Dracula | Style

Dracula Style

Gothic Novel

Dracula is a Gothic novel, which is also sometimes known as a Gothic romance. Many scholars consider Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto (1764) to be the first Gothic novel. Like Dracula, Walpole's novel was wildly popular. Gothic novels generally focus on mystery and horror, and they usually have some supernatural elements. In Dracula, the supernatural elements are many, starting with the use of a vampire as the title character. In addition, the specific attributes given to the vampire underscore his inhumanity. Jonathan says, after witnessing Dracula scale the castle wall like a lizard, "What manner of man is this, or what manner of creature is it in the semblance of man?" Jonathan's plight in the beginning, when he is trapped in Dracula's castle, is also typical of Gothic novels, which often place their heroes in seemingly inescapable situations. Finally, the various settings—including Dracula's imposing castle, the ghostly landscape...
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