Bloodlust

An important aspect of Dracula the Novel is the idea of blood. Blood not only as the source of life in humanity, but a symbolic representation of life itself or representation of rank and nobility.

According to Arata "The Count's "lust for blood" points in both directions: to the vampire's need for its special food, and also to the warrior's desire for conquest." (465) It seems strange, however, to lust for conquest in respect to blood. Dracula's conquest is slightly more specific, in that he feeds upon mortals, but the kind of mortals he feeds upon differ in their type. Some may be of good or bad blood, and this seems like an idea that is crucial to Dracula the vampire.

In the novel, Dr. Seward's subject Renfield lusts for Dr. Seward's blood in his conquest for life. Perhaps if you think of blood as history, you begin to unravel a new light to Renfield's mission. In his conquest for blood, he obtains the history and lineage contained within the blood, and takes it in as his own. Perhaps in this way, Dracula desires to continue his family's legacy by "draining" England of its history by feeding upon the teeming millions.

Yet how can Dracula accomplish such a thing? And how can England fight it? "In Dracula vampirism designates a kind of colonization of the body. Horror arises not because Dracula destroys bodies, but because he appropriates and transforms them. Having yielded to his assault, one literally "goes native" by becoming a vampire oneself." (465) So perhaps Dracula succeeds in his quest because in his battle for control of life and history, Dracula causes his victims to lose their history, and become part of the new world order. As victims are slowly drained of their blood; Lucy, for example, becomes unable to control herself, lost in a hypnotic state where she cannot help herself, but still succeeds in creating a false sense of security in those around her.

So when victims are "deracinated" (466), they become an "Other" a nothing. It's fascinating, because to be deracinated is to be stripped of your lineage and title, and to become a nothing or a stranger, and the only way to achieve a new status is to become feared (such as in Lucy's case). She began her life as a upper class Victorian woman, and when she "goes native", she slips away only to rise to infamy in her escapades as the Bloomer Lady.

Blood is a vital aspect of a vampire novel, and is curious to look at blood in such a new light. Where blood means life, it can now also mean history and rank, and in that regard it becomes a strong elixir for any connoisseur. Although we must ask: Why is it that Dracula, and vampires as a whole, require this to live? Is it perhaps because the dead cannot continue to create a legacy, and require the legacy they left behind and the legacies of others to continue their infamy? Perhaps this can be delved into further in another blog...