Dracula and Rebecca and its Relevance Today

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Dracula and Rebecca
Introduction
Monsters pervade society today. However, today’s monsters are different from what we read in novels that came before the world ushered in the current information age. Today, people speak of corruption as a monster, environmental degradation, the divide between the rich and the poor, technological developments, and other elements that directly correlate to the happenings of the world. These elements speak to the uncertainties of life, the evils happening in broad daylight, and how further humanity continues to fall from the values of integrity, compassion, empathy, justice, and peace. The monsters of today speak to the greed of humanity, the extent people go in search of riches, and the disregard for one another. Some of these attributes or features of monsters in today’s world correlate directly with the monsters like Dracula, Rebecca, and Mrs. Danvers. These characters showcased different attributes of monstrosity throughout their lives. An analysis of these characters reveals different reasons why monsters are created and their purpose for humanity. Through the analysis of Dracula, Rebecca, and Mrs. Danvers, the two reasons we create monsters are that they satisfy us emotionally by helping us project our deepest fears and psychologically by helping us address our anxieties and the uncertainties of life. Further, the analysis of the characters happens to issue warnings to readers, including a warning against individualism issued by Dracula, a warning about having a larger-than-life attitude issued through Rebecca, and the danger of being obsessed with the past issued through Mrs. Danvers. The characters also exhibit certain characteristics of monsters that befit their depiction in the books. Dracula, for example, exhibits the attributes of difference and monster as other throughout the story. On the other hand, Rebecca exhibits the characters of monsters patrolling borders of the possible, and monsters always escape. Finally, Mrs. Danvers showcases the characteristics of monsters morphing from frightening to cuddly and resistant to category as she presents a unique but crucial character in the story.
One of the reasons why people create monsters is because of the emotion of fear. Fear is a powerful emotion that moves people to defend against any threat of danger. The threat could either be physical and real or psychological and imagined. Regardless of the genesis of the threat, fear dictates how many people choose to live their lives. To deal with these fears, people develop different mechanisms that range from extreme mechanisms like being overprotective to adopting simple habits that may not seem logical, but that help them feel safe. According to McLeod, fear has the potential to make people block past experiences of their lives (np). Costanzi et al. (1) further add that fear plays “an adaptive role preserving individuals from injury,” especially as one is going through a traumatic experience. For example, if something traumatic happened while someone was young, the chances are high that it will likely be forgotten if it is an unwanted memory. In doing so, people avoid reliving an experience even though danger lurks when this happens. As indicated by Costanzi et al. (1), the danger entails the development of maladaptive fear. Maladaptive fear or any maladaptive behavior prevents people from adapting to different circumstances that present similar features to an experience in their past. Therefore, while fear does indeed encourage the creation of monsters, it has the potential to be detrimental to the life of a person. Some people develop PTSD and other anxiety disorders that take up much of their lives.
Aside from emotional reasons, people also create monsters because of psychological reasons. One such reason is to help deal with anxieties or the uncertainties of life. Life is not linear, and it presents people with different pathways that are marred with uncertainties. The uncertainties of life can make people develop maladaptive tendencies as they seek to cope with a future that is unknown. Today, science and technological developments happen to have spearheaded a lot of development that has been seen in the world. However, people appear to be anxious about the unknown regarding robots and scientific investigations that are being conducted. For example, why must robots get to a point where they assume total control of themselves and decide to attack humans? Also, why would a virus made by human beings lead to the development of zombies that eat and transform other human beings into zombies? Today, movies appear to speak to these anxieties and amplify them even further. With regard to technological developments, Szollosy (433) notes that humanity’s creation of monsters demonstrates “a complex array of anxieties that we harbor towards the very idea of robots, cyborgs, AI and imagined future technologies.” These anxieties push people into the imagined world, and then comes the idea that robots and AI will take over the world sometime in the future. Therefore, people are pushed to consider ways to ensure that they are protected from the inevitability of such a future.
The character of Dracula paints a picture of a person moved to disrupt the moral and social code of society. Further, through his character and methods of attack, he appears to issue a stern warning against the idea of individualism. Today, people are obsessed with personal goals and pursuing their dreams with little regard for the next person. However, Dracula’s schemes are a stern warning against such an approach because of the vulnerability involved when someone pursues a life of solitude. Dracula is surrounded by mystery, and it appears as though the fear he has inflicted upon the locals makes it easier for him to live among them unperturbed. Throughout the story, Dracula appears to attack individuals, weaken them, and eventually have his will exerted upon them as they become monsters like him. However, Dracula’s schemes appear vulnerable when the other characters decide to team up and chase after him all over Europe. From the story, it is clear that people’s prowess in different areas does not match Dracula. However united, it becomes much easier to find ways to defeat and inflict fear in him. Franklin (6) notes that in order to defeat Dracula, the other characters discover that their individualistic notions and prowess may not suffice. Franklin continues to indicate that “so long as the conflict is one between human individualism and vampirical totalization, things do not go at all well for the humans.” In the story, it became clear that what was needed was a unification of the forces that were after Dracula. A system that would have allowed competition between the characters would only have led to a monopoly and loss.
Dracula is an interesting character whose attributes depict the true meaning of a monster. According to Cohen, one characteristic of monsters is that they are different and separate from humans. This particular characteristic mainly considers the physical distinctions between humans and monsters. Human beings are of a certain height, have the same tendencies regardless of their differences, and seem to have comprehensible sizes. However, monsters seem to have superpowers, distorted forms, and others can transform into different creatures. Also, it is crucial to note that monsters also tend to follow different patterns to human beings. For example, some monsters never sleep at night because that is the time they work best. On the other hand, humans have a normal routine that entails working during the day and sleeping during the night. This particular characteristic of monsters best fits Dracula because he is depicted as a vampire that is dependent on the blood of human beings for survival. According to Salazar (1), “unlike zombies or other animalistic monsters who hunt for their food, the vampire’s diet consists of blood without the victim’s flesh.” Because of this diet and blood being the key to life, Dracula was able to enhance his own life by draining that of others. His indifference to human beings is indeed evident through his attributes of even converting to a bat and hiding from sunlight which is part of humanity’s treasures.
Aside from the above, monsters are also best described by the characteristic of “other.” This particular characteristic captures monsters’ otherness or extreme features that distinguish them from human beings. The attribute of other means that something depicts a character that is outside or beyond what is considered normal. Human beings have normal features and act in ways that remain within the bounds of what is considered normal. However, monsters appear to showcase differences that have them considered as other or beyond. This particular characteristic also fits Dracula because of some of his behaviors that can be deemed as other or beyond humanity’s normal. For example, whenever Dracula travels, he carries boxes filled with sacred earth with him. From the story, this earth helps to preserve him as well as restore his powers. As Brundan (2) notes, “Dracula’s fundamental purpose is one of translation: translating (transferring across) bodies from one state to another.” This particular ability is made possible by the earth, which he has transferred from one place to another every time he moves. The aspect of sleeping in the coffi...