Preview

Mental Hospital In Bram Stoker's Dracula

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
166 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mental Hospital In Bram Stoker's Dracula
In Dracula, Bram Stoker incorporates a mental hospital into his novel by having Dr. Seward manage a mental hospital in England. In Dr. Seward's diary, he talks about the daily life and strange activities of his new patient, Renfield. In order to restrain Renfield, Seward and his assistants use a strait waistcoat many times: "He [Renfield] was still in the strait waistcoat and in the padded room, but the suffused look had gone from his face, and his eyes had something of their old pleading."

In addition, in Chapter 17, as Mina Harker continues to get sicker and sicker, Dr. Seward lets her stay in the mental asylum. As she is brought to the mental hospital, Dr. Seward says: "[Mina] knew, of course, that the place was a lunatic asylum, but I

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bram Stoker’s book Dracula begins with a journal entry by Jonathan Harker. Harker is an English lawyer traveling to Transylvania, an Eastern European country, to meet with Count Dracula for business purposes. In his first journal entry, Jonathan records his trip to Dracula’s castle. Along the way local peasants warn him not proceed on to his destination especially so late at night. The worried peasants keep repeating the word “vampire” and give him crucifixes to ward off evil. Harker does get a bit scared but he still decides to continue on to the castle. When Jonathan arrives to his final destination, the friendly and gently Count greets him. During his stay at the castle, Harker feels more and more uncomfortable as certain events take place.…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Kesey suggests that a healthy expression of sexuality is a key component of sanity and that repression of sexuality leads directly to insanity. For example; by treating him like an infant and not allowing him to develop sexually, Billy Bibbet's mother causes him to lose his sanity. Missing from the halls of the mental hospital are healthy, natural expression of sexuality between two people. Perverted sexual expressions are said to take place in the ward; for example; Bromden describes the aides as "black boys in white suites committing sex acts in the hall" (p.9). The aides engage in illicit "sex acts" that nobody witnesses, and on several occasions it is suggested that they rape the patients, such as Taber. Nurse Ratched implicitly permits this to happen, symbolized by the jar of Vaseline she leaves the aides. This shows how she condones the sexual violation of the patients, because she gains control from their oppression. McMurphy's sanity is symbolized by his bold and open insertion of sexuality which gives him great confidence and individuality. This stands in contrast to what Kesey implies, ironically and tragically, represents the institution.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “The monster is not outside but within…,” said John Paul Riquelme. Riquelme’s quote gives the impression that there are always two sides to every coin. Each individual is more than their outer appearance. Humans are an imperfect mixture of both good and bad. According to Jean Baudrillard, simulacrum or simulacra is essentially the representation of something or even a certain person. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Dracula himself can be seen as a simulacra for humanity because he represents the bad side of humanity while the human’s simulacra is a representation of both good and evil. This idea of what good and evil exactly…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    During his time in Castle Dracula, Jonathan Harker encounters three vampire women when he falls asleep in what used to be a lady’s sitting room. When he awakens in the middle of the night, Jonathan sees three women in the room and two send the third to ‘kiss him’. Before she is able to, Dracula appears and drives them off, leaving Jonathan to wonder if the whole experience was merely a dream. The whole experience sets off Jonathan’s curiosity and drives him to continue exploring the castle and eventually escape Dracula altogether. This experience also instills the fear of vampires in Jonathan that causes him to have a breakdown multiple times, the fear that is only dispelled when Mina herself must be rescued from Dracula’s clutches. This instance…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When faced with a difficult situation of morals, choice, and possible destruction of a person’s protection and survival, individuals find themselves in a formidable situation. This is a common occurrence for people who become known as a whistleblower. There is a problem in the United States with protection of individuals for whistleblowing in the workplace, and not enough is being done for these individuals. Whistleblowing is increasing and has become more common, more frequent, and sometimes dangerous. Individuals could potentially face the inability of obtaining another job because they are stigmatized as a whistleblower. This paper will focus on two questions: How does the society’s view support whether someone will blow the…

