Context of Dracula

Bram Stoker was born in 1847 and despite an early illness that required him to be bedridden, he recovered and pursued an education. He later became a theater critic for the Dublin Evening Mail and eventually became the business manager for Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre in London. His marriage to Florence Balcombe, who was once courted by Oscar Wilde, and his close professional relationship with Irving, have led to speculation about his sexuality and its potential influence on his writing.

Dracula was published in 1897 amidst the British Empire's expansion and a rise in immigration, which fueled anxieties about foreign influences. The novel reflects these fears through Dracula, an emigrant representing popular prejudices against outsiders. The prosecution of Oscar Wilde for homosexuality in 1895 also impacted Stoker, as Dracula exhibits the author's anxieties about various forms of sexuality, particularly those considered perverse.

While Dracula is a fully realized character, the novel's themes of invasion from the east, hypnotic suggestion, and the sexualization of women reflect concerns pertinent to the late 19th century. Critical theories suggest that Dracula could symbolize foreign influence or Stoker's own repressed homosexuality, with Count Dracula potentially being modeled after Stoker's employer, Henry Irving.

Dracula was influenced by earlier vampire texts like Polidori's 'The Vampyre' and Sheridan Le Fanu's 'Carmilla,' borrowing seductive vampire characteristics and lesbian undertones. Biblical allusions, such as the Mark of Cain, are also present. Themes of openness, sexuality, and marriage from Thomas Hardy's 'Jude the Obscure,' and transformations from 'Frankenstein' and 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' further shaped the novel.

Stoker employed an epistolary novel form, influenced by Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and his own journalistic background, incorporating diverse narratives like newspaper articles. This style provides multiple perspectives and an unreliable narrative. He also integrated a detective-style format, inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and subverted the traditional gothic novel by portraying Harker as a 'male damsel in distress,' drawing on Edgar Allan Poe's urban gothic settings.