Open Prompt #2

1983. From a novel or play of literary merit, select an important character who is a villain. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the nature of the character's villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

The motivation for a character to do something is not always clear to the reader. This problem is often prominent in the villains of a work of literature. However, when one takes the time to analyze why a villain did one thing instead of another in a story, new ideas become clearer and the work as a whole becomes more meaningful. In his novel Dracula, Bram Stoker uses the important villain character Dracula to enhance the meaning of his work. 

Count Dracula invites Jonathan Harker, a salesman from a small town in England, to his castle in Transylvania, Romania. The Count is very hospitable to Harker at his arrival and never feeds on him. Even at Harker's discovery of what Dracula is, a vampire, Dracula still doesn't change his ways of feeding. Throughout the novel, Stoker makes a point in writing that Dracula doesn't feed on men and only feeds on young, innocent women or children. This is shown when he feeds on Lucy Westenra, a young and naive friend of Harker's fiance. At Dracula's arrival into the small town where Lucy lives, she becomes increasingly less energetic and youthful as she once was as well as loses her innocence and becomes paranoid about her window. The Count takes what he desires from the women and when it has all been, quite literally, sucked out of them, his interest in them is lost and he finds a new source. He could feed off of strong and healthy men, but his interest in only women provides enhanced meaning of why Dracula does what he does. 

Another thing that Dracula does that creates enhanced meaning in the story is his style of feeding. He could quickly kill his prey and suck the life out of them in one sitting in a giant mess of blood, but his method of feeding is slowly and neatly with barely a trace left behind. This brings on a sexual note to the novel that was written when the subject was taboo. The Count likes his victims to be pure like a virgin would be and treats them in a somewhat sexual way. This takes place when Mina, the fiance of Harker and friend of Lucy, finds two little pin pricks on Lucy's neck that become slightly irritated overtime but nothing else seems to be a problem until obvious blood loss is found. Another would be when Mina gets put into a trance by the Count and sucks the Count's blood from his breast, where his heart would be. Dracula's feeding style enhances the books meaning of taboo sexual ideas during the time. 

Dracula uses the actions of the character of Count Dracula to enhance the meaning of the novel. When analyzed more thoroughly, Dracula's actions, such as his choices in feeding, contribute to the novel's meaning. As a result, the villain character's actions in an important literary work such as Dracula have hidden meanings.