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'Consider the character and opinions of Seward and his significance in the novel.

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Dr John Sewards main role in the novel is to provide a sounding board for Van Helsings explanations and arguments. He sees life as a puzzle, and is frustrated to discover that his scientific view of the world does not give him the answers to the cause of Lucys death and in the quest to destroy Dracula. In Chapter 14, Van Helsing leads Seward through a consideration of various extraordinary phenomena in the way a teacher might lead a pupil towards a difficult concept. Seward easily falls into the role of pupil trying to hard to maintain his status in learning but struggling to keep up with his teacher. Helsing challenges him first to explain the cause of Lucys excessive blood loss, in which he finds he cannot answer. Helsing does not provide one but admonishes him for ignoring important mysteries and for being too prejudiced (p. 158). He feels Seward lacks interest beyond the scientific explanations of the world, the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain (p. 158-9). Helsing sees that Seward does not believe in corporeal transference, materialisation, astral bodies, and reading of thought (p. 159) It is here, where we realise that despite both Seward and Helsing are scientists with rational minds, the way their mind operates can be contrasted. Yet, it is significant that Seward rejects these pseudo-scientific phenomena but accepts hypnotism to be credible, since later in the novel, we see hypnotism is the key to tracking Dracula down. Helsing appears to be asking Seward to take account of phenomena associated with theosophy (a mystical philosophical view popularised in the latter part of the Victorian era). Stoker knew something of this to be esoteric and allegedly scientific attempt to combine orthodox religious belief with belief in supernatural or paranormal phenomena. Seward is bewildered by Helsings rhetorical listing of a dozen or so of natures eccentricities and possible impossibilities, but perhaps he is realising that not everything has an explanation. In response, Helsing merely asks him to believe in things you cannot, meaning to have faith. Seward is encouraged to think beyond the limitations that boundaries set, and beyond the rationale. I have no data on which to found a conjecture shows how Sewards logical mind trying to deduce an answer or some connection, yet the mind of a scientist hinders him from having an open mind. The laws of science limit his interpretation of his observations. Despite his failures (such as protecting Lucy), and his uncertainties, Seward is such a large part of this narrative because he learns to trust Van Helsing and his older wisdom or metaphysics. We see a shift in him. Helsing has questioned Seward on natures eccentricities and it leads Sewards mind to start changing his logic slightly in order to adapt to this new phenomenon. Science is a subject that challenges the mind. We see this when Seward desires to find an answer or explanation, he is willing to understand. His logic although favourable in experimental observations and tests, it would have concluded the wrong assumption in this case, you are wrong. We see his mind open to the possible impossibilities and it is ironic that Seward uses the world imagination as it is contrasts against his rational logic, he is shown to be a man of fact. Yet, religion is shown to give a moral sureness, which might have appealed to the Victorian readers, since the 1800s was a time of uncertainty. Evolutionary theories from Darwin had dissolved the firm boundaries between human and animal, leading to the inevitable conclusion that if something individual or nation could evolve, it could also devolve or degenerate. Sewards character embeds the conflict of rationality versus religion. It is ironic that the supernatural is discussed amongst the characters that are considered the most rational in the novel Harker, Helsing and Seward. These are men of rational thinkers with Dracula

intellectual minds. Yet, their very reliance on scientific rationality makes them vulnerable to Draculas threat. As Helsing observes, in this enlightened age, when believe not even what they see, the doubting of wise men would be [Draculas] greatest strength. In chapter 20, (p. 224-226) we can see that Seward is more interested with the workings of the unconscious, drawing twice upon the recently popularised term, unconscious cerebration. However, Seward is nevertheless quite conventional in his approach to science, his conventional assumptions about science and society perhaps prevents his ability and willingness to cross the boundaries that are beyond rationality. Despite Helsings discussion and request to have faith, Helsing has not modified the way he thinks. He still deals Renfield as a medical case. Renfield strongly allows us to question the nature of madness. He appears to be fighting demons, both literally and figuratively, he is having a battle against the soul. The beliefs that the novel assumes on the reader include eternal salvation, life after death, eternal damnation, all of which derive from the Christian religion. There is a large debate over the soul and body as being two separate parts. Dracula in a way gets his victims souls by infiltrating through their bodies. The physical attack creates a gateway. Dracula wants everyone to be his creatures, we are provoked in seeing the movement from humanity to alien. His victims will be born as part of the supernatural since they gain eternal life. This can be viewed as the perversion of Christianity as they gain eternal life but at the cost of doing evil deeds. Renfield confesses to Seward that he does not want to be burdened with the souls of those he has eaten. Seward questions him but does not understand Renfields answers. The idea of a soul is a torment to Renfield, Life is all him he wants (p. 223). During the 1800s, there was actual uncertainty on where the soul was located and people started to wonder is there a soul at all. Hence, the progress of science was arguing this position suggesting that maybe there is no soul, and given that Victorians were mainly Christian and observant to some extent they were very disturbed by this. Although Seward is observant of detail and possesses a great range of knowledge, he often makes mistakes or doubts the evidence of his senses. He only belatedly discovers the real significance of Renfields madness, and he is only able to make this deduction because of Helsings discussion from page 158 onwards. Although he rightly suspects that the Count and Renfield are in contact, he is wrong in keeping him in the asylum. Renfields main function appears to act as an indicator to the Counts presence in and around Carfax and the asylum. Later in chapter 21, his bloody and painful death is a fitting punishment for his treachery, at least according to the nature of Christian Redemption. Redeeming is where one has done wrong, but on its way to correcting their sins. Other examples include Dracula, the look on his face just before he turns dust is one of peace and relief as Mina observes. In order to gain salvation, Lucy had to be staked so that her soul is released or freed. Renfield represents another model of human arrogance in pursuit of knowledge and he too pays the price for assuming he might become immortal, recalling the old wisdom of the Greek dramatist Euripides, Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad. Seward is a man who tries to understand the mind, a new field of science for the time, and challenges the concepts of psychology that had been held for so long, including that of religion. Stoker however is seemingly trying to impart upon the reader that the religious significance held such an important role in the lives of the men. The message is of hope and that ultimately good triumphs over evil, one interpretation can be that the world might be new and hold great uncertainties, but old values still holds good, growth of new beliefsbut the old which pretend to be young. Dracula

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