Just something I wanted to keep for prosperity
Old English Lit Essay not fandom related , unless you count dracula and hawksmore as Fandom type things. Wrotewhen I was 18 so that would be 2002.
Type your cut contents here.
A comparative analysis of the Macabre in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and Peter Ackroyd’s “Hawksmoor.”
To my understanding, the word macabre means several things. The dictionary definitions include “death and injury”, “disturbing”, “gory”, “grisly”, “unnatural” and “supernatural”. These are words that can be applied to both of the novels I am analysing. These are the vampire fiction of “Dracula” by Bram Stoker and Peter Ackroyds novel “Hawksmoor.”
Although in both “Dracula” and “Hawksmoor” the use of macabre images was not obvious to me at first there are several ways that the macabre is used. These include the battle between good and evil, light and dark, the symbolism of the importance of death and the ambiguous religious contexts of both novels. The aim for this essay is to look at the ways that all of the above appear in both books. I wish to start with death as this is perhaps the key theme of both novels.
In both books the two murderers Dyer and Dracula attack under the cover of darkness and they attack children or child- like figures.
“You are very much a child” (Hawksmoor chapter three page 65)
“If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail of a half smothered child” (Dracula chapter 3 page 34)
I personally find this disturbing as the people they attack are defenceless and they can not help themselves. Dyer is the more humane as he kills them out right where as Dracula kills them slowly (as in the case of Lucy) and turns them into vampires.
Another common feature in both novels is the theme of the past coming back to haunt the protagonist. In “Hawksmoor” the murderer is the same in both the eighteenth century and the present day (twentieth century). This enables him essentially to kill two people at once via Ackroyd’s presentation of the concept of time bubbles. This is a macabre idea in itself as this suggests that our concept of time (past, present and future) all co-exist and so we lose our free will as our choices are taken away from us. In physics this is known as Block Universe Theory and since it seems to argue directly with our experiences of the time continuum it is macabre and unnerving.
Dyer does have an impact on the present day though and in a sense he haunts Hawksmoor. As he leaves no trace of himself in the twentieth centaury “no sweat, no shit, no prints” it means Hawksmoor is unable to solve the murders. This slowly drives him mad. “Walter watched the sweating, shambling figure as he winked and said “I’ll show you something you won’t forget. Do you want to see something?” And they laughed again…” (Chapter 10 page 200)
Dracula also in a sense haunts his victims. When Jonathan Harker recognises the Count in London it has a strange and disturbing effect on him. This deals directly with what we expect of the passage of time;
“I believe it is the count, but he has grown so young. My God if this be so! Oh, my God! If I only knew! If I only knew!” (Chapter 14 page 143)
In a way though his reaction is unsurprising especially when the reader considers the traumatic time he was trapped. “The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!”(Chapter one page 24) Dracula also haunts other character throughout the book. When Dr Seward and Van Helsing are trying to save Lucy’s life. He haunts all the characters when events threaten to repeat themselves after he has attacked Mina Harker. This is similar to what happens in “Hawksmoor.” The construct of Hawksmoor is unable to save the people Dyer is killing but also due to the “block universe” the events of the eighteenth century are repeating themselves in the present day.
Another common element in the books is devils and demons. In “Hawksmoor” the reason that Nicholas Dyer is killing is for sacrifices and to keep in with the traditions of “The older faith”. As far as I can understand Dyer follows “The older faith” where not Christ is dormant but were a strange conglomerate of Deities is worshipped :
“Pluto, Jehova, Satan, Love
Muloch, the virgin, Theatus, Devil, Jove
Pan, Jahweh, Vulcan, he with the awful Rod
Jesus, the wondrous straw man, all one God.” (Chapter one page 22)
The reason for the sacrifices was “it was their opinion that humane life either in desperate sicknesse or in danger of warre could not be secured unless a vyrgyn boy suffered instead.” This could be linked back to Dyer’s childhood when he had to suffer seeing the deaths of his parents from the plague. The novel later reveals that this is the reason why he is building the churches - as an everlasting monument to them, so the dead will not be forgotten:
“I cou’d not weep for them then but I can build now, and in that place of memory will I fashion a Labyrinth where the dead can once more give voice” (Chapter 1 Page 16)
This is a direct contrast with “Dracula” as in his case Dracula is the demon. There are lots of clues to his identity early on in the novel .For Example when the old woman gives Harker a crucifix to the fact that Dracula does not cast a reflection. “But there was no reflection of him in the mirror” (chapter two page 23.) The most apt description to show him for what he really is comes from Mina who describes him in St Mary’s church in Whitby in chapter 22;
“There stood a tall, thin man all in black. I knew him at once from the description of all the others. The waxen face; the high aquiline nose, on which the light fell on a white thin line, the parted red lips, with the sharp white teeth showing in between; and the red eyes that I have seen in the sunset on the windows of Saint Mary’s church in Whitby.” (Page 239)
I think that this is a really macabre and vivid image which for me is rather disturbing. The way he is described can make me just image the evil in him. The most disturbing thing is the treatment he meets out to the most likeable and sweet character of Mina as described towards the end of chapter 21.
