Dracula by Bram Stocker Book Analysis

The novel, “Dracula” by Bram Stocker, is told through a style called “epistolary”. Epistolary is a style of writing where the story is told through letters, photographs, journal entries, newspaper articles, telegrams, and more. Stocker uses this style to his advantage to add a deeper meaning and realism to this novel. “Dracula” does not have an apparent narrator but bounds from several characters to the next, as well as a different style for each. One major character, Mina, organizes these resources to create this book. Mina salvaged these writings and protected them from Count Dracula. The characters in this novel attempt to convince the reader that their occurrences were real through painstakingly accurate record-keeping. It is believed that this style of writing adds reliability to the sources. How is their information trusted knowledge? What is the reason for this meticulous documentation? It is known that Mina saved and organized these writings for an important reason. These letters, photographs, journal entries, and more had great significance to their writers, but what purpose do they hold?

Each character in this novel has a distinct style of writing and record keeping. For instance, Jonathan Hawker’s writing is through personal journal entries. It shown from the start of novel how in-depth he is with his writings. He includes trivial details such as dishes native to Transylvania that he tasted on his journey.  He describes the dish, “paprika hendl” as “a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty.” (pg. 15). He also recounts the people he meets in picturesque detail. Jonathan describes their outfits and their attractiveness, reporting the women as “pretty, except when you got near them, but they were very clumsy about the waist” (pg. 17). Jonathan not only recounts these details, but he oddly remembers the exact words spoken by these people. He recalls the exact words spoken by the old woman who warned him to not leave the hotel due to it being the superstitious St. George’s Day. Jonathan also claims to remember his trip to Dracula’s Castle despite being in a fearful condition. During the terrifying ride, he claims to have heard wolves’ howls growing closer to him and seeing flickering blue flames. Jonathan concludes it was all a nightmare until he realized the coachman was the same man as Dracula due to their similar strength and paleness. During his time, he notices strange things about the Count. The Count had very sharp teeth, bad breath, and pale skin. Not only was his appearance strange, but his actions. Dracula would recoil at the touch of a crucifix and would not allow mirrors in the castle. Eventually, Jonathan noticed that Dracula lacked a reflection. Later, he is trapped in a room with three beautiful women who want to drink his blood. Jonathan realizes he is a prison in a castle of a vampire who plans to kill him. Dracula intends to stage his death using the one output Jonathan has. Writing.  Is this paranoia or fabrications told by Jonathan? How credible is his recollection considering his traumatic and bizarre experiences? 

Jonathan is not the only important narrator in this novel. In a different style, Mina and Lucy’s letters are shown. Through their correspondences another point of view is presented. While Lucy and Mina are not imprisoned by a 1,000-year-old vampire, they are dealing with their own matters. Mina is constantly worried about her fiancé Jonathan.