The Role of Characters in Dracula and Carmilla
The Role Of Characters
In Dracula and Carmilla
February 16th, 2009
EN-102-69
Professor Kaplan
Essay 1 – Final Draft
Acknowledgements
This paper would not have been possible without the help of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my classmates for all of their inputs and perspectives, in class discussions, thread discussions and their papers, which helped me gain a complete understanding of the two stories. I would also like to thank my peer edit partners Joey and Michele who provided me with constructive criticism that guided me in writing my final draft. Thank you to Professor Kaplan who guided our class discussions and played the “devil’s advocate” to get me thinking about the opposing side of the argument more thoroughly. Finally, thank you to Bram Stoker and Joseph Sheridan LeFanu for writing Dracula and Carmilla.
In a story, as conflicts and problems arise, the role of each individual character becomes crucial. In both Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s Carmilla, all of the characters lives, personalities and motives create two stories that read alongside one another. As the authors reveal their characters they must decide how they are going to get the reader to interpret the character the way they want them to. The author must consider how the character looks, what they think and feel, and what other characters think or say about them. It can be argued that the most important aspect of characters is the way they interact with each other. Their interactions can either create conflict or resolution. Most of the characters in Dracula can be compared and deemed equal to a character in Carmilla; Dracula and Carmilla, Lucy and Laura, Van Helsing and the General. On the other hand, there are characters in Dracula that have no equal in Carmilla and vice versa. These are the characters that define each story and make it unique from the other. In his novel Dracula Stoker adds a character, which we are lead to believe, is not important and
In Dracula and Carmilla
February 16th, 2009
EN-102-69
Professor Kaplan
Essay 1 – Final Draft
Acknowledgements
This paper would not have been possible without the help of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my classmates for all of their inputs and perspectives, in class discussions, thread discussions and their papers, which helped me gain a complete understanding of the two stories. I would also like to thank my peer edit partners Joey and Michele who provided me with constructive criticism that guided me in writing my final draft. Thank you to Professor Kaplan who guided our class discussions and played the “devil’s advocate” to get me thinking about the opposing side of the argument more thoroughly. Finally, thank you to Bram Stoker and Joseph Sheridan LeFanu for writing Dracula and Carmilla.
In a story, as conflicts and problems arise, the role of each individual character becomes crucial. In both Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s Carmilla, all of the characters lives, personalities and motives create two stories that read alongside one another. As the authors reveal their characters they must decide how they are going to get the reader to interpret the character the way they want them to. The author must consider how the character looks, what they think and feel, and what other characters think or say about them. It can be argued that the most important aspect of characters is the way they interact with each other. Their interactions can either create conflict or resolution. Most of the characters in Dracula can be compared and deemed equal to a character in Carmilla; Dracula and Carmilla, Lucy and Laura, Van Helsing and the General. On the other hand, there are characters in Dracula that have no equal in Carmilla and vice versa. These are the characters that define each story and make it unique from the other. In his novel Dracula Stoker adds a character, which we are lead to believe, is not important and
Cited: Stoker, Bram. Dracula. London: Penguin Classics, 2003. LeFanu, Joseph S. Carmilla. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1964. Model, Mara. Journal #3. February 12th, 2009.