“When the blood began to spurt out, he took my hands in one of his ,holding them tight,…………………………………… my God what have I done” (page 240.)
Just like there were “sacrifices” in “Hawksmoor” there are also two notable ones in “Dracula”, Reinfield and Mina. A clear distinction however is that in “Dracula” these two characters were willing to be sacrificed. Reinfield, who was apparently insane, was willing to give his life in order to protect Mina:
“It made me mad to know that He had been taking the life out of her” (page 233 chapters 21.)
There is also Mina herself who was willing to kill herself, so that in her state of vampirism she would not harm others, especially her friends. “Because if I find in myself-and I shall watch keenly for it-a sign of harm to any that I love, I shall die!” (Chapter 22 page 241.) The fact that she is willing to kill herself rather than become a supernatural creature, like Dracula, is rather morbid but a reflection of her heroic nature. Although in the end she does not have to commit suicide or the others don’t have to kill her it is disturbing to think that Dracula has that kind of power over people and is one of the macabre themes in the novel.
A theme which appears in both novels is that of the battle between good and evil which in “Dracula” is fairly clear but in “Hawksmoor” is exceptionally difficult to disentangle. I say this because in “Hawksmoor” the construct of Hawksmoor is like a reincarnation of Dyer. They essentially become the same person towards the end of the novel;
“And his own image was sitting beside him pondering deeply and sighing. When he put out his hand and touched him he shuddered.”(Final chapter page 216).
This means the battle between good and evil can be interpreted as a personal one. The person simultaneously is Hawksmoor the “good guy” (detective) and Dyer the (evil) murderer and I find this is a very macabre thought and it is fairly spooky as they both share the same doubts about the world they live in. This can be linked to the idea of “Time bubbles” which states that the same event can reoccur throughout infinity and that on the path sat out for an individual by “fate” (or “block universe theory”) the same mistakes are going to be made ad infinitum.
The battle between good and evil is also complicated in “Dracula”. As Mina has been affected by the evil they are trying to destroy, she is slowly turning into a vampire,
“As he had placed the wafer on Mina’s head, it had seared it-had burned into the flesh as though it had been a piece of white-hot metal.” (Chapter 22 page 246).
This however proves to be useful as she is able to provide information via her link with Dracula to help locate him and to allow the gentlemen to plan ahead. She also has an inner struggle between her goodness and her religion against the evil spreading inside her. Mina became one of my favourite characters due to her noble efforts to resist vampirism.
The use of religious places is also macabre. When Dyer was designing the churches he intended them to have an ulterior and macabre purpose. He seems to know all along that he would bury bodies in the foundations;
“I have imparted to you the principles of terrour and magnificence, for those you must represented in the due placing of parts and ornaments” (chapter one page 5)
In a way it is macabre building a place of worship and celebration over the dead and if people are like me they would find it “terrourfying” to think of what is under their feet! (Durham cathedral being a prime example!) But in another way I find it touching as it is an everlasting reminder of his parents and his beliefs from the days he was a street child even if it is a macabre way of remembering them. “Since it is now in my churches that I will bring them once more into the Memory of this and future Ages.” (Page 21 chapter 1)
“Dracula” also features death in religious places, something which disturbs Mina as she comments;
“ She (Lucy) had not taken to visiting the churchyard till I came, and if she hadn’t come there in the daytime with me she wouldn’t have walked there in her sleep; and if she hadn’t have gone there at night and asleep, that monster couldn’t have destroyed her as he did.” (Chapter 20 page 214).
