Narrator and point of view

The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is narrated by several first-person narrators and presents accounts from various characters. The two excerpts you are studying are both narrated from Jonathan Harker’s point of view through his journal entries, as is revealed at the beginning of chapter 2: “JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL ¬– continued 5 May.”

The narrator appears to record the events through frequent, likely daily entries, which provides a sense of immediacy to the story. In his account, the narrator even refers to the act of recording his experiences: “When had written in my diary and had fortunately replaced the book and pen in my pocket”. This implies that the events are still fresh in the narrators mind and that readers experience them almost at the same pace he does.

The narrator interrupts the account at times with asides or other comments that provide more context. For example, at the end of one of his entries, he summarizes his terrifying ordeal by saying: “I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul. God keep me, if only for the sake of those dear to me!”. 

Another such comment reveals the narrator’s dedication to presenting a f...