The diurnal order of the image in Dracula

Abstract

the article analyses images from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula having as a main theoretical frame the Diurnal regime of the Image, proposed by Gilbert Durand in The Anthropological Structures of the Imaginary and presented by Durand himself as the "order of antithesis". By presenting the main kinds of images proposed by Durand in binary pairs (theriomorphic and diæretic, nyctomorphic and spectacular, catamorphic and ascensional), the analysis proposed here aims at staying in tune with both the theoretical approach and the context of production of the novel. Victorian England at the end of the nineteenth century was a time of anxieties, fears and doubts, recurrent in the Victorian cultural production as a whole and well-depicted in Dracula, a work where binary oppositions also seem to be recurrent: life and death, good and evil, moral and desire, among others. The focus is on how the main character is perceived by the other characters, which ultimately affects our perception as readers. Images related to animals, colors, weapons and movements are also included in the analysis. The conclusion points out that the Diurnal Order is a prolific and coherent approach towards an understanding of Bram Stoker's vampire novel.