I finally decided to read Dracula, although I had downloaded it on to my Kindle more than a year ago. I'm not sure what I was expecting, maybe something like the movies I had seen, or possibly a crazy look into the vampire that seems to be the basis for all other vampiric works in modern history.
The first thing that was different than I expected, is that the book is written entirely in diary entries of the main characters, and other written works. For the first part, the diary of Jonathan Harker, it's a lovely diary, but I do have to admit, when I was at the halfway point of the book, many of the other characters annoyed the hell out of me.
As a cynical, hard New Yorker, I found it hard to believe that many of the characters could be that sweet, or wordy. I wanted to slap the female protagonists when they spoke at how "undeserving" women are of the love of men, or how they were incredibly "obedient" to their menfolk. As I continued to read, and did a bit of research into British people, I realized that the character's were intentionally written as sweet, and that British people really are that wordy and formal, And then I realized that the characters were being genuine, and all the niceness was intentional.
It seemed like religion, specifically Christianity, plays a huge part in this book. Faith is the driving point for most of the characters when they're at their lowest. I wonder how this book would have been were it written by a person of another faith, or an atheist.
I think the biggest misconception that people have when coming across this book is that they expect vampires to be handsome. Dracula is not traditionally handsome, in fact, he's only described as cruel and sensual, with, isn't necessarily a compliment considering how Stoker feels about sensuality. Vampires, vampire women, are seen as incredibly sensual, oozing it to the point where one of the main characters knew it was no longer the love of his life, just a hot demon in her place. Also, vampires aren't sexier after drinking. Jonathan Harker describes Dracula:
"Even the deep burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion."
That certainly stands in stark contrast to hotties like Lestat and Louis in Anne Rice novels, and as the antithesis of Stephanie Meyer's sparkling marble people. I don't know how many people understand, there isn't supposed to be anything sexy and beautiful about vampires, according to this book. They're disgusting, unholy creatures from the deepest pits of Hell. For your loved one to become a vampire is a curse of the highest order; they may never dwell with God, and will forever walk in darkness.
Another thing, people seem to think that Dracula is seen as the original vampire of all vampires. The book does not support that claim. They call him "the king of vampires", but I think that's more because of his royal standing, and his position in Europe. Dr. Van Helsing (whose an old man, not Hugh Jackman) mentions that there are types of vampires in the lore of all people, not just in Europe, although this book is Eurocentric. Dracula is not given credit as the originator of all vampires, something that people give him too much credit for.
Every cinematic interpretation of the book has taken liberties with it, making Dracula into something more desirable, and building upon him a legend more fantastic than the count gives himself. It is interesting that Dracula's three females speak of him not having loved, but there is a sadness in the Count when he speaks of love, something one of the movie versions, the one with Keanu Reeves is in, where Mina is seen as a reincarnation of his beloved one. That's totally not true, the Count only wished to take from him everything that they had.
All in all, this book is a bit of a hard read. If you're anything like me, you'll want to quit when you're halfway through, when things are just building, but I assure you, if you trek to the end, it's worth it. It's a good book, but I don't think I'll read it again any time soon.
Also, I have a book list that I'm working on. Not something particularly long, but some things that have been recommended to me that I'm going to work through this month. Up next, is "Behold a Pale Horse", which I'm starting right now. I've read interesting things about it, and I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into.
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