DIHU 301: Dracula Visualization Project

Preliminary Questions to Understand Dracula as a

Textual Network
• Who is the most central node in Dracula?

• What is this node’s relationship to key concepts in the novel such as:
illness, disease, hysteria, insanity and cultural attitudes towards
illness and mental health?

• Does Dracula use its characters and narrative to

symbolize a cultural perspective on the treatment of
mental health, illness and hysteria during the time
period?

By Lark Spartin
Gephi Tabular Data
Using Gephi’s tabular data to answer the
first question, I found that John Seward is
the most central node, as he has sent and
received the most letters, and he is the
majority of what constitutes the book.
Voyant (Co-occurrence
and word frequency)
Then, I looked into Voyant’s ability to
visually display computational linguistic
elements to answer the second question.
Paired with the quantitative Gephi data, I
can establish an answer for the third
question.
Voyant Links Tool

• Mina and Lucy being linked to

‘poor’, ‘insane’
• Brain linked to ‘fever’
Correlation and
Significance
• Correlation: A measure of how closely
term frequencies correlate- scores
approaching 1 mean that term
frequencies vary in sync (they rise and
drop together), scores approaching -1
mean that term frequencies vary
inversely (one rises as the other drops),
scores approaching zero indicate little
or no meaningful correlation.
• Significance: Measuring the significance
of the correlation value. Often a
significance of .05 or less indicates a
strong correlation.
What has this data established so far?
• Seward = logic and authority, most level headed vs. other characters
• He runs a psychiatric institution, and is the only character who didn’t have a nervous breakdown of some sort in the
novel. Jonathan after Dracula: hospitalized, treated for “nervous illness”, Lucy: sleepwalking, bit by Dracula, her soul
is only set free by driving a stake through her heart, Mina: bit by Dracula, has hypnotic connections to him, etc.

• Dracula = monster, madman, poison

• the origins for the outbursts of the other characters. For example, a man on the ship, the Demeter,
hurled himself off the deck to avoid being infected by Dracula, stating, “Death is better than to
be mentally ill”. Dracula is often compared to a social virus that needs to be isolated and destroyed.

• Interplay of characters symbolizes cultural treatment of mental illness

• Using the character of Seward to destroy the ‘monster’, logic/psychiatry vs. neurosis, hysteria, illness.
Attempts to characterize illness as an evil force, a monster to be destroyed.
The Creation of a Humanistic Argument
• From the data acquired so far, it is clear that there are links between the central node, as well as other
characters, to key concepts in the novel surrounding the treatment of mental illness.
• However, so far it has only been hinted at that the characters symbolize a cultural perspective on mental
health, but the data does not attach itself to any contextual material outside of the novel.
• A humanistic argument needs to be established to showcase how the arguments are being made in the
book, rather than just simply establishing that a relationship exists.
• In my Encoded Chapter, I provided a close reading of Chapter 16, and provided links to external resources to
explicitly point out arguments made by Stoker in the prose. The encoded chapter looks specifically at the
female characters and the arguments for removing feminine qualities from the novel.
• My visualization project is exploring how pinning the characters against each other, namely logic against
madness, demonizes illness and positions the novel as a divisive piece of propaganda. This project is focused
broadly on illness as a whole, rather than focusing completely on the female characters as in my encoded
chapter.
• To establish a deeper humanistic argument, I aim to pair the Gephi and Voyant data to relevant parts of the
prose, and then cite external resources that bolster this argument. This can further the argument that not
only does this data help to symbolize the believed ‘correct’ treatment of mental illness, but it helps to
position Dracula as a text that was attempting to construct culture through its characters and narrative.
By positioning characters of ‘logic’ in drastic opposition to ‘madness’
and ‘illness’, how does Dracula construct cultural belief
on the ‘correct treatment’ of mental illness?

Point 1. The novel uses this interplay of characters to frame the Count as the
‘Other’ sexually, religiously and culturally, thereby demonizing illness and
categorizing every deviating behavior from the central node (e.g logic and
science, traditional Victorian mores) as ‘madness’.

