2019
Vampires, Viruses and Verbalisation
Publication
Publication
Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a genealogical window into fin-de-siècle science
Janus Head , Volume 16 - Issue 2 p. 14- 53
This paper considers Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, published
in 1897, as a window into techno-scientific and sociocultural
developments of the fin-de-siècle era, ranging from blood
transfusion and virology up to communication technology
and brain research, but focusing on the birth of
psychoanalysis in 1897, the year of publication. Stoker’s
literary classic heralds a new style of scientific thinking,
foreshadowing important aspects of post-1900 culture.
Dracula reflects a number of scientific events which surfaced
in the 1890s but evolved into major research areas that are
still relevant today. Rather than seeing science and literature
as separate realms, moreover, Stoker’s masterpiece encourages
us to address the ways in which techno-scientific and psychocultural
developments mutually challenge and mirror one
another, so that we may use his novel to deepen our
understanding of emerging research practices and vice versa
(Zwart 2008, 2010). Psychoanalysis plays a double role in
this. It is the research field whose genealogical constellation is
being studied, but at the same time (Lacanian) psychoanalysis
guides my reading strategy.
Dracula, the infectious, undead Vampire has become an archetypal
cinematic icon and has attracted the attention of numerous scholars
(Browning & Picart 2009). The vampire complex built on various
folkloristic and literary sources and culminated in two famous
nineteenth-century literary publications: the story The Vampyre by
John Polidori (published in 1819)2 and Stoker’s version. Most of
the more than 200 vampire movies released since Nosferatu (1922)
are based on the latter (Skal 1990; Browning & Picart 2009;
Melton 2010; Silver & Ursini 2010). Yet, rather than on the
archetypal cinematic image of the Vampire, I will focus on the
various scientific ideas and instruments employed by Dracula’s
antagonists to overcome the threat to civilisation he represents.
Although the basic storyline is well-known, I will begin with a plot
summary.
Additional Metadata | |
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hdl.handle.net/1765/122367 | |
Janus Head | |
Organisation | Erasmus School of Philosophy |
Zwart, H. (2019). Vampires, Viruses and Verbalisation. Janus Head, 16(2), 14–53. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/122367 |