A Postcolonial Reading of the Gothic Novel: Case Study of Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Abstract

Colonialism and literature can be said to work hand in hand, one providing material to write about and the other providing purpose and justification to the other’s existence. This dissertation aims at analysing the famous gothic novel Dracula by Bram Stocker, following a postcolonial theory and approach. It attempts to examine the many themes it conveys in order to discover its relevance to the postcolonial discourse. The first chapter of this extended essay tackles postcolonialism and the postcolonial theory, in which the latter focuses on notions such as hybridity and alienation. It also comprises the concept of Orientalism along with issues of identity and the other, as well as representation and stereotypes. Moreover, this chapter is also concerned with Travel Journals, and the techniques used within these literary artefacts such as narration, symbolism, and intertextuality. In the second chapter, those elements are fetched and analysed within the novel, to reach a rational result of this novel’s stance concerning the colonial discourse. Henceforward, a postcolonial study is applied on the novel, its characters, settings and techniques utilized by the author. Respectively, the novel is found to convey a clear postcolonial discourse, however, not in the usual sense of the term, instead; it is the colonial entity which is being conquered by the inferior other, an ‘other’ which is akin to an immigrant. Key words: Postcolonial theory, Orientalism, Journals, Dracula.