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“Things that Make One Doubt if They be Mad or Sane”

Coping with the Monstrous in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Laura Giovannelli    Università di Pisa, Italia    

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abstract

This article focuses on Bram Stoker’s landmark novel Dracula (1897), in order to better assess how the phenomenology of the monstrous emerges as inextricably interfused with a late-Victorian socio-cultural background. Attention is drawn to a discursive framework pivoting on scientific discoveries and medical research, as well as degeneration theories and the motif of atavistic regression. Taking its cue from recent trends in literary criticism, this paper also examines how the resort to a cutting-edge technological equipment, such as Mina’s portable typewriter and Dr Seward’s phonograph, can be instrumental in abating Dracula’s vampiric threat.

Published
Dec. 21, 2020
Accepted
Dec. 12, 2020
Submitted
Nov. 8, 2020
Language
EN

Keywords: Mimetic DimensionSupernatural HorrorLate-Victorian ContextVampire

Copyright: © 2020 Laura Giovannelli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.