Interpretation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula‪"‬

This anthology contains three term papers.

The first paper is about the characters in the novel "Dracula". When Abraham "Bram" Stoker wrote his novel between 1890 and 1897, he chose his characters wisely. It contains eight main characters, only two of them female. The remaining six male figures all play a special role and fulfil a certain stereotype. It is the aim of this paper to display these roles and show how the characters stand in contrast or even resemble each other.

The second paper is about the actual themes of the novel. It explores some of the themes and has a look at how far those themes have actually been constructed. It starts out by making the rather extreme claim, that there is no Dracula at all in the novel.

The third paper will give an overview about the role of women in the Victorian era during which "Dracula" was written. This is important in order to identify to what extent the main female characters - Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra - go conform to those former roles. Their characters and respective roles in society will be analysed arguing that Mina represents a role model of a Victorian woman and Lucy an example of a fallen woman.