Influencias de Bram Stoker en

"Drácula":

Stoker was no stranger to the literature of terror either before writing "Dracula" or after. In fact,

four of his eighteen novels were built around supernatural or otherwise macabre themes, and a

collection of his short stories was recently compiled into a volume entitled (appropriately enough)

"Midnight Tales," which further explored themes of the bizarre and the supernatural.

In the short story "The Squaw" Stoker's main character is preyed upon by a mother cat who loses

her kitten at the hands of the story's main character, a Southern gentleman. The she-cat gets her

revenge when she causes Stoker's man to become impaled by an Iron Maiden. The "Man from

Shorrox" is a tale involving death - a traveling salesman is asked to share a bed in an inn with a

corpse. "The Dream in the Dead House," which was cut from the final version of "Dracula," has

Jonathan Harker trapped in a mausoleum and equally trapped by a wolf-like creature, while a

tempest (what else?) rages just outside the door. Finally, in the "Bride of Death" Stoker's main

characters band together to resurrect an Egyptian mummy.

Stoker's taste for the unusual could have begun to germinate early in his childhood where

unexplained illnesses kept him bedridden. There his imagination could soar. In addition to reading

he could and would listen to his mother tell her tales of Ireland's own folklore and legend. One of

her stories directly influenced at least one of Stoker's short works - "The Invisible Giant" - a story

based on the telling of Stoker's mother about the 1832 Sligo cholera epidemic which legend tells of

cases of premature burial and the deadly suspicion of strangers.

Ireland too had its own vampire tradition and Stoker must have been aware of at least some of

those. From an ancient Irish story comes the Dearg-Due, a red bloodsucker. This she-creature used

her beauty to tempt passing men and then suck their blood, as did the Leanhan Shee, who first

charmed men then sucked their blood.

As for the name Dracula, many scholars and non-scholars alike attribute the choice of name to an

actual prince of 15th century Romania: Vlad Tepes (aka Dracul), who was "fondly" called "Vlad

the Impaler" so atrocious were his methods for exterminating Turkish invaders or any others that

would dare venture to his realm. Francis Ford Coppolla fashioned his Dracula after the character

of Tepes, as there is a scene that shows him in battle, impaling his enemies, and clad in, of all

things, a suit of red.

Perhaps, however, there is a more practical reason for Stoker's writing "Dracula." The theater

draws all of humankind to it and during Stoker's employ as Irving's manager he did meet some

interesting and oftentimes unusual people. It is known that he was acquainted with the parents of

Oscar Wilde, Sir William and Lady Wilde, who were both authorities on Irish folklore. Stoker

most likely had a great storehouse of information from the Wildes.

According to Peter Haining much of the "Jewel of the Seven Stars" a novel of Egypt, was based

on meetings and conversations that Stoker had with an Egyptologist who met Stoker as a guest of

Irving one night in the Beefstake Room - the private rooms Irving used to dine and entertain

guests after performances. Through Stoker's alliance with Irving, he also met a professor from

Budapest University who was fully knowledgeable in Transylvannia and vampire lore (it is

speculated that Van Helsing was fashioned after this person) who clearly could have told Stoker

much about the mysteries of central and Eastern Europe, the center of the most superstitious

aspects of vampirism.

Regardless of specific reasons, Stoker in fact wrote "Dracula," and who can say that it was not, as

Stoker jokingly suggests, a story born out of his own nightmares, most likely caused by the fish he

had that night for dinner! [The Rosenbach Museaum in Philadelphia has 78 pages of Stoker's

original working notes. The only way to view them (of course they must be under glass) is to visit

the museaum itself.)]

 http://www.lctn.com/~lanette/bstoker.html

© 1999 Enrique Noguero Rodríguez