INTERVIEW #2 (with Steve Wieland, Sacramento Bee, for article which appeared

October 28, 1997.)

1. How familiar was Stoker with the Vlad Tepes stories when he wrote his novel? What other influences affected his work? Is
there any hard evidence he knew of Elizabeth Bathory, and mixed her story with Vlad Tepes?

MILLER: Here is what we know for sure. During the summer of 1890 while vacationing in Whitby, Stoker came across a
book in the Public Library entitled "An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia" (1820) by William Wilkinson.
In it there is a short section about a "voivode Dracula" who fought against the Turks in the 15th century. Stoker copied much of
this section into his notes (now held at the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia), including a footnote Wilkinson made to the
effect that "Dracula in the Wallachian language means Devil". That, in my opinion, is why he selected the name. He had already
selected a name for his vampire (Count Wampyr) but at some point after the Whitby visit, he changed it to Count Dracula.

There is nothing in Wilkinson about Vlad's atrocities as "the Impaler" (in fact, the name Vlad and the sobriquet "Impaler" are
never used). And there is no evidence that Stoker obtained additional material on the historical Dracula from any other source.
There is plenty of speculation, but that is all it is. Thus, to say that Stoker was influenced by accounts of Vlad in creating his
character is misleading.

As for "hard evidence" that he knew of the Bathory legend, there is even less. One book that we know he consulted (he was
kind enough to list his sources in his Notes) was "The Book of Were-Wolves" by Sabine Baring-Gould; that book does contain
a short section on Countess Bathory.

But the notes Stoker took do not include any from this section, and her name appears nowhere in his drafts or notes. Again,
there are theories, but that is all that they are.

There are other theories about influences, one of the chief being that Stoker based Count Dracula on his employer, Henry
Irving. According to this view, Stoker was indirectly expressing his resentment at being dominated by Irving in the workplace.
But again, the available evidence contradicts this. Everything Stoker wrote about Irving (and there is plenty) is laudatory.

The influences that we know of (because of textual evidence or references in his own notes) include earlier vampire fiction,
most notably Le Fanu's "Carmilla". We also have that list of books and articles which he consulted during his research for
information on Transylvania in particular.
 
 

2.At the time of publication, what was the public response? In terms of literary quality, how does it rate as a Gothic novel?

MILLER: The book did attract some attention, but only as a "thriller". No reviews of the time draw attention to the sexual
subtext. It seems to have sold reasonably well, but Stoker never made a great deal of money from it. The novel didn't really
capture the popular imagination until after the movies started to come out (especially the 1931 version with Bela Lugosi). The
book did not receive much scholarly attention until the 1970s. The debate about the "literary canon" has resulted in an increased
interest among academics in novels (such as gothic novels) that were previously marginalized as "inferior". In the past 10 years
or so, there has been a significant output of books and articles on "Dracula", many of which offer readings of the novel ranging
from psychoanalytical to post-colonialist. "Dracula" has never been out of print since it was first published in 1897. Dozens of
editions have appeared, both in English and in several foreign languages. The novel has created a literary archetype as well as a
popular icon.

3. Given that the Count is really not in the book very much, how is it that the character has become so enduring a part of
literature, plays and films, not to mention popular culture that stretches from breakfast cereals to pornography?

MILLER: There are many reasons, most of which are connected with the vampire figure itself. Vampires represent many things
to different people: immortality, forbidden desires, rebellion, power, eroticism, etc. Unlike other "monsters", vampires attract as
well as repel; and they are in many

ways so much like us. Add that to the general fascination with the darker side of our natures, with the supernatural, and with the
nature of evil, and you have the fascination with Count Dracula. One major reason that Dracula has survived is his adaptability.
He is, after all, a shape-shifter. Writers, artists, filmmakers and others have done creative new things with the vampire in general
and Dracula in particular. Every generation creates its own Count Dracula, reflecting the fears, anxieties and fantasies of its own
time. I am especially intrigued about how the Dracula story has been adapted for young children. For example, there is a series
of books written for primary-aged children with titles such as "Little Dracula Goes to School", "Little Dracula at the Seashore"
and "Little Dracula's First Bite"! And of course we have the Count on Sesame Street.

4. Does the character have different appeals for men than women?

MILLER: I suppose it depends on how one reads the novel and whether we want to apply gender stereotypes to readers. One
could say, I suppose, that a man might read it more as an adventure story while a woman would see it as more threatening. It
has been suggested that the novel is a Victorian male fantasy, with a powerful male figure who can turn passive females into
sexually ravenous beasts. Some women, on the other hand, may see the text as misogynist in its numerous allusions to virile
males and weak females.

5. Dracula is a Middle European character concocted by an Irishman. What then, is there about him that makes him such a
mythic and universal figure in cultures as diverse as Mexico and Japan?

MILLER: I think I have partially answered this. Obviously the answer is in the power of the archetype, the fact that Stoker
(whether consciously or not) succeeded in tapping into a universal theme. The novel is much more than a cultural phenomenon;
it is archetypal.

6. One of the essays in your forthcoming collection is entitled "Dracula and Shakespeare." Can you give me a summary of what
you cover in this?

MILLER: When one considers that Stoker worked for several years as acting manager for the Lyceum Theatre and that his
employer was the famous Shakespearean actor Henry Irving, it is not surprising that there are so many echoes of
Shakespearean plays in the novel. S>
 

Transfer interrupted!

erformances of plays such as "Hamlet" and "Macbeth". The novel "Dracula" contains direct quotations as well as resonances
and patterns familiar to any student of Shakespeare.

7. How did you get interested in this guy?

MILLER: I did see Dracula movies while I was growing up, and had even read the book at one point. But I had no particular
interest in it all until much later. For several years I had been teaching a university course on the Romantic Poets (Byron, Shelley
& Keats) and was looking around for new

material. I tried using Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Polidori's "The Vampyre" and found the course enriched as a result.
Then I followed the vampire's literary trail through the 19th century and ended up with Bram Stoker. I was hooked! That was
about 6 years ago, and I have been working on the novel and its widespread influence ever since.