The fact that Dracula also killed Mr Swailes, a frail old man, is typical of Dracula’s ruthless nature. It is rather macabre that his first draining of Lucy also happens at the churchyard at night which shows the evil and darkness that surrounds him.
“When I almost got to the top I could see the seat and the white figure, for I was now close enough to distinguish it through the spell of the shadow. There was something, long and black, bending over the reclining figure. I called in fright “Lucy!” “Lucy!” and something raised its head and from where I was I could see a white face and red gleaming eyes. Lucy did not answer. I ran onto the entrance of the churchyard.” (Chapter8 page 77)
I am now going to look at the macabre nature of the language used in both books. In “Hawksmoor” there is a contrast in the two forms of language used-the English of the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century and the present day style. The older style of language is so poetic but also macabre, especially the verses of Dyer;
“Hey, ho the devil is dead!
Eat , Drink and go merry to bed” (Chapter 3 page 50)
This is in contrast to the modern day language used in the Hawksmoor sections of the novel. These sections are bland and dusty in contrast to the older pieces of text. This is ironic as dust is a motif in the novel:
“Dust, just look at the dust” (page 69 chapter 4)
AND
“Then we are all dust indeed ,are we not?”(Page 17 chapter one)
Another rather macabre use of language is that the modern day sections are written in the past tense and the past sections are written using the present tense. This is chilling as it could be interpreted as Dyers ghost whispering in the ears of our generation.
The language in “Dracula” is far less macabre and indeed rather less interesting. A feature in typical late Victorian style is long sentences broken up by commas. Any intention of Horror is frequently lost due to the length of time Stoker takes to get to the end of a sentence. Even though I realise that this kind of analysis should, as a general rule, use short integrated quotations at this point I feel it neccesary to show an example of one of these sentences in its entirety to illustrate my point. The sentence I have chosen is Van Helsings description of Dracula:
“This vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men; he is of cunning more than mortal, for of his cunning be the growth of ages, he have still the aids of necromancy, which is, as his etymology imply, the divinatation by the dead, and all the dead that he can come nigh to all of him at command; he is brute; and more than brute; he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not; he can, within limitations, appear at will when, and where, and in any of the forms that are to him; he can within his range; direct the elements; the storm, the fog, the thunder; he can command all the meaner things; the rat and the owl and the bat-the moth and the fox and the wolf; he can grow and become small; and he can at times vanish and come unknown.” ( Page 197 chapter 18)
Also due to the way the story was structured the plot was, at least for this reader, easy to guess at and so the horror and suspense were lost. “Hawksmoor” is a more tense read and is more scary more frequently.
Both Stoker and Ackroyd use the narrative structure to add to the macabre nature of their respective novels. As “Dracula” is an epistolary and diary novel it creates suspense and tension through its narrative style. The uses of different narrative voices who tell the story add an air of reality to a fantastical novel but also personal frustration to this reader at least. The style of writing allowed me to work out what was going to happen well in advance and so it lost its ability to create tension.
“ Hawksmoor” on the other hand was successful in creating an air of tension and horror. By having two interlinking stories and two different parts to the novel in different time frames Ackroyd’s created tension, horror suspense and even occasional terror. The way it had its more macabre themes in the odd numbered chapters was, definitively odd. Whatever the reason for Ackroyd using this method ( I believe it to have something to do with the notion that separate time frames can merge together as in the final chapter 12) it worked really well as it made me want to keep on reading to see if I could actually work out what was happening in the novel.
To conclude the use of the macabre was a strong theme in both novels. I found “Hawksmoor” to be deeply disturbing as Dyer was murdering as part of a cult tradition. Also the fact he lived on through the character of Hawksmoor in the twentieth centaury was also chilling. “Dracula” I found to be more sickening than macabre especially when Van Helsing and his vampire hunters were making the undead to be truly dead. “Before the full body began to melt away and crumble into its native dust, as though death should have come centuries agon” (final chapter page 309. ) The only consolation to them doing that was the fact that they were evil and the vampires soul’s went to a place where they could be at peace. “and the gladness that stole over just ere the final dissolution came, as a realisation that the soul had been won” (final chapter page 309) To sum up the themes and describes the murderers of both books I think this quotation from page 262 chapter 23 of “Dracula” will be sufficient;
“He can live for centuries and you are but a mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded - since once he put that mark upon your throat.”
