Tag: symbolism

Animals: Symbols between humanity and the Devil in Dracula

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Animals are essential to set the scene, as well as the tone of the novel, which blurs the lines between humans, animals, and the Devil.

The references, ‘serpentine’ path and the peasant’s cart with “its long, snakelike vertebrae”[i] , introduce the Devil, foreshadowing future events while reinforcing what Harker overhears before he leaves Bistritz: “Satan”, “Hell”, and “werewolf or vampire”[ii].  Serpent symbolism appears when the Count mentions, “I love the shade and the shadow,”[iii] (because [serpents] inhabit shady places[iv] ) and because Dracula moves about the castle unnoticed (“Serpens” refers to “creep[ing] by secret approaches”[v] ).

At the Pass, the coachman’s eyes gleam red, like a rat, which symbolizes death, decay, and destruction[vi], and is amplified when a passenger whispers, “For the dead travel fast.”[vii]

Wolves howl frequently and circle the caleche, symbolizing their cunning and cruel nature[viii], yet the coachman inexplicably controls them. The Count personifies them as “the children of the night”[ix] and notes that city dwellers couldn’t understand the “feelings of the hunter,”[x] foreshadowing Dracula as a hunter.

Dracula, with his long, fine, sharply pointed nails suggesting claws, hairs on his palms, the pointed tops of his ears, his “canine teeth”[xi], and his squat fingers suggesting paws (“Lupus, a wolf [comes] from ‘Lion-paws’”[xii] ), results in a wolf-like appearance. “The Devil bears the similitude of a wolf… looking… with his evil eye… darkly prowling… the faithful… that he may… ruin their souls”[xiii], and all companions Harker encounters cross themselves, present crucifixes, and ward off the ‘evil eye’.

It is noteworthy that at this time, werewolves and vampires seem almost interchangeable, as Stoker’s physical description of Dracula resembles a werewolf, and only his colorless pallor represents the classic vampire. Therefore, animalistic appearance or behavior symbolizes ever-increasing evil, which conversely puts the heroes in a virtuous state, despite their manic behavior.

[i] Bram Stoker, Dracula, published 1897, p.8

[ii] Dracula, p.6

[iii] Dracula, p.24

[iv] The Book of Beasts, Being a Translation from the Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century, Edited by T.H. White, p.165

[v] The Book of Beasts, p.165

[vi] Signs and Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings, DK Publishing, p. 53

[vii] Dracula, p.10

[viii] Signs and Symbols, p.32

[ix] Dracula, p.19

[x] Dracula, p.19

[xi] Dracula, p.22

[xii] The Book of Beasts, p.56

[xiii] The Book of Beasts, p.59

Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Their Relation to Classic Mythology

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This post was inspired by reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales for my Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World MOOC. We will be encouraged each week to write a piece no longer than 320 words(!) highlighting a theme or otherwise enriching the minds of our fellow “intelligent, attentive” peers. Thus, the piece must be boiled down to its essence, and every word must count. As such, I have omitted summaries unless necessary, and it is understood that the reader has a knowledge of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, as illustrated by Walter Crane. Enjoy!

 

The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats is a prime example of why fairy tales continue to fascinate us. These tales are rich with symbolism and echo mythological constructs.  Six of the seven little kids were swallowed whole by the wolf, only to be cut out by the mother, after which they leapt out, unharmed. This is reminiscent of the origin story for the Greek gods, which states that Kronos, a Titan, feared being overthrown by his children, so he swallowed them whole. Zeus emerged from Kronos and freed his siblings, and then Zeus defeated Kronos, and the Olympians defeated the Titans. In this regard, we can view the wolf as a father figure, as the mother conspires with her seventh child how to free the other children. The children then overtake the wolf when he falls into the water, drowning with the weight of the stones in his belly. This act also signifies a transition of power as the wolf is no longer feared or holds power over  the people. In essence, the kids are now in power. The transition of son overtaking father and the transition of power are deeply laden in mythology, as suggested by Joseph Campbell, an expert in the field and author of The Power of Myth, which looks at the psychological significance of myths that pervade every society.

These stories stay with us as universal constant, part of our group consciousness, because they put into words our fears and hopes.  The Grimm brothers exemplify the oral mythological tradition by their use of symbolism in numbers, the forest as a mysterious and dangerous place, and food for survival (swallowing of the kids, as well as the mother goat seeking food in the forest), just to name a few. Symbolism is a key to the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next.

 

Works Cited

The World of Myth, an anthology, by David Adams Leeming
The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers by Joseph Campbell (originally produced in a series of interviews)
Signs and Symbols, An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings, published by DK Publishing in 2008 (no author listed)