Point 2. Since most of the characters who were more susceptible to this ‘deviant
behavior’ were female, and in the 19th Century, females were seen as inferior to
men, I wanted to establish that this interplay of logic versus disease functioned
to frame those infected as weaker and feminine. This positions illness in
opposition to masculinity and provides insight as to why force was used by the
male characters to remove disease from society.
From my Annotated Bibliography:

• The Return of the Repressed/Oppressed in Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Burton Hatlen looks at the concept of
“Other” in Dracula, and the links between good and evil. Hatlen speaks about ‘Otherness’ and ‘evil’ being
very similar, because evil is usually linked to a person or concept that is misunderstood or feared. As Hatlen
explains, “evil characterizes whatever is radically different from me, whatever by virtue of precisely that
difference seems to constitute a very real and urgent threat to my existence” (82). This idea was personified
in Count Dracula’s character in Bram Stoker’s novel, as he was markedly different from other characters, and
was feared rather than understood. My Voyant data from the Show and Tell presentation shows links
between the Count and symbols of disease and illness. By extension, I can then argue ‘mental illness’ and
‘disease’ are “Others” as well, which were feared at the time because they were unfamiliar.
• Count Dracula and what he embodies is seen to threaten the other characters purity and goodness. For
example, Hatlen looks at the Count as the sexual ‘Other’, turning Mina and Lucy into overtly sexual beings,
whereas before they were virginal and free of sexual desire. These emotions that the Count provokes were
not seen as normal during the 19th Century. The Count also represents the cultural "other". In Stoker’s novel,
Victorian society is described as committed to technological advancement. The characters in the book were
technologically advanced in comparison to Dracula, which resulted in the Count being killed by this very
technology. Hatlen furthers my hypothesis by stating that Seward represents science and technology. On top
of this, the Count is not from England, where the other characters are from, which could add to this fear and
misunderstanding of him.
• Chapter 5 in The most dreadful visitation: male madness in Victorian fiction by Valerie Pedlar explores ideas that are
relevant to my thesis- such as Stoker letting young professionals, like Seward or Harker, who he believed would be leaders
in society, narrate the majority of the book. This aligns with my Gephi and Voyant data showing that Seward is the most
central node in the novel, and that characters with more rational professions are seen as more experienced. Seward finds
it difficult to understand superstition or madness, because he represents science and rationality. Pedlar agrees that there
is a strong opposition between this idea of the ‘mind as mystery’ and the mind as a ‘locus for scientific experimentation
and research’.
• This idea of Count Dracula being put into clear opposition of the other characters can prove that regular emotions or
mental illness were hastily swept aside as a disease without being understood in 19th Century culture, because they were
provoked by a force that was feared. Including these concepts in comparison to primary resources and how diseases were
treated can create an argument that Dracula truly did construct beliefs surrounding mental illness in the 19th Century, and
the idea of positioning Dracula as an “Other” had validity in society at that time.
From my encoded chapter:
• Illness and Its Affiliation to the Devil
• In the article, Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health, by Cecilia Tasca et al, hysteria was linked to
demonological forces. During the 13th Century and The Inquisition, which lead to the Church trying to unify Europe in
order to fight against heresy, new definitions of mental health were put forth (Tasca, n.p.). This included displaying mental
illness as a bond between a woman and the Devil. “Hysterical” women were subjected to exorcism, and it was believed
their ‘illness’ was caused by demons. Exorcism in early Christianity was seen as a cure, but in the late Middle Ages, it
became a punishment, as hysteria was then confused with sorcery (Tasca). In manuscripts given out of the time, this
‘Devil’ is described to make men sterile, kill children, cause disease, and have its work carried out by witches. With
knowledge of Dracula as a novel, it is easy to extend the belief that the Count was the Devil force. Jonathan Harker, after
his interactions with the Count, says he felt impotent, and in Chapter 16, Lucy was in the midst of trying to turn a child into
the Un-Dead. In this sense, ‘witches’ could be seen as the female characters (Mina and Lucy), that worked under the
Count. Manuals at the time provided ‘proof’ of demons and witches, and also warned that anyone not convinced of this
idea was also a victim of the Devil. These manuals functioned to find and punish sorcery (Tasca, n.p.). It seems as if illness
was attributed to a ‘demonic presence’ because the real cause of the illness was not yet known. No other thought was
given as to why a woman's behavior may be socially deviating, such as an unfulfillment of desire, which promotes a very
black and white view of illness in women in general. During The Inquisition, Tasca states it was believed that the devil was
a ‘great expert of human nature and may interfere more effectively with a person susceptible to melancholy or hysteria’
(n.p.) Since women were believed to be much more susceptible due to their makeup, relating them to being witches
seemed logical to many at the time. Suicide rates in women diagnosed with hysteria were also recognized to be very high,
as when their problem was blamed on an outside force, it gave them no excuse, no agency, and no means of forgiveness
from their male counterparts.
• Progressing to the 17th Century and its scientific developments, the demonization of hysteria was still seen as a valid
approach to the view of mental illness. An example given in this article happened in the village of Salem (Massachusetts)
in 1692. The symptoms of a large group of young women described were “staring and barred eyes, raucous noises and
muffled, uncontrolled jumps, and sudden movements” (Tasca, n.p.). 19 of these women were hanged, as they were seen
as ‘witches’, and 100 others were kept in jail. These classic hysteria symptoms can be linked to the rise of Puritanism, and
later into the 19th century, traditional Victorian mores. This links back to sexual connotations that accompanied being
infected by the Count in the novel. Sinning individuals that seemed to be infected by the Count, a symbol of disease, had
to be ‘cleansed’ and then killed. Removing these ‘demons’ from society through force was seen as a successful cure.
Hysteria in Opposition to Religious Codes

