Evil in the Worlds of
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and
Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian (2005)
This paper examines evil in the worlds of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897)
and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian (2005). Specifically, these two long
popular novels are contrasted on the basis of (1) the nature of evil, (2) the reach
of evil, and (3) the opposition to evil. While the evil in Stoker’s earlier Gothic
novel seems to be contained with the powerful vampire’s death, the evil in
Kostova’s later Gothic novel lives on after Dracula’s death (actually, his two
deaths) and even finds expression in various terrorist activities of the twentyfirst century.
Before moving on to discuss evil in the worlds of these two novels, I need
to place my study within a larger context that philosophers usually label as “the
problem of evil.” To paraphrase philosopher Michael Tooley, the problem of
evil is the difficulty of reconciling the existence of evil or suffering in the world
with the existence of a god (1).
After offering various definitions for “God,” philosopher Nick Trakakis
attempts to distinguish between the terms “good” and “evil” (2-3). Trakakis lists
six conditions that may make an event evil: (a) some harm done to the physical
or psychological well-being of a sentient creature; (b) the unjust treatment of a
sentient creature; (c) loss of opportunity resulting from premature death; (d)
anything preventing an individual from leading a fulfilling and virtuous life; (e)
a person doing that which is morally wrong; and (f) the privation of good (3-4).
Examples of these six conditions connected with evil will occur frequently in the
following discussion of the novels by Stoker and Kostova.
Although space does not permit a fuller discussion of the problem-of-evil
topic, one special category of evil—beyond the traditional varieties of moral evil
and natural evil—is the so-called “horrendous evil” (Trakakis 5). Examples of
such extreme evil are physical mutilation and mental torture (Trakakis 5). As we
will see, numerous examples of horrendous evil will be noted in the following
discussion of the novels by Stoker and Kostova.
The Nature of Evil in Stoker’s Dracula
Three characters deserve special attention when reviewing the nature of evil
in Stoker’s Dracula. First is Jonathan Harker, the young British lawyer whose
narrative voice both begins and ends this complex novel that is told from
multiple points of view. Young Lucy Westema, who is courted by several
suitors as well as by Count Dracula himself, comes next. Last is Mina Murray
Harker, Jonathan’s fiancee and then wife, who also falls under the spell of
Dracula.