In case your intrested thatsis the type of thing that can get you an a/b at English Lit A level standard.I say a/b as the last time I checked they where still arguing about it. Feel free to comment on it if you want.
Type your cut contents here.
A comparative analysis of the Macabre in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and Peter Ackroyd’s “Hawksmoor.”
To my understanding, the word macabre means several things. The dictionary definitions include “death and injury”, “disturbing”, “gory”, “grisly”, “unnatural” and “supernatural”. These are words that can be applied to both of the novels I am analysing. These are the vampire fiction of “Dracula” by Bram Stoker and Peter Ackroyds novel “Hawksmoor.”
Although in both “Dracula” and “Hawksmoor” the use of macabre images was not obvious to me at first there are several ways that the macabre is used. These include the battle between good and evil, light and dark, the symbolism of the importance of death and the ambiguous religious contexts of both novels. The aim for this essay is to look at the ways that all of the above appear in both books. I wish to start with death as this is perhaps the key theme of both novels.
In both books the two murderers Dyer and Dracula attack under the cover of darkness and they attack children or child- like figures.
“You are very much a child” (Hawksmoor chapter three page 65)
“If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail of a half smothered child” (Dracula chapter 3 page 34)
I personally find this disturbing as the people they attack are defenceless and they can not help themselves. Dyer is the more humane as he kills them out right where as Dracula kills them slowly (as in the case of Lucy) and turns them into vampires.
Another common feature in both novels is the theme of the past coming back to haunt the protagonist. In “Hawksmoor” the murderer is the same in both the eighteenth century and the present day (twentieth century). This enables him essentially to kill two people at once via Ackroyd’s presentation of the concept of time bubbles. This is a macabre idea in itself as this suggests that our concept of time (past, present and future) all co-exist and so we lose our free will as our choices are taken away from us. In physics this is known as Block Universe Theory and since it seems to argue directly with our experiences of the time continuum it is macabre and unnerving.
Dyer does have an impact on the present day though and in a sense he haunts Hawksmoor. As he leaves no trace of himself in the twentieth centaury “no sweat, no shit, no prints” it means Hawksmoor is unable to solve the murders. This slowly drives him mad. “Walter watched the sweating, shambling figure as he winked and said “I’ll show you something you won’t forget. Do you want to see something?” And they laughed again…” (Chapter 10 page 200)
Dracula also in a sense haunts his victims. When Jonathan Harker recognises the Count in London it has a strange and disturbing effect on him. This deals directly with what we expect of the passage of time;
“I believe it is the count, but he has grown so young. My God if this be so! Oh, my God! If I only knew! If I only knew!” (Chapter 14 page 143)
In a way though his reaction is unsurprising especially when the reader considers the traumatic time he was trapped. “The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!”(Chapter one page 24) Dracula also haunts other character throughout the book. When Dr Seward and Van Helsing are trying to save Lucy’s life. He haunts all the characters when events threaten to repeat themselves after he has attacked Mina Harker. This is similar to what happens in “Hawksmoor.” The construct of Hawksmoor is unable to save the people Dyer is killing but also due to the “block universe” the events of the eighteenth century are repeating themselves in the present day.
Another common element in the books is devils and demons. In “Hawksmoor” the reason that Nicholas Dyer is killing is for sacrifices and to keep in with the traditions of “The older faith”. As far as I can understand Dyer follows “The older faith” where not Christ is dormant but were a strange conglomerate of Deities is worshipped :
“Pluto, Jehova, Satan, Love
Muloch, the virgin, Theatus, Devil, Jove
Pan, Jahweh, Vulcan, he with the awful Rod
Jesus, the wondrous straw man, all one God.” (Chapter one page 22)
The reason for the sacrifices was “it was their opinion that humane life either in desperate sicknesse or in danger of warre could not be secured unless a vyrgyn boy suffered instead.” This could be linked back to Dyer’s childhood when he had to suffer seeing the deaths of his parents from the plague. The novel later reveals that this is the reason why he is building the churches - as an everlasting monument to them, so the dead will not be forgotten:
“I cou’d not weep for them then but I can build now, and in that place of memory will I fashion a Labyrinth where the dead can once more give voice” (Chapter 1 Page 16)
This is a direct contrast with “Dracula” as in his case Dracula is the demon. There are lots of clues to his identity early on in the novel .For Example when the old woman gives Harker a crucifix to the fact that Dracula does not cast a reflection. “But there was no reflection of him in the mirror” (chapter two page 23.) The most apt description to show him for what he really is comes from Mina who describes him in St Mary’s church in Whitby in chapter 22;
“There stood a tall, thin man all in black. I knew him at once from the description of all the others. The waxen face; the high aquiline nose, on which the light fell on a white thin line, the parted red lips, with the sharp white teeth showing in between; and the red eyes that I have seen in the sunset on the windows of Saint Mary’s church in Whitby.” (Page 239)
I think that this is a really macabre and vivid image which for me is rather disturbing. The way he is described can make me just image the evil in him. The most disturbing thing is the treatment he meets out to the most likeable and sweet character of Mina as described towards the end of chapter 21.