• The use of crucifixes to deter the infected characters links back to the idea that the Count is devoid of God
and is in opposition to religion. In Chapter Five of Valerie Pedlar’s book, The Most Dreadful Visitation: Male
Madness in Victorian Fiction, the Un-Dead especially are seen as ‘Godless’, as they mock the Christian belief
or resurrection (Pedlar, 139). Read this way, the Count becomes a symbol of the Devil, and those infected
with the disease are transgressing. This transgression is seen in the way that the Count sexualizes the
women, makes men (like Renfield and Jonathan Harker) into weak characters under his control, creates fear
in communities, and all around, deviates from Victorian mores. Crucifixes deter the Count, the Count’s boxes
of earth are systematically "sanitized" by means of communion wafers. Renfield is controlled by the Count,
and states ‘The Blood is the life!’, which further serves to undermine religion. This all signals that devotion to
Victorian morals and religious beliefs can help rid yourself of the ‘monster of madness’.
Illness as a Threat to Masculinity
• In Chapter Five of The Most Dreadful Visitation: Male Madness in Victorian Fiction, Valerie Pedlar talks about the stress on
accurate reporting in Dracula, and the need for the male characters to establish ‘the veracity of an individuals experience’
(145). The male characters were seen to be more ‘logical’, based on their genetic makeup, and used their ability to record
what they have experienced to prove their sanity. The male characters use force (primarily against ‘sinning’ women) to
show that they are sane. An example of this is seen from Van Helsing, when after he drives stakes into the bodies of the
three women, he can exclaim: ‘I am at least sane. Thank God for that mercy at all events, though the proving it has been
dreadful’.
• The killing of the character of Lucy is cited in the article as a ‘temptation scene, and a brutal sexuality of Van Helsing’s
revenge’ (Pedlar, 145). Van Helsing’s way to prove that he is not ‘infected’ by the Count is to show he is masculine and able
to take control by showing he is physically powerful.
• Pedlar’s article cites that the “narrative strategy of Dracula is an attempt to control the fears revealed in the text” (146),
which signals that the actions of removing ‘infected’ characters from society comes from the fear of weakness and is
based on control. The narrative is completely from a male’s point of view, and in the chapter where Lucy is killed, she only
has one line. Stoker’s decision to place Arthur as heroic after carrying out violence against his wife, Lucy, provides a very
explicit comment on his division of the infected female ‘weak’ characters, from the superior (all male) characters who
follow Victorian mores and ‘logic’. Arthur is described as looking “like a figure of Thor as his untrembling arm rose and fell,
driving deeper and deeper the mercy-bearing stake, whilst the blood from the pierced heart welled and spurted up
around it. His face was set, and high duty seemed to shine through it; the sight of it gave us courage so that our voices
seemed to ring through the little vault." This use of force paired with the constant need to prove ‘fact’ to establish sanity is
described as the successful way to treat mental illness in the novel, and actually showcases these men in the end as
‘heroic’.
Illness as a Threat to Masculinity (Continued)

