Dust and Moonlight:
Metaphors for Mortality and Supernatural Transmutation in Dracula.
Dust is used biblically as a symbol of
“...transiency and humility of human life...” (Missouri
University n.d.), and in Dracula that symbolism is drawn upon
to remind the reader that despite their supernatural abilities, the
vampires were once human, and now exist as creatures which have
passed beyond death. Upon his defeat, Dracula is reduced to no more
than dust, which is said to be “as though the death that should
have come centuries ago had at last assert himself.”, re-enforcing
the metaphor of dust of the transiency of human life.
The moon is symbolic of
transmutability; because of the phases the moon itself passes
through. “The moon’s continually changing
phases led to its association with mutability, metamorphosis,
inconstancy, or fickleness.” (Ferber 2007, 130). Appearances of
the moon are used throughout the narrative to herald supernatural
creatures who possess the ability to transform themselves in order to
prey upon innocent humans; such as the wolves, who are described as
behaving “as though the moonlight had had some peculiar effect on
them.”, and the moon itself is implied to influence the powers and
behaviours of these creatures.
The dust and
lunar metaphors are combined, with Dracula described as travelling
“...on moonlight rays as elemental dust...”; where the elemental
dust is representative of his former mortality, and the rays of
moonlight the transmutation that has allowed him to exist beyond
death. The use of these metaphors weaves the story for the readers of
dangerous forces that exist in the world; which defy explanation.
This helps establish the horror elements of the story. That the moon
itself may be a cause of supernatural transformation, advances the
myth of 'lunar madness' (Sarton 1939), establishing an environment
able to produce more monsters like Dracula himself, and giving
readers greater reason to fear things that go bump in the night.
References
Ferber, M. 2007.
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols:
Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Missouri University. n.d. Signs,
Symbols, Meaning, & Interpretation.
http://web.mst.edu/~gdoty/classes/concepts-practices/symbolism.html
(accessed February 12, 2013).
Sarton, G. 1939. Lunar Influences on
Living Things. Isis 30(3):
495-507. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/225527
(accessed February 19, 2013).
Stoker, B. 1897. Dracula.
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/stoker/bram/s87d/
(accessed February 12, 2013).
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