They may be children of Dracula but their threat is as great as his is and this is another form of evil that our hero, Van Helsing must conquer. Lucy becomes a symbol of the values Van Helsing's society attempts to protect. She also represents the evil Van Helsing must destroy. Stoker creates within these different characters, a complex web of aggression. Lucy, the vampire is a "nightmare of Lucy . . . The whole carnal and unspiritual appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy's sweet purity" (220). By associating the good and evil characteristics in Lucy, Stoker successfully reveals the incredible task at hand for Van Helsing. He simply is not out to "get" evil; he is fighting evil that resides in good people and this makes him a hero among heroes.