• Illness in the male characters was seen with contempt and as a sign of weakness, shown primarily through
the character of Jonathan Harker. After coming into contact with the Count, and having his identity stolen by
him, he is established as having a link to the symbol of disease. On top of this, his encounter with the three
female vampires puts him in a feminized, weak position, as Stoker states Jonathan ‘looks out under his
eyelashes in an agony of delightful anticipation’ (38). He even has ‘Victorian Woman’ tendencies, and sinks
down into a pile of unconsciousness, which mimics hysteria. This is shown when Jonathan sits at a ‘little oak
table where in old times possibly some fair lady sat to pen … her ill-spelt love-letter’ (36). He uses his journal
to preserve his sanity and write down all the facts, which restates the idea of male characters using the
writing down of fact to preserve their sanity. Jonathan states he felt his ‘own brain was unhinged or as if the
shock had come which must end in its undoing, I turn to my diary for repose. The habit of entering
accurately must help to soothe me’ (36). By being linked to this symbol of disease and thereby being put into
a weak position where he is described with feminine characteristics, he has a mental breakdown and loses
his voice as narrator. This infection signals a ‘loss of his manhood’, and until he gets that back, he is unable to
take the role of a leader again. It is only until after Jonathan helps to kill Lucy, and has his experiences
validated as ‘real’ by Van Helsing (being assured he is not crazy by a ‘logical’ character), that he can take on a
narration role again. Jonathan says the reassurance ‘made a new man of me. It was the doubt as to the
reality of the whole thing that knocked me over. I felt impotent, and in the dark, and distrustful’ (188). The
verification of experiences as real, and not hallucinations, and the act of showing his power by performing
violence on a female character, and killing the disease, are what makes Jonathan truly confident in his
manhood and cured.
By positioning the Count as an ‘Other’, in direct opposition to the central node of the book (characters who
exemplify Victorian mores and logic), and using methods to position the infected, primarily female, characters
as weak, it is easy to pick out the areas of the novel that comment on correct treatments of mental illness. This
believed correct treatment of mental illness came primarily from a lack of understanding of the ‘ill’ patients,
which lead to Dracula functioning as a piece of propaganda to a degree. The novel argues for the use of
control, force and superiority to cure this illness by placing what is believed as ‘logic and science’ in direct
opposition to ‘demonological disease’.
Mina is confined and controlled by hypnosis, but establishes herself as useful to the ‘superior’ characters, so
she is spared. Characters like the Count and Lucy are removed from society completely, as they cannot be
controlled with the other methods, such as sanitization through religion or superstitious methods.

These corrective treatments seem to divide the characters, with the most logical, superior characters (who are
the most pure when following Victorian mores) winning in the end, and those who deviate (the characters that
symbolize disease) being removed from society. This opposition also functions to create a gender bias, as
females were seen as the ‘inferior gender’ and more susceptible to the disease. To be ‘infected by disease’ was
to be weak and feminine, and the ‘sane of mind’ proved themselves through displays of masculinity and
physical force.
 Works Cited
• “Learn How to Use Gephi.” Graph Exploration and Manipulation, gephi.org/users/.

• Voyant Tools Documentation, docs.voyant-tools.org/.

• Hatlen, Burton. “The Return of the Repressed/Oppressed in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” Minnesota Review, Duke

University Press, 6 July 2011, muse.jhu.edu/article/427122.pdf

• Pedlar, Valerie. The Most Dreadful Visitation: Male Madness in Victorian Fiction. Liverpool University Press,

2006.

• Bram Stoker, Dracula. Grosset & Dunlap, 1897.

• Tasca, Cecilia, et al. “Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health.” Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in

Mental Health : CP & EMH, Bentham Open, 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480686