Bram Stoker's Dracula, 1897 (Part 1)

Source: http://mysticbourgeoisie.blogspot.com/2005/11/more-on-monsters-race-and-degeneration.html

     Dracula was written by Bram Stoker in 1897.  It is a gothic novel that tells the story of a Vampire that is trying to transition from living in Transylvania to England and the troubles he encounters.  So far this has been one of the easier texts to read from its time period.  The Count Dracula that I had envisioned from the movies is quite different from the description that is given in this book.     Count Dracula seems to be mysterious, older, and a little more unattractive than I had initially expected. Vampires are generally depicted as young, attractive, charismatic, and powerful.  Although Dracula seems to attract people’s attention in Transylvania it seems to be primarily more due to his social status and the longevity that he has existed in that country.  It seems that he wants to change to living in England as a means to camouflage this about himself and to try to start over.  This is probably a relatable concept to anyone who has ever wanted to get away from something or escape a terrible time in their life.  Dracula is described as having a long white mustache and white hair.  He seems to be an older gentlemen in appearance, however in many movies despite the age of a vampire they tend to appear to be between the age of 16 and 30.  The charisma that Dracula has doesn’t seem to be due to some sort of attractive sex-appeal like we might expect when talking about a vampire, but more due to his mind controlling abilities and charm.     It is interesting to me that his recent visitor discovered his secrets without retaliating.  He found the warnings of the townspeople to be quite bewildering, but upon realizing the truth behind them actually seemed to take it a little calmer than anticipated.  I also found it a little peculiar that Dracula was so easily caught in some of his actions.  I also have a fondness for the way this is written.  The diary entries make up for the lack of monologue between characters at times and allow for a deeper insight into their own viewpoint.  It leads me to wonder what Dracula would write in his memoirs of the same events.  I am excited to see how the rest of this novel plays out since I have never actually seen the original Dracula movie or really read this story.  I think that the classic rendition has some things to offer that modern vampire stories skip over.  The original works give so much more insight into the taboo beliefs when mirrored with the Buffy and Angel scenarios that we currently view in film and read about in vampire mythology.        I would love to hear someone else’s opinions on this text, even in part since I haven’t actually gotten it completed this week.  How do you feel it compares against more modern tales of Vampires?  Do you favor this more classic style or the more modern style?