Stephen Arata

Stephen D. Arata begins his essay telling us that originally Dracula was set in Styria, but that Stoker moved the location to Transylvania.  The thesis of his essay is that, "By situating Dracula in the Carpathians, and by continually blurring the lines between the Count's vampiric and warrior activities, Stoker forges seemingly "natural" links among three of his principal concerns, racial strife, the collapse of empire, and vampirism" (464-465).  Arata's argument that Dracula is a metaphor for reverse colonization is sound and well argued, however I don't think this thesis hinges on Dracula's being located in Transylvania, as Arata claims.  His first several paragraphs (before he really makes his way to a proper thesis) point out very interesting ways that Dracula's edited choice of homeland enrich his identity as a vampire, but we also have to remember as he points out that "It is easy... to forget that the "natural" association of vampires with Transylvania begins with, rather than predates, Dracula" (462).  Arata seems to also forget that Stoker invented many of the vampire's characteristics that seem to make his homeland tie in so well.  He cites Van Helsing, who tells us that vampires are a consequence of invasion, and so the choice of war-torn Transylvania seems perfect, but it is impossible to know, since this particular explanation of vampires is only in Stoker's novel, if the location fits the mythology or the mythology fits the location.  Even if it was set in Styria, I believe Stoker's anxieties about reverse colonization would still be clear, but Transylvania is definitely the richer path.  It is a very engaging essay, which seems to be the first we've read to look at the sexual symbolism in Dracula as means of procreation instead of twice or three times removed homosexual yearnings.  I also thought the imagery of Dracula as robust compared with wan Englishmen was very poignant, especially since in this way Dracula deviates from his predecessors and even his own self in later adaptations.