The Personal Life of Stoker

The Personal Life of Stoker 

Who Was Bram Stoker?

Bram Stoker, short for Abraham Stoker, was born on November 8, 1847 in Clontarf, Ireland. He was born to his father Abraham Stoker, and his mother Charlotte Matilda Blake Thornley Stoker. Bram Stoker was one of seven children with his siblings being Thornley, Thomas, Margaret, George, Matilda, and Richard Stoker. Sadly, Stoker suffered from illnesses throughout his childhood that left him bedridden until he was about seven years old but was fortunately able to make a full recovery. Throughout his youth, Stoker was exposed to and intrigued by the stories his mother told him. The stories that were most influential to his young, impressionable mind was the stories of the Cholera Epidemic of 1832 which took thousands of innocent lives. These brutal and evocative stories soon began to shape and influence Stoker's creative imagination (2).

Bram Stoker (4)

Stoker's Early Beginnings 

In 1864, Bram Stoker enrolled at the University of Dublin and attended the university's sole constituency, Trinity College. At Trinity College, Stoker excelled in his academics as well as in athletics and graduated with honors in mathematics in 1870. After college, Stoker began working as a civil servant in the Irish Civil Service which he worked in for ten years. This took place at the Dublin Castle which was home to British royals in Ireland between the early 1800s and the early 1920s. Stoker's father had also served as a civil servant in this castle which greatly aided Stoker in landing a position there. During this time, Stoker took on another role of contributing theater criticism. In the evenings, Stoker worked as an unpaid writer for a local newspaper called the Dublin Evening Mail, later known as the Evening Mail in which Stoker would write reviews of various theatrical productions. After Stoker's ten years in civil service, he left his position at the Dublin Castle. Around that same time, Stoker created a pivotal step for his career by establishing a friendship and professional relationship with the famous English actor, Sir Henry Irving. By the late 1870s, Irving offered Stoker a management position at the famous Lyceum Theater, which was his production company in England. As a manager, Stoker was required to write letters, sometimes up to 50 per day, and travel on Irving's tours which were worldwide (1). Stoker also performed secretarial and directorial duties for Irving. During this same time, Stoker married Florence Balcombe, an aspiring actress. Together they moved to Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, in London and Florence later gave birth to their son Irving Noel Thornley Stoker in 1879.

Stoker's Early Writings 

Despite Stoker's highly active personal and professional life, he began writing and publishing novels. Some of his early works included The Primrose Path, Under the Sunset, and The Snakes Pass which earned Stoker much success and prompted him to continue writing. More notably, Stoker gathered much public praise for his many roles dedicated to the arts. Although most of Stoker's novels garnered positive reviews, they were easily identified by the stereotyped characters and romanticized plots. Even the earliest reviews frequently pointed out the rigid characterization and tendency to be overdramatic. However, critics have universally praised Stoker's precise place descriptions. Stoker's short stories have fared better with modern readers despite sharing the same flaws as his novels (2). Anthologists frequently characterize Stoker's stories with collections of horror fiction. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, "Dracula's Guest", originally intended as an introductory chapter to Dracula is one of the best known pieces of horror fiction (2). To go along with that, after a pair of books called The Watter's Mou and Antheneum produced positive feedback, Stoker became intrigued by and began his research into the world of vampires.

Stoker's Famous Dracula

In 1897, Stoker published his masterpiece, Dracula. Dracula is centered on the diaries and journal entries of Jonathan Harker upon meeting the mysterious Count Dracula. Dracula follows Harker to England where he continues his blood-thirsty endeavors. Filled with the themes of lust, desire, and madness, Stoker creates a bone-chilling tale that continues to haunt readers more than one hundred years after it was first published (2). Dracula is considered a Gothic horror/Gothic vampire novel. An early review of Dracula in the Spectator stated that, "the up-to-dateness of the book - the phonograph diaries, typewriters, and so on - hardly fits in with the medieval methods which ultimately secure the victory for Count Dracula's foes" (2). The novel, comprised of journal entries, letters, phonograph recordings, newspaper clippings, and a ship's log, all allowed Stoker to contrast his characters actions with their own analysis of their acts. Despite the book garnering critical success after its release, it did not reach its peak popularity until well after Stoker's death (1). Early critics of Dracula noted the "unnecessary number of hideous incidents" that could "shock and disgust" readers of the novel. One critic even advised keeping the novel away from children and nervous adults (2). Dracula was initially interpreted as a straightforward horror novel but as the criticism progressed over time, Dracula has since been viewed from a Freudian psychosexual standpoint which deals with the sexual desires of the unconscious mind. According to Brigitte Boudreau, the author of Dracula, like the immortal count, has come to represent a figure of illicit sexuality (3). But beyond all of the criticism, Dracula has also been interpreted from medical, political, religious, and folkloric points of view.

Dracula - Norton Critical Editions (5)

The Legacy of Dracula 

Stoker's legacy has lived on throughout the decades through his most famous work, Dracula, which has inspired the creation of numerous literary, theatrical, and film adaptations. To this day, the name of Dracula is still familiar to many people who may not even be unaware of Stoker's identity. The adaptations of Dracula in films and plays have taken huge creative freedoms with Stoker's unique characterization. A resurgence of interest in traditional folklore has also revealed that Stoker himself did not use established vampire legends. Despite this point, Dracula has had an incredible impact on readers since it was published. Whether Stoker created a universal fear of vampires or gave form to a universal fantasy, Stoker created a powerful and everlasting image that has become a part of the popular culture of today. 

Works Cited

1. Biography.com Editors. "Bram Stoker Biography." biography.com, A&E Television Networks. 2 April 2014, https://www.biography.com/people/bram-stoker-9495731
2. "Bram Stoker Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography, notablebiographies.com. https://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Stoker-Bram.html
3. Boudreau, Brigitte. "Libidinal Life: Stoker, Homosocial Desire and the Stokerian Biographical Project." Brno Studies in English. 2011, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p41-59. 19p. EBSCOhost, http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=d28df79f-b2ee-4903-bd0c-ab479ad10c8f%40sessionmgr4009 
4. "Bram Stoker." wikipedia.com. 15 October, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker
5. "Dracula (Norton Critical Editions)." amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Norton-Critical-Editions-Stoker/dp/0393970124