Heed My Words. I Am Malenia. Blade Of Miquella. And I Have Never Known Defeat.

Heed my words. I am Malenia. Blade of Miquella. And I have never known defeat.

Regis fro the soul

RK900

I personally see this going a bit more complex than that. With such a warm and loving portrayal of same-sex friendly relationships to the point when they start giving vibe of not being entirely friendly, it seems more like Stocker was mostly preoccupied with his sex prejudices when writing Dracula.

Female vampires are constantly stigmatised in the novel for being sexy and ok with that, alongside with their breaking motherhood essence by violating children.

Dracula’s fate and character looks more of a subconscious revenge for Stockers failed (possible) crush and friendship (Henry Irving sends his best regards here) for how messed up our Count turned out to be. Besides, Dracula surely is queer, but the bad thing about it for Stocker is only sexual aspect of it, not the whole point. Cause precisely gay sex means sex off marriage, which means no restrictions for number of sexual partners, which in turn means risk of catching STDs, so have fun with hand and forehead kisses, but no exchange of bodily fluids, nuh-uh, says Bram.

Christ, even Mina’s and Jonathan’s wedding night is put off as long as it’s possible. And when they finally have a baby, it’s written so briefly and crumpled, as if any mentioning of them being intimate might discredit their honor or smth.

So yeah, whichever way you look at it, but Dracula is an encyclopedia of Bram Stocker’s Victorian-dictated prejudices and insecurities

Throughout the entire novel Stocker denies Dracula in every possible sense, deliberately reducing him to some sort of country bogeyman. Dracula brags about his Boyar status, while “his peasants” curse him all they want and even try to prevent him on multiple occasions. His own beasts at hand dare question his command, thus he must resort to threats and violence for wolves’ and vampire sisters’ obedience. He carries himself as an ancient lord of dignified lineage, yet has to see to menial offices himself. He wishes to appear welcoming and charming for Jonathan, instead he proves to be ominous and uncomfortable. He expects to be respected and awed for his power and noble status, instead he’s taken as a child-brained fool. He attacks Mina to revenge his pursuers in most devastating way, yet gets his mental connection with her played against him. He strives to impose dread upon men’s hearts, but he’s chased back to his lair no better than a terror-taken fox.

However, confrontation with humankind is far from being the only thing to paint an unflattering picture of the Count Dracula: he stands out drastically even among his own kin. The other vampires are young and agreeable, he is aged and disturbing. The other vampires are alluring by nature, he is repulsive. The other vampires, if sated, are appealing and rosy-cheeked, he is an appalling leech gorged with blood. The other vampires enjoy their beastly aloof lifestyle, he longs for company. The other vampires receive love and compassion, he is loathed to no end.

The Great and Terrible Count Dracula canonically is a guy who’s lacking in every way. Our man Bram Stocker must’ve hated him so much it feels personal.

Maybe because the Count is heavily based on his british employer Henry Irwing (the physical description for example) he had a very strained relationship with

Well, sure, the whatever creation always in that way or another is reflected author’s personal experience. Which btw makes relationship between Jonathan and Count and Jonathan specifically to chop Count’s head off in the end of the novel even more interesting to ponder over 🤭

Malenia, Blade of Miquella