Better or Worse

For better or worse, many are slaves to troubles and experiences, be it a job, bad romance, or illness. Sometimes, it’s important that these bonds are broken. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the idea of slavery and freedom is woven throughout. Many characters within the book are trapped in their own unusual troubles from which they are ultimately are freed.

Jonathan Harker is unwittingly enslaved by his employer, Count Dracula. After arriving in Transylvania, Harker is forced to live within a few rooms of Dracula’s castle. During his month long stay, the Count persistently questions Harker about the inner-workings of English life. Ultimately, he uncovers Dracula’s true nature. Fearing for his life (and rightly so), he flees to a convent into yet another form of bondage. This time, it’s a slavery of the mind; Harker suffers a mental breakdown. True to his perseverant disposition, he eventually recovers, slays Dracula, and starts a family.

Lucy, a friend of Harker, is also ensnared by the Count. The vampire slowly drains the blood from her body, causing her to become severely anemic. To protect her, a vampire repellant, garlic, is draped around the room. Eventually, Dracula breaks through the barrier and turns Lucy into a vampire. The only way this character is freed is by being staked.

Even Dracula is subjugated. This monster is a slave to blood and time. While he’s essentially immortal, the Count’s time spent in daylight is minimal. He’s forced to drink blood or shrivel up into nothingness. Dracula can’t live safely with humans nor do humans want to be near him, thus the man is forced into isolation. Like Lucy, he is only released from slavery by being killed.

Dracula is a juxtapose of freedom and slavery. Throughout the novel, these characters struggle with setbacks, successes, and their own bondages. In the end, they are all freed.

Bibliography

Stoker, B. (2005). Dracula. New York: Back Bay Books.