“When the blood began to spurt out, he took my hands in one of his ,holding them tight,…………………………………… my God what have I done” (page 240.)
Just like there were “sacrifices” in “Hawksmoor” there are also two notable ones in “Dracula”, Reinfield and Mina. A clear distinction however is that in “Dracula” these two characters were willing to be sacrificed. Reinfield, who was apparently insane, was willing to give his life in order to protect Mina:
“It made me mad to know that He had been taking the life out of her” (page 233 chapters 21.)
There is also Mina herself who was willing to kill herself, so that in her state of vampirism she would not harm others, especially her friends. “Because if I find in myself-and I shall watch keenly for it-a sign of harm to any that I love, I shall die!” (Chapter 22 page 241.) The fact that she is willing to kill herself rather than become a supernatural creature, like Dracula, is rather morbid but a reflection of her heroic nature. Although in the end she does not have to commit suicide or the others don’t have to kill her it is disturbing to think that Dracula has that kind of power over people and is one of the macabre themes in the novel.
A theme which appears in both novels is that of the battle between good and evil which in “Dracula” is fairly clear but in “Hawksmoor” is exceptionally difficult to disentangle. I say this because in “Hawksmoor” the construct of Hawksmoor is like a reincarnation of Dyer. They essentially become the same person towards the end of the novel;
“And his own image was sitting beside him pondering deeply and sighing. When he put out his hand and touched him he shuddered.”(Final chapter page 216).
This means the battle between good and evil can be interpreted as a personal one. The person simultaneously is Hawksmoor the “good guy” (detective) and Dyer the (evil) murderer and I find this is a very macabre thought and it is fairly spooky as they both share the same doubts about the world they live in. This can be linked to the idea of “Time bubbles” which states that the same event can reoccur throughout infinity and that on the path sat out for an individual by “fate” (or “block universe theory”) the same mistakes are going to be made ad infinitum.
The battle between good and evil is also complicated in “Dracula”. As Mina has been affected by the evil they are trying to destroy, she is slowly turning into a vampire,
“As he had placed the wafer on Mina’s head, it had seared it-had burned into the flesh as though it had been a piece of white-hot metal.” (Chapter 22 page 246).
This however proves to be useful as she is able to provide information via her link with Dracula to help locate him and to allow the gentlemen to plan ahead. She also has an inner struggle between her goodness and her religion against the evil spreading inside her. Mina became one of my favourite characters due to her noble efforts to resist vampirism.
The use of religious places is also macabre. When Dyer was designing the churches he intended them to have an ulterior and macabre purpose. He seems to know all along that he would bury bodies in the foundations;
“I have imparted to you the principles of terrour and magnificence, for those you must represented in the due placing of parts and ornaments” (chapter one page 5)
In a way it is macabre building a place of worship and celebration over the dead and if people are like me they would find it “terrourfying” to think of what is under their feet! (Durham cathedral being a prime example!) But in another way I find it touching as it is an everlasting reminder of his parents and his beliefs from the days he was a street child even if it is a macabre way of remembering them. “Since it is now in my churches that I will bring them once more into the Memory of this and future Ages.” (Page 21 chapter 1)
“Dracula” also features death in religious places, something which disturbs Mina as she comments;
“ She (Lucy) had not taken to visiting the churchyard till I came, and if she hadn’t come there in the daytime with me she wouldn’t have walked there in her sleep; and if she hadn’t have gone there at night and asleep, that monster couldn’t have destroyed her as he did.” (Chapter 20 page 214).
The fact that Dracula also killed Mr Swailes, a frail old man, is typical of Dracula’s ruthless nature. It is rather macabre that his first draining of Lucy also happens at the churchyard at night which shows the evil and darkness that surrounds him.
