The Last Voyage Of The Demeter’s Dracula Is The Closest We’ve Ever Seen To Bram Stoker’s Original Monster
What do you think of when you think of Dracula? (Assuming you think about him at all; I know I do.) The vampire Count likely conjures up images of a tux and a cape; a suave, seductive presence who woos virginal women before sinking his fangs into their necks. But here’s the thing: the debonair Drac is almost entirely an invention of the movies. In Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula is not a sexy guy who shows up at dinner parties dressed to the nines. He’s a malevolent monster lurking in the shadows.
In fact, Dracula himself is barely in the novel that bears his name. After the first several chapters, in which an aged Dracula meets and imprisons Jonathan Harker in his castle, the vampire takes a powder and recedes into the background. Stoker’s book is an epistolary novel, which means it’s made up of diary entries, letters, and newspaper clippings. As such, much of the book is in the first person, from the point of view of several characters who butt up against the vampire when he makes his way to England. We never get inside Dracula’s head, nor do we see him seducing anyone. Instead, he pops up from time to time to wreak havoc and then disappears back into the night.
Which brings us to “The Last Voyage of the Demeter.”