    • 1797 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Victorian era, sexually transmitted diseases were rampant because of the prevalence of prostitution. This outbreak provoked a feeling of consternation amongst people, and there grew a stigma around women's sexual expression. In Dracula, Bram Stoker addresses this issue and suggests that women should remain chaste and suppress their dangerous sexuality, which wreaks havoc if unleashed. In the novel, Mina’s innocence is juxtaposed to Lucy’s coquettish behavior. The characters reflect how the loss of a woman’s virginity transforms her into a monstrous being. A sexually aggressive woman poses a threat to society and a man’s dominant role. Nevertheless, a woman must be punished for being overtly sexual and stepping out of her expected…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The medieval times brought us men in shining armor and women captured by dragons for those knights to rescue. It also brought upon the dark ages which unfortunately risen the popularity of the lunatic (insane) asylums. In those days, people who were determined to be mentally ill were given a place to stay where they were treated for their illness. In todays’ society we have gone away from institutionalizing individuals because of mental illness and looked toward alternative ways of treatment most notably by prescribing psychiatric medication. This tactic was implemented to put the mentally ill back out onto the street and minimize the overcrowding that was happening in the institutions. Today most of the “asylums” have been shut down and for some reason most of the mentally ill are being housed in our state and federal prisons.…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Other than being remade into other forms such as movies and cartoons, Dracula was a relatively new concept during the time of its publication and had a major impact to its surrounding society. Today, the novel’s uses of multiple unique elements of writing such as dramatic irony, the everyman, and suspense/mystery continues to speak to interests of readers. In addition, the character itself, like any other supernatural beings including ghosts and witches, naturally intriguing us just based on many people’s love of getting scared; Dracula is portrayed in the novel as a completely evil and manipulative character that feasts upon the lives of mortals for his survival. Throughout the course of “Dracula,” Stoker used an epistolary form of writing not only for its prevalence in the Victorian era, but also for its effectiveness in portraying first person point-of-views and first-hand accounts for multiple characters. By doing so, he was able to make readers feel as if they themselves could have been in the characters’ shoes. Because it was an epistolary format and readers knew exactly what each character knew and did not know, his application of dramatic irony became clearer than other literary pieces as well. Dramatic irony was used in the course of the novel in multiple ways. The Victorian readers already knew of the vampire concept by the 18th century and Dracula was written in the early-mid 19th century. As they read the novel, they generally would have known what Dracula was, and had a similar idea to what we think now, before Jonathan Harker’s realization of Dracula’s intentions (Stoker 22). Another way dramatic irony was added in the novel was the placement of each journal. For instance, readers were notified first of Jonathan’s experiences in his journal and then Mina’s journal was revealed with her wondering about the condition of her finace (Stoker 27,…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Final Essay

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, he developed the writing of his novel by addressing the struggles between a modern society of progress, science, and technology with superstitions, folk beliefs and from the past. Bram stoker became interested in ancient superstitions including one from Cluj in Transylvania, Romania. He was a sickly child whose mother used to tell him ghost stories. Throughout the novel, two characters addressed these behaviors, Abraham Van Helsing, a Dutch professor who is a doctor and a lawyer and a philosopher and metaphysician. Also, Dr. John Seward a young doctor who studies psychological and owns his own asylum. Both of them showed their work by stopping the Count Dracula and killing him and going through rough obstacles.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Victor Frankenstein’s constant state of illness after something unpleasant occurs is his means of escape, of ignoring the critical mistakes that he slowly realized was the result of his creation. After creating the monster, Victor realized that the monster is terribly gruesome in terms of appearance, focusing on his image rather than his character: “A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch” (Shelley 52). He subsequently fell ill because he could not confront his failure and tries to avoid his responsibilities: “I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness” (Shelley 52). Victor is weak for being unable to process and accept what he had done. This is continuous throughout the novel, revealing…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some people view shock therapy equivalent to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Reasonably, certain psychosurgical treatments use methods that seem unconventional. However, many cures are often found from new ways of thinking. Thus, methods that are often stigmatized deserve a fighting chance. When the ethicality of psychosurgical treatments are questioned, it should be based on the effectiveness of the treatment on the patient. Even though, effectiveness is an important factor, the truth lies on getting better. If a treatment is not effective, but has quality standards it would be useless. Psychosurgical treatments such as lobotomy and ECT should be used in order to cure a patient with an extreme disability. The ethicality of any treatment depends…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the vampire sisters represent the deficiency of the other regal women in the novel. Whereas Mina and Lucy are models of what society deems to be full of this purity and virtue. The sisters of night are seen as aggressive, showing signs of being voluptuous, and insatiable. Examine the positions in which the vampires assume over Harker suggests to a sexual act, and due to this display of female sexual aggression, it both attracts and repulses Harker. The systematic ideas of what woman should be vs what you want a woman to be so you can gain pleasure play contested roles. In this Victorian society they prize and reward female virginity and domesticity, the sexually adventurous vixen is bound to be the subject of fantasy. Due to these same rigid…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction” is the monster’s destiny to be evil? Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstien” which she later published in 1818. The novel was based on a crazy scientist who saw lighting strike before his eyes. This gave him an idea that he can bring someone back to life. He spent many years creating this creature! Later after creating this creature he abandeed him causing the monster to seek revenenge. The monster did this by killin of victor’s family. could society and abandoment cause the monster to act out ? does society play an important role in the monster life? Is the monster heart broken or just looking for love? Does society make you evil or are you just born evil?…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sympathy In Frankenstein

    • 2094 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley and first published in 1818, follows the set of extraordinary events encompassing the life of Victor Frankenstein; natural philosophy devotee and reanimation pioneer. Characterization plays a major role in encouraging different attitudes in Frankenstein, an example being how the reader is encouraged to feel sympathy for Frankenstein and his creation throughout the novel. Aided by the differing narrative perspective, these sympathies are continually evolving, changing as the reader’s perception of the two is altered, and at the end of the novel, the reader is left questioning who the real monster is: Frankenstein, or his creation? The…

    • 2094 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mental Asylums

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mental Asylums have the connotation of being spooky and weird but there really is so much more to them - they help people. There is a mental illness called Schizophrenia and it causes people to hallucinate and “hear” different people who don’t actually exist. Europeans and Americans had different types of mental homes that were ran with different mindsets but overall the european homes were better for people with schizophrenia in the 1800s and it is important that the patients were taken care of well, because they are important and deserve a better life.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays