Expectations and Death
Autumn Moulios
Prof. Thomas
Writing 2
31 January 2021
One important aspect of life is studying history in order to prevent its repetition. Mistakes are bound to happen again if those making them are unaware of the root cause of the issue. This situation occurs in Bram Stoker’s Dracula because of people’s reluctance to have an open mind to the information around them. Victorian people tend to ignore difficult issues surrounding death, and have certain expectations that cloud their views of these issues. This mindset prevents them from being able to prepare against the threat of Dracula.
Though death is common for the Victorian people, it is a topic that most prefer to move on from rather than analyze in depth. Despite this, Lucy and Mina end up listening to an old man, Mr. Swales, talk about how most of the graves in the churchyard have lies written on them. His reasoning for this is that the graves state “‘Here lies the body’ […] an’ yet in nigh half of them there bean’t no bodies at all” (95) because the owners of the graves died out at sea. Mina asks why this is such a problem to him; the dead don’t need their graves anyways. She says that the purpose of the deads’ gravestones is “to please their relatives” (97). This statement highlights an important detail about Victorian society: people do not like thinking about the unfortunate circumstances of others’ deaths. When it comes to those who knew the dead, these false gravestones encourage them to move on rather than consider solving any underlying issues that could have caused the death. Specifically, Swales brings up the death of George Canon, who, according to him, committed suicide in order to prevent his mother from getting any insurance payout from his death. This problem is one that is not represented on the gravestone’s record of Canon’s death, and could have been lost to time if Swales had not spread the story himself. A problem like this could have lasting consequences, and because people move on before considering these consequences, they risk letting it occur again.
When they do think about death, Victorian people tend to have specific expectations for how it occurs. One example is that of animal death for the sake of food. The expectation in this case is that the animal is killed, chopped up, and cooked before eating in most cases. However, Renfield breaks this expectation and creates a great example of what happens as a result. He begins to eat flies, spiders, and birds live, and says that “it was very good and very wholesome, that it was life, strong life, and gave life to him” (100). Dr. Seward’s reaction is to attempt to categorize him in a scientific way and to consider delaying action in order to observe him more, saying “It would almost be worth while to complete the experiment” (103). Seward, at least at first, doesn’t directly stop or help Renfield, he just focuses on writing down observations in his journal. This shows both how people with these sorts of expectations react to new information, and how they deal with a lack of explanation to this information. They do this by connecting new information to that which is already known. In this example, Seward believes that Renfield is suffering from a form of religious mania rather than that he is being influenced by someone else. Seward does not consider the bigger picture of the cause of Renfield’s actions because of his expectations, and fails to step in and prevent a potential disaster as a result.
Dracula is able to gain an advantage by using Victorian people’s expectations against them. One reason that Jonathan does not immediately expect Dracula as his enemy is the lack of documentation on Transylvania. He “was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula” (3), and when asked, the locals responded “that they knew nothing at all,” and “simply refused to speak further” (7). Because of this, Jonathan enters Dracula’s castle almost knowing nothing about him, and unknowingly puts himself at risk. This risk could have been avoided with knowledge, and is why Victorian people brushing others’ deaths under the rug is so dangerous. Another example of Dracula’s upper hand is when Lucy is given garlic to prevent her from becoming a vampire. To this action she responds, “Oh, Professor, I believe you are only putting up a joke on me. Why, these flowers are only common garlic” (188). This is an example of assuming a lack of usefulness in an item solely because its purpose does not fit their expectations. Assumptions like this could lead to danger, as the garlic is protecting her even if she doesn’t understand it. Thus, it is important for people to consider outside-of-the-box perspectives on topics they don’t understand in order to avoid this danger. Dracula is able to carry out his plan because others either delay acting, or refuse to consider possible solutions due to lack of knowledge.
In order to fully prepare for an event that is not currently well known about, it’s important to act quickly on the issue and to consider the picture outside of what one already knows. Repeating historical mistakes is a big topic of discussion when it comes to current events. The response to COVID-19 could be compared to previous pandemics, like the late 1910’s flu pandemic. It was also made worse by politicians that refused to tackle the issue at hand and focused more on quick fixes to the economy rather than stopping the virus. In the end, this pandemic was most likely caused by a combination of lack of knowledge in the populus (especially regarding masks), and the greed and ignorance of politicians. Obviously, one cannot control the actions of other people, but they can make a difference by making their own informed decisions.
Link to my copy of Dracula for page number reference
