Imperialism And Modernity In Bram Stoker's Dracula
850 Words4 Pages
In 1897, Bram stoker novel “Dracula” took an old fabled figure and turned him into the utmost horrifying vampire of all time. A century later Stoker’s novel still stands as one of the best in fiction gothic literature but if we were reading it in late Victorian London, the fears and anxieties portrayed were more a reality. One can understand the fear as Imperialism, economic wealth, modernity were some of the many accomplishments that turned London to a Dominating force in the world. At the end of the 19th century Victorian confidence was spiraling into doubt, as fears of being invaded by those they once colonized was a great concern. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is as much a horror novel as it is an expression of Victorian anxiety of losing their beloved England to Eastern invasion, Count Dracula symbolizing the invader that must be destroyed in order for her survival.
Under Queen Victoria, London with advancements in technology and high wealth was in the pinnacle of its time, so how did phobia of others arise. Under Queen Victoria the acquisition of land took into new meaning, “Advocates of Disraeli's imperialist foreign policies justified them by invoking a paternalistic and racist theory (founded in part upon popular but erroneous generalizations derived from Darwin's theory of…show more content… Jonathan’s early observations of his train coming late, “It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains” (Stoker 11) the Victorian superiority looking down at the dysfunctional foreigners. As the journey goes on he further proves his superiority by laughing off the hysteria of his visit to the vampire. Embodying his colonizing mindset he falls blindly that he will soon get colonized himself as enters the