Themes

The supernatural

One of the themes explored in the two excerpts of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is that of the supernatural. During his journey through the Pass and his stay in Count Dracula’s castle, Jonathan experiences many mysterious and unexplainable events which frighten him. 

On the way to Dracula’s castle, Jonathan witnesses the driver seemingly being able to control a pack of wolves: “As he swept his long arms, as though brushing aside some impalpable obstacle, the wolves fell back and back further still”. The driver also stops to arrange some stones in front of several flickering blue flames and, at one point, Jonathan believes he sees the flame through the translucent body of the driver: 

Once there appeared a strange optical effect: when he stood between me and the flame he did not obstruct it, for I could see its ghostly flicker all the same. This startled me, but as the effect was only momentary, I took it that my eyes deceived me straining through the darkness. 

Though Jonathan either does not find a reasonable explanation for these events or brushes them aside as optical illusions, it is clear these strange moments belong to the realm of the supernatural, as the driver, who is...