Jenine Abumusallam

“I never drink… wine”

A look into Dracula’s desperation for normalcy

The scene begins with the welcoming of Jonathan Harker into Count Dracula’s double life. The first thing the audience sees is Dracula’s shadow, which seems to have a mind of its own. Yet once this shadow is taken into perspective and analyzed in terms of the set, the audience will appreciate Dracula’s long, skinny fingers reaching out towards the light. 

This shows the audience just how vulnerable Dracula is, which evokes a sense of pity for this man and his controlling shadow that seems to be yearning for something more. His reaching for this symbol of purity and guidance shows viewers just how deeply this internal conflict with his past and present “self” is affecting him. Another aspect to the entrance of the shadow is the seductive gasping sound. This seems to be very contradictory to his reaching out for something other, a fantasy of some kind. Dracula’s dream to be normal once again is masked by this sound of seduction, emphasizing his inability to control his thirst. When Dracula introduces himself, in the background the sound of quarreling that is almost internalized is heard, as well as the way he looks down in shame, this readdresses Dracula’s conflict.

As Dracula takes us into the dining hall, we see his long, draping, red robe over top a white undershirt. 

The white being under the red is an interesting contrast between innocence, purity and the tainted, the red, symbolizing the blood of the virgins, which adds to his seductive qualities. The camera then cuts to this overemphasized portrait of Dracula as a handsome warrior pre-vampire, illuminated by candles, again contributing to the theme of a conflicted Dracula. Dracula then goes on to tell Jonathan Harker that he never drinks wine, this is an important line in the scene due to the fact that it ties in the idea of Christianity and the blood of Christ, which stresses Dracula’s hatred and hostility towards the faith that lead him into his nightmare of a life, and caused him to be torn between his two lifestyles, which he later displays in the stalking scene with Mina.

As the scene continues, and Jonathan Harker begins his meal, there is a serpent sculpture with its mouth open towards him. 

The serpent is biblically associated with “dual expression”, this idea of good and evil, life and healing, and the shedding of the old and regrowth of the new. This exemplifies the foreshadowing of both Jonathan and Dracula’s change throughout the movie, as Jonathan loses sight of his purity, allowing the female vampires to indulge in him, versus Dracula who’s internal conflict grows and allows him to seek healing through love of Mina.