“When I almost got to the top I could see the seat and the white figure, for I was now close enough to distinguish it through the spell of the shadow. There was something, long and black, bending over the reclining figure. I called in fright “Lucy!” “Lucy!” and something raised its head and from where I was I could see a white face and red gleaming eyes. Lucy did not answer. I ran onto the entrance of the churchyard.” (Chapter8 page 77)
I am now going to look at the macabre nature of the language used in both books. In “Hawksmoor” there is a contrast in the two forms of language used-the English of the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century and the present day style. The older style of language is so poetic but also macabre, especially the verses of Dyer;
“Hey, ho the devil is dead!
Eat , Drink and go merry to bed” (Chapter 3 page 50)
This is in contrast to the modern day language used in the Hawksmoor sections of the novel. These sections are bland and dusty in contrast to the older pieces of text. This is ironic as dust is a motif in the novel:
“Dust, just look at the dust” (page 69 chapter 4)
AND
“Then we are all dust indeed ,are we not?”(Page 17 chapter one)
Another rather macabre use of language is that the modern day sections are written in the past tense and the past sections are written using the present tense. This is chilling as it could be interpreted as Dyers ghost whispering in the ears of our generation.
The language in “Dracula” is far less macabre and indeed rather less interesting. A feature in typical late Victorian style is long sentences broken up by commas. Any intention of Horror is frequently lost due to the length of time Stoker takes to get to the end of a sentence. Even though I realise that this kind of analysis should, as a general rule, use short integrated quotations at this point I feel it neccesary to show an example of one of these sentences in its entirety to illustrate my point. The sentence I have chosen is Van Helsings description of Dracula:
“This vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men; he is of cunning more than mortal, for of his cunning be the growth of ages, he have still the aids of necromancy, which is, as his etymology imply, the divinatation by the dead, and all the dead that he can come nigh to all of him at command; he is brute; and more than brute; he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not; he can, within limitations, appear at will when, and where, and in any of the forms that are to him; he can within his range; direct the elements; the storm, the fog, the thunder; he can command all the meaner things; the rat and the owl and the bat-the moth and the fox and the wolf; he can grow and become small; and he can at times vanish and come unknown.” ( Page 197 chapter 18)
Also due to the way the story was structured the plot was, at least for this reader, easy to guess at and so the horror and suspense were lost. “Hawksmoor” is a more tense read and is more scary more frequently.
Both Stoker and Ackroyd use the narrative structure to add to the macabre nature of their respective novels. As “Dracula” is an epistolary and diary novel it creates suspense and tension through its narrative style. The uses of different narrative voices who tell the story add an air of reality to a fantastical novel but also personal frustration to this reader at least. The style of writing allowed me to work out what was going to happen well in advance and so it lost its ability to create tension.
“ Hawksmoor” on the other hand was successful in creating an air of tension and horror. By having two interlinking stories and two different parts to the novel in different time frames Ackroyd’s created tension, horror suspense and even occasional terror. The way it had its more macabre themes in the odd numbered chapters was, definitively odd. Whatever the reason for Ackroyd using this method ( I believe it to have something to do with the notion that separate time frames can merge together as in the final chapter 12) it worked really well as it made me want to keep on reading to see if I could actually work out what was happening in the novel.
To conclude the use of the macabre was a strong theme in both novels. I found “Hawksmoor” to be deeply disturbing as Dyer was murdering as part of a cult tradition. Also the fact he lived on through the character of Hawksmoor in the twentieth centaury was also chilling. “Dracula” I found to be more sickening than macabre especially when Van Helsing and his vampire hunters were making the undead to be truly dead. “Before the full body began to melt away and crumble into its native dust, as though death should have come centuries agon” (final chapter page 309. ) The only consolation to them doing that was the fact that they were evil and the vampires soul’s went to a place where they could be at peace. “and the gladness that stole over just ere the final dissolution came, as a realisation that the soul had been won” (final chapter page 309) To sum up the themes and describes the murderers of both books I think this quotation from page 262 chapter 23 of “Dracula” will be sufficient;
“He can live for centuries and you are but a mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded - since once he put that mark upon your throat.”
In case your intrested thatsis the type of thing that can get you an a/b at English Lit A level standard.I say a/b as the last time I checked they where still arguing about it. Feel free to comment on it if you want.