“We are in Transylvania; and Transylvania is not England”
...essing. The next major development is the giving of the anathemas to Harker by the landlord’s wife in the Golden Krone Hotel. She gives Harker a rosary and a cross, both of these are symbols of the Catholic Church and as Harker is a puritan, they are a repellent to him as well as Dracula and other dark, evil forces. Harker records myths about the Borgo Pass in his diary. It is said that massacres, fires and great diseases have taken place at the Borgo Pass. Harker will travel through the Pass on the eve of St. Georges Day, many evils ‘have full sway’ on this night. As Harker leaves in his coach for the Pass, the peasants all cross themselves and point two fingers, a local superstitious sign of blessing and wishing him a safe journey. They also all seem to be muttering ‘devil’ in various languages. All these foreign customs make Harker feel isolated and alone. As Harker passes through the Borgo pass he notes that ‘it seemed as though the mountain range had separated two atmospheres’. Again the use of seemed implying that nothing is certain and that this strange part of the world is hard to make out. We never know whether the coachman is actually the same person as Dracula but his ‘vice-like grip’, remarkably similar that of the Count’s indicates that this is true. The coach driver who we shall assume is Dracula has the ability to control the wolves that surround the calleche and also is able, it seems, to reappear at will and without warning. He has the power of telekinesis, a very strange and chilling discovery. Castle Dracula is a very decrepit ancient building, like its owner. The description Harker gives is very detailed, as with all of his descriptions, by doing this Stoker makes what he is describing seem all the more strange and alien. You would have thought that describing something in such great detail and with such precision would make it easier to understand and feel less alien; in fact it has the opposite effect. This is used to great effect in making Castle Dracula very strange and alien to Harker. Inside, the count’s dominion is all the more unfamiliar. Most of the doors are locked and the library contains English books. Harker compares the castle to a nightmare, the massive iron-studded doors, the clanking chains, winding stair cases and massive door bolts are all so different to what would be contained within a house in England, but in England, there are no such evil creatures within either. The most terrifying part of the Castle Dracula is Count Dracula himself. He does not eat, he lives alone, he crawls down cliff f...